Carmine Appice, an incredible team player

Disclaimer: Links in the table below and some throughout the article could be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A drummer is the most important member of a brand. You can never find a band that does not have the metals. But it helps even more when the drummer is an incredible team player. And that is what defined Carmine Appice.

Carmine Appice was a very valuable team player as he worked with bruising power that instantly identified his style. He defined the real meaning of quality drum sound through his power and focus on the sticks.  He is one drummer who was known for his artistic and innovative ways of making drum sounds.

Appice was not only a drummer but a mentor in drumming. He was so talented and knowledgeable that he wrote a book on drumming: The Realistic Rock Drum Method that was released in 1972.

It has been a stable informational material since its release as it continues to help many drummers understand drumming essential. The information in the book carries everything a drummer may need to make it big.

Since he understood drum so well, his methods have always been instrumental to many drumming styles. Even though he worked more for rock sounds, he also understands how other drumming genres required and tried to innovate for them too.

However, Appice becomes an icon in the late 60s when he joined Vanilla Fudge. Through it, he was able to influence a young John Bonham. Anyone in Bohman’s shoes would have been thrilled to learn from the romping, aggressive funky grooves.

Appice had begun his carrier with the easy groove of softer music, working his way to perfection before changing to heavier blues-rock style. He mostly worked with Cactus and Beck, and as well as Bogert and Appice.

It was in the late 70s that the drummer demonstrated his range. At the time, he had joined the Rod Stewart band, hence contributing with his sassy backbeats and essential songwriting assistance on songs such as “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy.” Stewart called Appice “The Dentist” because, apparently, he used so many fill-ins.

In recent times, Appice has kept himself busy and continued working on other projects. Mostly, he plays “Drum Wars” shows with his brother and other hard-rock players, like Vinny (Dio, Black Sabbath).

This does not only keep him busy as a drummer; it also helps other younger drummers learn news skills and understand the best drumming approaches.  Carmin has never stopped offering inspiration ideas to anyone who comes to him for any.

His outgoing personality keeps him at the top as one of the most outstanding drummers of all time.

Appice states that some of his important innovations resulted from the constraints of playing live rock pieces during his earlier years.  He credits himself for pioneering “the use of big drums sets and played with the butt end of the stick early on.” And he did it in an area without P.A systems.

Such innovations have made the drummer very popular over the years. And he has helped many other drummers make their dreams come true. Carmin Appice will always remain a great drummer in books.

Photo of author

Andrea

Andrea is a music lover and an experienced drummer with more than 15 years of drumming with different bands and music projects, such as Seditius and Hermano & the Marines.