{"id":24851,"date":"2015-02-26T11:14:14","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=24851"},"modified":"2015-02-26T11:15:03","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:15:03","slug":"on-stage-a-blast-from-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=24851","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: A blast from the past"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vanilla Fudge, Mike & the Mechanics lead local retro lineups<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"vanilla-fudge-1\"<\/a>

1960s icons Vanilla Fudge is back on tour and with a new album.<\/p><\/div>\n

Fans of music from the past will have some good choices for live performances this weekend including a capella music, the music that was the foundation for doo-wop groups in the 1950s; Vanilla Fudge, one of America\u2019s top bands in the last 1960s; and\u00a0Mike + The Mechanics, who were hitmakers in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Back in the late 1960s, Vanilla Fudge, which is performing on February 26 at\u00a0the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com)<\/a>,\u00a0was one of the biggest rock bands in America.<\/p>\n

Its cover of the Supremes\u2019 hit single \u201cYou Keep Me Hangin\u2019 On\u201d cemented the band\u2019s rise to stardom. The hard-rocking version of the pop song was slowed down immensely and plodded along with new-found heaviness. Featuring Mark Stein\u2019s baroque-yet-spacey organ intro and Carmen Appice\u2019s hyperkinetic drumming, the song was a Top 10 hit in the United States and Australia and a Top 20 hit in Britain in 1967.<\/p>\n

Vanilla Fudge\u2019s popularity was at such a plateau that one of the acts that was an opening band on VF tours in 1968 and early 1969 was Led Zeppelin. Vanilla Fudge featured Vince Martell on guitars, Tim Bogert on bass, Stein on keyboards and Appice on drums. All four members handled the vocals.<\/p>\n

In 1970, Vanilla Fudge broke up. Bogert and Appice formed a band called Cactus and two years later left Cactus to form Beck, Bogert & Appice with British guitar legend Jeff Beck.<\/p>\n

In the years that followed, Vanilla Fudge popped up now-and-again but never stuck around for very long. There were re-unions featuring the original line-up and tours with a variety of bastardized line-ups.<\/p>\n

In March 2008 the original foursome embarked on a tour of the United States but a few months later Bogert and Appice left to concentrate on Cactus, which they had reformed in 2006. Stein and Martell continued on in 2008 and 2009 as \u201cMark Stein and Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four years ago, Vanilla Fudge embarked on what was announced as their farewell tour. The lineup for the tour was Appice, Stein, Martell and Pete Bremy. Bogert had retired from touring and Bremy, who had played bass in Cactus, replaced him. This most recent incarnation has remained together and is releasing a new album titled \u201cSpirit of \u201967\u201d on Cleopatra Records on March 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were doing a new Cactus album and then Tim retired,\u201d said Appice, during a phone interview last week from his home in New York. \u201cWhen Tim dropped out, we brought Pete in. Tim was always his idol. He plays like Tim — and hits all the harmonies. Pete has replaced Tim in both Cactus and Vanilla Fudge.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the new disc, Vanilla Fudge applied its psychedelic rock sound to a selection of the greatest hits of the era, including the Boxtops\u2019 \u201cThe Letter,\u201d the Who\u2019s \u201cI Can See for Miles,\u201d Procol Harum\u2019s \u201cWhiter Shade of\u00a0\u00a0Pale,\u201d the Stones\u2019 \u201cRuby Tuesday,\u201d the Doors\u2019 \u201cBreak On Through to the Other Side,\u201d Buffalo Springfield\u2019s \u201cFor What It\u2019s Worth\u201d and the Monkees\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m A Believer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanilla Fudge also tapped into the Motown songbook again and recorded Marvin Gaye\u2019s \u201cI Heard It Through the Grapevine\u201d and Smokey Robinson\u2019s \u201cThe Tracks of My Tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album in July 2014 at TKL Studios in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey,\u201d said Appice,who has also written a best-selling drum instruction book \u201cThe Realistic Rock Drum Method\u201d. \u201cThey videoed a lot of us recording the album and now we\u2019re doing a video for \u2018I Can See for Miles.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded a lot on ProTools. Then, I took the drums and brought them to analog and then brought them back. Analog recording is so much better than digital. I\u2019ve heard it said that analog is a tree while digital is a picture of a tree. The album cover design came from a Fillmore West poster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Appice is one of the most respected drummers in the world of rock music. He was a member of Rod Stewart\u2019s band and co-wrote songs such as \u201cDa Ya Think I\u2019m Sexy?\u201d and \u201cYoung Turks.\u201d Appice has recorded with artists such as Stanley Clarke, Pink Floyd, King Kobra, Blue Murder and Ozzy Osbourne .<\/p>\n

The rock veteran who has been in the business for close to 60 years has seen Vanilla Fudge reach amazing heights and also has experienced times when the band teetered on the brink of obscurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one time, we were filling 8,000-seaters around the world,\u201d said Appice. \u201cNow, we can\u2019t even put together a full tour of America. If you\u2019re out of sight, you\u2019re out of mind. We still haven\u2019t done a nationwide tour recently.\u201d<\/p>\n

All that could change when listeners get to check out the new Vanilla Fudge album. It is relevant and contemporary and, at the same time, captures the spirit of 1967. After a half century, Vanilla Fudge is still rocking with concerts in the U.S and Europe and an appearance on Jimmy Fallon\u2019s Late Night TV Show.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur live show has been going over very well,\u201d said Appice. \u201cWe\u2019re doing six songs from the new album and the rest are the classics.\u201d<\/p>\n