Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp – Britt Lightning, George Lynch, Vinny Appice
By: Lori Smerilson Carson
It’s March in Florida which means Spring breakers are filling up the beaches and bars to have a good time and party. Others however, will be buckling down with their music to fill a concert site and have the time of their lives at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. This year’s camp, Whole Lotta Rock Camp Volume II will be in Fort Lauderdale March 20th through the 23rd at venues Aloft Marriott and Johnnie Brown’s in Delray Beach.
Catching up with camp Director, Vixen Lead Guitarist Britt Lightning, she revealed some details about the camp, as well as what campers can look forward to.
SFL Music Magazine: What can people look forward to with this year’s camp lineup?
Britt Lightning: They can look forward to four days of, they join a band mentored by a rock star counselor. We’ve got some amazing counselors. We’ve got Vinny Appice from Black Sabbath and Dio. We’ve got Jennie Vee from Eagles of Death Metal, Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats. We’ve got Stet Howland from W.A.S.P. We’ve got Jean Beauvoir who wrote some hit songs for KISS. We’re also going to have Derek St. Holmes of Ted Nugent and Bumblefoot from Guns N’ Roses, Peter Klett of Candlebox. So, they’ll experience master classes, jam rooms, band rehearsals, Q & A sessions with a special guest, and then of course, they’ll get to learn from and jam with the headliners which includes the entire line-up of Queensrÿche, the amazing Jason Bonham, Pat Travers and George Lynch. So, we have a lot of great talent coming to this camp. It is going to be a jam packed four days, star studded rock and roll weekend, and I’m so excited. We always perform at Johnnie Brown’s down there which is one of our favorite clubs right in the heart of Delray. It is going to be an amazing weekend.
SFL Music Magazine: The last time we spoke about the camp in 2022 during COVID, you had measures and precautions that you had to take, and it was also at Power Station Recording Studios. What will be different this time with this camp? Thankfully no COVID stuff!
Lightning: Yeah, less mask wearing, but of course, if anybody feels the need to, they can, but we’ve been doing so many camps and it’s just been great! We don’t have to keep six feet away when we take photographs. You can get right up to the rock stars. Yeah, no barriers there, but we rehearse in the rehearsal rooms. I know that was a concern. Tight rehearsal rooms before, so people did wear masks during COVID. That whole thing was just crazy, but everybody can be a lot more relaxed now without all those parameters. We’re just looking forward to a great time. We’re going to have great weather. It’s a perfect time to get down to Florida. A lot of places are freezing right now.
SFL Music Magazine: What would you say is the strongest asset to this camp for people to go there?
Lightning: A lot of people sign up for the headliners because they’re like, I want to jam a Zeppelin song with Jason Bonham. I want to play a Queensrÿche song with the guys in Queensrÿche, but they end up leaving the camp and coming back the next time because of the bond that they created with their counselors, their rock start mentors. So, for example, having Vinny Appice mentor you for four days, you really get to know these people. They become your friends. You bond. I always say, rock camp is stressful at first because we have people of all different levels coming and joining these bands from all over the world. We have people from overseas. All different ages as well. The last camp we had a nine-year-old and a seventy-eight year old. So, we have a huge age range and all different experience levels. You have people that play in tribute bands, with these artists and are very accomplished musicians. They gig out every weekend. Then you’ve got people that have never played outside their bedroom. Maybe they got a guitar during COVID, and they’ve never played with other people, let alone been in a band and doing a gig. So, it can be stressful. What I like to say is, it becomes like a trauma bonding thing. It’s almost like when people go through something together, like go through a war or something like that. Everybody has different anxiety levels and insecurities. No matter how accomplished you are, you can always grow at these camps. You always learn something. Everybody learns something. Even the the special guests, the talent. So, I think the biggest takeaway is the relationships and the bonds they build with the other campers and with the talent. People stay together. Stay as best friends. Some of the bands that we put together at these camps stay together even if they don’t live near each other. They fly out quarterly and do gigs. It’s a very special thing.
SFL Music Magazine: Would you say your goal in heading up the camp is that you want campers to come away with that positive takeaway and bonding experience?
Lightning: I don’t know if that was initially the goal when the camp started twenty-eight years ago. It was just to bring people’s fantasies to life to jam with their musical rock start idols, but it has become that, and I think that’s a beautiful thing that naturally occurred as a result of the program we put together.
SFL Music Magazine: The last time you explained how you friend requested David Fishof on social media and he asked you if you wanted to be a counselor at the camp, and that’s how you became involved as the Musical Director, but you also have a music degree in business that you said you implement into the camp. How is this knowledge used in the camp?
Lightning: Well, speaking of knowledge, every camp Daivid sometimes will do a Business Master Class and talk about his business background, but I think I use that asset mostly in just helping him put together the camps and scheduling things, and working out a grievance and stuff like that. It’s a lot of moving pieces. It’s a big undertaking to plan these camps, and lately we’ve been having so many. We’ve been having them every single month, which is a lot of work. We’re a small team, but it’s been awesome. Being a musician, even if you haven’t been in a band for example, it is running your own business. All these rock stars have so much to tell especially on the business side of how to make it, and how to be smart with money, and how to not sign a bad deal, and how to play your cards right because you can be the most talented musician in the world, but you could be playing on the streets in New York City in the subway if you don’t understand those aspects. Marketing, branding and things like that, just helping to get yourself out there.
SFL Music Magazine: The last time you said there was a Songwriting Round Table. Will that be taking place at this camp as well?
Lightning: Yes. We do that every camp. Actually, Vinny started that idea. Campers bring in their own original songs on a recording and we play them over the PA, and all of the counselors will get together and we’ll talk about it. We’ll get feedback from writing to production to arrangement. So, that’s been cool, and a lot of times it works out that campers end up doing albums and getting some of these rock stars that they meet at camp on their records. There’s a lot of magic that kind of happens from it all.
SFL Music Magazine: What would you recommend to an up-and-coming musician?
Lightning: I would recommend coming to the rock camp because I mean, if I had that when I was growing up, well, I guess I could have, but I didn’t even know about it. It’s an amazing asset. It plunges you right into the scene you want to be into. You learn directly and become friends with these people. Sometimes you can send emails. That’s what I used to do, send emails out and try to find people on social media and online, get their attention, but this is it. You’re jamming with them. You’re showcasing your skills right in front of them. I’ve seen a camper come and jam with one of the guests and the guest said, “hey kid, do you have a passport? Can you leave the country because I’d take you on my next tour.” That’s the kind of stuff that just happens. If you work hard and you’re prepared and then if you’re in the right place, and rock camp is definitely the right place to get in front of these people.
SFL Music Magazine: Previously you said you were exposed to different orchestras and played the flute. Then when you saw “Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” that totally captivated you.
Lightning: Yes.
SFL Music Magazine: What would you say influences your music when you write?
Lightning: I think taking from those initial influences because they’re kind of built into you. I mean, when you listen to a record eight million times, it becomes part of your musical DNA. Then also being conscious of current trends and the latest hits of staying up to date so that you can continue to grow with the changing times and have a modern appeal. I think that’s important too, but also just taking from life experiences. I think the best thing that I’ve heard is, write what you know and just be authentic. If you’re trying to be something, I think a lot of people can see through that these days. But if you’re authentically you and you dress like you and sound like you, and the thoughts and your lyrics are you speaking, I think people appreciate that kind of honesty.
SFL Music Magazine: That’s great advice! Is there anything else you want SFL Music Magazine readers to know about the camp?
Lightning: Just that it is an experience of a lifetime. It might seem like oh, maybe I don’t need this, but if you come to camp, nobody’s ever regretted coming to camp. Everybody has always come back afterwards and said, “this is one of the best experiences of my entire life.” I hear that so much and it’s such an amazing thing to hear, and to be a part of that journey for somebody. So, if you guys are considering coming, anybody reading, you will not regret this and this line up. Each camp is so unique, and it will never happen again like that. So, if it intrigues somebody, I just say, go for it! Life is short and you can’t take it with ya! Can’t take your mind with ya, so you might as well use it and experience all of this. rockcamp.com, you can find all the info. And I want to say that we have a podcast out, Rock Camp the podcast, available on all streaming platforms where it tells a lot about the camps and what goes on, and about what you get out of it. You hear campers’ perspective. We interview campers as well, rock stars. It’s David, Miles (Schuman) and myself hosting it, and that’s a great thing to learn about the camp as well.
Catching up with Guitarist George Lynch in the middle of his final Lynch Mob tour, he divulged some details about his role as a Headliner in the Fort Lauderdale camp this March.
SFL Music Magazine: You’re going to be headlining at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, Whole Lotta Rock Camp Volume II. How did you get involved with the camp?
George Lynch: I couldn’t tell you when I first started doing them, but I’ve been doing them for a lot of years. Initially, I was a counselor. So, I would come in as a counselor, I would be there for the whole week and basically spending the whole day with the students every day, doing everything from breakfast to dinner, to after-dinner events, and everything in between. You’re staying real busy, and it was really fun. I found that I actually became a better guitar player doing these because I had to up my game to do my job, and I’d be sitting here all-day playing guitar from morning to night (he laughed). So, I gave myself the discipline that I certainly needed.
SFL Music Magazine: I see you’re one of the musicians to jam with. Are you going to do any mentoring?
Lynch: Well, to a much lesser extent than a counselor would. So, what I do is, I will come in, and each of the campers have bands. They have little groups that they put together for the week and come up with rehearsed songs, learn songs. So, I’ll come in the room with them and spend time with them and listen to them play, and critique if I feel like it. Then I plug in, and I play along with them. Then they can ask me any questions they want, and I could maybe demonstrate something for them. So, it’s much more casual. It’s not like intense one on one for long periods of time like I would have had as a counselor. Then they play their live performance, I’m there for that. Yeah, we spend time together. We have a big group dinner and everything. So, yeah, I’m more of the rock star this time.
SFL Music Magazine: Do you have any particular goals in mind that you want the musicians to come away with from this camp with that they can learn from you?
Lynch: Well, I think some people sign up for this not thinking that this is their ticket to rock stardom, but instead, sort of experience a little bit of that dream that they’ve been harboring their whole lives. Then their lives have led them somewhere else, and they’re professionals or they’re successful in other businesses, but this has always been their passion. So, this is being able to work in a venue or experience an environment that is sort of a culmination of what their passion has led them to, but not necessarily as a vocation.
SFL Music Magazine: I read you started playing guitar at age ten, you moved to L.A. in the late seventies to kick off your career, at the start of the 1980’s you joined Dokken, in 1989 you were nominated for a Grammy, Best Rock Instrumental, you’ve recorded over fifty albums and have played with many world-renowned musicians. What would you recommend to an up-and-coming artist to achieve the longevity and success that you have had?
Lynch: A couple of things. Just on a playing level I would say, learn from the people that you love to listen to. Listen to how they create music. Learn their chords and their song structure, their licks. Not necessarily verbatim, but at least the spirit of what they’re doing. I’d make that part of your style, and then as far as vocationally, I would say be flexible and understand that not everybody is going to be a rock star, but that doesn’t mean music can’t be a big part of your life. There’s a lot of other things that you can do. So, not everybody’s calling is to be under the lights. Some people work in the studio. Some people work in other aspects of the business. Everybody’s built different and we all have different aspirations and abilities. I say just be open and flexible because there’s many paths to that mountain.
SFL Music Magazine: You’ve also designed a triple amp selector switching system and a modular amp named the “Lynch Box” and effect unit the “Lynch Time Machine”. Is there anything new that you’re working on?
Lynch: I own my own guitar company called Mr. Scary Guitars. Then I have my long-standing relationship with ESP (Guitars). Our current model that we have out there right now is called the Desert Eagle, made in Japan that’s basically a variation on the Kamikaze. Then I have a module from Legendary Tones, Mr. Scary module, and it’s something that you put into your module and it mods the amp in a very organic integrated way. I use it, I can’t be without it really. It’s just a really wonderful machine. I mean, it’s indispensable to me. I’m not just saying that because it’s got my name on it because I’ve had a lot of things in my career that I’ve been associated gear wise. Maybe I use it, maybe I don’t, whatever mixed feelings about it, but this thing is just a game changer. All my pro friends that use them just can’t say enough good things about them. So, it’s really made my playing life onstage a lot more fun because I can play more of what I’m hearing in my head because my sound is so improved with this module thing. Yeah, they’re really great! So, there’s that. That’s been doing really well, and people are loving it. Something like that is almost like a gift. It’s not something you’re trying to sell people or shove down people’s throats (he laughed) or get them to buy something they don’t need. This is something that guitar players would be like “oh, thank you.” I don’t take credit for it. Dave Szabados is the gentleman that designed it. He’s a good friend. Very smart guy and gets it. Lives in this same guitar world that we’re all a slave to. He’s just fantastic, and really, he did a great thing. A good service to all the guitar players with this thing, the Mr. Scary Module.
SFL Music Magazine: Was there anything else that you want to add about the camp for people to know?
Lynch: It’s a very good mix of intense learning and the top. So, anybody that’s going to be there, don’t be scared (he laughed). Nobody is going to make you do anything you don’t want, and come on, we’re in Fort Lauderdale. How could you not have a good time? Come on. If nothing else, you go to the beach and have daiquiri.
Catching up with Drummer Vinny Appice in the middle of his busy schedule, he divulged some details about what campers can look forward to with his counseling at the Rock camp.
SFL Music Magazine: You are going to be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp Counselor in Florida. How did you get involved with the camp?
Vinny Appice: Well, I live in California. Actually, at that time, I was close to Hollywood where I lived, and I remember hearing about the Rock Fantasy camp. Then I saw some bits, they had a T.V. show at one point. So, I got familiar with, oh, there’s this rock camp going on. I’d love to do that! Then I think we went out to some club on Sunset Strip, and I met David Fishof there. I talked to him. I said, hey, I’m Vinny, blah, blah, blah. I’d love to be involved in your camp. So, he liked the idea, and a couple days later, they send me information. I forgot which one was the first camp, who was the headliner and all that. So, that’s how I got involved. I just heard about it, and then pretty much ran into David Fishof and we became friends. Then he invited me to come down to a camp and check it out. So, that’s been a while. That was like 2010, maybe 2011.
SFL Music Magazine: I read that you give clinics. What exactly will you be doing with this camp?
Appice: Well, this is something totally different. I used to do a lot of drum clinics, but now not so much because everything’s on the internet. The clinics were more of a teaching thing. You play a little music and then answer questions, and people like to hear stories of the backstage antics and all that kind of stuff, and how songs were put together. This here is totally different. When I started doing these, I thought, this is really cool because when you have a band, when you get to where I was, we tour, then we’d come off the road, then we get together, write an album. Then we go in the studio and record and do whatever we need to do, and we go out of the road again. So, it was the same kind of turnaround each time. This is totally different. This is like, oh, ok. So, I’m in charge of the band. They assign me a band. Then we have to get it together to play a bunch of songs, and the first thing to do is to play a song with the headliners. The headliners were like Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Def Leppard. Those kind of headliners, Cheap Trick. They come down and the band plays a song with each of those people, whoever the headliner is of that camp. So, it’s a matter of figuring out a song that works for everybody, especially the vocalist, and then getting that song together. There used to be two headliners. This upcoming camp there’s four, so it’s a lot of work. That’s four songs you’ve got to get together right off the bat, and there’s not a lot of rehearsal time for four. Then you get to play two live gigs, and then you get to play with each of the headliners, and it’s a teaching experience. When you get together in a room, these people just met each other, and all the sudden, we got to become a band real quick and learn the song, and the next song and the next song. So, it’s a great experience. I teach them anything I can in the rehearsal room that I learned all these years. One of the most important is you’re in the rehearsal room, everybody starts playing something just fiddling around while you’re trying to talk. Somebody’s playing Van Halen, somebody’s playing something else, Black Sabbath. You got to go, wait a minute, wait a minute. Turn the guitars off because we’re trying to figure out what we’re going to do, and talk and all that kind of stuff. Then the second one that happens all the time, which is funny, is you go, let’s listen to the song. “Ok, cool.” So, I put the song on, and then everybody starts playing a long with it, but they don’t know the song exactly. It’s like wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. We said, listen to the song. That means, don’t play. Turn your volumes down, don’t tap on the drums. Listen to the parts, and then we’ll have a go at it. It’s simple things like that. Then if it gets more complicated with chords or different parts of the song, we’ll sort it out. I’m a teacher, it’s like a teacher.
SFL Music Magazine: What is your overall goal? What do you want to teach them that you think is most pertinent?
Appice: Well, like I said, one of the things when we get together with any band I’ve been in, big bands, we go in, we’re not noodling around. People are not playing. Tony might play a little bit and then we go ok, what do you guys want to do? You want to put the set together? We talk about it, and it’s very controlled. Some of these guys are not used to being in a band or maybe were never in a band, and they just come in and start playing. They want to impress people. Sometimes, like the guitar player will start playing Van Halen “Eruption”, Eddie Van Halen (he laughed). Alright, alright, enough of that! Let’s concentrate on the song we’re going to learn. So, I teach them how we go about it professionally. Another pointer is, when you start the song, especially the drummer, ask the band if they’re ready. Sometimes they sit down and go “ok, one two three” and they’re not all ready. When I get up and play, if it’s a jam or something new like that, I always look around, ok you guys ready? You don’t want to come in off, start off on the wrong foot. It’s just simple things that they might not be aware of, and then they learn! “Oh, ok” Then we’ll try the song again. Alright. Let’s try it again and the drummer will count off. I’ll say wait, wait, wait. You’re supposed to say and check if the band is ready. “Ohhh. I get it. Yeah.” Otherwise, it’s a train wreck. So, they learn that kind of stuff, and then they learn how to learn these songs quickly. Then you’re playing with somebody like, Alice Cooper was there once, and Gene Simmons. All of the sudden you’re on a stage with Gene Simmons, so that’s good for your nerves. Like, you never did this before, and everybody’s nervous (he laughed). Then they loosen up. You can see them smiling, and then afterward they go, “that was so cool! Wow!” That’s the payoff, to have a good time.
SFL Music Magazine: Britt told me you started the Round Table?
Appice: That’s funny! It’s a great idea, but I heard that Melissa Manchester had a camp and she did something similar to that. I just mentioned it to David, hey, why don’t we do this thing, a round table where people bring in their songs, and there’s maybe six to eight counselors and we critique the song and production, songwriting, the sound of it. Then they thought, yeah! Great idea! So, he always credits me with it, but I kind of got it from Melissa Manchester camp. I’ll take credit! Yeah, I created that.
SFL Music Magazine: It sounds very helpful.
Appice: They love it because they bring in their demos, some of them with a band that they have on the demo. Some of them it’s all them on the demo, and it’s interesting to hear some of these songs. Some of them are really good and we’ll just be blown away by some of the stuff. You know what? That’s awesome! Then some of them, we point out, well maybe the chorus comes in too quickly or things like that, and then the sound, the production of it, like the drums, you can’t hear the drums, and the vocals are very raw. We just go through it, but I’m usually in charge with ok, we ready? Start, let’s go. Who’s contestant number one? And put the song on. We only play about a minute of each song, maybe a minute and a half because usually there’s ten people or twelve people want to play their songs. It’s a lot of fun. We have a good time doing it, and then they come away with some good advice of people that have written songs and know how to record records. So, it’s a good insight for them and they really enjoy it, all the campers.
SFL Music Magazine: What do you mostly recommend to new musicians and bands?
Appice: It’s a whole different world today. Years ago, it was different. You used to put a band together and go play gigs and get tight, and this and that and this and that. These days you could do it in your house. You can do it yourself with the recording software and get it out on YouTube and try to push it, learn how to get it out there. Main thing you want to do, its important, is to network with other people. Like these guys come to the camp, some of them have that mind. Yeah well, Vinny’s gonna be there. I’m going to give him an MP3 of my drum solo or a song I wrote, and maybe I can help them and turn it on to somebody. So, networking is very important. So, while you’re there, you meet all these different people that you would never have met before, and it could be a connection. Some of them work. There was one drummer, female drummer Leah Bluestein, she was a little kid when she came to the camp. I had a jam room going on and the door opened, and this little girl peeped in. I said, “Come on in, come on in!” She was kind of shy, and then she played a little bit of drums. I don’t know if she played guitar, I forgot. But she played a little bit of drums, and she was good! Now years later she’s got band, they’re going to Europe. She’s playing with Gary Hoey on his tours he’s doing, and she’s an excellent drummer. She turned out to be really awesome! So, people that take it serious, it was a stepping stone for them. A springboard.
SFL Music Magazine: You’ve written for over twenty-five albums, many are platinum. You’ve played with Black Sabbath, Dio, John Lennon, Rick Derringer. What would you recommend to these musicians for them to have the success and longevity that you have?
Appice: I’ve had a long career, and it comes down to a couple things. You got to play good. You got to practice of course or if you’re a songwriter, keep writing songs, but a couple of important things are, you got to be a nice guy or girl. You can’t be a problem child. You can’t cause issues in the band. Being in a band is like being married to four or five people. So, you can’t cause problems that way. Like David Fishof says, there’s no I in the word band, and that really sums it up. The other thing is you got to be on time. Rehearsal is at one o’clock, go there a little bit early. Be prepared and all that. I’ve always done that, and it’s funny. I’ve played in lesser bands along the way where people were late, always late, and they weren’t even famous or known. I played with Black Sabbath, and we got a one o’clock rehearsal, everybody’s there at twelve-thirty. Sometimes before that, testing the amps, make sure we’re ready to go. Gene Simmons did a camp and that’s what he talked about. He said, “it’s sacred to go onstage. Don’t take advantage of it,” and then he pulled out his schedule book and he went through the whole day that day. Said, “at six thirty I got up. At seven thirty interview, interview. Then I had to go do something else, photos, and then I had to go to the airport, fly into L.A., come here at the rock camp. He was supposed to be here at two o’clock, he was here at twelve-thirty. So, he talks about that. How important that is. I was in a band, I won’t name names. It was a couple of names in the band, but they were always late, and after a while I just went, you know what? I can’t deal with the lateness. I’m leaving. You’re wasting everybody else’s time. You call rehearsal for one o’clock or two o’clock. Somebody gets there at three, three-thirty. Yeah, I’m sitting here an hour and a half, I could’ve’ been doing something. Instead, I’ve wasted my time waiting for the band, and that’s what happens at this camp too. I’ve seen bands where the guy doesn’t show up for a day (he laughed), and usually that’s down to maybe they partied a little hardy the night before. Then that’s terrible because everybody’s there. The rest of the band wants to learn. They can’t wait to get onstage tonight, and then this guy doesn’t show up or he shows up really late. Like if he’s the singer or something, you can’t really move forward without that. So, they say learn that too. You learn how to be in a band.
SFL Music Magazine: How was it that both you and your brother (Carmine Appice) became drummers?
Appice: Yeah, it’s weird. He’s eleven years older than I am. So, when I was like eight years old, he had a band, this was in Brooklyn, New York. He had a local band in Brooklyn. They used to play some of the clubs at night. They used to rehearse in my parents’ house. So, when they’d rehearse, I’d sit on the floor and watch them and listen to them. I was looking at all the amplifiers. I was like, wow! This is cool! So, I had great entertainment as a kid. I had a full band in my house. I’d sit there and learn. Then later on, I’d hop on the drums when they left. My brother always had drums. I started playing his drums and then eventually, there were some leftover drums when he left the house, when he joined Vanilla Fudge, and I kept playing. Then he said to my parents, “Vinny’s really good. Send him to drum lessons.” So, I went to the same drum teacher as Carmine. It was a guy in Brooklyn called Dick Bennett. He was a great teacher. I went through all the books, and this and that and this and that. That’s how I got started, and then making connections in New York. That’s why I said networking is very important, especially back then. I had a local band, a couple local bands in Brooklyn and then hooked up with another band and they knew producer Jimmy Iovine. Jimmy Iovine produced John Lennon, and he produced Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and everybody. Interscope Records, Beats Audio, he became huge. He took us into the studios in New York, Record Plant Studios. Did demos with us. In that studio, first of all, I met Rick Derringer, which was my first real touring band. He said, “Oh man. Who’s playing drums?” and Jimmy said, “that’s Vinny Appice, Carmine’s brother.” So, then I ran into him in the hall. I gave him my number, he asked for my number. Said he’s putting a band together soon. Ok, there was one. Then the Record Plant owner liked the band so much. We were good. We had four horn players. We were tight, and I was sixteen years old. He signed us to a management deal at Record Plant Studios. Gave us a room to rehearse on the tenth floor. Big room. We had our gear up there. We could rehearse anytime we want which in Manhattan was amazing! You didn’t have to pay for the room. We didn’t have to pay for anything. That’s where one night Jimmy Iovine calls. We were rehearsing upstairs, and he goes, “can you guys come down and do some hand claps for me on a session?” We said,” sure.” We go downstairs, and there’s nine of us, four horn players, keyboard, singer. We go down and there’s John Lennon in the studio. Oh, crap! John Lennon! So, we go in the room. Then we put the headphones on and now he’s talking to each of us explaining how he wants the hand claps. Where he wants them, and whatever he wanted to do. So, I was freaking out, oh man. I’ve heard his voice so many times on T.V. and records, and now he’s talking to me? Oh my God! So, we did that, and the song’s called “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” which was a big hit, and that’s me and my band doing hand claps. We weren’t fan boys so much because we didn’t want to turn him off. We just went and met him. We didn’t really take pictures, and he must have asked “Who’s that? Where did they come from?” And Jimmy probably told him we’re upstairs rehearsing all the time. It’s a really good band. A couple days later, he comes into the rehearsal room, sits down and listens to us play. Then that led to doing a DVD with him. We’re in three or four songs on the DVD. Then he produced the owner of the Record Plant’s wife. She was a singer. So, we worked with him in that aspect too, as a producer. Did eight songs with him, and then he asked us to do a live gig at the New York Hilton. It was a black-tie affair, big thing. Televised worldwide, and we did that with him. Then I found out years later that was his last live appearance. I used to go to high school the next day. This was sixteen years old. So, I was working with him at night like a color world. Then going into black and white of school. Then I said, this is not right, and I knew my brother was successful. So eventually, I left school in like the tenth grade. My parents were cool with it. I said, I’m going to pursue this. Then from there, I got calls from Ozzy (Osbourne). I got calls from Black Sabbath, and then that led to Black Sabbath. So, networking’s important. Just that one band had led to all these total connections which started my whole career.
SFL Music Magazine: What a great story and a great lesson!
Appice: And there’s a movie coming out called Borrowed Time in May, John Lennon, and I’m in it! They came to my house and interviewed me, and I’m in the movie.
SFL Music Magazine: That’s definitely something for people to look forward to. Was there anything else?
Appice: I played with Ronnie James Dio and that was a movie about three years ago that came out. Yeah, that was a good thing. They came to my house and discussed things. What I’m doing now is, I play with Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard. He was in Dio 1983, on three of the big albums. Then he joined Def Leppard, and we got back together working on our fourth album now that’s going to come out. Then I got a thing called SABBATH KNIGHTS. I got a killer band. I’ve been to South America, a bunch of shows in the U.S. and Europe, a lot of shows in Europe. I play all the Black Sabbath songs that I’m on and Ronnie James Dio’s singing. A couple of Ozzy Songs, but mainly the Dio side of Sabbath, and that’s been going really well. We’ve got some dates coming up in May and throughout the year. So, that’s a lot of fun. I get to play all this old stuff. So, I’m busy!
SFL Music Magazine: Was there anything else you want people to know about the camp?
Appice: That’s going to be a great camp! Cool thing is, I know all these people, so it’s like a bunch of friends hanging out. But, if you’re into it, you want some exciting thing in your life, the camp is the way to go. It’s a way to try something and see how you get along with being a little bit under pressure and then, it could be the start of something in your career too. I love doing it because like I said before, we did the same cycle all the time. A lot of bands do. They record, go on the road. They come back, take a break, then they work on the next album, record. This is totally something different for me. Like, wow! I’m in something different. I’m like a teacher! This is cool! It’s a lot of fun. You have a lot of fun doing this. It’s great!
