In a new interview with the Percussion Discussion Podcast, legendary drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, LAST IN LINE) addressed host Matty Roberts‘s comment that Vinny has a “signature style and sound” which as kept him “in solid employment” for the last few decades. Appice said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then people say, ‘Wow, I knew that was you on the drums [on that recording].’ I take that as a compliment. ‘Well, thank you very much. That’s pretty cool.’ But the other thing is I’m a nice guy. I’m not a scumbag. I’m not a jerk. I’m on time with all these bands.”
He continued: “Actually, [when I played] with BLACK SABBATH, we used to rehearse at one o’clock in the afternoon out here in California. And I’d pull up about 20 to 1 or 12:30. Tony‘s [Iommi, SABBATH guitarist] in there getting his sound on his guitar, messing with his gear. Geezer [Butler, SABBATH bassist] arrives right there, and then, boom, behind him’s Ronnie [James Dio, then-SABBATH singer]. Everybody’s there before it’s our time, and they care and they wanna make it the best that it can be. And then later on, I played with a band called KILL DEVIL HILL [with] Rex Brown from PANTERA. I love the way Rex plays — he’s fantastic — but the band itself couldn’t… We needed a clock. I got tired of it. Mainly it was one guy in the band that was just an hour and a half late and this and that, and after a while I’m [going], ‘I can’t deal with this.’ It’s a waste of my time. I’m sitting there for an hour and a half waiting. But it was fun. It was a great band, and Rex was great. Rex was cool. He was there. He just blew the amps up all the time, but he was there on time.
When Roberts noted that Vinny has never burned any bridges, even when he has left projects in the past, Appice concurred. “That’s right,” he said. “I know people that burn bridges and then years later, it comes back to haunt them. I mean, I left DIO — I left, actually, twice, and I tried to run it by Ronnie [James Dio] all the time, when the time was right, and Wendy [Dio, Ronnie‘s manager], and I always kept in touch. And then later on, they put HEAVEN & HELL together, which was BLACK SABBATH. And they were working with Cozy Powell at one point. Then he fell off a horse and couldn’t play for a while. ‘Let’s call Vinny.’ That was ’92. And then later on, in 2007, they did HEAVEN & HELL. And they were working with Bill Ward and that wasn’t working out. ‘Let’s call Vinny.’ And luckily, I didn’t burn any bridges; I didn’t do anything like that. And I was in touch with Wendy Dio. She said, ‘You wanna play with the guys again?’ I said, ‘Sure. That’d be awesome.’ And I went, and that brought my career back in the spotlight. [We put] BLACK SABBATH back together again. So you can’t burn the bridges. It’s not a good idea.”
Vinny has recorded and co-written songs on several dozen albums and CDs, including many multi-platinum records. Vinny‘s drumming can also be heard on numerous movie soundtracks, including “Wayne’s World 2”, “Heavy Metal”, “Iron Eagle” and “Bedazzled”. Vinny, the author of drum instruction book “Rock Steady” and DVD “Hard Rock Drumming Techniques”, has performed incredible powerhouse drum clinics around the globe. Numerous books have been written about BLACK SABBATH and DIO with the authors always mentioned Vinny‘s drumming style.
Vinny‘s unique drumming approach has influenced many artists over the last few decades. Never one to rest on his laurels, he is constantly putting out new music and is currently recording and touring with LAST IN LINE.
