334 – Carmine Appice – Guitar Zeus

Legendary drummer Carmine Appice got his start in hard rock pioneers Vanilla Fudge. He’s played with Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, backed Rod Stewart, and led bands like King Kobra and Blue Murder, all the while, setting a standard for rock drumming that’s unparalleled.

One of his most impressive projects, is also his most under-appreciated. Guitar Zeus began as a pair of albums in the mid-Nineties, featuring a venerable who’s who of guitar slingers, including Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Queen’s Brian May, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, Ted Nugent, Neal Schon of Journey, and many more. But, because of poor distribution and little label support, these great performances went largely unheard.

Now, Carmine is re-issuing Guitar Zeus – all the tracks from the original project, plus some newly recorded ones – for a total of 32 songs. And it features some of the finest drumming of Carmine’s career.

Appice also tells us how he helped a young John Bonham get started, plus the crazy story behind Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,” which he co-wrote.