a l t . m u s i c . d i o

http://glam-metal.com/vinnyappice08.html

 

 

Gus: With all the projects you have going on; Heaven and Hell, 3 Legged Dogg, Hollywood Allstarz, Rick Derringer, and Big Noize, how do you find time to balance such a heavy schedule?

Vinnie: I have all of those going on? Wow! (laughs) Actually, I'm not playing with the Hollywood Allstarz anymore and 3 Legged Dogg is on hold. So it's just the three bands; Rick Derringer, Big Noize, and Heaven and Hell. It's hard to juggle around a schedule, you know? You get guys that say "Hey" can you come down and play this weekend? I always say I don't know and I have to check my schedule to make sure the gigs don't overlap. It's pretty crazy! Of course, the number one priority is Heaven and Hell. 

Gus: So who keeps your schedule? (laughs)
Vinnie: (laughs) me!

Gus: Why did you decide to take on another all star type of band with Big Noize? 
Vinnie: We actually started this before the Heaven and Hell thing came about. I've known Joe for years, Carlos for years, everybody actually. So we wanted to do it. It was a fun thing and we got along really well. We were just ready to start booking gigs and Heaven and Hell came along. Then I did that and we put this on hold for awhile. Now we're able to do some shows and this is like our fourth show. It's "born" sort of speak. 

Gus: I did an interview with Joe Lynn Turner and he talked about the possibility of Big Noize coming out with original music. Do you also see this happening? 
Vinnie: Yeah absolutely! We've all talked about that and that may be a cool thing. Try to do a lot of these gigs and get the band tight and then when we have time, start writing some stuff. 

Gus: Any time frame? 
Vinnie: No. It's all up in the air!

Gus: Are you surprised by the overwhelming success of the Heaven and Hell tour in 2007?
Vinnie: I think we were all a little surprised of the reaction. Originally, it was supposed to be the tour in support of the compilation CD that came out. Then things went so well and the band got better and better and tighter. We thought musically, everybody was so happy that towards the end it was like, hey, want to do an album? Yeah, let's do an album! We are in album mode. I'm so excited about that! It's going to be fantastic! 

Gus: Reports are that you will be heading off to LA to join the rest of Heaven and Hell to begin working on a new CD. Can you tell the status of this? 
Vinnie: Actually right now, Ronnie flew over to England to meet with Tony Iommi and they are writing. Geezer has some stuff written himself and they are going to play around with that. Ronnie should be back by this point. We start April 7 where we will sit in a room with the gear and start laying down some of the ideas and jam and put the whole thing together. 

Gus: How involved are you in the creative process with the guys from Heaven and Hell? 
Vinnie: I write within the band and always have a lot of ideas and stuff. If I feel they are really strong ideas then I will express myself. Some of the stuff works and some of the stuff doesnt work. I don't play guitar and write that way, but I have a lot of **** going around in my head. 

Gus: Reports are that there will be a huge tour with Heaven and Hell and Judas Priest later this year. Can you comment on that? 
Vinnie: No. (laughs and smiles) 

Gus: Do you see a tour with Heaven and Hell at some point? 
Vinnie: I think so. It makes sense if you are going to do a new record to go out and promote it. 

Gus: Do you know when the new CD will be released? 
Vinnie: Towards Christmas probably. Since we are getting started now, and by the time we finish everything and start recording, probably in September. Maybe get it out by Christmas or by the beginning of the New Year. 

Gus: So if you guys had decided to tour in support of it, do you see doing a tour before the CD comes out?
Vinnie: That's too far in advance to figure that one out (laughs!)



 

Gus: You are playing with Rick Derringer on some dates. How extensive will your involvement be with him?
Vinnie: The Rick Derringer thing came about as we got a bunch of offers from Europe to put the original band back together. We thought it was really funny because we actually never played Europe. We always played America and some dates in Canada when we were together. I found it very funny that we were getting all of these requests to play Europe. I couldn't do it though because of the Heaven and Hell thing. This year we are able to squeeze in some dates. We are doing the Sweden Rock Festival and some East Coast dates as well. 

Gus: You are doing two back to back shows right by here in Niagara Falls next month. 
Vinnie: Right! At the Casino (editors note: Bears Den inside the Seneca Niagara Casino) and then we're going over to Europe and doing that in June too. At first, I wasn't about to do it because my musical direction has changed. It's a lot heavier now than what we were doing then. Then I thought about it, it's part of my roots, and it would be fun to do! Everybody was into doing it and it's the original band so that would be cool! I just was listening to this stuff, and it was really good! Especially the second album, it blew me away! I haven't heard that in 30 years. We were pretty good!

Gus: When you are able, you like to book drum clinics to work with up-and-coming drummers. Do you have any clinics booked for 2008 and how much enjoyment do you get out of helping the young drummers out there?
Vinnie: I don't have any clinics booked this year but I did a bunch on the tour last year. I like doing clinics, I like teaching. I do lessons in LA sometimes when I'm home. Certain people will call up and I'll be like, "let's go!" I like teaching, so I enjoy it! It doesn't matter if they're old or young, I like teaching. It's a good feeling to give them ideas on how to approach things and give them inspiration. I like to see people take what you show them and go somewhere with it. 

Gus: When there is down time for Vinnie, what do you like to do in your spare time?
Vinnie: I'm a complete computer nerd! I have a little business on the side and that's what I do. I love that stuff! 

Gus: What business? 
Vinnie: I'm actually an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and two certifications for Sysco (CCA and CCP) routers. I love doing that stuff! It keeps me busy, because once somebody finds out that you know about computers, you're popular (laughs). Someone is always calling all the time, "Hey, my computer broke!" 

Gus: I'm actually having computer problems.
Vinnie: If I had the time I'd fix it for ya! (we all laugh) 



Gus: Any closing thoughts you want to say to our GlamMetal readers?
Vinnie: I want to thank everybody for supporting all this and making this stuff happen again and bringing this music back! The people who are listening to it, coming to see the shows, buying the records, and all the support over the years of my career, I appreciate that! Thanks everybody for listening and crank it up!!

We want to thank Lisa Walker from To the Max Entertainment and Ross Catalino (you rule Cat) from Back to Back Entertainment for helping set up this interview. For more information on all of Vinnies musical projects, you can go to: www.vinnyappice.com