Veteran hard rock drummer Vinny Appice spoke in an interview with Tom Leu of Sound Matters Radio, and talked about his performances with other musicians.
He remembered the time when he was playing with KISS bassist Gene Simmons. Here’s the story:
“I do Rock [‘N’ Roll] Fantasy Camps [where fans get the opportunity to play with some of rock and metal’s biggest stars], and I did one with Gene Simmons [KISS]. And Gene was a special guest, obviously. And he came in, and he was talking to people and he was telling them how honored he is to be on the stage.
The stage shouldn’t be taken for granted; you’re lucky to be on the stage. And he was saying that. And then talking about being on time. And he pulled out something from his boot, a little book, and he had somebody read it. And it was the schedule he had that day. And he flew into L.A., and he was at the Rock Camp.
He was supposed to be appearing at 2 o’clock. But before that, at, like, 5 a.m., he woke up and did this, at 6 a.m. he was here, at 7:30 he was at a meeting — all this stuff. He did five or six things before this appearance at 2 o’clock. And then he said, ‘What time did I get here?’ And I said, ‘You got here at 1 p.m.’
So, he was trying to stress the point of how you’re lucky to be doing this anyway, and how important it is to be on time and not take advantage of your status… [It’s about] being a professional. He doesn’t need to be there. He doesn’t need to be anywhere. He can stay home. He doesn’t need to be anywhere.
He was just stressing the point that he doesn’t take it for granted that he’s supposed to be on stage, ’cause he’s Gene Simmons. He’s happy to be there and he wants to be on time, and all that stuff. So… I thought that was great.“
Click here for the entire interview via Blabbermouth. Listen to the entire interview below.
