Stage Vault

Carmine Appice on Game Changer & Temple of Blues II | Stage Vault

Stage Vault

Show Notes

Carmine Appice joins Stage Vault for a candid conversation about music, faith, and more than six decades behind the kit.

In this episode: • Carmine shares the story behind three original songs he wrote after a life-changing experience — songs he has never performed or released before. One of them (“Game Changer”) plays in full while he listens and reacts on camera. • The making of his current blues album, Temple of Blues II. • His pre-show mental routine and the funny Rod Stewart story about practicing single-stroke rolls. • What being on stage still gives him at 79. • The legendary Isle of Wight 1970 show in front of 600,000 people and the moment the entire crowd stood up like a wave. • The Ed Sullivan appearance that changed everything for Vanilla Fudge.

Carmine Appice has played with Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck Bogert & Appice, and Rod Stewart. He’s still active with Cactus All-Stars and his Rod Stewart tribute project.

Temple of Blues II is available now: https://cleorecs.com/products/cactus-temple-of-blues-ii-all-stars-cd Photo by Vito GeraciListen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch the full video on YouTube.

Follow Stage Vault: @stagevaultpod everywhere stagevaultpod.com Sponsored by Musicologie – simply delightful music lessons at ⁠⁠⁠musicologie.com⁠⁠⁠.

More from Stage Vault

Oct 21, 2026

Ricky Nye has spent over 50 years preserving the sound of blues, boogie woogie, and New Orleans piano — playing everywhere from Cincinnati to the legendary Caveau de la Huchette in Paris. On this episode of Stage Vault, Ricky talks reading a room in real time, the nights that turn into unexpected magic, and a personal milestone reshaping how he steps on stage.

Oct 14, 2026

Chris Poland, the former Megadeth guitarist behind Nuclear Messiah, sits down with Stage Vault to talk about Black Flame — a sprawling all-star concept album bringing together 36 legends of rock and metal, from William Shatner and Rick Wakeman to Sebastian Bach and Marty Friedman.

Oct 7, 2026

Singer-songwriter Steven Keene came up in the Greenwich Village folk clubs that shaped Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie — small rooms, no safety net, a different crowd every night. On this episode of Stage Vault, Keene talks about what it felt like to walk into those rooms before a show, the strange experience of songs arriving to him in the middle of the night, and the difference between performing his own material and the songs of the heroes who raised him. He also shares the one night on stage he still can't shake, and the single moment he'd preserve forever if he could seal it in the vault. Stage Vault goes behind the curtain of live music to capture what audiences never see. New episodes weekly. Photo of Steven Keene courtesy of Photo Impressions. Sponsored by Musicologie – simply delightful music lessons at ⁠⁠⁠⁠musicologie.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Sep 30, 2026

Twenty years into The Shake Ups, husband-and-wife duo Patrick and Savannah O'Connor still get nervous before every show — just not about the things you'd expect. On this episode of Stage Vault, they open up about the night Patrick lost his voice hours before going on, the terrifying first show that turned into one of their best crowds ever, and how playing conventions full of costumed, emotionally invested fans is nothing like a normal club gig. They also talk about their other bands, the Star Wars-inspired Threepios and surf-rock group The Leviathans, and why the same circle of friends keeps finding new projects to build together. The show ends. The vault opens.Sponsored by Musicologie – simply delightful music lessons at ⁠⁠⁠musicologie.com⁠⁠⁠.

Sep 23, 2026

He wrote the Oscar-winning song from Midnight in Paris — then played it live at the Academy Awards with Hans Zimmer conducting. Gypsy jazz guitarist Stéphane Wrembel joins Stage Vault to talk about that night, the years he spent training in Sinti gypsy camps in France, building the Django à Gogo festival, and why — after 20 years as an instrumentalist — he just sang on record for the first time on Django New Orleans II: Hors-Série. Stage Vault goes behind the curtain of live music: the rituals, the nerves, the transcendence — what musicians think and feel before, during, and after they step on stage. The show ends. The vault opens. Photo: Rob Davidson stagevaultpod.comSponsored by Musicologie — simply delightful music lessons at ⁠⁠musicologie.com⁠⁠.

See all episodes →