Carmine Appice On The New “Sweden Rock Live” Album, Hear N’ Aid, Rod Stewart, John Lennon, New York, Future Goals & More

The band King Kobra was founded by drummer Carmine Appice, as rounded by our 4 then-relatively-unknown musicians: vocalist Mark Free, guitarist David Michael-Philips, guitarist Mick Sweda and bassist Johnny Rod. After 2 albums on Capitol Records — 1985’s Ready To Strike and 1986’s Thrill Of A Lifetime — and the independent release King Kobra III in 1988, the quintet disbanded until returning in 2010 with Rough Cutt’s Paul Shortino taking over vocal duties. And of course King Kobra is just one small chapter within the professional career of Appice, who first found fame in the 1960s with Vanilla Fudge, later backing countless top-tier headlining artists (e.g. Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd), forming other major label bands (e.g. Blue Murder, KGB, Beck Bogert & Appice with Jeff Beck, Cactus) and releasing acclaimed projects of his own (e.g. Guitar Zeus, a memoir, top-selling drum manuals).

Recorded in 2016 at the Sweden Rock Festival, the newly-reissued King Kobra live release — titled Sweden Rock Live — features original members Appice, Johnny Rod, David Michael Phillips (David Henzerling) and vocalist Paul Shortino. Filling in for Mick Sweda was current Ratt guitarist Jordan Ziff on lead guitar. This new “deluxe edition” digital release has been fully re-mastered and now captures the band’s entire electrifying set including the new bonus tracks “Monsters and Heroes,” Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)” and “Runnin’ Wild.” King Kobra’s work with Deko Entertainment goes beyond this release as a “deluxe edition” of the 2010 self-titled King Kobra album also came out earlier this month, as inclusive of 2 bonus tracks that were previously unavailable to United States-based fans.

On August 25, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Carmine Appice via Zoom, as embedded below. Besides Sweden Rock Live and King Kobra matters, we talked about his New York roots, hoe he wound up playing with Rod Stewart, his history with various rock icons (e.g. Ronnie James Dio, John Lennon), who he still hopes to record with, future plans and plenty more. Additional information on Appice, King Kobra and other Appice projects can be found by clicking here, here, here and here.

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About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."