The name Carmine Appice is synonymous with Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogart & Appice and Heavy Metal. Not only did he influence many of the great drummers, but his work helped to bridge the gap between psychedelia and heavy metal.Carmine Appice's solo debut "Rockers" was recorded with mega-producer Richard Podolor and featured Danny Johnson on guitar, who adds a significant crunch to the songs on this album, which was originally released in 1981.'V8' was recorded in 1977 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. The album features Max Middleton (ex Jeff Beck Group), Verdins White (Earth Wind and Fire), Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge), Dick Wagner (ex Alice Cooper), Jimmy Haslip (Yellow Jackets) plus Fernando Saunders and Benny Schultz. The studio session was influenced by Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow", songs are half instrumental and half featuring vocals

After 35 years into a career that spans 35 albums recorded for seven labels, you'd think John Hammond might get a little complacent. Thankfully the opposite is true, as 2001's Wicked Grin is the artist's most daring musical departure and arguably greatest achievement to date. Mining the rich Tom Waits catalog for 12 of its 13 tracks (the closing is a traditional gospel tune) and bringing Waits himself along as producer has resulted in a stunning collection that stands as one of the best in Hammond's bulging catalog. Never a songwriter, the singer/guitarist/harmonica bluesman has maintained a knack for picking top-notch material from the rich blues tradition without resorting to the hoary, over-covered classics of the genre.