Some days you wake up in the morning and you have no idea how your day is gonna go! My friend Joel and I had that kind of a day this past Saturday, when we went to the Patchogue Theater for the Vanilla Fudge concert.

The backstory is this: the promoter for this show had put together the benefit Rockslide played at the Crazy Donkey this past June. After the show he sent us a nice email saying how much he liked the band and to keep in touch. He also mentioned that he was promoting the Fudge show in October.

Now, the Vanilla Fudge occupies a special place in my life for two reasons. First, their "Renaissance" album was the first LP I bought with my own money in 1969. I bought it at E.J. Korvette's for the princely sum of $5.99. The totally psychedelic music was a revelation for this then-thirteen year old... as mindblowing as any drugs would have been at that time!

Later, their drummer Carmine Appice would be my first interview as a fledgling Rock journalist for Good Times in 1981. I was so star struck and it was like meeting God, but Carmine was a real mench. He bought me lunch and put me at ease and gave me a great interview. It was really a great first experience to have had, and I've always been beholden. It made me realize that even "Rock Stars" are on some level just musicians trying to get people to buy their recordings and come to their gigs like everybody else.

That said, I was surprised how many people had never heard of the Vanilla Fudge! Amazing, since these guys are one of the most famous Rock bands ever to come from Long Island! They were just inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame two weeks ago. I just checked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee list and they're not on it... but dammit THEY SHOULD BE!

I had been disappointed because I had a pending gig the same night as the show but it wound up falling through and so I got my tickets. I emailed the promoter I was coming and he kindly invited me to come see the sound check. When we get there, it turns out that they're shorthanded so they ask Joel and I if we can go get the band at the hotel. Joel drives a big-ass Denali SUV so we had a good vehicle to go get them.

Vince Martell at sound check

We drive to the Holiday Inn and I go in to find the band. Sure enough, there's Vince Martell sitting there... and Mark Stein, and Tim Bogert, and Carmine Appice. The Vanilla Fudge, all present and accounted for! We take three of the four Fudges, with Vince following us in his own car.

So there I am, wedged into the rumble seat knee to knee with Carmine Appice. I remind him of our previous meeting and how nice he was, whereupon Tim and Mark stop in mid-sentence and look over incredulously. Carmine gives voice to what they're both thinking. "I was NICE?" When I affirm that he was he retorts, "Well next time make sure I act like a son of a bitch, OK?" We all laugh.

Carmine says, "I was NICE?"

We get to the venue and there are a couple of fans waiting who want their records autographed, whom they kindly oblige. We get inside and finally get to the sound check. And OH MY GOD THEY WERE SO GOOD! You can say what you want about sexagenarian Rock stars but when they're onstage all the bickering and the B.S. falls away and you get to what's important - the music.

It turns out that the Fudge is planning a CD of Led Zeppelin covers, so they tear through "Rock and Roll" and "Dazed and Confused." They run down parts of "Shotgun," "Season of the Witch" and their lone hit, "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Fucking awesome. Not only does the Fudge still have it, but they are as good or better than they've ever been!

For delivering the band Joel and I are rewarded with All Access passes and deputized as transportation/gofers. We wind up driving the band back and forth to the hotel and running errands. Pizza for the crew. Coffee for the band. Mark needs some tea with lemon and honey for his voice. We gladly pitch in.

We bring Mark and Vince and their ladies from the hotel to the show and the agent greets us by saying he needs somebody to go out and find towels for the band to sweat into. At this point Joel spits the bit and although we retrieve the towels he's had it. "They just used up their last favor," he grumbles.

Now, Joel and I paid for tickets and wound up missing most of the two warmup acts while running errands. But our reward is being able to watch the Fudge from the wings, and it is a awesome experience indeed.

People forget how great these guys are. Mark Stein is one of the best B-3 players ever. Carmine Appice is rightly revered as one of the great Rock drummers. Tim Bogert has been a monster on bass since the Sixties and Vince Martell is less known but just as good. The thing that jumps out at me is how well all four members sing, in addition to all being monster players that is!

Say you want about sexagenerian rock stars - these guys still play with an intensity most young bands would envy.

As good as the show was, everything else about it was total Spinal Tap. The promoter has a video crew on hand to tape the show but Carmine nixes it even though the other three guys signed off. As one would imagine, he's livid. The booking agent is fed up with the band's Road Manager; sending me as the go-between. "I fulfilled my contract, I delivered the Fudge to play after months of headaches," he groans. "But I'm almost sorry I did it now."

Meanwhile, half the band is at odds with the other half and by the end of the night someone is saying that they're breaking up after this show. And of course it could have been on video but NOOOOOO! But then again they have been going through these gyrations together since the Seventies, like an old married couple. Think Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys" with aging Rock Stars instead of Vaudeville performers.

But at the end of the day it's all about the show, and the Vanilla Fudge did not disappoint. They totally kicked ass and were every bit as good as I hoped they'd be. Let's hope they put aside their bickering at some point and get back on the road again. They rule.

peace, man.

Last Updated 10.31.06