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This day-by-day diary of Vanilla Fudge's live, studio, broadcasting and private activities is the result of three decades of research and interview work by Bruno Ceriotti, but without the significant contributions by other kindred spirits this diary would not have been possible. So, I would like to thank all the people who, in one form or another, contributed to this timeline: Carmine Appice, Vinny Martell, Ross Hannan, Corry Arnold, Jeff Olson, The Newport Daily News, Cactus, Gerard Daily, Logan Janzen, Nick Warburton, Greg Vick, Randy M. Foley, Steven M. Finger, Christopher Hjort, Charles Ulrich, Los Angeles Free Press, Pete Bremy, John H. Warburg, The Concert Database, Rock Tour Database, Tommy Garelick, Brad Kelly, Howard Schenker, Berkeley Barb, Michael Limnios, Lance Kovar, Rob Frith, Dave Tothill, Sounds, Billboard, Blurth, Mike Shanley, John McDermott, Bernie Daquila, Dave Lewis, Chris Winters, Simon Pallett, Richard Williams, Melody Maker, The East Village Other, Fred Mills, Russell H. Tice, Village Voice, Helix, Butch, Chuck Negron, Jim Parrett, Roger Jones, Susan Grimes, Dave Lawrence, Ron Domilici, Gary Stromberg, Paul Vasey, Judy Allen, Jim Sasser, Jeff McCurdy, Al Cerulo, Quicksilver Times, Northwest Passage, The Seed, Great Speckled Bird, San Francisco Express Times, The Herald-News, New York Daily News, Asbury Park Press, San Antonio Express, Rockin' Houston, Jane Merrill, Oakland Tribune, Newport Daily News, Independet Press-Telegram, Naugatuck Daily News, Spokane Chronicle, Broadside, The San Francisco Examiner, The Leader Post, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Windsor Star, The Daily Record, Los Angeles Times, The Ottawa Journal, Star-Phoenix, Wilkes Barre Times-Leader The Evening News, The Evening Sun, The Daily Herald, Mansfield News Journal, The Portsmouth Herald, The Bridgeport Post, Ironwood Daily Globe, Muscatine Journal, San Antonio Express-News, Anderson Daily Bulletin, Nashua Telegraph, Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, San Antonio Express/News, Fitchburg Sentinel, Mansfield Ohio News Journal, North Hills News-Record, The Baytown Sun, The Berkshire Eagle, The Kokomo Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Courier-Post (Camden, New Jersey), Hoag Levins.
Early 1960s
Undoubtedly one of the greatest rock bands of all-time, Vanilla Fudge emerged from a New Jersey-based Top 40 band called Rick Martin and the Showmen. Led by a singer and guitar player named Rick Martin, of course, the band also featured Joseph 'Joey' Brennan on drums (b. Tuesday, June 19, 1945), Joseph 'Joey' Granelli on bass, and an unknown keyboard player.
RICK MARTIN AND THE SHOWMEN #1 (196? - 1964)
1) Rick Martin vocals, guitar
2) Joey Brennan drums
3) Joey Granelli bass
4) ? keyboards
1) Rick Martin vocals, guitar
2) Joey Brennan drums
3) Joey Granelli bass
4) ? keyboards
Saturday, February 1, 1964: 'Winter Wonderland Dance', Lodi Armory, Lodi, Bergen County, New Jersey
One show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, sponsored by the Bergen County CYO. Also on the bill: Ruby and the Romantics, the Chessmen, the Do-Wells, the Colleagues.
1964
The unknown keyboard player was replaced by Mark Stein, aka 'Bear' (b. Tuesday, March 11, 1947, Bayonne, New Jersey), formerly of The Fantastics, Mark Stevens and The Charmers, Mark Stevens, and the Milt Grant Rock 'n' Roll Show. "I got a call from this guy named Rick Martin," Mark recalls in an interview with Russell H. Tice on November 21, 1992. "He had connections in New york City and he was playing all these places like The Peppermint Lounge, The Wagon Wheel, the Headliner. In the early to mid-sixties, those were the real happening places to play. It was playing Top 40 music, you know, because when you were a kid that was really cool. There weren't many people doing original material in those days. He called me up and I went down for this audition. I got this small Hammond organ, it wasn't a B-3, whatever it was, I don't remember - an M-1 or something. It was a single keyboard and that was it. We just started playing all these gigs in New York City, we started getting a following, and it was a great time because I learned a lot. I was playing six, seven nights a week, six shows a night." "I was singing too," Mark adds. "It was just one of those... You know, it lasted about a year and a half. We were making money, having a great time, and it was a great education in those days."
One show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, sponsored by the Bergen County CYO. Also on the bill: Ruby and the Romantics, the Chessmen, the Do-Wells, the Colleagues.
1964
The unknown keyboard player was replaced by Mark Stein, aka 'Bear' (b. Tuesday, March 11, 1947, Bayonne, New Jersey), formerly of The Fantastics, Mark Stevens and The Charmers, Mark Stevens, and the Milt Grant Rock 'n' Roll Show. "I got a call from this guy named Rick Martin," Mark recalls in an interview with Russell H. Tice on November 21, 1992. "He had connections in New york City and he was playing all these places like The Peppermint Lounge, The Wagon Wheel, the Headliner. In the early to mid-sixties, those were the real happening places to play. It was playing Top 40 music, you know, because when you were a kid that was really cool. There weren't many people doing original material in those days. He called me up and I went down for this audition. I got this small Hammond organ, it wasn't a B-3, whatever it was, I don't remember - an M-1 or something. It was a single keyboard and that was it. We just started playing all these gigs in New York City, we started getting a following, and it was a great time because I learned a lot. I was playing six, seven nights a week, six shows a night." "I was singing too," Mark adds. "It was just one of those... You know, it lasted about a year and a half. We were making money, having a great time, and it was a great education in those days."
RICK MARTIN AND THE SHOWMEN #2 (1964 - 1965)
1) Rick Martin
2) Joey Brennan
3) Joey Granelli
4) Mark Stein vocals, organ Hammond (M-1 or something and later a B-3)
1) Rick Martin
2) Joey Brennan
3) Joey Granelli
4) Mark Stein vocals, organ Hammond (M-1 or something and later a B-3)
1965: unknown venue, unknown city, unknown county, New Jersey
Joey Granelli was replaced on bass by Tim Bogert, aka 'Timmy', aka 'Spock' (b. John Voorhis Bogert III, Sunday, August 27, 1944, Manhattan, New York City, New York - d. Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Simi Valley, California, after a long battle with cancer), formerly of The Chessmen, The Belltones, and high school orchestra. "I was a sax player. Played the horn for 6 or 7 years with high school bands," Tim Bogert recalls. "We played rock and roll and stuff like that, but initially, having left high school I went to work for the phone company, and I was playing evenings and weekends. I started going smitten with bass I started to get the feel for it and started getting serious about making it a career, so I quit my job and I started haunting local bars in the area, seeing who was playing and what was being played, contacting people and letting as many people as possible know I was available for work I finally found work with a professional band called Rick Marin and the Showmen and they were a commercial band - society music - they had a chick singer up in the front with… and we played standards. It was kinda like a Vegas night club routine and we would play night clubs where your clientele would be your 40-year old age bracket and I wore a tuxedo and bow tie, the whole bit." "What happened was the bass player got drafted, and all of a sudden he was gone," Mark Stein also recalls in an interview with Russell H. Tice on November 21, 1992. "So it was like, 'Well, there's a fella named Tim Bogert that I used to know', you know, we had no choice, we had to go get this guy without any audition, right? I didn't know him. Rick knew him. So we're in the car going to this gig in Jersey, 'we have no bass player, but we're all gonna pick up this guy named Tim Bogert at his house. He's gonna play.' I remember this guy comes, like a bebop dude, you know, walking out of his house with one of those fedora hats, and he's like [in a geeky voice] 'Hi, I'm Tim Bogert' [laughter] or 'I'm Timmy', yeah 'Timmy'. So that was it, he came in the car and we shook hands. We started talking about what songs we were gonna be doing and what keys they were in. It was weird. It was like on the spot. It was some club in Jersey somewhere. Where, I've forgotten, but that's how I met Tim Bogert. So if he ever reads this: Tim, I had no choice! [laughter]." "It was alright. Timmy was great, he didn't know a lot of the songs but he was faking it," Mark adds about how was that first gig together. "But you know, after that night we had a whole bunch of gigs up and down the East Coast, so we practiced a few times. He was just a natural, you know? A hell of a good bass player."
Joey Granelli was replaced on bass by Tim Bogert, aka 'Timmy', aka 'Spock' (b. John Voorhis Bogert III, Sunday, August 27, 1944, Manhattan, New York City, New York - d. Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Simi Valley, California, after a long battle with cancer), formerly of The Chessmen, The Belltones, and high school orchestra. "I was a sax player. Played the horn for 6 or 7 years with high school bands," Tim Bogert recalls. "We played rock and roll and stuff like that, but initially, having left high school I went to work for the phone company, and I was playing evenings and weekends. I started going smitten with bass I started to get the feel for it and started getting serious about making it a career, so I quit my job and I started haunting local bars in the area, seeing who was playing and what was being played, contacting people and letting as many people as possible know I was available for work I finally found work with a professional band called Rick Marin and the Showmen and they were a commercial band - society music - they had a chick singer up in the front with… and we played standards. It was kinda like a Vegas night club routine and we would play night clubs where your clientele would be your 40-year old age bracket and I wore a tuxedo and bow tie, the whole bit." "What happened was the bass player got drafted, and all of a sudden he was gone," Mark Stein also recalls in an interview with Russell H. Tice on November 21, 1992. "So it was like, 'Well, there's a fella named Tim Bogert that I used to know', you know, we had no choice, we had to go get this guy without any audition, right? I didn't know him. Rick knew him. So we're in the car going to this gig in Jersey, 'we have no bass player, but we're all gonna pick up this guy named Tim Bogert at his house. He's gonna play.' I remember this guy comes, like a bebop dude, you know, walking out of his house with one of those fedora hats, and he's like [in a geeky voice] 'Hi, I'm Tim Bogert' [laughter] or 'I'm Timmy', yeah 'Timmy'. So that was it, he came in the car and we shook hands. We started talking about what songs we were gonna be doing and what keys they were in. It was weird. It was like on the spot. It was some club in Jersey somewhere. Where, I've forgotten, but that's how I met Tim Bogert. So if he ever reads this: Tim, I had no choice! [laughter]." "It was alright. Timmy was great, he didn't know a lot of the songs but he was faking it," Mark adds about how was that first gig together. "But you know, after that night we had a whole bunch of gigs up and down the East Coast, so we practiced a few times. He was just a natural, you know? A hell of a good bass player."
RICK MARTIN AND THE SHOWMEN #3 (1965 - 1966)
1) Rick Martin
2) Joey Brennan
3) Mark Stein
4) Tim Bogert vocals, bass
1) Rick Martin
2) Joey Brennan
3) Mark Stein
4) Tim Bogert vocals, bass
1965: Metropole Cafe, 725 7th Avenue, b/w 46th and 47th Streets, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
1965: 'The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson', NBC-TV, 6th Floor, NBC Studios, RCA Building, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 6th Aveue, b/w 49th and 50th Streets, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
Tuesday, January 11 - Sunday, January 16, 1966: Jay's Disc-Au-Go Go, 913 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey
The band was advertised as 'Rick Martin & The Showmen Featuring Nickey Reynolds.'
1965: 'The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson', NBC-TV, 6th Floor, NBC Studios, RCA Building, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 6th Aveue, b/w 49th and 50th Streets, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
Tuesday, January 11 - Sunday, January 16, 1966: Jay's Disc-Au-Go Go, 913 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey
The band was advertised as 'Rick Martin & The Showmen Featuring Nickey Reynolds.'
Ashbury Park Press (January 8, 1966)
February 1966: Hoffman’s Beach House (bar and grill), 800 Richmond Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, Ocean County, New Jersey
The band was advertised as ‘Rick Martin & The Showmen Featuring Nickey Reynolds.’
Ashbury Park Press (January 26, 1966)
1966: unknown venue, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Rick Martin and The Showmen disbanded after Mark Stein, Tim Bogert and Joey Brennan decided to leave the band "cause we were cheking out The Rascals and all these other bands," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "We wanted to do something better, we wanted to do our own thing." The trio called themelves The Pigeons and played their debut gig on the same day. "We got that name from a guy called Jeff Barry, who was a very famous songwriter and producer during that time," Mark adds. "[Jeff] was interested in us, so we went over to the City and he took us to this place called Clay Cole's whatever-it-was. I've forgotten. Then he said 'Tonight you're gonna be The Pigeons'. So we went up and played, and ah.. I don't remember what happened. So that was it. And then... that never happened with Jeff Barry, we could never hit it off, but we stayed together as The Pigeons."
THE PIGEONS #1 (1966)
1) Joey Brennan
2) Mark Stein
3) Tim Bogert
1966
The Pigeons need a new guitar player to "replace" Rick Martin so, after they were traveling for some months around New York City and talking to different people, they finally talked to an agent who suggested them an Italian American guy from the Bronx named Vince Martell, aka 'Vinny' (b. Vincent James Martemucci, Sunday, November 11, 1945, Bronx, New York City, New York), formerly of Allan Vallone and The New Era, Ricky T and The Satans Three, and high school marching band. "I remember me and Joey Brennan, we drove out there to the Bronx, and what happened on the way to the Bronx [laughs]," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "We took a wrong turn and we ended up like in the middle of Harlem... and all these dudes were running after us with baseball bats, and we were like freaking. It was dangerous. It was just weird. It was just lucky. It was like, man, we just made a few turns, and we got off of this ramp. It was almost like that movie, Bonfire of the Vanities. Did you see that? When I saw that, it was the same thing. On the way to pick up Vinny! [laughter] Same mistake! [laughter] So anyway, thank God, we got back on the... whatever the hell it was, the Cross Bronx, whatever, and we finally got to Vinny's house and we went and met him and yatta yatta. So we took him back to Jersey, and we were rehearsing on Tim Bogert's porch. You know, we were like rehearsing on the porch. Timmy was living in Jersey. We all were. Except Vinny, who was living in the Bronx. So we picked him up and we drove him back to Jersey. So we were rehearsing at Timmy's house."
The Pigeons need a new guitar player to "replace" Rick Martin so, after they were traveling for some months around New York City and talking to different people, they finally talked to an agent who suggested them an Italian American guy from the Bronx named Vince Martell, aka 'Vinny' (b. Vincent James Martemucci, Sunday, November 11, 1945, Bronx, New York City, New York), formerly of Allan Vallone and The New Era, Ricky T and The Satans Three, and high school marching band. "I remember me and Joey Brennan, we drove out there to the Bronx, and what happened on the way to the Bronx [laughs]," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "We took a wrong turn and we ended up like in the middle of Harlem... and all these dudes were running after us with baseball bats, and we were like freaking. It was dangerous. It was just weird. It was just lucky. It was like, man, we just made a few turns, and we got off of this ramp. It was almost like that movie, Bonfire of the Vanities. Did you see that? When I saw that, it was the same thing. On the way to pick up Vinny! [laughter] Same mistake! [laughter] So anyway, thank God, we got back on the... whatever the hell it was, the Cross Bronx, whatever, and we finally got to Vinny's house and we went and met him and yatta yatta. So we took him back to Jersey, and we were rehearsing on Tim Bogert's porch. You know, we were like rehearsing on the porch. Timmy was living in Jersey. We all were. Except Vinny, who was living in the Bronx. So we picked him up and we drove him back to Jersey. So we were rehearsing at Timmy's house."
THE PIGEONS #2 (1966 - SEPTEMBER 1966)
1) Joey Brennan
2) Mark Stein
3) Tim Bogert
4) Vince Martell vocals, guitar
1) Joey Brennan
2) Mark Stein
3) Tim Bogert
4) Vince Martell vocals, guitar
1966: unknown recording studio, New York City (?), New York
The Pigeons recorded an entire album that remained unreleased until 1970 when it was released in the US as 'While The World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge' (Wand WDS 687; tracklist: Side A: 'Midnight Hour / Good Lovin' / I Who Have Nothing / Upset The People - Side B: Mustang Sally / Your My Soul And Inspiration / About Me / Don't Look Back'). The album was also released in Australia that same year, and in France in 1973.
1966: Headliner Bar, 9th Avenue and West 43rd Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
1966: Eighth Wonder, 33 West 8th Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
"We actually got thrown out of a couple of clubs in the Village," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Mike Shanley for Blurt magazine in March 2015. "A place called the Eighth Wonder in Greenwich Village and some other places up on the East Coast. The owner called our manager and said, 'Look, people can't dance to these guys. We don't want them back."
March - September 1966 (?): Choo Choo Club, 94 Passaic Street, Garfield, Bergen County, New Jersey
According to Mark Stein, The Pigeons played here regularly for about five or six months. Apparently Eddie Briganti, singer of The Rascals, sat-in with the band as "guest" from time to time.
August 1966
The Pigeons' first and only single, '(In The) Midnight Hour / Stick In My Corner, Baby' (Musicor MU 1199), was released only in the US. The side A was a cover of Wilson Pickett's 1965 hit, while the side B was an original written by famous producer Bob Gallo. The disc was produced by the great late Luther Dixon.
August 1966 (?): Action House, 50 Austin Boulevard, Island Park, Nassau County, New York
A music manager and promoter named Shelly Finkel discovered The Pigeons and brought them to the Action House, one of the biggest and most happening club in the New York area. The owner of the club, an Italian American Mafia guy named Phil Basile, liked their show and booked them; in addition, he wanted to manage them. "He and [his sidekick] Chubby had started out stealing hubcaps as kids in Brooklyn but began making serious money via real estate and, shall we say, other means," The Pigeons' future drummer Carmine Appice recalls about Basile in his autobiography Stick It! My Life of Sex, Drums, and Rock 'n' Roll (2016). "He owned huge properties all over Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island and was a multimilionaire. Phil was clearly a smart businessman with obvious Mob affiliations. He carried himself that way, and in any case it was no big deal to have Mafia links in New York back then."
September 1966
The Pigeons fired Joey Brennan (who went to play with The Younger Brothers Band) because it wasn't very technical, and replaced him with a better drummer (who sang too) named Carmine Appice (b. Carmine Charles Appice Jr., Sunday, December 15, 1946, Brooklyn, New York City, New York), formerly of Thursday's Children, The Zany Manhattans, The 3 Beeets, The Vidells, and The Rockatones. "We had this drummer that didn't really have the chops, he wasn't capable of what I wanted him to be doing," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "He was kind of like a straight-ahead drummer, like a Charlie Watts kind of a drummer from The Stones at that time, you know, and we wanted somebody that had a little more musical ability that could do what we wanted to do. So that's when we got Carmine in the band." "I had just played a show [with Thursday's Chldren] at a pokey little hole-in-the-wall in Garfield, New Jersey, called the Choo Choo Club when two guys named Mark and Tim asked me to join their band," Carmine confirms in his autobiography. "Our drummer wasn't cuttin' the gig at the time, he just wasn't quite makin' it and so we were looking for a drummer and I spotted Carmine and I thought 'hey this guy's got a really good foot', 'cos we were looking for a drummer who was a bit more progressive than the one we had," Tim Bogert also confirms in an interview with Sounds magazine published on December 29, 1973. "I went up and asked him if he wanted a job 'cos the band that he was in was no big thing, and the one that I was in was no big thing either, but we were open to get something better going. So he said yeah after a bit of thought and we went off to a catering place in New Jersey and rehearsed in the basement for two weeks." "My dad, he was friends with this bar owner in Bayonne, you know, New Jersey," Mark adds. "And he said, 'Look you guys, I got this place, you can rehearse in the back of this bar'. And we said great. So Carmine, he used to come in from Brooklyn and we used to all get together and we'd rehearse in the back of this bar, and it really happened." Soon after, their new manager Phil Basile officialy signed the band to his Breakout management company and put them on a salary of one hundred dollars per week. "It meant that we could go into the Action House, which quickly became our base, every day and practice like crazy," Carmine recalls. "And then [we] got ourselves to a place called the Action House on Long Island and played third bill at a bar and started that way," Tim confirms.
The Pigeons recorded an entire album that remained unreleased until 1970 when it was released in the US as 'While The World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge' (Wand WDS 687; tracklist: Side A: 'Midnight Hour / Good Lovin' / I Who Have Nothing / Upset The People - Side B: Mustang Sally / Your My Soul And Inspiration / About Me / Don't Look Back'). The album was also released in Australia that same year, and in France in 1973.
1966: Headliner Bar, 9th Avenue and West 43rd Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
1966: Eighth Wonder, 33 West 8th Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
"We actually got thrown out of a couple of clubs in the Village," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Mike Shanley for Blurt magazine in March 2015. "A place called the Eighth Wonder in Greenwich Village and some other places up on the East Coast. The owner called our manager and said, 'Look, people can't dance to these guys. We don't want them back."
March - September 1966 (?): Choo Choo Club, 94 Passaic Street, Garfield, Bergen County, New Jersey
According to Mark Stein, The Pigeons played here regularly for about five or six months. Apparently Eddie Briganti, singer of The Rascals, sat-in with the band as "guest" from time to time.
August 1966
The Pigeons' first and only single, '(In The) Midnight Hour / Stick In My Corner, Baby' (Musicor MU 1199), was released only in the US. The side A was a cover of Wilson Pickett's 1965 hit, while the side B was an original written by famous producer Bob Gallo. The disc was produced by the great late Luther Dixon.
August 1966 (?): Action House, 50 Austin Boulevard, Island Park, Nassau County, New York
A music manager and promoter named Shelly Finkel discovered The Pigeons and brought them to the Action House, one of the biggest and most happening club in the New York area. The owner of the club, an Italian American Mafia guy named Phil Basile, liked their show and booked them; in addition, he wanted to manage them. "He and [his sidekick] Chubby had started out stealing hubcaps as kids in Brooklyn but began making serious money via real estate and, shall we say, other means," The Pigeons' future drummer Carmine Appice recalls about Basile in his autobiography Stick It! My Life of Sex, Drums, and Rock 'n' Roll (2016). "He owned huge properties all over Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island and was a multimilionaire. Phil was clearly a smart businessman with obvious Mob affiliations. He carried himself that way, and in any case it was no big deal to have Mafia links in New York back then."
September 1966
The Pigeons fired Joey Brennan (who went to play with The Younger Brothers Band) because it wasn't very technical, and replaced him with a better drummer (who sang too) named Carmine Appice (b. Carmine Charles Appice Jr., Sunday, December 15, 1946, Brooklyn, New York City, New York), formerly of Thursday's Children, The Zany Manhattans, The 3 Beeets, The Vidells, and The Rockatones. "We had this drummer that didn't really have the chops, he wasn't capable of what I wanted him to be doing," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "He was kind of like a straight-ahead drummer, like a Charlie Watts kind of a drummer from The Stones at that time, you know, and we wanted somebody that had a little more musical ability that could do what we wanted to do. So that's when we got Carmine in the band." "I had just played a show [with Thursday's Chldren] at a pokey little hole-in-the-wall in Garfield, New Jersey, called the Choo Choo Club when two guys named Mark and Tim asked me to join their band," Carmine confirms in his autobiography. "Our drummer wasn't cuttin' the gig at the time, he just wasn't quite makin' it and so we were looking for a drummer and I spotted Carmine and I thought 'hey this guy's got a really good foot', 'cos we were looking for a drummer who was a bit more progressive than the one we had," Tim Bogert also confirms in an interview with Sounds magazine published on December 29, 1973. "I went up and asked him if he wanted a job 'cos the band that he was in was no big thing, and the one that I was in was no big thing either, but we were open to get something better going. So he said yeah after a bit of thought and we went off to a catering place in New Jersey and rehearsed in the basement for two weeks." "My dad, he was friends with this bar owner in Bayonne, you know, New Jersey," Mark adds. "And he said, 'Look you guys, I got this place, you can rehearse in the back of this bar'. And we said great. So Carmine, he used to come in from Brooklyn and we used to all get together and we'd rehearse in the back of this bar, and it really happened." Soon after, their new manager Phil Basile officialy signed the band to his Breakout management company and put them on a salary of one hundred dollars per week. "It meant that we could go into the Action House, which quickly became our base, every day and practice like crazy," Carmine recalls. "And then [we] got ourselves to a place called the Action House on Long Island and played third bill at a bar and started that way," Tim confirms.
THE PIGEONS #2 (SEPTEMBER 1966 - MAY 1967) / VANILLA FUDGE #1 (MAY 1967 - MARCH 14, 1970)
1) Mark Stein
2) Tim Bogert
3) Vince Martell
4) Carmine Appice drums, vocals
1) Mark Stein
2) Tim Bogert
3) Vince Martell
4) Carmine Appice drums, vocals
Fall 1966: Dorian's, 285 Thames Street, Newport, Rhode Island
The Pigeons played several gigs here during the fall of '66. "We began to play shows in Newport, Rhode Island, and even built up a bit of a following there," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "We often played a club called Dorian's and stayed over in a decrepit old house that another band, the Orphans, also used and so was known as the Orphanage."
November - December 1966: The Par-Tee Lounge, Perrine, Miami-Dade County, Florida
The Pigeons played here for four weeks, supported on different nights by several local bands such as The Kidds.
Early 1967: Mirasound Studios Inc., 145 West 47th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York
The Pigeons recorded a demo of The Supremes' 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' with Shadow Morton as producer and Joe Venneri as engineer. They recorded it in one take and in mono. That was the version that was released as their debut single later that year.
Saturday, January 14, 1967: Bambi's, 1 Casino Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island
The Left Banke were originally advertised to share the bill with The Pigeons tonight, but their appearance was anticipated of one day (Jan 13), so The Pigeons were the only band for the night.
Friday, January 20 - Saturday, January 21, 1967: Bambi's, 1 Casino Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island
Also on the bill: Freddie Cannon (20), The Ascots (20).
Friday, February 3- Saturday, February 4, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
March or April 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
The Pigeons should be opened for Question Mark and The Mysterians but the latter were snowed-in at Chicago, so The Pigeons were the only band for the night. "Believe me when I tell you, none of the 200 or so people went home disappointed," recalls eyewitness Jeff Olson.
Saturday, April 1, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
Monday, April 17, 1967: 'Vacation Dance', The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
Also on the bill: March Street Rebellion.
Spring 1967: Dorian's, 285 Thames Street, Newport, Rhode Island
Spring 1967: Bambi's, 1 Casino Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island
According to eyewitness Jeff Olson, The Pigeons "were thrown out of the club for supposedly stealing some microphones."
April 1967
Shadow Morton and Phil Basile's big-shot entertainment lawyer and business manager, Stevens H. 'Steve' Weiss, went off to get the band a record deal. Their demo got plenty of interest and finally The Pigeons signed to Atlantic Records. "There was one drawback, however," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "Atlantic Records didn't want to sign 'The Pigeons'. Ahmet Ertegun, the label's founder and president, didn't like our name and told us we had to change it. We didn't mind; in fact, I had always thought the Pigeons was a weird thing to be called but had just gone along with it."
May 1967: Page 2 Club, Long Island, New York
The Pigeons changed their name to Vanilla Fudge right after the show. "We tried to think up a new name but were getting nowhere until we played a gig at the Page 2 club in Long Island and ended up talking to a chick named Dee Dee [actually Denise 'Dede' Puma] who worked there," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "She told us how her grandfather used to call her Vanilla Fudge. Then she looked at us and added, 'Maybe you guys should call ourselves that - you're like white soul music. Vanilla Fudge! We liked it. We told Phil, and he liked it. We told Atlantic and they lived it, too. Vanilla Fudge it was." "We and the record company were not too thrilled about the name, The Pigeons," Vince Martell also recalls in an interview with Michael Limnios in 2012. "One day at a rehearsal, a girl from another local band was eating a vanilla fudge ice cream; she suggested we use the name, as it was the nickname given her by her Grandfather. We immediately liked it and all saw the connection: white men playing black music (blue-eyed soul). It was perfect." "We were rehearsing at the Action House and this girl came up who was watching us rehearse, and she was also the lead singer of one of the bands there, it was a band called The Unspoken Word, and we said we were looking for a new name," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "She goes 'Why don't you call yourselves the Vanilla Fudge', so I said 'The Vanilla Fudge? Why?'. She goes, 'I don't know, it's a nickname my grandfather used to call me when I was a kid, cause I used to eat a lot of ice cream'. That's it. It was nothing profound. That's the story. And then we told Ahmet Ertegun, and he says 'No way. The music is too important. We gotta come up with a stronger name. Nobody's gonna like that name.' So history... the rest is history. We didn't change the name. Everybody said 'Wow, Vanilla Fudge. It's like white guys doing soul music.' Everybody thought, what a great name! Psychedelic Symphonic Rock they were calling it."
May 1967 (?): unknown venue, City of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York
Friday, May 19 - Saturday, May 20, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
The band was advertised as 'The Pigeons -- Vanilla Fudge'.
Friday, June 2, 1967
Vanilla Fudge's debut single, 'You Keep Me Hanging On / Take Me For A Little While' (Atco 45-6495), was released in the US. The side A was a cover of The Supremes, while the side B was a cover of Trade Martin. The disc was produced by Shadow Morton.
Monday, June 26 - Tuesday, June 27, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
The band was advertised as 'Vanilla Fudge formerly the Pigeons'.
Friday, June 30 - Sunday, July 2, 1967: Action House, 50 Austin Boulevard, Island Park, Nassau County, New York
Also on the bill: Vagrants, 5th Dimension, Bit 'A Sweet.
Thursday, July 6, 1967: Carver Amphitheatre, near Carver Houses, 1475 Madison Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: The Reflections. One show, started at 8:00pm.
Saturday, July 22, 1967: 'Explosion', Village Theatre, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Vanilla Fudge opened for The Byrds. Also on the bill: The Seeds. The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, who were also billed, cancel in favour of playing New Jersey. Eric Clapton - on a brief holiday to New York City - was in the audience. Two shows, 8:30pm and 10:30pm, presented by Don Friedman.
July 2?, 1967: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 North Winning Way, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Vanilla Fudge opened for The Mama's and The Papa's. "I was scared shit, you know," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "'Cause The Mamas And The Papas, it was like WOW! 'Cause they were huge. And we were opening for them. And I remember walking on the stage and everyone was booing us... it was nervous time at the Forum, you know what I'm saying? And I remember I got pissed off. First you're scared, then you get mad. And I remember I just screamed out at the audience, it had to be sold out, there were like 18,000 people. I just screamed over the mic. I said 'Look, we came three thousand miles to play for you people, you may not have heard us, or you may not this or that, but no matter what you say, whether you like it or not, we're gonna play. So, you know, whether you like it or not...' and the whole place went 'Yyyeeaaahhh!'." "After a couple of numbers," Carmine Appice also recalls in his autobiography, "Mark said something like, 'Right, now we're going to do another song,' and it drew a few isolated boos from the crowd. This pissed him off, and he flew off the handle: 'Look, we flew three thousand miles to give you this show, and we are going to give it you whether you like it or not!' To our surprise, this rebuke drew a round of applause. It was a turning point for the gig, and the crowd even demanded an encore, to our delight."
July 2?, 1967: unknown outdoor venue, Seattle, King County, Washington
"We supported Sonny and Cher," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography, "who were boring, at a big outdoor gig where the crowd was stuck fifty feet away on the other side of a lake." "[In Seattle] we were staying at a cool hotel called the University Inn," Carmine adds, "and met some girls who were happy to come back and party with us. We were all smoking pot and having sex with the chicks when Vinny, who was my roomate on that trip, announced he was going to take a bat with his girl. They vanished into the bathroom, but in their stoned and arouse state, they forgot to turn the faucet off. Soon water was cascading not just over the side of the bath but under the door and all through the bedroom. The floor became a lake, and to our addled minds it made sense to try to mop up the water with the bedsheets. Cue one fucking great mess. One of our roadies, who was totally wired on pot, declared that he was going to catch the elevator down to the lobby in the nude. The band trooped down to see him stumble into reception stark naked, together with a chick in just her bra and panties. The hotel manager kicked us out on the spot."
Monday, July 31, 1967: Eagles Auditorium, 1416 Seventh Avenue at Union Street, Seattle, King County, Washington
According to Carmine Appice, Vanilla Fudge played here a day after The Yardbirds (the English band played on July 30, so I guess the Fudge played on July 31 exactly).
Friday, August 4, 1967: '2nd Annual All American Teen Fair', Spokane Coliseum (aka The Boone Street Barn), West Boone Avenue & North Howard Street, Spokane, Washington
Vanilla Fudge played, at 8:15pm, on the second day of this 4-day (August 3-6) teen fair. Also on the bill: Pembrook Limited, London Taxi, The Pastels, and others.
Thursday, August 10 - Saturday, August 12, 1967: 'Dance Concert', Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Moby Grape (10), Melvin Q. Watchpocket (10), Canned Heat (11-12). Lights by The North American Ibis Alchemical Co. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog, a production company run by the great late Chet Helms, former manager of Big Brother and The Holding Company. By the way, Vanilla Fudge were actually advertised to play on August 13 too, but for unknown reasons they canceled their appearance and Mad River filled in for them.
Wednesday, August 16, 1967: 'The Groovy Show', KHJ-TV Channel 9, unknown location in or around Los Angeles, California (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge appear on the episode No. 38 of the first season of this television show hosted by Michael Blodgett and aired in color today from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
August ??, 1967: Pleasureland Swim Club, Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey
Wednesday, August 23 - Sunday, August 27, 1967: The Ambassador Theater, 2454 18th Street and Columbia Road Northwest, Washington D.C.
Also on the bill: Lothar and The Hand People. Lights by The Psychedelic Power & Light Co. of San Francisco. One show each day, from 8:30pm to 1:00am.
The Pigeons played several gigs here during the fall of '66. "We began to play shows in Newport, Rhode Island, and even built up a bit of a following there," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "We often played a club called Dorian's and stayed over in a decrepit old house that another band, the Orphans, also used and so was known as the Orphanage."
November - December 1966: The Par-Tee Lounge, Perrine, Miami-Dade County, Florida
The Pigeons played here for four weeks, supported on different nights by several local bands such as The Kidds.
Early 1967: Mirasound Studios Inc., 145 West 47th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York
The Pigeons recorded a demo of The Supremes' 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' with Shadow Morton as producer and Joe Venneri as engineer. They recorded it in one take and in mono. That was the version that was released as their debut single later that year.
Saturday, January 14, 1967: Bambi's, 1 Casino Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island
The Left Banke were originally advertised to share the bill with The Pigeons tonight, but their appearance was anticipated of one day (Jan 13), so The Pigeons were the only band for the night.
Friday, January 20 - Saturday, January 21, 1967: Bambi's, 1 Casino Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island
Also on the bill: Freddie Cannon (20), The Ascots (20).
Friday, February 3- Saturday, February 4, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
March or April 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
The Pigeons should be opened for Question Mark and The Mysterians but the latter were snowed-in at Chicago, so The Pigeons were the only band for the night. "Believe me when I tell you, none of the 200 or so people went home disappointed," recalls eyewitness Jeff Olson.
Saturday, April 1, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
Monday, April 17, 1967: 'Vacation Dance', The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
Also on the bill: March Street Rebellion.
Spring 1967: Dorian's, 285 Thames Street, Newport, Rhode Island
Spring 1967: Bambi's, 1 Casino Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island
According to eyewitness Jeff Olson, The Pigeons "were thrown out of the club for supposedly stealing some microphones."
April 1967
Shadow Morton and Phil Basile's big-shot entertainment lawyer and business manager, Stevens H. 'Steve' Weiss, went off to get the band a record deal. Their demo got plenty of interest and finally The Pigeons signed to Atlantic Records. "There was one drawback, however," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "Atlantic Records didn't want to sign 'The Pigeons'. Ahmet Ertegun, the label's founder and president, didn't like our name and told us we had to change it. We didn't mind; in fact, I had always thought the Pigeons was a weird thing to be called but had just gone along with it."
May 1967: Page 2 Club, Long Island, New York
The Pigeons changed their name to Vanilla Fudge right after the show. "We tried to think up a new name but were getting nowhere until we played a gig at the Page 2 club in Long Island and ended up talking to a chick named Dee Dee [actually Denise 'Dede' Puma] who worked there," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "She told us how her grandfather used to call her Vanilla Fudge. Then she looked at us and added, 'Maybe you guys should call ourselves that - you're like white soul music. Vanilla Fudge! We liked it. We told Phil, and he liked it. We told Atlantic and they lived it, too. Vanilla Fudge it was." "We and the record company were not too thrilled about the name, The Pigeons," Vince Martell also recalls in an interview with Michael Limnios in 2012. "One day at a rehearsal, a girl from another local band was eating a vanilla fudge ice cream; she suggested we use the name, as it was the nickname given her by her Grandfather. We immediately liked it and all saw the connection: white men playing black music (blue-eyed soul). It was perfect." "We were rehearsing at the Action House and this girl came up who was watching us rehearse, and she was also the lead singer of one of the bands there, it was a band called The Unspoken Word, and we said we were looking for a new name," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "She goes 'Why don't you call yourselves the Vanilla Fudge', so I said 'The Vanilla Fudge? Why?'. She goes, 'I don't know, it's a nickname my grandfather used to call me when I was a kid, cause I used to eat a lot of ice cream'. That's it. It was nothing profound. That's the story. And then we told Ahmet Ertegun, and he says 'No way. The music is too important. We gotta come up with a stronger name. Nobody's gonna like that name.' So history... the rest is history. We didn't change the name. Everybody said 'Wow, Vanilla Fudge. It's like white guys doing soul music.' Everybody thought, what a great name! Psychedelic Symphonic Rock they were calling it."
May 1967 (?): unknown venue, City of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York
Friday, May 19 - Saturday, May 20, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
The band was advertised as 'The Pigeons -- Vanilla Fudge'.
Friday, June 2, 1967
Vanilla Fudge's debut single, 'You Keep Me Hanging On / Take Me For A Little While' (Atco 45-6495), was released in the US. The side A was a cover of The Supremes, while the side B was a cover of Trade Martin. The disc was produced by Shadow Morton.
Monday, June 26 - Tuesday, June 27, 1967: The Bastille, Rotunda Ballroom, 175 Memorial Boulevard, Newport Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
The band was advertised as 'Vanilla Fudge formerly the Pigeons'.
Friday, June 30 - Sunday, July 2, 1967: Action House, 50 Austin Boulevard, Island Park, Nassau County, New York
Also on the bill: Vagrants, 5th Dimension, Bit 'A Sweet.
Thursday, July 6, 1967: Carver Amphitheatre, near Carver Houses, 1475 Madison Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: The Reflections. One show, started at 8:00pm.
Saturday, July 22, 1967: 'Explosion', Village Theatre, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Vanilla Fudge opened for The Byrds. Also on the bill: The Seeds. The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, who were also billed, cancel in favour of playing New Jersey. Eric Clapton - on a brief holiday to New York City - was in the audience. Two shows, 8:30pm and 10:30pm, presented by Don Friedman.
July 2?, 1967: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 North Winning Way, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Vanilla Fudge opened for The Mama's and The Papa's. "I was scared shit, you know," Mark Stein recalls in an interview with Russell T. Hice on November 21, 1992. "'Cause The Mamas And The Papas, it was like WOW! 'Cause they were huge. And we were opening for them. And I remember walking on the stage and everyone was booing us... it was nervous time at the Forum, you know what I'm saying? And I remember I got pissed off. First you're scared, then you get mad. And I remember I just screamed out at the audience, it had to be sold out, there were like 18,000 people. I just screamed over the mic. I said 'Look, we came three thousand miles to play for you people, you may not have heard us, or you may not this or that, but no matter what you say, whether you like it or not, we're gonna play. So, you know, whether you like it or not...' and the whole place went 'Yyyeeaaahhh!'." "After a couple of numbers," Carmine Appice also recalls in his autobiography, "Mark said something like, 'Right, now we're going to do another song,' and it drew a few isolated boos from the crowd. This pissed him off, and he flew off the handle: 'Look, we flew three thousand miles to give you this show, and we are going to give it you whether you like it or not!' To our surprise, this rebuke drew a round of applause. It was a turning point for the gig, and the crowd even demanded an encore, to our delight."
July 2?, 1967: unknown outdoor venue, Seattle, King County, Washington
"We supported Sonny and Cher," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography, "who were boring, at a big outdoor gig where the crowd was stuck fifty feet away on the other side of a lake." "[In Seattle] we were staying at a cool hotel called the University Inn," Carmine adds, "and met some girls who were happy to come back and party with us. We were all smoking pot and having sex with the chicks when Vinny, who was my roomate on that trip, announced he was going to take a bat with his girl. They vanished into the bathroom, but in their stoned and arouse state, they forgot to turn the faucet off. Soon water was cascading not just over the side of the bath but under the door and all through the bedroom. The floor became a lake, and to our addled minds it made sense to try to mop up the water with the bedsheets. Cue one fucking great mess. One of our roadies, who was totally wired on pot, declared that he was going to catch the elevator down to the lobby in the nude. The band trooped down to see him stumble into reception stark naked, together with a chick in just her bra and panties. The hotel manager kicked us out on the spot."
Monday, July 31, 1967: Eagles Auditorium, 1416 Seventh Avenue at Union Street, Seattle, King County, Washington
According to Carmine Appice, Vanilla Fudge played here a day after The Yardbirds (the English band played on July 30, so I guess the Fudge played on July 31 exactly).
Friday, August 4, 1967: '2nd Annual All American Teen Fair', Spokane Coliseum (aka The Boone Street Barn), West Boone Avenue & North Howard Street, Spokane, Washington
Vanilla Fudge played, at 8:15pm, on the second day of this 4-day (August 3-6) teen fair. Also on the bill: Pembrook Limited, London Taxi, The Pastels, and others.
Thursday, August 10 - Saturday, August 12, 1967: 'Dance Concert', Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Moby Grape (10), Melvin Q. Watchpocket (10), Canned Heat (11-12). Lights by The North American Ibis Alchemical Co. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog, a production company run by the great late Chet Helms, former manager of Big Brother and The Holding Company. By the way, Vanilla Fudge were actually advertised to play on August 13 too, but for unknown reasons they canceled their appearance and Mad River filled in for them.
Wednesday, August 16, 1967: 'The Groovy Show', KHJ-TV Channel 9, unknown location in or around Los Angeles, California (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge appear on the episode No. 38 of the first season of this television show hosted by Michael Blodgett and aired in color today from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
August ??, 1967: Pleasureland Swim Club, Oakland, Bergen County, New Jersey
Wednesday, August 23 - Sunday, August 27, 1967: The Ambassador Theater, 2454 18th Street and Columbia Road Northwest, Washington D.C.
Also on the bill: Lothar and The Hand People. Lights by The Psychedelic Power & Light Co. of San Francisco. One show each day, from 8:30pm to 1:00am.
Monday, August 28, 1967: Gibber Hotel, 168 Gibber Road, Kiamesha Lake, Thompson, Sullivan County, New York
Also on the bill: The Blues Project. Two shows, 9:00pm and 11:30pm.
Monday, August 28 - Wednesday, August 30, 1967: Venus De Milo, Newport, Aquidneck Island, Newport County, Rhode Island
August 1967
Vanilla Fudge's debut album, 'Vanilla Fudge', was released in the US.
Saturday, September 2, 1967: Village Theatre, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Two shows, 7:00pm and 9:30pm. Also on the bill: The Illusions, Mitch Ryder.
Sunday, September 3, 1967 (?): 'Wonderama', WNEW-TV (Channel 5), Manhattan, New York City, New York (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge played 'You Keep Me Hangin' On'.
Monday, September 4, 1967: 'Grand Re-Opening', Hullabaloo, 373 Thomaston Avenue, Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut
Also on the bill: Common Sense.
Tuesday, September 12 - Sunday, September 17, 1967: The Golden Bear, 306 Ocean Avenue, Huntington Beach, Orange County, California
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Independent Press-Telegram (September 17, 1967)
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Thursday, September 21 and Saturday, September 23, 1967: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Blue Cheer, Sunshine Company. Lights by Holy See. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am, were promoted by Bill Graham.
Friday, September 22, 1967: Concord Coliseum, 1825 Salvio Street, Concord, Contra Costa County, California
Also on the bill: Overbrook Express.
Saturday, September 23, 1967: 'Boss City', KHJ TV Channel 9, KHJ TV Studios, 5515 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California (broadcast date)
Also appeared: Sam Riddle (host), Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Kim Weston, Brenton Wood, Vic Dana.
Sunday, September 24, 1967: 'KRLA Special', Cheetah, 1 Navy Street, Santa Monica (actually just over the line in Venice Beach), Los Angeles County, California
One show, from 8:30pm to 2:00am. Also on the bill: other top bands.
Monday, September 25 - Wednesday, September 27, 1967: Whisky à Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California
Lee Michaels was advertised as opening act, but Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography that actually Alice Cooper opened for them.
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Friday, September 29 - Sunday, October 1, 1967: Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter Street at Van Ness Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Charles Lloyd Quartet. Lights by The North American Ibis Alchemical Co. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Family Dog.
Friday, September 29 - Sunday, October 1, 1967: Cheetah, Aragon Ballroom, 1106 Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Also on the bill: The Fenders (29-1), The Boston Tea Party (29-1), disc jockey Jim Stagg of WCFL (MC; 29), disc jockey Barney Pip of WCFL (MC; 30-1). One show each day, started at 8:30pm.
October ?, 1967: unknown venue, Notthingham, Nottinghamshire, UK
"We had three London shows lined up, but first we played some warm-up gigs in the English Midlands," Carmine Appice recalls about the beginning of their first UK tour in his autobiography. "Typical American tourists, we loved playing Nottingham, as it gave us a chance to drop by Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood - Robin fucking Hood! - came from. We got a great reaction at those Midlands shows, and the whole experience was really exciting."
October ?, 1967: 5th Dimension Club, corner of Uppingham Road and Kitchener Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, UK
Wednesday, October 4, 1967: Astoria Theatre, 232-238 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, Inner London, Greater London, UK
Also on the bill: The Young Rascals, Traffic, Tomorrow, The Flowerpot Men, The Art, Jeffrey Lenner (MC). The show was presented by Harold Davison and Tito Burns. Jeff Beck was in the audience that night and was very impressed by the Fudge, and particularly their rhythm section of bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice.
Thursday, October 5, 1967: Blaises, in the basement of the Imperial Hotel, 121 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London, UK
Sunday, October 8, 1967
Vanilla Fudge attended a Jimi Hendrix Experience show at the Saville Theatre in London tonight.
Saturday, October 14, 1967: 'Beat-Club', ARD (Radio Bremen) TV Show, unknown filmed location, Bremen, West Germany (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge performed 'You Keep Me Hanging On', 'Eleanor Rigby', 'ELDS', and 'Bang Bang'. Also appeared: The Equals, Family Dogg, The Alan Price Set, David Garrick, The Herd, Bella and Me, The Fortunes.
Saturday, October 14, 1967: Gaumont, 2 St. George's Parade, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, UK
Also on the bill: Traffic, Flowerpot Men, Tomorrow, Art, Jeffrey Lenner (MC). Two shows, 6:30pm and 8:40pm, presented by Tito Burns and Harold Davison.
Thursday, October 19, 1967: The Speakeasy Club (aka The Speak), 48 Margaret Street, Marylebone, City of Westminster, Greater London, UK
Eric Clapton, Alan Price, Peter Frampton, P.P. Arnold, and Jeff Beck were all in the audience to catch Vanilla Fudge tonight. After the show, Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert invited Jeff Beck onstage and the trio had an impromptu jam!
Friday, October 20, 1967: UFO Club, Roundhouse, 100 Chalk Farm Road, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, UK (canceled)
Vanilla Fudge were advertised to play here tonight, but sadly the UFO club had closed for financial difficulties a month earlier.
Saturday, October 21, 1967: 'All-Nighter', 5th Dimension Club, corner of Uppingham Road and Kitchener Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, UK
One show, from 8:00pm to 8:00am. Also on the bill: Moody Blues, Family.
Sunday, October 22, 1967: Saville Theatre, 135-149 Shaftsbury Avenue, Holborn, London Borough of Camden, Greater London
Also on the bill: The Who, Studio Six, Peter Stringfellow (MC). Two shows, 6:00pm and 8:30pm, presented by NEMS Enterprises, Brian Epstein's management company.
Friday, November 3, 1967: Village Theatre, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Two shows, 8:00pm and 10:30pm. Also on the bill: The Yardbirds.
Saturday, November 4, 1967: Commodore Ballroom, 99 Thorndike Street, Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Also on the bill: The Sherwoods.
Sunday, November 12, 1967: Westbury Music Fair, 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury, Nassau County, New York
Also on the bill: The 5th Dimension.
Sunday, November 19, 1967: 'From The Bitter End', WOR-TV Channel 9, unknown television studio, Secaucus (?), Hudson County (?), New Jersey (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge appeared, performing live 'You Keep Me Hanging On', on 'From The Bitter End', a music television show hosted by the late film and television producer Fred Weintraub, and broadcasted in color every Sunday at 10pm. By the way, although the title of the show implied that it was filmed at the Bitter End, a famous nightclub in Manhattan, New York City, actually the performances were all filmed at a New Jersey sound stage mockup of the Bitter End main stage. Also appeared: Tim Buckley, Dick Lord, and others.
Saturday, December 9, 1967: Asbury Park Convention Hall, 1300 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Also on the bill: The Broadways, The Moment of Truth. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity and produced by Martin Talent Productions.
The Daily Record (December 8, 1967)
Friday, December 15 - Sunday, December 17, 1967: Grande Ballroom, 8952 Grand River at Beverly, 1 Block South of Joy Road, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Also on the bill: Thyme (15), Rationals (16), Our Mother's Children (16), Epidemic (16), MC-5 (17). These shows were promoted by Russ Gibb.
unknown date, 1967: Hyde Park Teen Center, 2753 Erie Venue, Hyde Park Square, Cincinnati, Ohio
Vanilla Fudge played on the opening night of this abandoned church turned into a teen center by Jim Tarbell, a youth counselor working for the city of Cincinnati. Lights by Flavor Scope.
unknown date, 1967: Ungano's, 210 West 70th Street, b/w Amsterdam and West End Avenues, Manhattan, New York City, New York
The Doors appear there and perform a late night jam with the band.
unknown date, 1968: 'The Ray Anthony Show', unknown TV channel, unknown city, unknown state
Vanilla Fudge performed 'You Keep Me Hanging On'.
Thursday, January 4 - Saturday, January 6, 1968: Fillmore Auditorium, 1805 Geary Boulevard at Fillmore Street, Fillmore District, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Steve Miller Band, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sweetwater. Lights by Holy See. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am each day, were promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco. According to the poster only the January 4 show was at the Fillmore, while the January 5 and 6 shows were at the Winterland, but a contemporary listing in the Berkeley Barb (January 5) listed all the three nights at the Fillmore, while a fourth night, January 7, was added at last minute and this one was held at the Winterland.
Sunday, January 7, 1968: Winterland, 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Steve Miller Band, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sweetwater. Lights by Holy See. This show, which lasted from 9:00pm to 2:00am, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.
Sunday, January 14, 1968: 'The Ed Sullivan Show', CBS-TV Show, Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697-1699 Broadway b/w West 53rd Street and West 54th Street, Theater District, Manhattan, New York City, New York (broadcasted live)
Vanilla Fudge performed 'You Keep Me Hangin' On'. Also appeared: Duke Ellington, Flip Wilson, Tammy Grimes, Buddy Greco, Pepper Davis & Tony Reese, Diane Shelton (baton twirler), Silvan (magician). The show was aired in color from 8:00pm to 9:00pm on the CBS Television Network. “It's a sign of how important that show was that we didn't mind getting paid less than our going price,” recalls Carmine Appice about their debut appearance in the most famous television show of all-time in his autobiography. “We only got five thousand dollars, but doing Ed Sullivan was all about the prestige. All my family would be watching, my friends - everyone I knew. My parents were so produ, and it made me feel really good that they got to see their son on this show.”
Friday, January 19, 1968: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street, Sacramento, California
Also on the bill: The 5th Dimension, Spanky and Our Gang.
Saturday, January 20, 1968: Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, California
Also on the bill: The Stone Poynes, Taj Mahal, Alexander's Timeless Blooz Band.
Friday, January 26 - Sunday, January 28, 1968: Cheetah, 1 Navy Street, Santa Monica (actually just over the line in Venice Beach), Los Angeles County, California
Also on the bill: Siegel-Schwall, The Glass Family. "I tried to bounce my drumstick off the snare and catch it, succeeding only in smacking myself above my eye with the stick," Carmine Appice recalls about the gig in his autobiography. "I had to play the next show with a gauze patch, sunglasses, and blood running down my face."
Los Angeles Free Press (January 26, 1968)
Saturday, January 27, 1968: Anaheim Convention Center, 800 West Katella Avenue, Anaheim, Orange County, California
Two shows, 6:00pm and 9:30pm, presented by KRLA, a local radio station, and produced by Concert Associates. Also on the bill: The Bee Gees, Spanky and Our Gang. "We met Neil Young, Stephen Stills, and the rest of Buffalo Springfild backstage at the Bee Gees show," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography, "and they told us the West Coast bands really respected Vanilla Fudge. That meant a lot to us; we had no idea, as we were in our own little bubble of Long Island and the Action House."
Los Angeles Free Press (January 12, 1968)
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Los Angeles Times (Jnauary 21, 1968)
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Saturday, February 3, 1968: Commodore Ballroom, 99 Thorndike Street, Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Also on the bill: Jack and The Rippers.
Nashua Telegraph (January 20, 1968)
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Nashua Telegraph (February 3, 1968)
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Friday, February 9, 1968: Winslow Hall, Lasell Junior College campus, 1844 Commonwealth Avenue, Auburndale, Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Also on the bill: The Spectras.
February ??, 1968
Vanilla Fudge's second album, 'The Beat Goes On', was released in the US.
The Daily Herald (August 3, 1968)
Sunday, February 18, 1968: Durfee Theatre, 30 North Main Street, Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts
Also on the bill: The Mothers Of Invention, Charles Lloyd.
Saturday, February 24, 1968: Toledo Sports Arena, 1 Main Street, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio (Vanilla Fudge canceled)
Also on the bill: The Amboy Dukes, The Frightened Trees, Soap.
Friday, March 8 - Saturday, March 9, 1968: Electric Factory and Flea Market, 2201 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: Druids of Stonehedge (replaced the early advertised First Borne). Lights by Fillmore Light Show. One show each day from 8:30pm to 3:00am.
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Philadelphia Daily News (March 8, 1968)
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Saturday, March 16, 1968: Assembly Hall, Hunter College’s 68th Street Campus (aka Main Campus), 695 Park Avenue, on the corner of 68th Street and Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: Every Mother’s Son. Two shows, 8pm and 10:30pm, presented by Hunter College’s Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity0
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Thursday, March 28, 1968: Gymnasium, Fair Lawn High School, 14-00 Berdan Avenue, Fair Lawn, Bergen County, New Jersey
The show, which started at 8:00pm, was sponsored by Student Council Class of 1968 and Flippa Fair Lawn Indoor Pool Promotion Association.
Friday, March 29, 1968: Commonwealth Armory, intersecton of Harry Agganis Way and Commonwealth Avenue, Boston,Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Saturday, March 30, 1968: Music Hall at Fair Park, 901 1st Avenue, Dallas, Texas
Also on the bill: Cream.
Sunday, March 31, 1968: Houston Music Hall, 800 Bagby Street, Houston, Harris County, Texas
Also on the bill: Cream. The show was presented by Catacombs / Ames. "The Houston trip was memorabile for me for Tim's extracurricular activities in our shared room at the Holiday Inn," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "He appeared after the show with a massive fat chick, and when she went to the bathroom, I shared my misgivings with him. 'Tim, what the fuck are you doing with her?' 'I just feel like fucking a fat chick,' he explained. Tim got his wish. She turned out to have a thing about using butter as a lube, and they were at it all night. The Butter Queen - as she was soon christened - screamed and yelled until dawn as I lossed and turned in my bed and shouted back at her to shut the fuck up so I could sleep."
Sunday, April 7, 1968: Eastman Theatre, 26 Gibbs Street, downtown Rochester, New York
Cream were also on the bill but as their equipment fails to arrive after their yesterday's show in Lowell, Massachussets, Vanilla Fudge play the show alone.
Friday, April 12, 1968: Orlando Sports Stadium, Orlando, Orange County, Florida
Also on the bill: The Grass Roots.
Wednesday, April 17, 1968: Gymnasium, S.U.N.Y. (State University of New York), 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, Long Island, New York
Also on the bill: Cream (canceled), The Vagrants.
Friday, April 19, 1968: ‘Youth 68 - Everything’s Changing… or Maybe It Isn’t’, NBC-TV (broadcast date)
Youth 68 is a one-hour documentary produced by Jim Henson and directed by Jon Stone, covering the various lifestyles of the 1960s. The special, subtitled ‘Everything's Changing. . . or Maybe It Isn't,’ aired over NBC Television Network on April 19 at 4:30pm, as part of the anthology colorcast series ‘Experiment in Television.’ Time magazine's listing described the broadcast as “a visual and sound montage juxtaposing outspoken opinions on love, religion, drugs and war with the sights and sounds of popular music and dance.” Interview subjects included an assortment of ‘average’ people with different perspectives, including hippies, college students, and disapproving older folks. Prominent interviewees included several musicians from the era, such as members of Vanilla Fudge, Jefferson Airplane (including Grace Slick and Marty Balin), and The Mamas & The Papas. For the academic experts, psychologist Edward Sampson and sociologist Robert Somers weighed in. These interviews are strung together between quotes (read aloud by a number of readers), and choreographed dance scenes shot using then-cutting-edge video technology. The soundtrack included music by The Who and Bob Dylan. Studio segments were recorded to video tape on February 13 and 14, 1968.
Friday, April 19, 1968: Masonic Temple, 416-420 North Washington Avenue, Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader Evening News (April 18, 1968)
Sunday, April 28, 1968: Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 300W West Broad Street, Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio
Also on the bill: The Royal Chessmen. One show, started at 7:30pm.
Friday, May 3, 1968: ‘University of New Hampshire - Spring Weekend Concert’, Snively Arena, 5 Edgewood Road, Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire (Vanilla Fudge didn’t play because arrived late)
The concert, which started at 8:00pm, was sponsored by Class of ’69 of the University of New Hampshire. Also on the bill: The Circle of Friends.
The Portmousth Herald (May 2, 1968)
Saturday, May 4, 1968: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Boulevard, Hampton Beach, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
The Portsmouth Herald (May 2, 1968)
Saturday, May 4 - Tuesday, Sunday, 7, 1968: 'Pop Musica Festival - Primo Festival Internazionale in Europa di Musica Pop (aka First European International Pop Festival)', Palazzo dello Sport, Piazzale Pier Luigi Nervi 1, quartiere Eur, Roma, Italia (Vanilla Fudge canceled)
Vanilla Fudge were one of the 56 international artists originally invited to play on this Italian pop music festival, but they finally declined for some reason unknown to me.
Sunday, May 5, 1968: ‘Spring Fever ‘68’, Gymnasium, Sacred Heart University campus, 5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut
The concert, which started at 8:30pm, was the last event of the 3-day (May 3-5) ‘Spring Weekend’ sponsored by the junior class of Sacred Heart University. Also on the bill: Gary Stevens of WMCA (MC), The Parliaments, George Carlin, The Jive Five, Nobody’s Children.
Late May 1968
Vanilla Fudge's third album, 'Renaissance', was released in the US and Canada.
Saturday, May 25, 1968: Dinner Key Auditorium, indoor arena inside one of Pan American Airways System Terminal Building's hangars, 3500 Pan American Drive, Dinner Key, Coconut Grove, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Also on the bill: Ojus Philarmonic.
Thursday, May 30, 1968: 'The Dick Cavett Show', ABC TV Show, New York City, New York (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge appeared on this famous 90-minute daytime television show hosted by comedian, comedy writer and author Dick Cavett. Also appeared: Jack Jones, Diana Sands, Larry Hankin, Arthur C. Clarke.
Friday, May 31, 1968: CNE Coliseum, 45 Manitoba Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday, June 7 - Saturday, June 8, 1968: Thee Image, 18330 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach, northeast of Miami-Dade County, Florida
Also on the bill: Fantasy.
Monday, June 10, 1968: City Auditorium, 300 West Water Street, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida
Vanilla Fudge played one 60-minute show between 10pm and 12 midnight (they were paid 3000 flat). Also on the bill: Doug Clark and His Hot Nuts.
Monday, June 17, 1968: McFarlin Memorial Auditorium, Southern Methodist University campus, 6405 Boaz Lane, University Park, Dallas County, Texas
Also on the bill: Canned Heat.
Wednesday, June 19, 1968: Houston Music Hall, 800 Bagby Street, Houston, Harris County, Texas
Also on the bill: Canned Heat. "[In Houston] Tim's old friend the Butter Queen showd up again," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "She was still big and fat but seemed to have made it her mission to find gorgeous young local and Mexican chicks for us to party with when we were in town, and showed up at our hotel with two nubile friends in tow. The three of them sucked and fucked their way thfough a roomful of musicians and roadies, one of whom produced a Polaroid camera. Pictorial highlights included a phot of a string of sperm from my dick to the Butter Queen's mouth and one of her with butter in her ass and crotch. It was totally gross, and I can hardly believe we did that stuff. Don't go flicking to this book's photo spread to see the photos - thankfully, they are long gone."
Friday, June 21, 1968: Fillmore East, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: James Cotton Blues Band, Loading Zone. Lights by The Joshua Light Show. The show was presented by Bill Graham.
Thursday, June 27, 1968: Electric Factory, 2201 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: Blood, Sweat and Tears. Lights by Fillmore Light Show.
Saturday, June 29, 1968: 'International Freedom Festival', Windsor Arena, 572 McDougall Street, Wndsor, Ontario, Canada
One show, started at 8:00pm. Also on the bill: The Nirvana, Fried Velvet. 1,400 people were in attendance.
Friday, July 12, 1968: 'Benefit Harmony Planning', Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, San Mateo County, California
Vanilla Fudge played as 'Special Guest Star' at this rock benefit dance for Harmony, a new utopian International Research Center and School to be established in the Santa Cruz area. The free school will span all educational periods of a student's life. Also on the bill: Iron Butterfly, Creedence Clearwater Revival (filled in for Phoenix), Canned Heat, Kai Moore, Sweet Rush, West, Sandy Bull, Wedge, Initial Shock. One show, from 4:00pm to 1:00am.
Tuesday, July 23, 1968: Commodore Ballroom, 99 Thorndike Street, Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Also on the bill: The Sugar Teapot.
Wednesday, July 24, 1968: '1st Annual The Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park', Wollman Memorial Skating Rink, 5th Avenue and 59th Street, South Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: Ultimate Spinach. The 2-month (June 27 - August 24) festival was sponsored by F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company, and was co-produced by club owner and musician Hilly Kristal and producer and concert promoter Ron Delsener.
Saturday, July 27, 1968: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Boulevard, Hampton Beach, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Also on the bill: The Spectras.
Thursday, August 8, 1968: 'Pop Music Festival', Rhode Island Auditorium, 1111 North Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Also on the bill: The Mothers Of Invention, Beacon Street Union. Lights by The Road. The festival was presented by Vic Armen and Alberta Productions.
Monday, August 12, 1968: Tamarack Lodge, Greenfield Park, Ulster County, New York
Saturday, August 17, 1968: Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, 30 Courtland Street, downtown Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
Two shows, 4:00pm and 8:30pm. Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent, The Amboy Dukes (for the first show only). "In Atlanta I met a beautiful chick named Brenda with - naturally - enormous tits," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "She claimed to be a virgin, but going by the evidence of our several hours of sexual gymnastics, she was a very quick learner."
Wednesday, August 21, 1968: 'The Merv Griffin Show', NBC-TV Show, NBC Studios, Studio 6-B, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 6th Avenue b/w 49th and 50th Streets, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, Yew York (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge appeared on this famous 90-minute American television talk show hosted by the great late Merv Griffin and aired daily on the NBC Television Network. Also appeared on this episode: Henry Morgan, Mort Lindsey Orchestra, Betsy Palmer, Rip Taylor, Julie Budd, Ferdinand Lundberg, Arthur Treacher.
Saturday, August 24, 1968: ‘American Bandstand’, ABC-TV Show, ABC Television Center, 4151 Prospect Avenue at Tamaldge Street, Central Los Angeles, California (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge, lip-synched ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On,’ appeared on American Bandstand, Dick Clark’s popular midday weekend show that was aired in color every Saturday from 1:30pm to 3:00pm on ABC Television Network. Also appeared on the episode: Chris Montez.
Sunday, August 25, 1968: Musicarnival, 4401 Warrensville Center Road, Warrensville Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
One show, started at 7:00pm.
Mansfield News Journal (August 22, 1968)
Saturday, August 31, 1968: Arena, Honolulu International Center, 777 Ward Avenue, downtown Honolulu, Hawaii
Also on the bill: Creedence Clearwater Revival. Lights by Picadilly Ltd. The show was promoted by KKUA, a local radio station, and Dick Clark Productions.
Tuesday, August 20, 1968: The Jaguar, 12 North 3rd Street, St. Charles, DuPage and Kane Counties, Illinois
Sunday, September 1, 1968: 'The Denver Summer Pop Festival', Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 17598 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison, Jefferson County, Colorado
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Feyline.
Tuesday, September 3, 1968: Balboa Stadium, 1405 Park Boulevard, San Diego, California
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by The James C. Pagni Company. "In San Diego, Tim and I, Mitch and Noel (from Jimi's band), and a couple of guys from Eire Apparent rented motorized sailboats from the Hilton where we were staying and took them out on the hotel lake," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "When the management caught us busting Noel's balls by ramming his boat with ours, trying to capsize him, we narrowly avoided being kicked out of yet another hotel." "Tim had a girlfriend in L.A. who came down to see us," Carmine adds, "bringing a load of pot and chicks with her - one was Sally Struthers, who went on to play Gloria in All in the Family. We had a cool time hanging out with them."
Wednesday, September 4, 1968: Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1826 West McDowell Road, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Scenic Sounds Production Co.
Thursday, September 5, 1968: Swing Auditorium, 689 East Street, San Bernardino, California
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Scenic Sounds Productions
Friday, September 6, 1968: Seattle Center Coliseum, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, King County, Washington
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. One show, started at 8:00pm. “My most memorable moment of the Hendrix tiur came in Jimi's hometown of Seattle,” recalls Carmine Appice in his autobiography. “He had just finished his Electric Ladyland album, and he invited us back to his hotel room to listen to it and tell him what we thought of it. I can still picture the bedroom: a real old-fashioned-type hotel room with high ceilings and windows so tall they made you feel cold. As well as the Fudge, there were members of Soft Machine and Eire Apparent, roadies, and groupies all crowded in the room, drinking, smoking pot, and taking acid as Jimi dropped the needle on the record. Hendrix was obviously a rock superstar by now, but underneath it all he was the same shy, quiet Jimmy James I had shot the breeze with in the New York hooker's apartment two years earlier. And at first he looked twitchy and noervous at this impromptu playback party - which was weird, as it had been his idea. Imagine being one of the very first people ever to hear Electric Ladyland, and imagine Hendrix anxiously asking you if you liked it as you listened. I felt privileged to be there. As one by one we all honestly told Jimi how awesome this music was, he visibly relaxed, and his face became wreather in smiles. That was an afternoon I will never forget.”
Saturday, September 7, 1968: Pacific Coliseum, 100 North Renfrew Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. One show, started at 8:00pm.
Sunday, September 8, 1968: Spokane Coliseum, West Boone Avenue at North Howard Street, Spokane, Washington
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. One show, started at 7:30pm.
Monday, September 9, 1968: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 North Winning Way, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine. A tape of the show exist.
Wednesday, September 11, 1968: ‘The Steve Allen Show’, ABC-TV Show, Hollywood Video Center, Los Angeles, California (broadcast date)
Also appeared on this episode: Pat Paulsen, Robert Thom, Salli Sachse, D’Aldo Romano.
Friday, September 13, 1968: Oracle Arena & Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, Alameda County, California
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by A/C Productions.
Saturday, September 14, 1968: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Avenue, Downtown Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by KHJ, a local radio station, and Sight & Sound Productions. "Being on the road with the greatest guitar hero of all - Hendrix, must have subconsciously made Vinny even more frustated," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "Before we played the Hollywood Bowl, he [Vinny] did a whole load of acid backstage - whether he intended to or somebody spiked his drink, I don't know to this day - and decided that this was going to be his night. We only had a forty-five-minute set, and early in it Vinny had what was supposed to be an eight-bar solo. It seemed to go on for fucking ever. He was in his own distant galaxy, firing out these crazy licks we had never heard him play before that had nothing to do with the song. The promoters cut our set short. I don't think we even got to play 'You Keep Me Hangin' On'. Backstage we were all mad as hell at Vinny, which led into a big shouting match. But he just said what he always said about shit like that: 'Oh, I guess I just got into it." Plus, of course, he was off his head on acid. What could we do?"
Sunday, September 15, 1968: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street, Sacramento, California
Also on the bill: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent. The show, which started at 7:30pm, was presented by KROY, a local radio station.
September ??, 1968: Record Plant, 321 West 44th Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
After the tour with Jimi Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge went straight into the Record Plant recording studio and started the recording of their new fourth album, 'Near The Beginning'. "We were to record on a twelve-track machine for the first time, wghich was a big deal for us," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "It was the only studio in the city that had this technology. The recording sessions were to prove eventful, hedonistic… and debauched." "Around the corner from the Record Plant," Carmine adds, "was a club called the Scene, and we would head down there, pick up groupies, and take them back in the studio. We would put them in a side room, which quickly became the place we all went to get blow jobs between takes. We encouraged the chicks to walk around with their tits out and showed porn films on the studio wall via an eight-millimeter projector."
Saturday, September 21, 1968: The Felt Forum, The New Madison Square Garden Center, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: Buddy Rich Orchestra. One show, started at 8:30pm.
October 1968: Record Plant, 321 West 44th Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York
Vanilla Fudge continued the recording of their new fourth album, 'Near The Beginning'. "By now Jeff Beck had a new band, the Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart on vocals and Ronnie Wood on bass," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "We got a call one day [mid October] asking if these two English guys could come down to watch us record, as they were big Fudge fans. Rod and Ronnie turned up with their pineapple haircuts, sat quietly and shyly in the corner, and hardly said a word. As first encounters go, it could hardly have been more misleading."
Friday, October 4, 1968: Westchester County Center, 198 Central Avenue, White Plains, Westchester County, New York
Also on the bill: Chambers Brothers.
Friday, October 11, 1968: Masonic Auditorium, Detroit Masonic Temple, 500 Temple Street, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Also on the bill: Dharma.
Tuesday, October 15, 1968: ‘Homecoming Celebration’, unknown venue, Northern Michigan University campus, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, Marquette County, Michigan
The concert, which started at 8:15pm, was part of the Northern Michigan University’s 1968 week-long homecoming celebration activities. The crowning of the homecoming queen was held during the intermission of the concert.
Saturday, October 19, 1968: ‘1st Quaker City Rock Festival,’ The Spectrum, 3601 South Broad Street, Phiadelphia, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: Big Brother & The Holding Company Featuring Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Moby Grape, Chambers Brothers. The festival, which started at 7:00pm, was presented by Larry Magid. Reportedly, 17,000 people attended the show.
Philadelphia Daily News (October 4, 1968)
Courier-Post (Camden, New Jersey) (October 21, 1968)
Friday, October 25, 1968: Gymnasium, Saint Joseph High School, 145 Plainfield Avneue, Metuchen, Middlesex County, New Jersey
“This concert may well have been the loudest show I have ever attended,” recalls eyewitness Al Cerulo. “Back then, it was unheard of to use ear protection and so I did experience two days of tinnitus after the show. My high school gym was not very big and was no match for the wattage being broadcast from the stage.” “For this concert, our student council considered a few bands,” continues Cerulo. “Simon and Garfunkel wanted $10,000 for a relatively short show and so they were dismissed. Vanilla Fudge, instead, were paid $6,000 to divided equally among the 4 band members and 2 roadies.” “As a further point of interest, a friend of mine did the light show for the Fudge that night and he told me that Tim Bogert’s bass amp was cranked to the point that Tim’s body was vibrating from the sound waves,” also recalls Cerulo. “Another interesting tidbit, perhaps you can tell from the picture I sent, the riser for Carmine Appice’s drum kit was made from cafeteria tables!” “Last but not least, I should also note that at this show, the opening band was called Wind in the Willows, and their vocalist was a then-unknown lady named Debbie Harry. The band had problems with their PA system and the Fudge allowed them to borrow theirs in order for them to perform.”
Vanilla Fudge, Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, October 25, 1968
Saturday, October 26, 1968: Boston Arena, 238 St. Botolph Street, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Also on the bill: The Fifth Dimension.
Saturday, November 9, 1968: unknown venue, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Wednesday, November 13, 1968: Exhibition Auditorium, Regina Exhibition Park, 1700 Elphinstone Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Also on the bill: The Great Flood, The Andantes. Two shows, 7:00pm (canceled) and 9:30pm, presented by University of Saskatchewan's Regina campus.
Thursday, November 14, 1968: Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, 35 22nd Street East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
The show, which started at 8:30pm, was sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan's Special Activies directorate.
Friday, November 15, 1968: Col Ballroom, 1012 West 4th Street, Davenport, Scott County, Iowa
Also on the bill: The Harpy.
Muscaline Journal (November 12, 1968)
Sunday, November 24, 1968: Alexandria Roller Rink, 807 North Street Asaph Street, Alexandria, Virginia
Also on the bill: Rhinoceros, Steve Miller Band. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Durwood C. Settles.
Friday, November 29, 1968: 'Thanksgiving Spectacular', HemisFair Arena (aka Convention Centre Arena), 601 Hemisfair Way, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
Also on the bill: Three Dog Night. One show, started at 8:00pm.
San Antonio Express-News (November 24, 1968)
Saturday, December 7, 1968: Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, 30 Courtland Street, downtown Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
Two shows, 3:00pm and 8:00pm. Also on the bill: Amboy Dukes. Lights by Electric Collage.
Sunday, December 15, 1968: unknown venue, University of Dayton campus, 300 College Park, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio
Wednesday, December 18, 1968: unknown venue, University of Maryland campus, College Park, Prince George's County, Maryland
Thursday, December 26, 1968: in-the-Round, Denver Auditorium Arena, 14th Street and Arapahoe Street, Denver, Colorado
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin, Spirit. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was promoted by Barry Fey. "We didn't know too much about Led Zeppelin before we played our first dates with them, nor had we given them too much thought," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "What we also didn't know was that we were paying for them to be on the bill! The two groups shared the same agent, a guy named Ron Terry, who apparently rang up the Denver promoter, Barry Fey, and told him he wanted to add this band nobody had beard of to the bill. 'We don't need them. The show is sold out,' Barry told him. Ron was relentless with Barry, telling him the fee would only be $1,500, but Barry refused to budge. Then Ron had an idea: 'Hey, if you pay $750, Vanilla Fudge will pay the other $750.' I didn't find out about this until Barry told me about it nearly a quarter of a century later. Fuck knows how many other shows we paid for Led Zeppelin to play with us! " "I'd love to say that Zeppelin seemed as amazing and life-changing band the first time we set eyes on them… but they didn't," Carmine adds. "When we turned up at the Auditorium Arena, they were already on and didn't seem to be going down all that great. there were about 7,500 people at our sold-out show, and a few pockets of fans were booing them and chanting, 'Bring on the Fudge!'. This was harsh, because they didn't sound bad, but nobody had heard of any of them, apart from Jimmy [Page]."
Friday, December 27, 1968: Seattle Center Arena, corner of Mercer Street and 4th Avenue North, Seattle, King County, Washington
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin, Floating Bridge. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Concerts West.
Saturday, December 28, 1968: Pacific Coliseum, 100 North Renfrew Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin, The Trials of Jayson Hoover. The show, which started at 7:00 (or 7:30 or 8:00)pm, was presented by Concerts West.
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Sunday, December 29, 1968: Portland Civic Auditorium, 222 SouthWest Clay Street, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin. The show, which started at 7:30pm, was presented by KISN Good Guys and produced by Concerts West.
Monday, December 30, 1968: John F. Kennedy Pavilion, Gonzaga University campus, 710 East Lower Kennedy Drive, Spokane, Washington
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Concerts West.
Tuesday, December 31, 1968: ‘New Year's Eve Gala,’ Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Richie Havens, Youngbloods, Cold Blood. Lights by Little Princess 109. The show, which lasted from 9:00pm to 9:00am and featured breakfast in the morning, was presented by Bill Graham.
Saturday, January 4, 1969: Convention Hall, Community Concourse, 202 C Street, San Diego, California
Also on the bill: Jello's Gass Band.
Friday, January 10 - Saturday, January 11, 1969: Shrine Exposition Hall, 700 West 32nd Street at Figueroa Street, South Los Angeles, California
Also on the bill: Spirit (canceled), A.B. Skhy, Illinois Speed Press, Collectors, Richie Havens. These shows, which started at 8:00pm each day, were presented by Scenic Sounds Productions. Vanilla Fudge recorded one of their sets and one of the songs played, 'Break Song', was later included in their new upcoming fourth album, 'Near The Beginning'. "I met a gorgeous chick with huge tits and smoked some great pot with her before the gig," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "It meant that I was really high as we played 'Break Song.' Our only difficult was cutting it down from twenty-eight minutes to twenty-four to fit on the record."
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February 1969
Vanilla Fudge's fourth album, 'Near The Beginning', was released in the US. Apparently the album was originally planned to be released on January 15, but I believe the date was postponed by a month, at least because the album's live track 'Break Song' was recorded only four or five days earlier. "One night John Bonham, Pagey [Jimmy Page] and myself were sitting around listening to albums when someone put on the Fudge's Near The Beginning album," Jeff Beck recalls. "When it came to the Shotgun tracks it was a revelation, particularly Carmine's drumming. I just knew I had to work with that rhythm section."
Sunday, February 2, 1969: ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ CBS-TV Show, Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697-1699 Broadway b/w West 53rd Street and West 54th Street, Theater District, Manhattan, New York City, New York
This episode was aired live in color on CBS network from 8pm to 9pm. Also appeared: The Temptations, James Earl Jones, Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara, Sergio Franchi, Vikki Carr, Jacques D’Amboise, the Antonettes. “With our Near the Beginning album out and doing well, we went back on the Ed Sullivan Show to play its lead single, ‘Shotgun,’” recalls Carmine Appice in his memoir. “The day had an inauspicious start. Mark and Vinny had been getting on each other's nerves, and when Vinny showed up at the hotel room they were sharing. Mark greeted him with with a punch in the face! the funny thing was that Mark hurt his hand doing it, and Vinny had to land him money to get it bandaged up in a hospital so we could play the show. Apart from the intraband violence, our second Ed Sullivan Show appearance was OK, thought it didn't have the impact of the first time around.”
Friday, February 7 - Saturday, February 8, 1969: Aaron Russo’s Kinetic Playground, 4812 North Clark Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull. These shows were presented by The Electric Theatre Co. "I'll never forget how cool those Chicago shows were," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "Bonham, Tull drummer Clive Bunker, and I had a great time hanging out together and swapping stories. We hung around side stage and threw spitballs at each other during our sets. During Zeppelin's show, Bonham was goofing on me, mimicking my stick twirls and the way I always grabbed my cymbals. Offstage there was plenty of groupie action - I met a teenage chick who gave us all blow jobs in the back of our tour van. We had also heard about the Plaster Casters, the Chicago groupies who had just cast Hendrix's erect dick in plaster and were now doing it to all the visiting rock stars, and decided to make their acquaintance. Sadly, when we got there, they just didn't do it for me and I couldn't get it up. So, like a bad actor, I remained uncast."
Sunday, February 16, 1969: Baltimore Civic Center, 201 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin, The Gun, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Procreation, The Lemon Lime. The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by Premier Attractions.
The Evening Sun (January 6, 1969)
Friday, February 21, 1969: Florida Gymnasium (aka Alligator Alley), University of Florida campus, Stadium Road, Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida
The show was sponsored by either UF Student Government or the UF Panhellenic Council.
Saturday, February 22, 1969: '1969 Junior Prom', Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue North West, Washington D.C.
Saturday, March 1, 1969: Westbury Music Fair, 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury, Nassau County, New York
Also on the bill: The Mothers Of Invention (filled in for Sly and The Family Stone).
Sunday, March 2, 1969: Philadelphia Arena, 4530 Market Street, West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: The Mothers of Invention, Soul Survivors.
Tuesday, March 4, 1969: 'The Mike Douglas Show', KYW-TV Show, basement studio, 1619 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge performed 'Shotgun' and 'You Keep Me Hanging On'.
Saturday, March 8, 1969: Fillmore East, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: Amboy Dukes, Sirocco. Lights by Pablo. The show was presented by Bill Graham.
Friday, March 28, 1969: The Terrace Ballroom, 464 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
Friday, April 4 - Saturday, April 5, 1969: 'A Dance Concert', The Rose Palace, 835 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California
Also on the bill: It's A Beautiful Day, The Collectors. These shows, which lasted from 7:45pm to 1:00am each day, were presented by Scenic Sounds.
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Sunday, April 6, 1969: Kinsmen Field House, Kinsmen Sports Centre, 9100 Walterdale Hill, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Also on the bill: Deep Purple. " Around this time Deep Purple appeared with their debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, and it was obvious they were copying our style of music and arrangements," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "They had the same orgna sound and slowed-down psychedelic cover versions as Fudge, and they were saying a lot of nice things about us in the rock press. We figured imitation was the kindest form of flattery and took them out on tour with us in Canada, which was great. We would jump onstage with them and jam during 'Hush,' and they would do the same with us during some of our songs. We got on well, and within a year, they were massive."
Saturday, May 17, 1969: Long Center, University of Scranton campus, 800 Linden Street, Hill Section, Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Thursday, May 29, 1969: Action House, 50 Austin Boulevard, Island Park, Nassau County, New York
Also on the bill: Howl, Rosicrucian.
Friday, June 6 - Saturday, June 7, 1969: Aaron Russo's Kinetic Playground, 4812 North Clark Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Also on the bill: Muddy Waters, Rotary Connection. These shows were presented by Electric Theatre Co.
Friday, June 13 - Saturday, June 14, 1969: Grande Ballroom, 8952 Grand River at Beverly Court, 1 block south of Joy Road, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Also on the bill: Savage Grace (14), The Frost (14). These showw were presented by Russ Gibb.
Saturday, June 28, 1969: Pirates World, Sheridan Street, Dania, Broward County, Florida
1969: unknown venue, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Also on the bill: Three Dog Night, B.J. Thomas. "Our first real orgy came on tour in Tulsa in 1969," recalls Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night in the book The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Real-LIfe Stories of Addiction and Recovery (2005). "After the concert, we went to a club filled with guys with crew cuts and cowboy hats. We got drunk and were carrying on. Eventually B.J. Thomas, guys from Vanilla Fudge, and Three Dog Night got up on stage to jam with the house band. The girls were starring at us, and those country guys were mad as hell to have us take over their territory. The evening progressed to our wing at the Holiday Inn, There was sex going on in the hallways, in the bathtubs, and on the floor, everybody switching partners. It was gruesome and unreal. It was rock and roll!"
1969
Vanilla Fudge got asked to star in a couple of commercials. "A few bands thought doing shit like that was a sell-out, but we just figured, what the hell?," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "The more things we had going on, the better! First was a TV ad for Braniff Airlines. We had to walk through the door of a makeshift plane and say, 'Hi, we're Vanilla Fudge - when you've got it, flaunt it!'
Early July 1969: unknown recording studio, New York City, New York
Vanilla Fudge, with Jeff Beck on guitar who filled in for Vinny Martell who was ill, recorded a 'Things Go Better With Coke' jingle. "Next came a radio commercial for Coca-Cola, who asked us to write two songs using lyrical ideas they gave us," Carmine Appice confirms in his autobiography. "I remember it had to say 'Things go better with Coke.' We wrote the songs and turned up at the studio, where all the Coke execs were waiting - and Vinny fell violently ill and couldn't play. Phil called up our attorney, Stevens H. Weiss, who dealt with all the major artists, and he told us that Jeff Beck happened to be in New York and would play the session. Wow! How fucking cool was that? The recording was awesome, and Tim and I were in heaven riffing off Jeff's incredible playing. I guess you could call it a sign of things to come. The weird thing with the Coke songs was that I ended up singing lead vocals on one of the tracks, and Tim did the same on the other. I have no idea why Mark Stein didn't sing either of them - after all, he was the voice of the band!" Anyway, the jingle - which exists in at least four different versions - was used on US radio stations during late 1969.
Saturday, July 5, 1969: Man and His World (outdoor expo), Notre Dame Island, Saint Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
"We played a weird show there at an outdoor expo," Carmine Appice recalls about the gig in his autobiography. "The venue had a bizarre layout, with huge concrete stairs leading up to the stage, meaning the audience was a long way from the action, and two songs in, Tim yelled to the crowd to move in closer to the band. Some fans took him literally, and immediately thousands of people were pushing past the overwhelmed security, up the stone stairs, and onto the stage. Mark Stein was stranded on top of his organ, surrounded by a mob of rabid fans grabbing at him. It was out of control, and once security had rescued Mark, we had to run backstage, fans throwing themselves at us as we went. There followed an hour-long wait as riot police arrived and pished the crowd back into place. Then we played an amazing gig. I guess the local police may have taken this incident personally, because it wasn't the last that we were to see of them. That night we partied at the hotel. Tim and I smoked all our pot and then checked with Mark and Vinny next door to see whether they had any more. They said they hadn't, and so we crashed out. At six the next morning, we woke up to the crack of splintering wood as a team of armed cops burst through our locked bedroom door, yelling, 'Put your hands up!' They didn't just bust the lock; they took the door clean off its fucking hinges. They introduced themselves as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and made Tim and I stand motionless as they searched our room for narcotics. This was embarassing for us for a few reasons. In those days I tended to wear chicks' bikini underwear - I just liked the feel of oit better than the guys' stuff - and Tim always slept butt naked. So having been fast asleep thirty seconds earlier, there we were: Tim totally nude and me in girls' dainty bikini panties, with our hands over our heads, being barked at by Canadian Mounties. We were also shit-scared. As the Mounties roamed around our room, I had visions of us spending months - even years - in a Canadian jail, even though I was reasonably sure they wouldn't find anything. Tim and I always got rid of our pipes and roaches before going to sleep, just in case - but that wouldn't help if they planted some on us! Thankfully, they let us go after realizing we were clean, but Mark Stein wasn't so lucky. Our singer had been holding out on us, got busted, and was led off to the police station in handcuffs. Talk about instant karma! Our tour manager, Paco, was also arrested after the cops found a joint he had hurriedly shoved up his butt. Thanks to our lawyer, Stevens H. Weiss, they got off with a fine probation - but it was a sobering episode for us."
Tuesday, July 8, 1969: Blossom Music Center (outdoor amphitheatre), 1145 West Steels Corners Road, Northampton Township, Summit County, Ohio
The show was scheduled for 8:30pm, but the band flew from Montreal with a private plane to the wrong airport in Ohio (they landed in North Hampton instead of Northampton Township), causing them to be four hours late for the concert (in the meantime a unidentified opening band did a set). Still, there were over 3,000 fans there to greet the band when they finally took the stage at 12:30am. After apologizing for the late, the band played a great 90-minute set. "We waited it out and saw a fantastic show by the group," recalls eyewitness Jeff McCurdy. "During 'Break Song', I sat on the edge of the stage with Vinny Martell and shared a cigarette with him while Tim Bogert was performing his solo section."
Mansfield, Ohio, News Journal (July 6, 1960)
Sunday, July 13, 1969: Musicarnival, 4401 Warrensville Center Road, Warrensville Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Sunday, July 13, 1969: 'The Singer Bowl Music Festival', Singer Bowl stadium, Flushing Meadows Park, Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York
The festival, which started at 8:30pm, was produced by Howard Stein for Music Fair Enterprises, Inc. Also on the bill: Jeff Beck Group, Ten Years After, Edwin Hawkins Singers. "Led Zeppelin were not on the bill when we played a huge New York show at the Singer Bowl in Queens supported by the Jeff Beck Group, Ten Years After, and the Edgar Hawkins Singers," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck were old school friends, and when the Beck Group, including Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, were on, Zeppelin decided to jam with them. I joined them on my drums, but just as we were getting into the jam, John Bonham stood up behind his kit, stripped totally nude, and played the rest of the set naked. It was vintage Bonzo, and he didn't seem to mind getting arrested when he came offstage. That was one night Vanilla Fudge had a very hard support act to follow. Even my watching parents only wanted to talk about Bonham. 'Why did he do that?' my mother asked me. I told her in all honestly that I had no idea." Anyway, after the show Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice received an offer they can't refused from Bonham himself in behalf of Jeff Beck. "Backstage, just before he went on and stripped off, John Bonham took Tim and me aside and told us how much his friend Jeff Beck loved us as a rhythm section," Carmine confirms. "He said Jeff admired our tight playing and instinctive rapport and had enjoyed our Coke-commercial session as much as we had. Bonham added that Jeff, Rod, and Ronnie were about to exit their separate ways out of the Jeff Beck Group - and that Beck would love to form a band with us. This news blew our minds. It also came at a good time. Tim and I were growing tired of the Fudge. Touring with Zeppelin had shown us how we wanted to play heavier, harder, bluesy rock and roll. We were over Vinny's too-long guitar solos and we were especially over Mark's organ and Fudge's slowed-down rearrangements. Don't forget, this was the era of the supergroup, when artists would break up successul bands and form new groups, as Eric Clapton, Stevie Winwood, and Ginger Baker had done with Blind Faith. Suddenly all we wanted to do was quit the Fudge and form a supergroup with Jeff. Bonham gave Tim and I Jeff's phone number, and we called him up. The conversation went like a dream. Jeff confirmed that he would love to start a band with the two of us. Did he think Rod Stewart might join as well, we asked him. 'Maybe,' Jeff told us. Wow! This was really fucking taking shape! Suddenly Tim and I had this cool secret, and we couldn't wait to get started!"
Friday, July 16 - Saturday, July 17, 1969: Civic Auditorium, 1314 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii
These shows were presented by K-POI FM Sunshine, a local radio station.
Saturday, July 26, 1969: P.N.E. (Pacific National Exhibition) Agrodome, 2901 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by Concerts West.
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Sunday, July 27, 1969: 'The First Annual Seattle Pop Festival - Music, Love, Peace', Gold Creek County Park, 16020 148th Avenue Northeast, Woodinville, King County, Washington
Vanilla Fudge performed on the final night of this three-day (July 25-27) festival presented by Boyd Grafmyre and which lasted from 12 noon to 12 midnight each day. Also on the bill: The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Spirit, Chuck Berry, Blacksnake, Albert Collins, Youngbloods, Flying Burrito Brothers, Guess Who, Ike and Tina Turner Revue, Charles Lloyd, Bo Diddley, Lee Michaels, The Flock. Lights by Retina Circus. Approximately 40,000 people were in attendance. "As was my habit, I had been making local friends [when on tour]," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography, "On the day of our show, I had met a chick hanging around the hotel. What was her name? You know, to this day I can't remember. She was short, with wavy brown hair and small tits. She didn't say a lot, but you know what they say, right? It's always the quiet ones. We got talking at the Edgewater [Inn], and I offered the chick a lift to the gig. I had a limo all to myself that day, and we had hardly even closed the door behind us before she leaned across the back seat, lowered her head into my lap, unzipped me, and eased my dick into her mouth. I don't think the driver had even turned his engine on - but she sure turned me on! This girl knew what she was doing. She wrapped her pouting, luscious lips around me - I can't remember her name, but I can still picture those big blow job lips - and she gave me the best time it is humanly possible to have in a car driving through Seattle. When I came, I'm surprised I didn't take her head off." "When I got to my limo [after the show] to go back to the hotel," he continues, "the same girl was waiting for me. She didn't vary her shtick. As soon as we pulled away, my dick was back in her mouth. I had to give it to her: she was an artist. She got me off twice more on the forty-five-minute drive back to the Edgewater. Her lips were clamped around me for the entire journey, and by the time aI got back I needed a break. So I sent her down to one of the roadies. Or, rather, I did our usual routine: took her down to his room, told her I would be back shortly, and vanished. She didn't have a room at the hotel, so I assume she must have slept there. I can't say I gave it too much thought."
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Monday, July 28, 1969
After played at the above mentioned festival, Vanilla Fudge and their label-mate Led Zeppelin had a day off and they had such a nice laid-back vibe going that they decided to stay in Seattle today for a bit of rest and relaxation. "We were hanging out with Zeppelin, and we were doing most of the hanging at the Edgewater Inn," Carmine Appice confirms in his autobiography. "Now, the cool thing about the Edgewater was that you could fish right out of the window. it was famous for it. The hotel was right on Elliot Bay in Puget Sound, and it rented out fishing poles from the lobby. I hadn't been doing too much fishing. I was more interested in getting high on the strong local pot." "We made John Paul Jones's room our base camp," he contines, "and John Paul, Robert Plant and his wife Maureen, Tim Bogert, and I were all hanging out there in the late afternoon. The room was nothing special: a couch, a TV, standard-issue flowery curtains, and a matching bedspread. We were all smoking that strong local pot, the wine was spiked, and we were kicking back, listening to music and watching the cruise ships and speedboats in the bay through the big picture window. There was a knock at the door. Shit! We all hit panic mode and scramble to hide the pot, pick up the spare roaches scattered around, and spray air freshener in a doomed attempt to smother the pungent smell of marijuana suffusing the room. Cautiously, John Paul opened the door. It was her. It was the blow job chick, and she had come dressed for groupie business: seriously short cut-off jeans: a flowery, see-through chiffon blouse; and, it was clear, no bra. i must have told her in the limo the previous day that Mark Stein had camera gear with him, because she sat on the bed and started saying the same thing over and over: 'I want to make a movie with you guys.' She was even higher than the rest of us and was messing with my pot buzz, so I wanted to het away. I went to the next room, where I could hear yelling and laughter, and found Bonham and his wife Pat, Richard Cole, Zep roadie Clive Coulson, and [our road manager] Bruce Wayne having a fine old time. They were as wasted as we were and were fishing out of the Edgewater window. They must have been doing something right, because the bathtub was a wriggling mini-aquarium of fish. And arrowing through the middle of them was a two-foot-long, dead-eyed, ferocious-looking creature: a mud shark. I sat with those guys for a few minutes and told them about this crazy chick next door. Then I went back to John Paul's roon, using our secret knock to tell them it was one of the tour party. The mood was mellower in there by then, and the girl had stopped banging on about making movies, so we put on the first Delaney and Bonnie album. We had just switched to Joe Cocker's first record, and Robert was saying how much he liked it, when there was another knock on the door. We went into panic mode again, making stoned and hapless attempts to hide the evidence of out all-day party. Just like the first time, we really needn't have bothered. Bonham came bursting into the room with Cole, Coulson, and Bruce Wayne. Behind them trailed Mark Stein holding his Super 8 camera and lights, and looking like he sure wasn't set on filming a holiday video of the sailboats bobbing up and down in the harbor. One second we were all blessed out in peace, love, and a cloud of dope smoke. The next, it was carnage. Richard and Bruce were the ringleades, and they started straight in on the blow job chick sitting quietly on the bed. 'You want to make a fucking movie?' they asked her. 'OK, let's do it right now! Take your clothes off!' Meek as could be, the girl obediently stripped until she was naked. We were all giggling norvously, unsure what was going on - and that was when I realized the invaders from next door had brought their new pet, the mud shark, with them. 'What the fuck are you going to do with that? I asked. I got an answer I did not expect. Richard and Bruce threw the chick down so she was lying on the bed. Mark had by now got his camera rolling and the lights gleaming, and under their harsh glare Richard held the shark by the tail and started whipping the girl with it, beating her again and again as she writhed around the bed. Man, it must have hurt her! The shark had these protruding, vicious teeth like little razor blades, and every time it slapped against her, its teeth ripped her skin and left tiny blood-red scars all over her back. The poor chick looked like a pincushion - and the wildest thing was that was bucking and creaming with pleasure, as if she was about to come. Was this really happening? Mark was getting it all on celluloid and he moved his camera in closer as Richard and Bruce pulled the girl's legs open and shoved the thrashing shark up inside her. The chick was laughing as she came repeatedly. By now it was total anarchy in John Paul's room, and we were all doubled up with laughter as the insane scene developed. The shark was right up in the girl, its tail flailing between her thigs, which were drenched in the juices of her cum. We were rooted to the spot, transfixed and howling. The bedroom door was open, and a few of us were by now in fits of hysterics in the doorway. Hearing our racket, the Edgewater manager ran down the corridor from the lobby to see what all the noise was. He burst into the room, scattering the crowd by now gathered inside the door, and gasped at a mental scene: a stoned, naked girl, covered in tiny blood spots, being pleasured by a mud shark. 'You people are fucking crazy!' he yelled. 'Stop this at once!' And we dispersed like insects when a rock is lifted, capering down the corridor to our own rooms. John Paul and Tim came back to my room with me, and we wept with laughter as we replayed what had just happened. Slowly our hysteria began to dissolve, and we came down from our weird, twisted hight. We even called room service and ordered crumpets and English tea. Very civilized, right? 'Where did that bird go? I wonder if she's still in my room,' pondered John Paul. There was a knock on my door. I opened it, and there she was! By now she was dressed in John Paul's robe. She had gotten up, taken a shower, put it on, and wandered down the hail after us. John Paul freaked out: 'Get that dressing fown off, you bitch! I don't want your slutty germs on it!' So much for the gallant English gentleman! Without a word, she obeyed him and sat naked on the bed as we ate the crumpets. A relative calm descended. Scene two! Action! There was another knock at the door, and Richard Cole and Bruce Wayne barged their way in with a couple more roadies. They looked demented. They were carrying one of the hotel fishing poles from their room, and they told the girl to spread-eagle herself on the bed - which, submissive as ever, she did. 'We're going fishing,' Richard told me, totally matter-of-fact. 'We're going to stick this fishing hook up her cunt and see if we catch anything.' 'You can't do that!' I told him, aghast. 'Are you guys crazy? You'll kill her! A fishing hook isn't made to be put up a pussy. If you're going to do that, at least use something the right shape, like…' My eyes cast around the room and fastened on a condiment bottle on the room-service tray, 'Like this ketchup bottle.' It says a lot about the fucked-up mental state we were in at that moment that this seemed to me like a sensible compromise! Richard agreed. He laid the girl down on the bed and handed her a swab of butter left over from the crumpets. 'Put this on your pussy,' he ordered her. The crazed chick rubbed butter all over her crotch, snatched the ketchip bottle, and began feverishly fucking herself with it - in, out, in, out, in, out. She was moaning orgasmically again. She seemed to like it even more when Richard took his belt off and began whipping her. This was all too much for John Paul, who left in disgust. I think I would have split as well, if we had not been in my room. Instead, still drunk and stoned, I was getting semi-turned-on by the depraved scene in front of me: this wild girl jerking off with a ketchup bottle. Richard was now in movie-director mode, telling a roadie to stick his dick in her mouth and then come all over her face. The guy pulled down his zipper, and she started blowing him as she got herself off. Some of the other roadies did the same, and in no time the oblivious chick had cum all over her face, chest, and legs. She had butter all over her lower half and was still jerking off with the ketchup bottle when Richard put down his belt, took out his dick, and pissed all over her. I know what you're thinking: animals, right? And I guess at that minute none of us seemed human, least of all the girl, who was still moaning with pleasure and getting off, even when a certain someone - let's call him Richard Cole - provided the coup de grace by climbing on the bed, dropping his pants, and shitting on her chest. Let me tell yoi, this all reads as sick to me now as it does to you. But at the time, as the crap hit the crazy chick's chest with a sloppy thud, I could only think one thing: That is my bed! My bed - by then awash with shit, piss, semen, butter, ketchup, and one panting nymphomaniac. I grabbed my suitcase and stuffed my clothes into it. 'Tim, I'm moving into your room,' I declared, and we high-tailed it out there into Tim's adjoining room. We were chilling a couple of hours later when one of our roadies called the room. 'Guess where I am right now,' he said. 'I'm in bed with that chick who wants to be in a movie!' 'What?' I asked him. 'Do you know what this chick just did?' 'Yes, I heard,' he said. 'But it's OK. She took a shower.' Wow! That must have been some shower. The next day we flew out of Seattle and passed through Chicago, where I ran into Frank Zappa at O'Hare Airport. I knew Frank from our shows with the Mothers of Invention and - still high from the Seattle weed - I gabbled the whole story of what had gone down at the Edgewater Inn to him. 'Wow, that sounds crazy,' said Frank, who was clearly taking mental notes, because a couple of years later his next recordf, Fillmore East: June 1971, had a song called 'The Mud Shark' that related the whole sordid tale, including the following line: 'Let's say you were a rock-and-roll band called the Vanilla Fudge / Let's say one night you checked into the Edgewater Inn with an eight-millimeter video camera.' Thanks a lot, Frank! Of course, due to that song, to Richard Cole wirting a book, and to general word of mouth, the mud shark incident is now the most infamous story of rock-and-roll debauchery ever. Some even say it's apocryphal; it never even happened. Well, let me tell you, it did. And for better or worse, I had a front-row- seat. What happened to this notorius X-rated classic? Well, a friend of Vanilla Fudge named Randy Pratt bought a Super 8 film from some guy who claimed it was Mark's original forty years later, but when he developed it, it was too old and there was nothing on it. I reckon this was probably for the best. Morbid curiosity aside, that is one action movie that, older and wiser, I really would not like to see. And whatever happened to the chick? Oddly enough, years later she called in to a radio show I was on. She had moved to Alaska, raised a family, and lived happily ever after. I wish her well. Believe it or not, she was a nice girl."
Tuesday, July 29, 1969: Kinsmen Field House, Kinsmen Sports Centre, 9100 Walterdale Hill, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin. The show (actually two, 7:00pm and 9:30pm), which was originally scheduled for July 25, was promoted by Concerts West and Dick Lodmell. During Led Zeppelin's set, Carmine Appice jokingly takes John Bonham's place for the end of the song 'How Many More Times'. By the way, 5,000 people were in attendance.
Wednesday, July 30, 1969: The Terrace Ballroom, 464 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin. Lights by Frank & Stein.
Thursday, July 31, 1969: Cactus Entertainment Center (aka Cactus Bowl), Alvernon Way south of 22nd Street, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona
Saturday, August 2, 1969: Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Grand Avenue, Downtown Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico
Also on the bill: Led Zeppelin. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by Concerts West.
August ?, 1969
It was probably at the end of their infamous tour with Led Zeppelin, that Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice announced that they were quitting the band to joined Jeff Beck in a new supergroup called Cactus. "When Tim and I told Mark and Vinny we were quitting the band, they were shocked," Carmine Appice recalls in his autobiography. "Fudge had just been offered big money to tour Japan, but Tim and I refused to go, as we were so desperate to get started on Cactus. Mark and Vinny were really pissed off with us, but they didn't try to talk us into staying. They could see our minds were made up, The die was cast." However, Tim and Carmine had a few Vanilla Fudge dates already booked to honor, so they actually did not leave the band right on the spot.
Tuesday, August 5, 1969: City Auditorium, 221 East Kiowa Street, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph (July 26, 1969)
Wednesday, August 6, 1969: Memorial Hall, 600 North 7th Street, Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas
Thurasday, August 7, 1969: Indiana Beach (amusement park) on Lake Shafer, 5224 East Indiana Beach Boulevard, Monticello, White County, Indiana
One show, started at 10:15pm.
Anderson Daily Bulletin (August 6, 1969)
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The Kokomo Tribune (August 4, 1969)
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Thursday, August 7, 1969: 'The David Frost Show', CBS TV Show, WNEW Studios, 565 Fifth Avenue at 46th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge performed 'Need Love'. Also appeared: Pat Henry, Huntington Hartford Jr., Jean Nidetch, Carlton Frdericks, Dr. Lawrence Hatterer, Dr. Irwin Stillman, Stephen Rappaport.
Saturday, August 9, 1969: 'The Summer Music Festival - Shower of Stars', Civic Arena, 66 Mario Lemieux Place, downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: Spirit, Illusion. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by KQV, a local radio station.
Monday, August 11, 1969: ‘The Donald O’Connor Show,’ TV Show (broadcast date)
A syndicated talk show aired from 2pm to 3pm. Also appeared: Helen O’Connell, Henny Youngman, Buddy Fo, Fritz Feld.
Friday, August 29, 1969: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, 108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York
Also on the bill: Richie Havens, The Sundowners. One show, started at 8:30pm.
Sunday, August 31, 1969: ‘Moe Septee’s Summer of Stars,’ Asbury Park Convention Hall, 1300 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Also on the bill: Rhinoceros, The Cowsills.
September 1969
Vanilla Fudge's fifth album, 'Rock & Roll', was released in the US. "The chemistry had been so bad when we recorded it that we couldn't even be in the studio together," Carmine Appice recalls about the making of the album in his autobiography. "Tim and I would do our bits, and then Mark and Vinny would go in and do theirs. I guess the fans could tell, as it did worse than all of our previous albums."
Saturday, September 6, 1969: 'The First Annual Midwest Mini Pop Festival', Amphitheatre, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Vanilla Fudge hit the stage at 1:45am (so actually it was Sunday, September 7) and played until 3:00am when the authorities (police) pulled the plug. Also on the bill: Grand Funk Railroad, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Lonnie Mack (cancelled?), Dee Felice Trio, Balderdash, Sound Museum. The festival, which started at 7:00pm, was presented by Jim Tarbell. 8,000 people were in attendance.
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Saturday, September 13, 1969: unknown venue, University of Miami campus, 1320 South Dixie Highway, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Friday, September 19, 1969: 'V° Mostra Internazionale di Musica Leggera', Palazzo del Cinema, Lido di Venezia, Venezia, Veneto, Italia
Vanilla Fudge appeared on the second night of this three-day (September 18-20) live televised (on Programma Nazionale channel) Italian pop music contest which was held annually since 1965, and it was co-hosted by the great late Mike Bongiorno and Aba Cercato. They won the contest with their playback performance of one of their latest single, 'Some Velvet Song'. Also appeared: Aida Nola, Anna Arazzini, Claudio Villa, Fausto Leali, Fiorella Mannoia, Franco Battiato, Georges Moustaki, I Domodossola, Marcella Bella, Mau Cristiani, Milva, Orchestra, Ornella Vanoni, Riccardo Del Turco, Roberto Carlos, Rosalba Archilletti, Rosanna Fratello, Shirley Bassey, Sylvie Vartan, Ugolino. "Vanilla Fudge found ourselves competing in a talent contest in Italy," Carmine Appice confirms in his autobiography. "Fuck knows what it was all about. Someone at Atlantic Records had figured it was a good idea, and suddenly there we were in a stupidly expensive hotel in Venice to take part in some televised festival that we had never heard of and knew nothing about. We were there for three days and were scheduled to play one song - 'Some Velvet Morning' from the Near the Beginning album - on the festival's second night. On the first evening [September 18], we headed down to check out the venue. It was a weird scene: Italian-speaking aristocrats in tuxedos and ball gowns wafting around a beautiful old opera house. We felt like fish out of water in our hippie gear and so headed back to the hotel. The rooms didn't even have televisions, so I phoned Arlene and ended up getting into a crazy argument that went on for hours. When I got the room bill, I saw that fight had cost me four hundred dollars. That fuck Phil was there, as usual, to bail me out by paying the bill. With three days to kill in what felt like a luxury prison, we went stir crazy. When we discovered a gay guy who was connected to the festival hanging around the hotel, we dragged him to the pool and thre him in fully clothed, followed by assorted chairs and tables. The hotel management was not impressed by this, nor by our habit of strolling into the lobby, dropping our pants, and mooning the other guests. Tim proved better at killing time, befriending some chick from our record label, taking her to our room, and fucking her brains out. When the second night came around, we went back to the opera house and played 'Some Velvet Morning' on live television. We don't give the contest a second thought; we just wanted to get the fuck out of Venice."
Saturday, September 20, 1969: 'Mostra Internazionale di Musica Leggera', Piazza San Marco, Venezia, Veneto, Italia
Vanilla Fudge went back onstage on the last night of the live televised Italian pop music contest just to received their first prize, a golden trophy called 'La Gondola d'Oro'. Also appeared: Bobby Solo, Charles Aznavour, Claudio Villa, Dlaida, Domenico Modugno, Emy Cesaroni, Farida, Fausto Leali, Georges Moustaki, Gigliola Cinquetti, Iva Zanicchi, Johnny Hallyday, Little Tony, Marisa Sannia, Milva, Nino Ferrer, Nada, Orchestra, Ornella Vanoni, Riccardo Del Turco, Roberto Carlos, Rosanna Fratello, Stefania, Sylvie Vartan. "So, naturally, we won the competition and had to go up onstage to received our prize of a beautifil gondola in a gold box," Carmine Appice confirms in his autobiography. "But where the fuck was Vinny? We ran around the building trying to find him for the presentation ceremony as the Italian organizers screamed at us. We couldn't locate him, so Bruce Wayne posed as Vinny in the winners' photos. We later found that he jad fallen asleep in an upstairs stairwell out of sheer boredom! The next day, we rearranged the hotel, moving lobby furniture between floors and unraveling toilet paper all the way from the elevator to the waiting limos. The newspaper headlines celebratin our victory yelled 'Vanilla Fudge Primo!' and Batman [Bruce Wayne] beamed out of the front pages, mistakenly identified as Vinny. There were fans screaming at the airpot as we jetted out, but Tim and I couldn't have cared less. We just wanted to get to England."
Sunday, September 21, 1969: Le Rotonde, Via Leonardo Da Vinci 48, Garlasco, Pavia, Lombardia, Italia
Friday, September 26, 1969: Marquee Club, 90 Wardour Street, Soho, City of Westminster, Greater London, UK
Melody Maker's Richard Williams review the show: "I've a feeling that they committed suicide at exactly the right time."
Late September 1969: Montreux Casino, Rue du Théatre 9, Montreux, Lake Geneva, Switzerland
Late September or Early October 1969: unknown venue, Paris, France
Sunday, October 5, 1969: Morrow Field House, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania campus, 350 Kiester Road, Slippery Rock, Butler County, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: Guess Who.
Friday, October 10 - Saturday, October 11, 1969: Fillmore East, 105 2nd Avenue at East 6th Street, East Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Also on the bill: AUM (filled in for It's A Beautiful Day), Dr. John The Night Tripper. Lights by Joshua Light Show. These shows were presented by Bill Graham.
Sunday, October 19, 1969: The Field House, University of Toledo campus, 3000 West Centennial Drive, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio
Saturday, October 25, 1969: 'Beat-Club', ARD (Radio Bremen) TV Show, unknown filmed location, Bremen, West Germany (broadcast date)
Vanilla Fudge performed 'Shotgun'. Also appeared: Blodwyn Pig, Ten Years After, Tea & Symphony, The Nice, Barry Ryan, Joe Cocker, Chicken Shack, Marsha Hunt.
Monday, November 3, 1969
Jeff Beck and his manager Peter Grant had planned to fly from London to New York City today. They had arranged to meet Tim Bogert, Carmine Appice, and their manager Phil Basile, so they can officialy signed their new contracts to form the supergroup Cactus. However, the flight was cancelled after Jeff was involved in a bad car accident the day before, and consequently he was out of the music scene for over a year. Nedless to say, Tim and Carmine were "forced" to continue to play with Vanilla Fudge! "Working with Jeff was suddenly on the back burner, and Tim and I realized we were in a bit of a spot," Carmine Appice confirms in his autobiography. "We had broken up Vanilla Fudge and now didn't have anything to replace it with. Where did we go from here? We decided to do a few more dates with Fudge just to keep our heads above the water financially, while at the same time trying to get a new band going. So we started auditioning musicians, rehearsing like mad during the week, and playing still fairly lucrative gigs with Fudge on weekends."
Saturday, November 15, 1969: ‘Pitt’s Homecoming,’ Syria Mosque, 4400 Bigelow Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Also on the bill: Spirit.
North Hills News-Record (November 25, 1969)
Wednesday, November 19, 1969
The today edition of the North Hills News-Record, a Pennsylvania daily newspaper whose correspondent Chris Winters probably talked with the band when they played in Pittsburgh on November 15, reported that “bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge have left the group to join the Jeff Beck Group [sic]. This is the first column in the country to print this fact.” However, as mentioned above, the news was already outdated since Jeff Beck’s car accident from November 2 which forced him to retired from the music scene for over a year, and forced Bogert and Appice to stay with Vanilla Fudge for another four months before disbanding for good.
Saturday, November 22, 1969: HemisFair Arena (aka Convention Centre Arena), 601 Hemisfair Way, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
Also on the bill: Bit's Of Soul with Sara Phelcher, TSU Tornados. The show, which started at 8pm, was presented by ECI (Entertainment Consultants, Inc.).
San Antonio Express/News (November 15, 1969)
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San Antonio Express/News (November 16, 1969)
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Saturday, November 29, 1969: '1st Annual Palm Beach International Music & Arts Festival', Palm Beach International Raceway, 17047 Bee Line Highway, Jupiter, Palm Beach County, Florida
Vanilla Fudge were a last minute unbilled addition to the second night bill of a three-day (November 28-30) music festival. Also on the bill: Grand Funk Railroad, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, King Crimson, Pacific Gas & Electric, Rotary Connection, Sly and The Family Stone, Spirit, Spooky Tooth, The Byrds, Wavy Gravy (MC). "We put a jam together with the Fudge, Johnny Winter on guitar, and Janis [Joplin] on vocals," Carmine Appice recalls about the gig in his autobiography. "The crowd was really getting their rocks off, and as we played a long, stoned slow blues, Janis walked to each of us, one by one, grooving and telling us, 'Kick ass, you mother! Do it!' During the guitar solo in the jam, Janis was moving and shaking by my drums, drinking from a bottle. Suddenly she jammed the bottle into my mouth, nearly knocking my teeth out, and tilted it up so high that a river of liquor flowed down my throat. In a few seconds the jolt of the slug of booze was so intense that I got a head rush and thought I was going to fall off my stool. The booze tasted sickly, and it turned out to be Southern Comfort, which I had never tried before but which Janis cheerfully drank by the gallon. After our jam, she gave me a hugh and a kiss on the cheek, said, 'You rock, baby!' and wandered off. What a mad woman."
December 6, 1969: Academy Of Music, East 14th Street, b/w Irving Place and Third Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Vanilla Fudge filled in for Canned Heat. Also on the bill: B.B. King, James Gang. The show was presented by Howard Stein.
Saturday, December 27 - Monday, December 29, 1969: 'Miami Rock Festival - Last Rock Festival of the 60's', Miami-Hollywood Speedway Park, 16661 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, Broward County, Florida
A 3-day festival presented by Miami Rock Festival Inc. and Edcoe Productions. Also on the bill: Santana, Crow, Smith, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Butterfield Blues Band, B.B. King, Hugh Masekela, Tony Joe White, Biff Rose, Amboy Dukes, Turtles, Motherlode, The Band, Johnny Winter, Cold Blood, Sweetwater (cancelled).
Saturday, December 27 - Monday, December 29, 1969: 'Indian Creek Celebration and Music Appreciation Seminar', San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California (cancelled)
Also on the bill: Bycycle, Blues Image, Blue Mountain Eagle, The Byrds, Chambers Bros., Country Joe and The Fish, Iron Butterfly, John Savages, Eric Mercury, Pacific Gas & Electric, Rotary Connection, Spirit, Sweetwater, Johnny Winter, Bobby Womack, Youngbloods, Zephyr, and others. A local Los Angeles organisation of promoters calling itself Mid-Winter Pop Festival Inc. books several acts for a three-day festival, the 'Indian Creek Celebration and Music Appreciation Seminar', to be held in a wooded area of rolling hills just north-east of San Luis Obispo, CA, a couple of days before New Year's Eve. The promoters reputedly shell out £300,000 to reserve at least 18 acts, including Sweetwater exactly, and expect attendance in the region of 200,000-300,000. By the weekend of December 20-21, people arrive at Indian Creek with tents and sleeping bags. The recently Altamont disaster has left local California authorities unwilling to give permission for any gathering of large crowds, and lawmen practically see red when a gathering equals a rock festival. Despite clever attempts to draw attention away from the bad image that festivals have gained or hide the festivities under a different guise (the Indian Creek Festival, for example, is a "seminar"), the San Luis Obispo project is doomed. The local sheriff, the governor's office, the state disaster office, and nearby city and county authorities join forces to stop the organisers. On December 24, County Supervisors unanimously adopt an ordinance forbidding assemblies of more than 5,000 persons for a period of three months - and that's the end of the seminar.
Los Angeles Free Press (December 19, 1969)
Los Angeles Free Press (January 9, 1970)
Saturday, January 31, 1970: George R. Wallace Jr. Civic Center, 1000 John Fitch Highway, Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts
One show, started at 8:30pm, Also on the bill: The Bacchos.
Saturday, March 14, 1970: Action House, 50 Austin Boulevard, Island Park, Nassau County, New York
Vanilla Fudge's farewell gig. "There were two thousand people crammed into Phil's Long Islanf club that night and nearly as many locked outside, clamoring to get in," Carmine Appice recalls about their last gig together in his autobiography. "That was an amazing night. It was hugely emotional to look out at the faces of people who had supported the Fudge right from the start. Yet Tim and I knew we were doing the right thing. Our big farewell night tugged at the heartstrings, but that same heart told me it was time to move on. Incidentally, it wasn't too long after that goodbye gig that the Action House burned down. Phil did OK from insurance, and there were a lot of rumors knocking around that the Mob had started the fire deliberately. Years later, when I saw Ray Liott as Henry Hill torching a club in Goodfellas, I wondered if that was based on the Action House." Anyway, after the band disbanded for good, Carmine and Tim went to play with the aforementioned Cactus before finally teamed up with Jeff Beck to form a power trio called Beck, Bogert & Appice, Vinny formed a new band called The Good Rats, while Mark retired from the music scene for a while until he returned to play with Tommy Bolin and Alice Cooper before forging a new career composing advertising jingles. Nedless to say, as many of the bands from the 60s, the Fudge has reunited several times since the 1980s, and they are currently touring with three of the four original members: Stein, Martell, and Appice with Pete Bremy on bass as Bogert retired in 2008. But, that's another story…
Friday, March 27 - Sunday, March 29, 1970: 'Southwest '70 Peace Festival', Floyd L. Reynold's farm, 10 miles East of Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas (Vanilla Fudge canceled)
Due to weather problems, the Thursday opening is postponed until the following day - extending the festivities until Sunday instead of the planned end on Saturday. Also on the bill: The Byrds (28; canceled), Barry McGuire (27), Johnny Winter, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Sweetwater, Flock, Zephyr, Canned Heat, Muddy Waters, Truth (28), Sundance, Freddie King, Bloodrock (27), Joe Kelly Blues Band, Bangor Flying Circus (28), Blue Mountain Eagle, Beast, Frantics, and more. The festival was promoted by Atlantis Productions.
Friday, July 17, 1970: National Guard Armory, 709 West Crawford Street, Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia (canceled)
One show, started at 9:00pm.
