Carmine Appice (b. December 15, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock drummer of Italian ancestry. He is brother to Vinny Appice, who also plays drums professionally. Appice first came to prominence as the flamboyant percussionist with the late 1960s psychedelic foursome Vanilla Fudge. ...show more

Carmine Appice (b. December 15, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock drummer of Italian ancestry. He is brother to Vinny Appice, who also plays drums professionally. Appice first came to prominence as the flamboyant percussionist with the late 1960s psychedelic foursome Vanilla Fudge.

Appice and bassist Tim Bogert contributed distinctive background harmonies to the group's high-decibel sonic assault. After five albums, Appice and Bogert left Vanilla Fudge to form the blues-rock quartet Cactus, with vocalist Rusty Day and guitarist Jim McCarty (formerly with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels and the Buddy Miles Express). Appice and Bogert then left Cactus to join Jeff Beck in the power trio Beck, Bogert and Appice. Appice later joined Rod Stewart's backing band, and played drums on (and co-wrote) such Stewart hits as "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Young Turks." He was a member of the supergroup KGB, featuring Ray Kennedy, Rick Grech, Mike Bloomfield, and Barry Goldberg, and has recorded with Stanley Clarke, Ted Nugent, and Pink Floyd.

He has also played in the bands King Kobra, Whitesnake (briefly) a band that featured John Sykes before Appice joined and Blue Murder with Sykes. Although he did not play on the Ozzy Osbourne album Bark at the Moon, he appeared in the music video for the title track and played on part of the tour. Appice counts among his influences the jazz drumming of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, combined with an extensive classical training. Besides his meticulous timekeeping skills, Appice is known for his showmanship, which includes stick tosses and twirls, power fills, and double-bass drum bombs. ...show less