The album was retitled Then and Now, and was released on the Fuel 2000 label.Īnother project for Bogert and Appice was the 2001 album, D.B.A., with guitarist Rick Derringer. With Rondinelli onboard, Vanilla Fudge tweaked the original song list of The Return, eliminating “Ain’t That Peculiar” and plugging in “Eleanor Rigby” and an alternate version of the Fudge original “Need Love” featuring Rondinelli and the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. Vanilla Fudge and Blue Oyster Cult haven’t gigged together, but Bogert thinks “.it would be a good combo.” Teddy was located through a friend of Bobby’s. Rondinelli is the brother of drummer Bobby Rondinelli, percussionist on the three most recent albums by the Blue Oyster Cult ( Heaven Forbid, Curse of the Hidden Mirror, and the live A Long Day’s Night). “He sat out six or eight months, then Teddy Rondinelli came in.” The band also covered Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” (Appice co-wrote and drummed on the original), and even gave the Fudge treatment to two songs by modern boy bands – ‘N Sync’s “Tearing Up My Heart” and the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” However, Martell ultimately had to depart due to problems with his hands. Bogert says the Gaye song was “one of our old ‘club tunes.’ We had three or four sets of material back in the club days.” The late-’90s edition of Vanilla Fudge created an album titled The Return, which featured new recordings of Fudge covers such as “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and “Shotgun,” as well as a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar” sung by Martell. It was profitable and fun – two things a man my age needs to hear!” “We had a really good time in Japan, so we said, ‘Let’s keep this going.’ And we did. Vinnie had been working in New York with Bill Pascali, who sounds very much like Mark, vocally if he does Mark’s phrasing and you close your eyes, it’s pretty close. We called Carmine, and he was very interested. We called Mark Stein, and he wasn’t interested. I hadn’t played out on the road in a long time. “I’d retired from the music school in ’97, so I was just hanging around, and I thought it’d be fun. “Vinnie called me up and said, Tim, I have a gig for the Fudge in Tokyo would you like to go?'” Bogert said. “Carmine has really hustled he and our manager have done a nice job getting us around the world, literally. “The Fudge got back together in ’98, and that has kept me busy,” he noted. The band broke up in 1970 following the release of its fifth album, Rock & Roll, and in the ensuing years, there had been other reunion attempts, including a 1984 album called Mystery that featured Martell on one track, and an appearance at the Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary show in 1988 that saw Lanny Cordola in the guitarist’s slot. Refusing to conform to the normal rhythm section role of a bass player, Bogert’s efforts included oddball notes played high on the neck, expressive slides and note bends, and fuzzed-up tones! In the late ’60s, Vanilla Fudge, like other rock bands, didn’t produce music that was danceable their efforts simply demanded a listener’s attention.īogert’s bass playing was an important part of the Vanilla Fudge sound. Songs by English bands, Motown groups, R&B artists, and tunes from other genres all underwent considerable modification by the Fudge during the band’s heyday, getting bombastic arrangements that sometimes included classical material. The quartet, which broke out with a cover of the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” in 1967, was known for its innovative reworkings of hit singles by other artists. Members of other bands, such as Yes and Uriah Heep, have cited Vanilla Fudge as influential. “A lot of guys who came back have thanked me for the music over the years,” he noted. While signing autographs, an attendee told him, “I used to listen to your stuff when I was in ‘Nam!” Bogert flashed a thumbs-up said, “Well, I’m glad you made it back!” and later said the exchange wasn’t the first of its kind. Shortly after Bogert’s first interview, he made an appearance at a guitar show in Southern California. We recently spoke once again with Bogert, and got into the current state of affairs of the Fudge, his other efforts, his gear, and we also fine-tuned some of the band’s history.
Well, things change, and today Bogert is back with a version of Vanilla Fudge consisting of himself, original drummer Carmine Appice, keyboardist Bill Pascali, and guitarist Teddy Rondinelli, who replaced original guitarist Vince Martell. At the time, the veteran of Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and Beck, Bogert & Appice (amongst other aggregations) had settled in as an instructor at a Los Angeles music school and was gigging with a power trio to keep his chops honed. Innovative bassist Tim Bogert first graced the pages of Vintage Guitar in June, 1993.