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Vanilla Fudge will be stopping by The Kent Stage on October 8.  Their remake of The Supremes “You Keep Me Hanging On” reached #6 on the charts in 1967.  We had the chance to chat with Mark Stein, the vocalist and keyboardist of Vanilla Fudge to talk about his career and his upcoming appearance in Kent.

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Greg Drugan: Vanilla Fudge came out of one of the most creative periods in rock history, with psychedelic and hard rock starting. When you look back at the band’s beginnings, what do you remember most about discovering that distinctive sound?

 

Mark Stein:  Back in the late ‘60s, we were a part of a bunch of bands that were doing production numbers, they used to call them. We weren’t the first band to do what we did, to be honest.  We just did it better than everybody else.  The main influence was a band called The Vagrents with the late great Leslie West on guitar.  They used to do songs like “If I Were A Carpenter” and the theme from “Exodus.”  They used to slow all these songs down and had a real dramatic effect and it was just mind blowing.  That really inspired me and that’s what I wanted to do, to go in that direction.  I had a flair for reimagining other people’s songs. That’s what started it all. 

 

GD:  For sure!  You hit it out of the park with your first song, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” When that song was released, it really blew up and you went on The Ed Sullivan Show. Being from New York, what was it like playing on that show where all of these iconic acts have played? 

 

MS:  That was incredible.  In those days, if you were on The Sullivan Show, that was the peak.  That meant that you made it.  That was it.  You were in 50 million living rooms in America and across the world. It was just so exciting, not for just me and the band but for all of our friends and family. It was a really proud moment.  Not only that but your record went up the charts by over 30 points on Cash Box and Billboard a week later because of that kind of exposure. It was incredible.

 

GD:  That’s crazy. Your Hammond B-3 organ became one of the defining sounds of Vanilla Fudge. What first attracted you to the instrument, and how did you develop your own approach to playing it?

 

MS:  That’s a good question.  I went to see The Rascals with Felix Cavelerie in the mid ‘60s. Felix was the first cat that I saw on this instrument called the Hammond B3.  He had soulful singing and I used to go watch him all the time.  He had a huge influence on me. I was like 19 years old.  I asked my dad to help me out because I had to get one of these monsters. I was in a band with Tim Bogart and I actually had the Hammond delivered to Tim Bogart’s house.  I went and practiced it on his porch because that was the only place that could house it. I just developed my own style. I listened to cats like Felix and Jimmy Smith and all those great Hammond players. That’s how it all started.  I looked at it like an orchestra.  I wasn’t a chops player, I was more of a texture, color type player. 

 

GD:   Did you take piano lessons as a kid growing up?

 

MS:  I did not, no.  At the behest of my dad, I did take some accordion lessons when I was like 9 years old. I was pretty good on it, but I got the rock and roll bug pretty early on, so I gave that up.

 

GD:  You made the right choice for sure! Vanilla Fudge is often credited as an important influence on the development of heavy rock and progressive rock. Did you realize at the time that the band was helping create a musical blueprint that later artists would build upon?

 

MS:  No, we didn’t realize that!  It wasn’t until many years later that I realized we were a very strong influence on Deep Purple.  Richie Blackmore always talks about it.  John Lord and the rest of Deep Purple used to come and see us play in England in 1967 on our first tour.  And I know we heavily influenced them and bands like that.  Uriah Heap and even Led Zeppelin, who opened for us, we kinda broke them in in the early days. All kinds of bands were influenced by us so that’s cool to be a part of that in rock history.

 

GD:  You mentioned Led Zeppelin.  You guys toured with some legendary artists like Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Janis Joplin.  Do you have any memories from sharing stages with those artists that still stand out to you?

 

MS:  We opened for a bunch of shows for Jimi Hendrix in ‘68.  We used to hang out together and eat together and talk rock and roll.  Then we toured with Zeppelin when their first album came out.  I remember hearing “Dazed and Confused” and “You Shook Me,” our agent played me these tracks and said this is Led Zeppelin and they’re going to be opening for you guys. The first tour, they were like kids. But then they started to get so good so quick and I knew that they were going to be big.  They developed into the biggest band in the world. By the second tour with us, half way through they were headliners and they just took off.  We were at the center of the pop music universe, we knew everybody and we toured with everybody. 

 

GD: The chemistry between you, Vince Martell, Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert was such an important part of the Vanilla Fudge sound. What made that original lineup work so well musically?

 

MS:  You just said it yourself, it was the chemistry. Tim was monumental, his bass playing was so unique.  Vinny’s guitar playing was great, it was like an orchestra on top of Carmine’s power and rhythms and I was the orchestra developing all of these arrangements. We just blended.  When I first heard “You Keep Me Hanging On” on the radio, I was with Tim. Tim said “this is a song that maybe we could slow down.  I said, “that’s a good idea.” So I came up with this arrangement and I called up Vinnie and I said I had this cool idea for “You Keep Me Hanging On” and he came up with this amazing ragga lick that he came up with. After a few hours, we had something special and we couldn’t wait to unleash it.  The rest is history. 
 

GD:  After Vanilla Fudge broke up, you’ve had an amazing career  with Tommy Bolin, Alice Cooper and Dave Mason.  I actually saw you a couple of years ago with Dave in Warren, that was a great show. 

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MS: Thank you.  That was a really super band, I loved that band.  I toured with Dave the last year and a half of his touring career.  He started getting ill and cancelling shows. Last April he passed on and I happened to be in New Hampshire playing with The Fudge when I got the tragic news.  That was a blow for sure.  I loved Dave Mason.  We played together in the ‘70s.  

 

I played with Tommy Bolin in the ‘70s and I toured with Alice Cooper on the Welcome To My Nightmare shows in the southern hemisphere.  I’ve played with Carl Palmer and all kinds of things.  But, here we are sixty years on I’m coming to your town in October, right?

 

GD:  For sure, you are coming to The Kent Stage on October 8th.

 

MS:  Yeah, it’s a really cool venue. I’m looking forward to that.

 

GD:  It’s been sixty years now, what keeps the music fresh and exciting for you when you step on stage today?

 

MS:  We’re really lucky to be able to rock like the young guys.  We just have this collective magic that turns on when we get on stage. That never really left.
 

GD: When you are out there performing, you have all kinds of fans from younger kids to their grandparents, what do you hope the younger fans take away from the band’s music and legacy?

 

MS:  The fact that we play our own instruments, we sing our own vocals.  We don’t have tracks or computers or all that stuff that’s so prevalent in modern music.  We’re one of the last of the Mohicans when it comes to being real and natural and doing it all ourselves. That’s what people know and respect us for.

 

GD:  I’m 56 and I go to concerts all the time and I see young kids and it’s amazing to see their reaction when they say “they’re actually playing live music! Where’s the computer?”

 

MS:  (laughs) Me and Carmine are in our 80th year and it’s ridiculous. When we were kids we used to think about one day we’re going to be in our 50s and 60s and who knows if we’ll be playing. Here we are on the precipice of 80 and here we are out there rocking.  It’s pretty phenomenal, really. 

 

GD: After everything you’ve experience, from the psychedelic ’60s through decades of touring and recording, how would you like Vanilla Fudge to be remembered in the history of rock and roll?

 

MS:  I like to be thought of as one of the first experimental bands that really dared to be different. When we came out with our music, we turned a lot of heads. It was never heard before on record the reimagined approach we had to all those songs. The Beatles songs, “Ticket To Ride” and "Eleanor Rigby.”  Even George Harrison used to play that first album at parties all the time.  He was impressed with our music.  One time I had a talk with Sonny Bono and we were talking about our approach to “Bang, Bang,” he was blown away with all that stuff.  We did dared to be different and brought something new to the table. We influenced a lot of musicians that went on to become what they became, bands like Uriah Heap and Deep Purple and even Led Zeppelin.  Even Yes and Chicago and Styx.  All of these bands have mentioned us as influences in some shape or form.  I’m rather proud of that.  I’d like to be remembered as an influence and a band that still rocks! 

 

GD:  You're going to be rocking The Kent Stage in a few weeks, what can fans expect from the show?

 

MS:  We’re gonna celebrate all the songs that made us famous.  We’re gonna be doing psychedelic versions of songs like “She’s Not There,” and “Keep Me Hanging On.” We’re gonna have drum solos and some new original arrangements that we're gonna be doing.  I want to keep that a surprise when the fans come to see us.  I think it’s going to be a great show.  I’m looking forward to it!

 

GD:  Mark, I’m going to get the word out and we’re gonna pack The Kent Stage for you!

 

MS:  Sounds great! Thank you so much! 

 

Make sure you see one of the original bands from the psychedelic era, Vanilla Fudge at The Kent Stage on October 8.

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Tickets start at $35.75 and can be purchased here. 

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