Carmine Appice: Rock Music Is Taylor Swift Nowadays

Carmine Appice sat down with Ted Nugent for the latest episode of the ‘Spirit Campire.’ During the chat, the rocker revealed that his new Cactus album is not labeled rock but blues instead. He explained the reason by saying that rock today is Taylor Swift:

“I wanted to market it differently because [it has been] a blues rock band from the beginning. I talked to the owner again, I said, ‘Look, we should market this as a blues record not a rock record because rock today is Taylor Swift.’ So he said, ‘Okay, let’s call it Temple Of Blues.’ I said, ‘Let’s add onto it ‘Influences & Friends,’ so then we change the vibe of the whole album cover and all that.’”

Who Does The Album Include?

Appice’s announced the new album almost a month ago.

Their upcoming album, ‘Temple of Blues – Influences & Friends,’ follows their 2021 release ‘Tightrope’ and features a bunch of guest stars. Those names include Joe Bonamassa, Dee Snider, Pat Travers, Warren Haynes, Vernon Reid, Steve Stevens, Ted Nugent, and many more.

The original Cactus guitarist Jim McCarty and Appice’s Vanilla Fudge bandmate Mark Stein are also part of the record. In the album, Stein sings a cover of Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally.’

Appice’s Comments On Cactus

Appice talked about Cactus earlier and said many names were inspired by them and even wanted to be a part of it. He explained:

“The music of Cactus has always been steeped in blues tradition. We kept hearing from so many of our music celebrity friends how much Cactus influenced them and how they would love to be a guest on a Cactus album. Even our label President, Brian Perera from Cleopatra Records, suggested to us that this album happens. So, Temple Of Blues was the logical next step.”

Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who also contributes to the album, said:

“To get a call from Carmine Appice, asking me to sing this song on a Cactus album is one of the highlights of my career. He told me I sounded more like the late great Rusty Day than anyone else he ever heard. Of course I do! You don’t fuck with perfection!”

The album will be released next week on June 7.

See the interview here.