We went on to tour with Jimmi Hendrix, and when Led Zeppelin came out, they opened for us. With Vanilla Fudge, we had our first success with “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” We became an iconic band, and one of the first Progressive Rock bands. I hooked up with Neil Scott, who was a 17-year old promoter, who later became Neil Bogart, the head of Casablanca records, which is the label that launched KISS and Donna Summers in the 70s. I had changed my name…Mark Stevens and The Charmers. It’s called Mark Stevens and The Charmers. We cut records and had a record out when I was maybe 16. I had some great vocal groups at Bayonne high school. So, you were exposed to that at such a young age and just took off from there… Here I am, 11 years old, still in grammar school, I was out there getting exposed to the crazy, insane world of sex, drugs, and Rock ‘N’ Roll at 11 years old.
#VANILLA FUDGE TV#
I was actually on TV in Washington DC with Sam Cooke and Lane Newton. That’s very impressive, and quite an accomplishment at that age. I ended up playing in shows when I was 11 years old, in New York. I was playing rhythm guitar and doing Rock ‘N’ Roll songs. I got bitten by the Rock ‘ N’ Roll bug when Buddy Holly came out…that whole thing with The Crickets. I started one finger melodies, and everybody was going, “Wow! Obviously he’s got some kind of talent that was leftover from another life, maybe at that…so young.” So, I just started getting into playing, and my dad started me out with accordion lessons, which was prevalent in the 50s. When he went into the kitchen, I’d sneak over, I must have been maybe five, six years old…I just was born with this natural ability. I was in amazement watching him play the piano, and playing the songs of the day. My uncle, who lived in Bayonne, New Jersey, had an upright piano. You started playing music when you were very young, right? So, let’s touch on your musical background. The last gig was at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA with Robbie Krieger. We played Virginia and a couple of days in Pennsylvania. And us too, it was great to hit the stage. People were just yearning for Classic Rock music after two years, which was really cool. I’ll tell you one thing…the Suffolk Theater out in Long Island…I think it was sold out. So, how did your first tour in the two years go?
#VANILLA FUDGE FULL#
I loved the video that came out and I’m looking forward to hearing the full album.
So “We Are One” reflects the pandemic, I got a positive message and people are really digging it. My album, There’s a Light will be out this month, November 26th.
About six weeks into the pandemic I had written a song called “We Are One,” which is out now. In those two years that you weren’t touring, you were working on your solo album, right?
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