King Kobra

Formed in 1984 by legendary drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne), Los Angeles Heavy Metal outfit King Kobra recorded two critically acclaimed albums for Capitol Records: the 1985 release 'Ready to Strike' and 1986's 'Thrill of a Lifetime'. Along with Carmine, the band featured four relatively unknown musicians at the time - David Michael-Philips and Mick Sweda on guitar, Johnny Rod on bass and Mark Free on lead vocals. King Kobra toured the U.S., Canada, Europe and Mexico playing shows with Kiss, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Ted Nugent, Queensryche and Autograph. The band was featured regularly on MTV and performed the theme song for the #1 1986 motion picture "Iron Eagle". After disbanding in 1988, each member continued his career in other successful major-label groups - Carmine to Blue Murder (Geffen), Mark Free to Unruly Child (Interscope), Mick Sweda to the BulletBoys (Warner Bros.), Johnny Rod to WASP (Capitol/EMI) and David Michael-Philips to Lizzy Borden (Metal Blade). The year 2010 saw the band reunite the original classic '85 lineup, replacing Mark Free (now Marcie Free) with veteran lead vocalist Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot). King Kobra is back stronger than ever and "Ready to Strike" once again!