Cappello studied intermittently with Lennie Tristano over a four-year span between touring with performers such as musician
Eric Carmen and comedian
Billy Crystal. in addition to touring with Gabriel. Cappello also toured with
Garland Jeffreys in 1978, playing both saxophone and keyboards. After struggling with
heroin addiction, Cappello quit the drug "
cold turkey" in 1979 and began
bodybuilding in 1980.—a band that included drummer J.P. "Thunderbolt" Patterson (also of
The Dictators and
Manitoba's Wild Kingdom) and Joe Carroll, a composer/producer who is president and founder of the Manhattan Producer's Alliance (ManHatPro). Cappello toured with
Ringo Starr in 1992 and 1999 as a member of his
All-Starr Band. At tall, and reportedly in 1985,—for her four-hour documentary series about the
Rat Pack for the
A&E channel, and for her 2001 TV documentary ''Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir''. In 2018, Tim was featured, along with singer
Indiana, on the British Synthwave band
GUNSHIP's single "Dark All Day" from the album of the same name. The album rose to number 1 in the Electronic charts in the US, UK, and Canada. He also released his first solo album,
Blood on the Reed, in 2018 and toured to support the album in 2019 and 2020 until COVID-19 hit. In 2021 Tim was featured in the Netflix docuseries
Worn Stories in which he tells about his relationship to his codpiece, first given to him by Tina Turner, as a symbol of strength in the face of the ups and downs of the music business and the saxophone's regard (or lack thereof) in popular music. In 2021 and 2022, Timmy appeared as one of the rock experts on the AXS show 'The Top 10 Revealed, Starring Katie Daryl', appearing in four episodes in 2021 and again in 2022. He made an appearance in June 2022 in a 35 minute video concert collaboration between
Stranger Things and Doritos called 'Live From The Upside Down' starring
Charli XCX,
The Go-Go's,
Corey Hart, and
Soft Cell. Cappello toured the US all through 2022 in support of his album
Blood on the Reed. In September 2022, Cappello was featured in the season 2 finale of the FX series
Reservation Dogs. Cappello appears in the closing scene singing and playing saxophone to "I Still Believe" with White Jesus. In September 2023,
GUNSHIP released the "Unicorn" album, in which Cappello is featured in 'Monster in Paradise', 'Empress of the Damned' and 'Tech Noir 2' alongside other featured artists. In December 2024, Cappello was once again featured alongside
GUNSHIP in 'China in Your Hand'. ==In popular culture==