Vinnie Vincent in Stockholm!
November 19, 1983, KISS performs at Johanneshovs Isstadion on their "Lick It Up" tour, the first tour without the classic makeup and stage costumes. Ace Frehley's solo guitar has been taken over by Vinnie "The Wiz" Vincent.
It would take almost 13 long years before Vinnie Vincent returned to Sweden. He was invited as a "special guest" when Kiss Army Sweden organized its second annual KISS Stockholm Convention on Kolingsborg at Slussen. Newly married Vinnie stormtrivdes in the Swedish capital, and was honored and proud to participate in the convention.
During the week in Stockholm took the Kiss Army Sweden's representatives care about the star and we got to know a super nice and funny man who most people probably have a pretty biased opinion about.
Misunderstandings at Arlanda
It was a few minutes after eight in the morning of Tuesday, March 26, 1996 when American Airlines' flight AA80 from Chicago landed at Arlanda International. I (Anders Ringman) and Johan Kihlberg from Kiss Army Sweden was on hand to meet Vinnie Vincent and his wife Diane for the first time in more than 13 years visited Sweden and Stockholm. One by one the passengers came from AA80 out through the doors, but no Vinnie. Maybe he has some kind of problem in customs, we thought. He will come sooner or later.
After nearly an hour we received a message from the information that Vinnie was going on, he had thought that we would meet him at the gate! A misunderstanding, that is. Coming from abroad, one must always pass through customs and passport control before it hits those who are there to meet up.
Well, we gaggade about this for a minute before we started to pack into Vinnie's luggage in the car. It was barely letting us fit everything. After a little tinkering we came anyway away. We went to the Scandic Crown Hotel at Slussen where a suite was ready for check-in. Vinnie was over-satisfied with the room, which had a splendid view of our proud capital. Vinnie was obviously tired after the flight and wanted as quickly as possible, lie down to sleep.
Before we left Scandic sued, however, we encounter later that evening, we were going along with the "KISS Convention staff" run through some details regarding safety, etc.. After the meeting we took a quiet dinner at Scandic's extraordinary Eken Bar & Dining Room. With was also Mats Reed Fjord.
Sightseeing
The following day it was time for a little sightseeing in Stockholm. We visited the first model shop Cinematiqué, it turned out that Vinnie had a passion for models. The holder Staffan showed Vinnie lots of characters he has created and revealed some secret tricks. Vinnie was mightily impressed.
We then went including out on Djurgården before we finally ended up in Old Town, where Vinnie showed haggling skills when Diane would buy a blouse in a store along Vasterlanggatan. Tonight's dinner was enjoyed at Chinese restaurant Dragon Palace where also present absolute, perhaps this week, highlight took place.
Of course, we thought that Vinnie should learn a little Swedish when he still was visiting. Since he is a big chocolate lover, it was well appropriate that he could say, "I feel great when I eat chocolate!" We thought. When he (almost) learned to say this phrase, he wanted to show what he could and called up because his friend Göran Edman (such as sung by Madison, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum).
It calls those present were told can not describe in words, but I can assure you that it was a long time ago we got us such a good and hearty laugh!
Visit the KISS-shop
After dinner it was time for a visit to the Kiss Army Sweden's KISS-shop. Vinnie got to see the entries in the drawing competition, met fans and we listened to songs that he said he has not heard since they were recorded, eg "A Million To One", "Not For The Innocent", etc.
Later that evening visited the rock club Schizophrenia Sveavägen (thanks to Jacob, Stefan & Jeppe!) Where the floor had been reserved for Vinnie with companionship. Here Vinnie got acquainted with singer Thomas Vikström (Talk Of The Town, Candlemass, plastic) that a few days later would attend the microphone as Vinnie would play with Kiss Army Sweden's Tribute Band. Vinnie got obviously write some autographs while his new mini-album "The EP" got Sweden premiere.
On the way home from town 'we got to experience a little "hysteria" on a smaller scale when some guys in their 20's realized that it was Vinnie Vincent who blithely walked on Harbour Street in Stockholm night. When we sat down the car to pull away, they came running after and wanted autographs and talk. Fun for Vinnie and fun for us.
Packed media day
Thursday, March 28 was reserved for the media. An extensive program of radio, TV and newspaper interviews had thus been booked. For that purpose, we had hired top suite at the Scandic Crown to Vinnie would thrive and to media representatives would realize that when Kiss Army Sweden do something, you do it properly. No fuss here do not.
Vinnie was at its very best talkative mood and held court for the press while he drank coffee, ate bananas and joked. He spoke of KISS-time, if past years and future plans.
When we at the appointed time came to Radio Stockholm where the anchor Carolina Norén would interview Vinnie on prime time, we ran out for today's first "um, what's the matter now? '. Carolina had become ill and instead there was a guy named Jonas who said he "did not have a clue what was going on." Would the entire radio interview come unstuck? But it went well, it turned out that Jonas was a pro and we got our advertising out on the radio just before lunchtime. It also became radio premiere of the song "Euphoria" from the mini CD-ROM
Z-TV's best feature
Next stop was the Z-TV where the reporter Martina (who is also the guitarist for the band girl Sindy Kills Me) did an interview for the sake of feeling was filmed in the dressing room. Martina was well prepared and with hindsight it became Z-TV business far the best throughout the media the day. A professional features with video clips from the Rio concert, "All Hell's Breakin 'Loose" video, etc.
After lunch I stopped and Vinnie at Scandic Crown for more newspaper interviews while Johan and Mats took to the city to buy gold makeup and powder to Vinnie. When he would appear rouged for Sweden audience we wanted to be sure that it would really look as good as possible.
A fussy professionals in the studio
Friday was consecrated to a studio recording as Vinnie wanted to do with Göran Edman. After breakfast and a little autograph writing in the hotel lobby, we picked up Goran on Kungsholmen and went to Backbeat Studios at the Globe.
George and Vinnie had not been reached in just over eight years so they had a lot of memories to talk about. Once helped BackBeat's Steve Woldekidan and Cocktail Cove with to manage the levers at the mixing console.
The song that Goran would add song was "Gypsy In Her Eyes" which you who are collectors probably heard before on any bootleg CD of unreleased demos. The recording is pulled out properly at the time when it was apparent that Vinnie was very "picky", but it was certainly fun to see an old hero working in a studio environment.
On Friday night it was time for a final rehearsal for Saturday's concert. Vinnie had various problems with remembering some of the songs so we got more or less teach him his own songs! Fantastic strange! We rehearsed "I Love It Loud", "I Still Love You", "War Machine" and "Lick It Up" with Vinnie, who turned on one of those miserable volume on the amp it did not help much with earplugs.
The evening was made a VIP visit to the Hard Rock Café, but without Vinnie. He was tired after today's studio work and also had not quite recovered from the "jet lag", it can, as we know take a few days. And, honor and glory to Vinnie, he really wanted to be fresh for Saturday's convention, when he for the first time in 13 long years would meet the Swedish fans.
Vinnie makeup at Kolingsborg
We were obvious early on location at Kolingsborg, even Vinnie showed up early to check out the best place for his "merchandise" as we in Kiss Army Sweden would help peddle. Along with the evening's MC Anders Tengner we went through the program items, soundcheckade and uploaded.
When evening had passed, we could once again see that everything had gone according to plan. Sure, we were a little late but what did it, the fans got to experience something they never thought possible: Vinnie Vincent on Kolingsborgs scene with us in the Kiss Army Sweden's Tribute Band! Moreover, in full KISS makeup!
It was truly a bizarre and special experience to stand on the same stage as a former KISS member. Just messing, I had great honor painted my lips black in true Ace Frehley-butt as some may have thought was silly (hey, Mikey J!) But it's on me.
Okay then, to get to play with Vinnie was one thing, but you also would play all solos except that in the "I Love It Loud", was a dream come true. Vinnie Vincent as my rhythm guitarist! Taste the ...
However, I understand that many were disappointed that Vinnie did not play solos, but for those of you who do not know it, had Vinnie about two weeks before jammed right hand ring and little finger very badly in a door, and had terrible pain. We actually took him both to South Hospital and Satra Medical center where he was omplåstrad and got a support rail to facilitate healing.
Vinnie delighted with the Stockholm
Last day in Stockholm was dedicated bank visits, sightseeing in Satra and dinner in the evening. Vinnie was not enough to thank us for all we've done for him during the week. He argued that he was not feeling very well since he was with KISS in Rio de Janeiro summer of 1983. Believe us, we did everything we could to make him feel like a king, he certainly deserves respect, he is after all the man behind a lot of KISS classics and he was with KISS during some very important years in the early 1980.
Vinnie Vincent has an obvious place in rock history in general, and the KISS story in particular. And yet, we have not seen the end of him strängbändares career, he recently turned 44 years old and there's no age, as they say. We had a superb fun week with Vinnie in Stockholm, signed also had the privilege of traveling with Vinnie in the subsequent, disastrous German tour, which gave us so much amiss if I would try to reproduce this here, we'd been pushing an additional annex . At least.
But we must take another time.
Hi re '!
Article from Destroyer second
Anders Ringman
Reporter
Kiss Army Sweden
http://www.kissarmysweden.net/
