Curveboy at KissFAQ

[poserboy71]

Great read with some interesting tidbits.
http://www.kissfaq.com/forum11/viewtopi ... 1#p1764071

The Long, Strange, History of Vinnie Vincent
Before I learned of his history with Dan Hartman (which I bopped along to) or his work on Joane Loves Chachi (which I watched religiously) or even that he played on a good portion of Creatures of the Night...there was my cutting school to buy Lick It Up.
We didn't have MTV so I was in the dark about the unmasking...I knew from Circus or Hit Parader that they were talking off the greasepaint, and I knew of the Egyptian Warrior who had taken over for my beloved Ace. What I didn't know was that Lick It Up, and Vinnie Vincent, would change my life.
According to the FAQ, Lick It Up was release on September 18th, 1983, which means I would have turned 15 just days before. I'm not sure what made me think of cutting school, but I did! I remember I hounding the owner of Moonshine Records in Bay Terrace via telephone "did you get it yet, did you get it yet, DID YOU GET IT YET"?!? I don't remember what time they finally got it in, but I walked over there, walked home and headed up to my tiny 1/2 bedroom and my turntable. I remember being mesmerized by the cover...here was KISS! I put it on, pulled out the sleeve to read along with the lyrics and credits...and Exciter blasted out of the speakers! My mind was blown... when Paul went into that “whoooooo HA!” and Vinnie started ripping into that lead (I didn’t find out it was Rick Derringer for at least a year) I had chills up and down my spine! Then came Not For The Innocent; oh my GOD how evil! After I heard that lead I was sold; Vinnie Vincent is amazing! I went to school the next day and remember talking to my friend Pete (Pete, where are you man?) about it and he thought the song Lick It Up was OK, but wasn’t impressed by the lead guitar work. I remember telling him to check out the rest of the album...which eventually he did. I remember he was the first person to say to me “he’s great, he sounds like Randy Rhoads”. I didn’t want to admit that at that point I didn’t know who Randy was! See, after Dynasty, all my friends gave up on KISS, most on hard rock and metal entirely; I was on my own! But after Lick It Up I started listening to college radio and discovered all these amazing bands; Ozzy, Dio, Sabbath, WASP, Whitesnake, Gary Moore...the list goes on.
KISS were set to play Radio City Music Hall and I remember actually going to the venue to wait in line for tickets! It was a madhouse...some scalper pulled a gun on someone! I got tickets for the first night; which was amazing! Vinnie live was an incredible sight...and the tank! Plus it was my first time seeing the phenomenal Eric Carr live! Too bad I couldn’t afford to see night two...

It was a few months later, on my 16th birthday, that I would meet a woman who would change my life; Brandy (not her real name!). Brandy and I were both friends with a drag queen named Toni, and Toni had told me for months “you need to meet Brandy, she’s into KISS too.” So on my birthday Toni called me and said “lets go to Brandy’s house.” Brandy answered the door, and was stunningly beautiful-all black teased up hair and fair skinned. She ushered us into her bedroom where their was a Lick It Up poster above her bed, “how else can I play with myself and stare at Vinnie?” she informed me. I’m sure I must have been beet red at that point. She then went to a rack of cassettes and said “have you heard this bootleg? Live in Leicester?” She proceeded to play me Gimmie More and the finger shredding solo Vinnie does afterward. Since I didn’t own any bootlegs she said “I’ll make you a copy.” It wasn’t until months later that I found out she had a brief dalliance with Vinnie...producing the bullet bandana he wore in the Lick It Up video and worn onstage up until Radio City, where he gave it to her (I now own it.) Where Toni is today I can’t tell you, but Brandy and I have remained lifelong friends; even if she has no use for KISS today. In the 80’s we would spend hours dissecting their music and career choices. She would play a major role in KISStory, but that is a story for another day.
By mid-1984 word was out that Vinnie was let go or left, and I was heartbroken. While I really like Mark St. John’s playing on Animalize, it didn’t feel like a band to me anymore. When word came that Vinnie was forming Invasion I was ecstatic. Word was the album was called The Battle of the Bulge and the first Invasion release would have Vinnie’s name above the title but that they would drop it (much like Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow) for subsequent albums. By this point I had gotten a copy of the Warrior demo so I was ready for new music! It was an exciting time as we had KISS, Frehley’s Comet and now Invasion!
Vinnie Vincent Invasion, release in August of 1986 became one of the few albums I’ve obsessed over in my life. Brady got an advanced copy and I went to her house to listen; she was not impressed, but I was blown away. A few weeks later when it was released I went a major record store to pick it up, and when I turned it over to see the pictures there was a big smudge over Vinnie’s face! I picked up the next copy and the same thing! I finally figured out Brandy had kissed all the copies!! So with Invasion in hand, I proceeded to listen to it 3 times a day for a full year. Insane, I know, but I dissected every moment of the disc...from the opening feedback to the closing loop. I got to see Invasion at two shows for the first album, at L’Amour and L’Amour East. I was going so nuts during the L’Amour show Vinnie stopped playing at one point just to shake my hand! While I loved it all, I was not happy with Mark Slaughter. Sure, he looked the part (Bon Jovi-ish) but he sounded like Minnie Mouse to me. Where was Robert Fleishman??

1988 brought us All Systems Go. Once again Brady got ahold of a pre-release, and she was even less impressed! I thought it was good; different but good. Mark was all over the place, but Vinnie and Bobby still impressed. I got to see them once this tour, at The Ritz. I remember KISS tickets for The Ritz went onsale the same time, but I could only afford one or the other, and I chose Vinnie over Bruce (who I was not happy with at the time, nor was I a fan of Crazy Nights.) I was crushed against the stage but loved every second of it! Little did I know this was the end of Invasion...
Around this time I commissioned a friend of mine to paint a Vinnie Vincent denim jacket for me. It had a classic picture of Vinnie as the Egyptian Warrior and I had him leave a big space where I could get Vinnie to sign it. One of the things that happened often is people would stop me on the street and say “why Vinnie Vincent?” and I would say “because Vinnie is GOD!”
Also around this time word came that Vinnie was working with Jeff Scott Soto on demos, and I attended a KISS convention in New Jersey where David Snowden was selling off anything of Vinnies that he had left from the fanclub. I recall him telling me “you will never hear another note of music from Vinnie.” I scoffed, but little did I know he was pretty much on target!
It was late 1989/early 1990 when word was that Vinnie was recording Guitars From Hell for Enigma Records with Robert Fleishman back in the vocal department. At this time I was in contact with the publicist for Enigma a few times to get updates on the new album. What I remember her says was that it was 14 tracks, and the sound was a mix of the first Invasion disc and Queensryche (and certainly listening to the tracks that have leaked you can hear that.) To say I was psyched is an understatement. Little did I know Enigma would soon be sold off and Guitars From Hell would never see the light of day!

Meanwhile, Slaughter was brewing their first release. I blamed Mark & Dana for Vinnie losing his record deal with Chrysalis (right or wrong, it’s how I felt!). At some point, probably early 1990 Brandy got me an advanced CD of Stick It To Ya. I listened to it and was horrified by it...so I took a hammer to it, gathered the pieces and mailed it to Vinnie along with a note that said something like “I put an end to some horrible music” along with a picture of my jean jacket and how I wanted to get him to sign it.
The next thing I knew was Brandy called me one day and said “Vinnie is writing with KISS” and I was taken aback. How could this be??? Was Bruce finally out and Vinnie in? Word started getting out and I remember seeing it printed in one of the metal mags. When I finally heard the result I was amazed, and I thought “finally, Vinnie taught Bruce how to play!” (Bruce if you are reading this know I’ve since come to appreciate your time in the band and your abilities as a guitar player!)
Once again Vinnie disappeared...until if I remember correctly ads started appearing in metal mags in 1996 about pre-ordering The EP (which was later remastered as Euphoria). I sent in my money order (I think it was $20 plus shipping) and waited...while I was happy he proved David Snowden wrong (HA!) I was not happy with the quality of what were obviously demos with a drum machine (granted, Euphoria sounds a hell of alot better than The EP, but it’s still the same material.) Shortly after Vinnie announced an in store appearance at Slipped Disc (RIP) in Valley Stream. I was freaked out of my mind but I knew I had to go! Brandy refused, but I grabbed another friend to drive me out there. We were lined up out back and I remember some of the staff grousing that Vinnie was being difficult...I didn’t care, I was going to see Vinnie! Once I got up I remember I was sweating like crazy from nerves, and I plopped the jacket down in front of him. “This is the guy!” he turned to his wife and said, then turned to me “you're the guy!” He told me he framed the letter I had sent with the smashed CD. “That is the coolest thing anyone has ever done!” He told me...I fumbled out a question “what happened to Guitars From Hell?” and he replied “aborted.” I said “I really like Wild Child, it’s dance metal!” (a quote he later used in promotional materials.) I must have handed someone some money because I walked out with Euphoria but I didn’t get it signed!


Come later in 1996 Vinnie solicited for The Vinnie Vincent Archives, which was to be 6 cassettes for $100 plus $20 shipping. While of course I wanted the material promised on it, I was horrified by the price for cassette tapes! This was the CD age! It was delayed a few times, but by the time I ordered it in 1997 it had grown to 10 cassettes. So I sent off my money, and as we all know the product never materialized! Around 2001 Vinnie put an ad out for Speedball Jamm, and a message that this was the beginning of The Archives and that he would make good on all orders (now on CD!) and a phone number would be setup to confirm your order and mailing address. I was hesitant to send any money to him for Speedball, but wisely he made it available from a few stores so I ordered it from them. It’s not much of a release, but it was something.
While l still want to hear Guitars From Hell, or Guitarmaggeddon (with songs like Brainsaw and Cockteaster!) or the promised re-record of All Systems Go, or Lick It Up (Vinnie’s way!) or the Warrior demo in mint quality, I have long ago given up hope of his releasing them. Even now, when it would be easy for him to put material up on the web (though I would rather have CD’s!) he seems to have no interest in the fans. I’m sure there are thing I’m leaving out, and at some point I’ll get into the boxes packed away and post pictures of stuff I have like the bullet bandana and the infamous jacket.

[Slayer]

A real fan!

[Skwint]

a great read.

[metatron]

that was an awesome read. We need to get hold of this Brandy chick and get the low down on the low down