: VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

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Genebaby
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: VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by Genebaby »

Mr Bruce Kulick has graciously taken the time to answer a few questions about Vinnie, his time in Kiss and other things.

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Could you tell us how Gene, Paul and Vinnie came to work together again? The usual story is you guys were at the same studio, and Vinnie happened to be in there. But how did it come to be that Vinnie, and G&P began to collaborate on music again? I can see the guys saying "Hello" to each other, but how did he actually come to be in the work process on Revenge?
I actually have no idea. I thought Vinnie reached out to Paul and Gene. One time I was going up to Gene's house and Vinnie was there.

I apologize if this is a controversial question. But why did Gene, and Paul work with Vinnie during Revenge when they felt he was risk even back in the 80's? The reason I ask is it always seemed clear by the time you joined, they had long moved on.
Fact is Vnnie is a damn good songwriter, period.

How did Eric Carr feel about Vinnie in the later days of Kiss before he passed? God Bless him too, he was a true Rock God.
He told some funny stories about Vinnie... but I can't really remember much.

Did you think that G&P were up to something (getting rid of you) when working with Vinnie for Revenge since it was rumoured that Eric was on the way out?
Absolutely not.

Do you think Vinnie thought he was going to get the Kiss gig again and when G&P told him otherwise ,he stopped working on the record?
Absolutely not.

Did you and Vinnie trade licks/jam during the sessions? Did you visit his recording sessions? Play his guitars? Exchange phone numbers? Did you hang out, go to dinner, ETC?
Not at all. Never saw him in the studio. I did not hang with Vinnie. I was polite if I saw him, but we were not friends.

Any stories with details (other than Vinnie selling guitars) that can help people have a better understanding of Vinnie?
Too confusing. I of course would hear stuff from Gene and Paul... but that is for them to talk about.

If you judge the perfect guitarist on the basis of skill, musical personality, being a team player, professionalism and consistency, then Bruce ranks as the greatest guitarist Kiss has had over the years. How about asking him if he'd agree with that?!!!
Well.. good question and I do agree. But most important is, I have always done my job in those KISS years.

How did you come to be playing the Charvels and Jacksons in your early time with Kiss. Were you hooked up by Gene and Paul? Did you meet Grover?
I heard about Grover and I bought one in from the window of Sam Ash in NYC. Gold with three pickups. Then I got a Silver one, and a used Blue one. They were popular then.

What made you switch from Charvel/Jackson guitars to E.S.P.? (You answered this at the Clinic for me, but I am wondering, as you bought off the rack Charvels, you weren’t as happy with the necks as you could have been, so surely Charvel would have made you the neck any way you wanted it, much like ESP ended up doing).
I did have a few Jackson's custom made, but the others were totally stock. I did prefer the ESP necks.

Knowing how Vinnie was treated contractually by G&P, can you at least understand Vinnie's apprehension to sign everything away?
No comment. I think he has poor judgment. Don't believe him.

Did G&P ever cut your salary like they did to Vinnie? I understand they made other cuts(keyboardist,pyro,etc.) when you were in Kiss. Did these cuts ever affect you?
They did not effect me, but sadly the band was suffering at a point, and that "cut" lasted for a short time. It made no difference in my life style.

How many free guitars do you get per year from an E.S.P. endorsement?
I don't have that kind of relationship with them. When they have a cool model, they hook me up. Sometimes I realize I don't dig it that much, and I give it back.

Do you still have a lot of your classic guitars? (purple Asylum Kulick graphic, the Charvels, your Frankenstein Les Paul, the banana E.S.P.,ETC.)
A few of those are still in my collection. Banana, LP, Black Explorer, Revenge ESP White Strat...

Did you custom order the Jackson Soloist from the Uh All Night video or did you pick it up in a store type deal?
I did order that one, and I gave them the idea for the graphics. COOL guitar.

Did G&P ever ask you to be ready( to wear make up or not) in case Ace fucks up?
Never had that discussion.

How did you end up playing on the Animalize album?
Paul needed some help when Mark was having a hand problem. It was fun to work with Paul.

Mark St John has said he found it difficult working with Gene & Paul, ie, they worked in separate studios and such, did you find the same for Asylum? If so, did the way they worked change along the way?
Sometimes they did that. It was different all the time. I knew exactly how to work with both of them individually or separately.

Did you do any playing on Creatures of The Night?
NO

Did Dick Wagner play the solo on Every Time I Look At You?
YES. And tell me you can hear the difference from Unplugged! Dick was in the studio and I was on holiday. His solo is magic and I loved learning it. To me it was at first difficult but KISS, like the BEATLES, did things that are for the song, not a members ego. Like McCartney playing guitar on Taxman etc... Drive My Car. Or like Dick Wagner playing on Aerosmith's Train Kept A Rolling.

Thank you for your time Bruce!

Catch Bruce on the web, Facebook and Twitter at these links:


www.kulick.net
www.facebook.com/brucekulick
www.facebook.com/officialbrucekulick
http://twitter.com/brucekulick
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Damn Lucky!

Post by Rap Man127 »

Damn, you were lucky to get this.

Most of Kiss for obvious reasons dont wanna talk about Vinnie in interviews etc. It sheds some light on to some of the Vinnie situations in Kiss.
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Post by metatron »

That was awesome Genebaby....I don't believe $immon$ & $tanley were/are cool guys. I think they treated Bruce like shit...like they do to everyone else. Bruce is just too loyal & too nice to eXpose them. And also Bruce isn't the one holding the power. $immon$ & $tanley are. And if he ever needs to call in a favor, like getting that Plagiarist to sing on his album,,,,well he needs to suck up to them.
I got Jesus in my fax machine. I saw Ho Chi Minh down @ Burger King. I dated Vinnie Vincent as a Drag Queen. I still don't understand a f**kin' thing.
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Post by Streetbeat »

Bruce is a total class act !!!
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Post by poserboy71 »

Bruce has always been a great guy and as I've said before, for him to remember my name on Union's first tour says something about his success. It says that he takes no one for granted ,from the bands that employ his services to the fan that showed up early and offered to help set the band's gear up and run the merch table.


What a treat that Bruce was cool enough to answer our questions !!!

Great job Vic !!! :D :D :D
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Post by VVV »

That was good Vic, thanks. Have you sent that off to anyone to publish?
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Post by Genebaby »

Bruce is great and you can certainly get the feel for where Vinnie went wrong. Vinnie does seem to have poor judgment.

I'm not so sure Gene and Paul are as bad as you think Danni. All they want is for their band to be successful, and that was obviously difficult with Vinnie. The music they made together was fantastic but Vinnie did need his own band where he could go crazy.

He did this and it unfortunately imploded. I figure he may have become annoyed at attention his former bandmates were getting, stuff like that which led to tensions and the demise.

However, when I read how THEY were annoyed at Vinnie's long soloing etc, I get the shits as this time it was HIS band and that's why he formed it. It was essentially a vehicle for Vinnie to express himself and they were the backing band.

This doesn't negate the fact that Vinnie's lack of seeing the bigger picture has caused failures time and again. Disagreements with band members is one thing, but also his fans?

We are not sheep who will baa at every note he plays, we're (mostly) adults who will call shit when it's shit.

Gene's Asshole? album was such crap I don't have a copy in any form, no interest in it at all.

I am sure working with Bruce was a godsend after Ace and Vinnie (Mark was probably ok too, but he was hardly there). Then to go back to Ace and Peter was a good move for their popularity but I am sure it's once again a dream to play with Eric and Tommy. To know the other half of the band is on their game and reliable is a big thing in a band. Members who are slackers, run late etc are a right royal pain.
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Post by Genebaby »

VVV wrote:That was good Vic, thanks. Have you sent that off to anyone to publish?
Hi Drew,

I haven't sent it off to anyone, never really thought about it. It was just done for this awesome Forum.

What were you thinking?
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Post by Gravidade »

Awesome. :)
Thanks for the interview, Vic.
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Post by metatron »

Genebaby wrote: I'm not so sure Gene and Paul are as bad as you think Danni.

Vic, it's not that I think it,,,,It more like I know it. Not saying VV is an angel by any means as we all know, but Gene & Paul say one thing & then then when it suites them, they do the exact opposite.

Prime example ....one minute Mark St John is the the most brilliant guitarist on the plant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ber5adI-g8

and then later Gene & Paul are slagging his 'bumble bee playing'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5k-VlDk67k&NR=1

Then there is all the stuff when Eric was in hospital. And things that I know but can't talk about cause it comes straight from the horses mouth,,,& they will deny it if asked in an open forum. Fact... the only reason Tommy Thayer got the Ace position is cause he sucked up to Gene big time. He sucked up so much he was Genes little gofer boy. Run errands for Gene & even painted Genes house for him. Now that's big time sucking up.

Ultimately Kiss is a business. It's about money & power. If they'd never put the clown make up again they wouldn't be in business today. People are brainwashed & want that feeling like the first time you got a blowjob. They want that feeling like when you where a kid & first saw Star Wars. Franchises like Star Wars, Kiss, the Transformers are here in 2010, because we are all brainwashed junkies & need & want our fix of that feeling of what it was like to be young. The last 3 Stars Wars that were made were totally repetitive crap, but it still scored big in the box-office. Kiss can't even put the 'new' members in new characters because they know the sheepeople want the old ones. Even though we know it's not Ace & Peter,,,us, the sheepeople will bullshit ourselves into believing it is. I say take the masks off & then see now many people show up to the concerts or put the new members in new characters & see how many people show up to the concerts. Not many I guess. KISS pad their wallets and mansions wearing this costume but, when in reality, they maintained very conservative Wall Street ethics and calculated restrained corporate practice. I appreciate the drama and the act of these “part time pagansâ€
I got Jesus in my fax machine. I saw Ho Chi Minh down @ Burger King. I dated Vinnie Vincent as a Drag Queen. I still don't understand a f**kin' thing.
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Post by TheGoodDr »

I did read somewhere that Eric cut Gene and Paul off when he was in hospital. I an only assume this is because he was upset that KISS were recording a new album when he was quite clearly still very ill.
Am I correct in my assumption here? I'd be very interested to know what others know of this period of Eric's life. PM me if you're relectant about posting in the forum.
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Post by shramiac »

Streetbeat wrote:Bruce is a total class act !!!
Too true!
Promises made, crying in vain, all empty. Never accepting the blame and not letting go of the shame. A river of tears, as months turn to years, all wasted. On someone not willing to change.Now only a shadow remains! :(
doublev

Post by doublev »

good one.

the one i got from him was much less pro especially towards vinnie.
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Post by poserboy71 »

metatron wrote: ...need & want our fix of that feeling of what it was like to be young. [/color]
That is exactly why I feel so robbed. I was feeling that for/by myself instead of looking through my kiddie's eyes. That "kid at Christmas" feeling.
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Post by poserboy71 »

metatron wrote:... want that feeling like the first time you got a blow job.
Dannii, Could you personally help me with this? Practice those exercises I sent you in that pamphlet. I got a man-sized predicament... ... and it's a big one. :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Post by metatron »

poserboy71 wrote:
metatron wrote:... want that feeling like the first time you got a blow job.
Dannii, Could you personally help me with this? Practice those exercises I sent you in that pamphlet. I got a man-sized predicament... ... and it's a big one. :shock: :shock: :shock:
See Rick, when you say it it fun & cool. When Gene says it, it like watching my Grandfather taking a dump.
I got Jesus in my fax machine. I saw Ho Chi Minh down @ Burger King. I dated Vinnie Vincent as a Drag Queen. I still don't understand a f**kin' thing.
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Post by poserboy71 »

metatron wrote:
See Rick, when you say it it fun & cool. When Gene says it, it like watching my Grandfather taking a dump.
Would you happen to have a link to the video ?
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by Carlo »

Hey, grazie !! I never saw that interview. It was quite revealing to a point. It's obvious that Bruce is protecting himself as his answers seemed short, evasive, and diplomatic. I'm sure he's a nice guy but it's evident that he does not want to piss off either side. Thanks
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by Genebaby »

Short answers like that are the norm. I remember a journalist complaining about interviewing Ace. He would just answer yes or no! Short, short things like that.

Bruce saw a lot of stuff happen that's for sure.
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by erg2 »

Hopefully all that stuff will make it into the book he has been claiming he has been claiming to be writing for the last few years. I think I might be more interested in a book from Bruce's perspective than all the revisionist, sound-bite same-old we always get from Gene and Paul!!
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by Genebaby »

A book from Bruce would be good. One from everyone would round things off nicely.
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by Vdog »

Nice interview. Bruce is always a classy guy.
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by doublev2 »

The only guy I ever heard him say some bad shit about is vinnie.
I think he used to go into we buy any guitars or Mr guitar when vv worked in manhattan.
Bye Bye
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by erg2 »

With all the unpublished photos, paranoia and anger I'd bet Vinnie would write an interesting book.
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Re: : VVFF Interview - Bruce Kulick

Post by doublev2 »

a vinnie book would be awesome for the reasons you say.
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