Bob Kulick on Vinnie

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:48 am

Here is a great interview with some stuff on Vinnie. Taken from this webpage http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/content/view/2371/1/

KISS KILLERS AND CREATURES OF THE NIGHT SESSIONS

Going back to KISS related questions... You were asked once again to help KISS out during the KILLERS sessions in 1982. That was quite different time in KISS camp compared to glorious 70’s, so how those sessions were back in the day?

Yeah, by that time, they were tired of this and they really wanted to have somebody in the band, and they were also just starting up on the CREATURES OF THE NIGHT record, as well. So Vinnie Cusano was around, Vinnie Vincent was around. There were other people that they checked out. The guitar player from Mister, Mister came in and played the solo on “Creatures of the Night”, Steve Farris. It's a phenomenal solo. Paul was like, “What do you think?” “ What do I think? I think it's phenomenal.” “He didn't really fit in the band, though.” “That may be, but I'd keep the solo if I were you”, which he did. I remember the thing with Vinnie Cusano, Gene saying to me, the guy's a really good songwriter. That's a plus. I said, obviously he can play. We know he can play, but if he can write songs, but they both said it to me at the time “We're just worried about the guy getting with the program?” Then of course, it didn't last long because he couldn't. My brother was the total draft marine. Yes, sir, sir, yes, sir and did what they told him to do up until the point he gained their confidence and then they didn't treat him like that anymore, but Vinnie didn't do that, so he got his ass fired which was stupid. He should've made a plan to stick this out for two years, three years, whatever it would take me out there so that I can go do me, and then bye to them, but he just didn't do that either, and we know what happened after that. Sure, he had a deal and Mark Slaughter and all what happened, but it still ultimately crashed and burned. He destroyed himself. This is the sad thing that some people that have the gift, along with that gift is this self-destruct mechanism that somehow they either kill themselves literally or figuratively and I've seen both. I've seen those that kill themselves physically because they couldn't deal with it and they couldn't handle it, and I've seen those who kill their careers because they couldn't do it. That's sad because there's somebody who for as much as he's a nut and all that we would say about him and laugh about him, the guy has a phenomenal talent. It's sad. That, to me, is sad. It's sad.

Right going back to KILLERS sessions a bit, the solo’s you’re playing there are quite different to traditional Ace Frehley style. How that thing came about?

At the time they were really infatuated with the Van Halen thing, so I had a guitar custom made with a Floyd Rose on it. I used that for “Partners in Crime” and all of that stuff. They were like, “Can you do some like whammy bar stuff?” Sure I can, but they were pushing the envelope at that point realizing that Ace Frehley’s style was not enough anymore and they wanted some more modern stuff there?

Right, the musical genre was about to change during that time.

Well, it was changing. Things were changing by then, just like the day Paul was just like, “So what if we took the makeup off? What is your opinion? What would happen?” I wanted to say what fucking took you so long now. Okay, he told me what I needed to know. Okay and then going back to it I totally got that too. Guess what, I saw that coming, I saw it coming. Unfortunately for my brother and Eric and especially sad to me, they had to doom that record CARNIVAL OF SOULS, you know. I thought that was a really good record and it got shelved for the moment until they were able to put it out later on they really busted their asses. That was the record that belongs to my brother and I was really proud of him because I thought that he did a really great job of moving them from, like you say from an old style rock band into a little bit more modern sound without giving up what they were. It wasn't like it was now they're not even recognizable. No, they're recognizable. So it's drop-D tuning in one song. So what? It didn't matter. What mattered was that they realized at that point that the money was going down rather than up and that the way to make the kind of money they were making was to, again, put the makeup band out there and tour, which they did.

But the final question about the CREATURES OF THE NIGHT, you are not playing on the album, right?

Nothing that I played went on to the record. You know there was somebody else, there was a bunch of people but the other guitar player that I’m going to mention is Robben Ford, who was friends with Michael James Jackson who was helping out as producer. And so he played on, I can’t remember the name of the song but he did play on the album.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:57 am

the creatures solo is great i agree.

gonnarock · Post by **gonnarock** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:59 am

Interesting read.

Vdog · Post by **Vdog** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:48 am

That was cool, thanks. Bob Kulick is usually quite straight to the point about people. It's really something to hear him say how sad it is what Cusano has done to himself.

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:40 pm

doublev2 wrote:Here is a great interview with some stuff on Vinnie. Taken from this webpage http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/content/view/2371/1/
KISS CREATURES OF THE NIGHT SESSIONS
Nothing that I played went on to the record.

Huh? Bob played on none of it? I thought he did the solo on Danger?

shramiac · Post by **shramiac** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:48 pm

Yeah???????

Though I always thought it sounded like Vinnie!

Post by **Genebaby** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:51 pm

Neither of the Kulick brothers played on Creatures.

Always great to hear what Bob says.

Vdog · Post by **Vdog** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:22 pm

The long run at the end of Danger sounds Cusano like. Bob doesn't really play like that I don't think.

Slayer · Post by **Slayer** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:31 pm

I wonder where our friend at Kiss Faq got his information? I read else where that the songs attributed to Bob Kulick on Creatures were recorded during the Killers Sessions and saved for Creatures. I have found Kiss Faq to be very accurate in the past but with that said Bob Kulick should know what he played on. I would be interested in the specific question put to Bob as to whether he played on the songs Danger and Keep Me Coming and if they were originally recorded as Killers leftovers. Bob would certainly know....

Great post and find Dino

Kev

youngnwasted · Post by **youngnwasted** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:44 pm

If you look up Creatures of the Night on wiki, Bob Kulick gets credit for playing on Danger. It says Vinnie did not play guitar on that song as well as Rock 'n Roll Hell and Creatures. But since Bob says he didn't play on Danger, it must be Vinnie as he said in a Swedish convention interview.

Slayer · Post by **Slayer** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:48 pm

Quite the mystery

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:59 pm

Danger solo is definitely Vinnie and not Bob now that I listen to it... listen to the solo @ 2:43. Wiki is wrong! Bob and Vinnie are right... opening of the solo is a dead giveaway it's Vinnie.

[youtube][/youtube]

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:09 pm

I am on the fence. It's not screaming out to me vinnie but if vinnie says he did it I kind of believe him.

Vdog · Post by **Vdog** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:51 am

doublev2 wrote:I am on the fence. It's not screaming out to me vinnie but if vinnie says he did it I kind of believe him.

Which is kind of ironic really

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:54 am

Haha. I don't believe vv one bit but I don't recall him taking credit for solos he didnt play.

Possio · Post by **Possio** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:34 am

I´m with pinkWiz and who ever else, It´s Vinnie on Danger alright.
He has that "ascending lick" or climb up the scale that is totally his invention sorta...
You can here similar things in Fits Like and in his Solo spot during that tour.
Sounds like Dorian with a few chromaticisms thrown in....
Cool stuff.

VVV · Post by **VVV** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:52 am

Second paragraph:

1031 · Post by **1031** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:53 am

I think Danger is a mix of a couple players I think Robben Ford did the rhythm track and possibly Steve Ferris did the solo. Robben a monster player but all most never used a wammy bar. listening to sinner and saint is very much robbens style, blues licks with a bit of dirt.

gonnarock · Post by **gonnarock** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:06 am

VVV wrote:Second paragraph:

I think its really cool to hear Vinnie talking about other bands out at the same time as him like this. A lot of 80s bands were in such competition with each other they just slammed one another, but Vinnie is cool about it here.
And for the record, I saw the 'Rock Never Stops' tour also, and it was an awesome, awesome show!!!

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:12 am

Thanks drew , is this supposed to be here or in the aol thread?
If he did go to whitesnake in las Vegas I wonder if that's when he was talking to ed Roman.

Post by **Genebaby** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 8:50 am

Drew put it here to show what Vinnie said about playing on Creatures.

He was pretty nice about Slaughter all things considered.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:11 am

yes, that was odd. Must have been in a diplomatic mood. The thing with him its ' extreme ups and downs'

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:52 am

Possio wrote:I´m with pinkWiz and who ever else, It´s Vinnie on Danger alright.
He has that "ascending lick" or climb up the scale that is totally his invention sorta...
You can here similar things in Fits Like and in his Solo spot during that tour.
Sounds like Dorian with a few chromaticisms thrown in....
Cool stuff.

Yes the ascending lick is very Vinnie... and the picking style at the beginning sounds like him too. I think he just forgets to mention playing that solo sometimes because later on he claimed he played it. I definitely think it is him.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:58 am

Good. So he plated on danger. Keep me comin, I love it loud. War machine and kilker.
Did he play rock n roll hell ? Ferris did cotn and ford I still love you.

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:11 am

Ford supposedly played the solo on Rock n Roll Hell.

shramiac · Post by **shramiac** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:13 am

He said he played on I Still Love You!!!! I thought that was Ford also!?!?! Now I'm really confused????

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:26 am

Doesn't really sound like Vinnie to me... I think it's Robben. Solo starts @ 3:49...

[youtube][/youtube]

Post by **Genebaby** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:53 pm

Robben did indeed play the I Still Love You solo on the album.

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:20 pm

It's odd because I've always associated Bob Kulick with the Creatures album... then to find out he didn't even play on it. Guess he still could've played some rhythm stuff...

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:44 pm

Bob was killers I believe .

Brooklyn_Born · Post by **Brooklyn_Born** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:31 pm

Bob played on the 4 new tracks on Killers..

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:35 pm

doublev2 wrote:Bob was killers I believe .

no doubt about that, Bob was all Killers!

Possio · Post by **Possio** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:10 am

I just got an idea! Why not ask "SuzyQ" or whatever her name is or somebody To Ask Vin how the
Danger Solo lick goes and "she" can post the notes, preferably in the right order..haha...and
then I can have some fun with it? Hey!...../O

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:13 am

Suzie is so sweat . Special her anti semitic stuff.

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:15 am

Brooklyn_Born wrote:Bob played on the 4 new tracks on Killers..

Yes, straight to the point, melodic tasty stuff... I love all the solos on those Killer tunes. I could never figure out why they just didn't throw a black wig on Bob and let him join... shave the 'stache and he's good to go. Hell Gene would start wearing wigs two years later and Vinnie and Mark wore wigs even though they had a full head of hair? It's almost like they could've went back to the original guitarist in KISS...

[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:19 am

It would have been cool to hear eddie van Halen play one creatures tune.

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:21 am

doublev2 wrote:It would have been cool to hear eddie van Halen play one creatures tune.

F**K YES.

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:27 am

Danger IS Vinnie . No mistake.

shramiac · Post by **shramiac** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:54 pm

Yeah, similar runs to Fits Like a Glove!

Slayer · Post by **Slayer** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:30 pm

shramiac wrote:He said he played on I Still Love You!!!! I thought that was Ford also!?!?! Now I'm really confused????

Many places have printed that Robben Ford played the solo to I Still Love You and Rock in Roll Hell

Possio · Post by **Possio** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:55 am

Not really related to Bob but I thoght I´ll rely this clip
to anyone intersted in V´s playing style, scale coloring and "all that Jazz"....
J. Scofield, old 80ties class.

[youtube][/youtube]

Especially at the 7 minute mark and fw a bit.
If that aint the V school of playing (but with distortion), I dunno what is...
play that stuff super fast and distorted it will sound like later style V.
/O