vinnie official statement from his board
Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:37 pm
This was sent to me . His version of history.
To my very special friends and fans,
This message will touch on a few things important to me that I would like to share with you. My thoughts are unguarded, so please try and and understand my thoughts as I intended to be interpreted.
I wanted to leave something with you that express my enjoymentinreconnectingwiththevery special and beautiful people here that have come to see and talk with me again after all these years. I have intentionally kept this Official Vinnie Vincent forum smalland intimate for nowto makeita special experience for those of you that are with me here, despite the long list of registrants who are waiting to be approved. As a result this meeting place has become a unique “song of joy” that has connected all brothers and sisters from around the world asa small"family" who are part of my music. From wishing each other a “good day sunshine” to a peaceful goodnight in this Official forum, to those who have reached out not only to me but to each other makingthisexperienceworth something valuable to me, it has mademe want to be here with all of you.
So that you can better understand, I am a product of my times for good or bad. I grew up in Americain the 1950’s. It was a time when people were respectful of each other. It was a time when neighbors helped each other, a time when neighbors actually knew each other. My parents were good, honest, hard working people who taught me to love and respect each other, to believe in yourself and to live and let live.
They taught me that no one must stand alone with hands held out before them. That was our creed, and since then I have always reached out to everyone whenever it was possible.
My mom and dad introduced me to music when I was 4 years old. My mom sang and my dad played pedal steel in a country western band that would often practice at our smallapartment. I would fall asleep listening to their band. They were times thatI think of often. Even at a very young age, I listened to the radio all the time. I loved songs, melodies, harmonies, vocalists and music of all kinds. Most of all, I was fascinated by the look and sound of the GUITAR, In America, it was a time when you couldn’t wait to watch “Superman”“OzzieandHarriet”“The Donna Reed Show” or “The Real McCoys” on TV; a time when men wore little hats and suits and ties; a time when women wore pearls, skirts or dresses and heels; a time when Patti Page broke hearts with “TennesseeWaltz” and“OldCape Cod.”My favorite of times was looking forward to watching Ricky Nelson singing at the end of the Ozzie and Harriet show where I would study the guitar playing of JamesBurtonandsay to myself WOW!!....that’s what I want to do when I grow up. The 1950’s turned into the 1960’s. The family ritual for Sunday night at 8 p.m. was The Ed Sullivan Show. Then in February 1964; “THEBEATLES!!!!”Thatwasit!!Thenamesaidit all: THEIR LOOK!!!,therecords,themerchandise, the vocals, the sound, the electricity, excitement, joy, happiness, the sexual energy; music for the young, music for the senses, music and attitude that shaped the world; shaped your aspirations andself importance. God, I wanted to be like that, to look like them, to dress like them, to be cool, to be special, but most of all to write songs and sound like them. No way-never happened. No way was my dad, (who was the greatest manI ever knew) going to let me look like a “girl” with long hair. Remember this was 1964-65. My dad was adamant,butmy loving mom madeitwork so that everyone was happy. So I would walk to school with my hair combed down over my eyes and when I got home, I would comb it back in place, parted on the side, like my Dad wanted it to look. Sadly for me, no matter howI combed it or uncombed it – I just didn’t have what it took to be cool. Oh well, U can’t always get whatU want.
The 1960’s in the USA were an avalanche of cultural changes from JFK to The Beatles to Vietnam to the Hippie Movement. The common link to all of us was THE GUITAR. Groups that formed who I became were “Cream,”“Jeff Beck Group,”“LedZeppelin,” “Hendrix”and the endless list goes on. Spiritual messages and influences of all kinds that filled everyone’s mind and soul were personally delivered to everyone all over the world by the GUITAR. The GUITAR was a power that spoke to me through 6 strings. The GUITAR changed and shaped theworld more than any instrument I will ever know!!. The Guitar took a back seat in the 1970’s during the disco era. But that frustration thrust the Guitar BACK TO THE FUTURE in the 1980’s.
The 1980’s was the era of the GUITAR. The “power” of the new world was again symbolized by the Guitar. I wanted more than anything to be a part of that power and to bring something positive to someone through my GUITAR. The emotion that was common to all these decades was the basic emotional need to express love for each other in one way or another. It was as basic as our need for water and food to stay alive. The Guitar was how I expressed those feelings. I loved and slept with the GUITAR. It was a friend who I never betrayed nor did it betray me, a friend that loved me unconditionally. To me, the GUITAR could heal the wounds of the world; it could give life, bring love, forgiveness and heal anyone who was hurting. Of course I know this is naivety, but that is OK. Sometime it is good to be innocent again.
1981 had just begun and Kiss were transitioning through a difficult time. Ace had left and the makeuphadrun itscourse.The1980’s offereda new generation new things. Like the beginning of every new decade, it was “out with the old-in with the new.”
I met Gene in 1981 through a mutual friend who heard my demo of “Back On The Streets” and felt Kiss should hear this song. I felt a special connection with Gene from the beginning as if we had always been friends.
During that time, Kiss were looking for a guitarist to replace Ace and were auditioning guitar players (by what seemed like the hundreds) while simultaneously trying to record songs for a new album.They had no directioon nor name of the album which was to become "Creatures of the Night". The poplular song at that time was "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner. So naturally that path was where Kiss were going. It was a nice road to follow, but in my heart I knew it was not KISS. Nonetheless, I went where the road told me to go. We began writing all kinds of songs in that style and after awhile, the KISS ATTITUDE showed itself. "KILLER" -- "I LOVE IT LOUD" and many other songs we wrote said "KISS." The studio recording began of what was to be Creatures of the Night. I didn’t fit the mold of the beautiful looking guitar players that stood in line to audition for what was to be the "throne" of all thrones.
"Killer" was the first song we recorded. I remember so clearly that Jessica and Elizabeth, my girls were on their way into this world, when I drove my little car, with no floor (believe it or not) to the studio to record one of my songs with KISS!!!Thechemistry was undeniable.
In some way, I shared a common background which clicked with KISS,Gene,PaulandEricand thatwas what I believed brought us together. When we began writing songs together I knew there was a common bond of the music we loved, of the times we grew up in; something deep and unspoken that we shared but common to each of us. We wrote many songs together.Ourfirstsongs were“Killer” “I Love it Loud” “I Still Love You” including many other songs that did not makeitonto the“Creatures of the Night” album,whichI feltshouldhave. Those songs reminded KISS of who they were and what they had to say to the world. I knew it - I saw it- I felt it. We becamea band. Noone had to say a word. But I believed everyone knew there was something special that had happened. We laughed and bonded, we ate and dined, we wrote songs, and we hung out with each other. It was a marvelous time. We becamemore and more united as time passed. I still have the home recordings of us writing the songs while they were in the development stage. I also remember singing many of those early versions of those songs. I have a version of "I love it Loud with me singing and Gene playing guitar which we recorded in the Great Diana Ross 's living room in 1981. I still have the original recordings which I heard not so long ago. It was fun - it brought me back to a wonderful time. Those times came back to me as if it were today. As the writing of the songs for the Creatures album developed and Kiss became more firmly implantedinthedirection that was KISS,so was it discovered by the founding members that I was the right guitarist to record the album and possibly join KISS as the new guitarist. During the last stages of the Creatures of the Night sessions drew to a close, Kiss booked studios in LA and NY. I becamemore subjectto thedemand of theband's recording schedule and was requested to fly wherever the recording had been scheduled. The last song we recorded was "Keep Me Coming" where I was flown to New York to play thesolo for the song. After I finished the lead guitar solo, it was evident the band members were thrilled and excited. I was scheduled to fly back to LA and Eric drove me to JFK airportso I couldcatcha flight back. As I was saying goodbye to Eric after our coffee, I remember him saying to me to "wait here." He madea call at the pay phone and came back to me where I was standing in line to board the plane. eric pulled me out of line and said "don'tgo, you need to stay here." Eric told me that Gene was going to call me shortly and so I waited by the pay phone. Finally Gene called me at JFK and asked me to be a member of KISS.Heinstructed me to go back to the hotel and wait word for what was to happen, which I did. Eric and I partied and had a great time that night. It was surreal but natural at the same time, if that makes any sense to you.
So as history has it, I was chosen out of hundreds of players and became Vinnie Vincent. I was green right out of the garden patch, but I knew we belonged together as a group. I think that common denominator of ouryouthlinkedustogether which manifested itself onstageand through our songs. Soon we developed a bond which got stronger and stronger as time passed. The magic was cemented when we played together. KISS was a band again a contender and a band to be taken seriously.
I began to feel the strengthof ourbondand the power of our unity as a group when we took to the stage. It was undeniable. The records were strong and soon “Lick It Up” brought Kiss into a new era competing with younger bands in a new time. I am proud to see that not only did our unity become music history but that our songs becameclassics that will live forever. I could never thank Gene and Paul and my dear friend Eric for what they taught me and gave me. It was a life changing event thatis filled with powerful feelings. Even though ourstage shows grew more confident and more powerful, my desire to become the guitarist I had aspired to unfortunately outgrew the limitations set by the band’s founders. I deeply believe we could have gone on to geater heights but my musical needs and my need to be paid the unpaid royalties for the songs I wrote for the band took priority.
As many of you know,theonly thingthatseparated us was our business disagreements which could have been easily cured by the two founding members, but they chose not to reward or compensate me for the fruits of my labor which continue to this day. Instead, I had no choice but to fight for justice in the courts which has lasted 17 years with no end in sight. The price for me was higher than I ever thought possible, for I sadly found that justice is not blind and does not always prevail in the end. In my case, I had to suffer many years with that realization and watched as thefruit I should have tasted ended up in someones elses stomach.Butas humans,wepick ourselvesup and keep going somehow.
It’s difficult to explain why I privatizedmy life, but it was a combination of the disappointment of years of litigation in trying to recover the massiveearnings I was cheated out of, watching a revolving door of attorneys who promisedme the moon and left me in the courts high and dry, in watching the culture change from a loving society to one rooted in hatred amongso many other sadnesses. This was a different world from where I came and so different from the world I grew up in. I watched as people in general took no greater pleasure in life than in hurting someone else. A time when sadly thereis humor in misfortune,a time when people laugh when someone is dead or hurting. I began to wonder why people forgot our most basic human compassion to reach out to one who hurts, as you would “feel” the pain of a battle weary soldier holding a wounded child of war in his arms, to “feel” a soldier’s pain and hopelessness in holding his friend who had fallen in battle, to feel the pain of an elderly person’s loneliness, to feel compassion for the selfless whose purpose in life was to care for the sick and dying, the crippled, the deformed and afflicted. I wondered where beauty and compassion and the basic ability to love one another hadgone. I wondered why was I trying so hard to see when there was nothing in sight. I saw summers die only to be replaced by an endless cold and barren winter of inhumanity.I wondered if I wouldI ever again see the real human“gifts” we are capable of. One day I saw the CROSSina different way and saw it for what it really means.I say this regardless of one’s religious beliefs. I experienced the CROSS when a friend reached out to me like the hands painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and pulled me through my some of my darkest of all times. I will never forget the beauty of the sunrise. I will always be grateful.
Over the years, I sat back and watched as hate groups claiming to be Vinnie Vincent “fan” sites or so called forums pop up everywhere systematically attemptingto destroy my name, musicalworks and legacy byinvading my privacy,posting false statements and stories about me, theorizing bits of gossip in order to ridicule me by spreading rumors, innuendo and lies until the lies becamethe“truth;” all designed to incite and instigate other “followers” into a mob mentality,theendresultnotonly achieved, but threats to the safety of myself and family, reputation and earnings.
Then on May 21, 2011, I was falsely accusedof a terrible act and everything changed forever. Everyone believed the terrible things they heard and I was suddenly guilty. I wanted to let everyone know I was innocent of what I had been accused of, so I reached out again hoping someone was out there who still believed in me. I found that there were some special people left who refused to believe what they heard, people who still believed in me and my music. Ultimately itwas these very special people that movedme into a decision to open my Official forum and be accessible to those true believing individualsthroughthisspecial place.
When I looked again, a flower had bloomed. That “flower” inthemidst of the winter cold were all of you flourishing in this forum. You have shown me that innocence and loyalty were not dead. For that I am grateful. I will be here through my guitar and my music as long as fate allows.
Vinnie Vincent
