Bruce Kulick recently sat down with VRP Rocks to share memories from his time with KISS, reflecting on the challenges behind his songwriting sessions with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
“Yeah, I mean, [it was] always a bit of a strategy game in my mind,” the guitarist said. “You know, you realize it’s not only that you’re gonna generate money maybe forever on a KISS album, of course. I didn’t co-write ‘Forever.’ I wish I did. That was Michael Bolton. Little connection to me. But you know what I mean.”
He explained, “You write a song, it’s yours and then you can hand it down to your heirs. But for me, it was also just that excitement of having my name as a co-writer with these iconic rock stars who wrote so many hits.”
Kulick, who played with KISS from 1984 to 1996, had his first album with the band in 1985, titled ‘Asylum.’ From his first writing sessions with Simmons and Stanley, he noticed that each had a different approach to creating music.
“Paul had a way that he likes to work, and if he likes an idea, if he can make other parts his own or make that his own, he’s in full tilt. If you present him too much, he might not like it. ’Cause it doesn’t feel like his. And I respect that,” he recalled.
“Gene, I could present everything. Maybe a title, and all the music, meaning all the chords, not necessarily all the melody and the lyrics, and he’ll jump right in. ‘Hell or High Water’ is a perfect example. [I] gave him the title and all the chords, and he was able to write the song. And Gene was more liberal about that.”
The guitarist then noted, “Here’s another rub. This one is the crazy one. So, if I played it for Gene, and nothing happened with it, don’t play it for Paul. It’s not gonna work. Somehow, he’ll know, and he’s not gonna want to do it.”
Kulick contributed to four KISS albums before stepping aside for original guitarist Ace Frehley’s return. He didn’t rejoin the band after Frehley’s departure but stayed connected through various projects.
He co-wrote the track ‘Dreamin’’ on the 1998 ‘Psycho Circus’ album and performed on a few of its songs. In 2021, he joined the KISS Kruise, playing classic tracks like ‘Tears Are Falling’ and ‘Heaven’s on Fire.’