Backstage Pass Rock-News recently reshared a Carmine Appice interview with Let There Be Talk. Appice recalled warning KISS about hiring Vinnie Vincent in the ‘80s during the chat. He and Vincent were bandmates before that:
“We wrote these great songs and everything. We were ready to get a record deal. Then, he acted like a total asshole and said, ‘Oh, well, you know, I wrote this song,’ even though it’s because of my connections and everything [that] we’re getting the record deal. So, we agreed we would split everything with everybody, make it even, so whoever writes a song doesn’t run around in a Lamborghini, and the other guy has a Volkswagen.”
The drummer continued:
“So, he agreed to that and then when it was time to do it, he backed out. When he backed out, we said, ‘Fuck this!’ We blew the band out, you know. Then, I got a call from Paul Stanley and Gene [Simmons] saying, ‘We got this guy, Vinnie Cusano, to join KISS. What do you think?’ I said, ‘Dude, he’s a great talent, great songwriter, decent singer, great guitar player, but he’s trouble. It’s up to you guys. I can tell you he’s trouble.’ They hired him, and what happened? Yeah, that’s right: trouble!”
The Tension Between KISS And Their Ex-Guitarist
Vinnie Vincent played on the ‘Creatures of the Night’ and ‘Lick It Up’ albums after joining KISS. He never signed an employment contract with the band, though.
The relationship between Vincent and KISS soured when he asked for a percentage of their gross profits to sign a full contract. This led to the guitarist’s departure from the lineup following the North American leg of the ‘Lick It Up’ tour.
Vincent did return briefly to work with the band on the ‘Revenge’ album years later, but once again fell out with Simmons and Stanley due to his ‘crazy demands.’
Simmons Said Vincent Was ‘His Own Worst Enemy’
Legal disputes arose when Vinnie Vincent used his KISS makeup, the ‘Ankh Warrior,’ at two unofficial KISS-Expos in 1996. The guitarist sued the band over the rights to the makeup and other issues after they responded with a cease and desist.
Vincent also sought to trademark the ‘Vinnie Vincent’s KISS’ brand in 2018. Gene Simmons commented at a Q&A session back then:
“There’s something called the classic failure mechanism, which I was told by doctors and everything — I’m not saying he is one. But there are people who simply cannot handle when things are starting to go their way — success — so they torpedo it by making stupid decisions to make sure they don’t succeed, so they can deal with that. Some people just can’t fathom being up there, so they turn to other stuff and torpedo it.”
He added:
“Vinnie is a great guy, very talented, and maybe, in my view, his own worst enemy — in my opinion.”
The former KISS guitarist released his last record, ‘Judgement Day,’ with Vinnie Vincent Invasion in 2023. He’s been mostly away from the public eye in recent years.