Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
With a rich KISStory behind them, KISS have affected entire generations of music fans and musicians. As far as guitar players go, the lineup featured some of the finest in rock music, including Bruce Kulick, who not only paid respect to Ace Frehley's parts but also left his own stamp.
We were fortunate enough to sit down and have a chat with Bruce, discussing some of his guitar choices in KISS. One of the interesting thing about his work in the band was seeing him play ESP guitars, shifting from the usual recognizable Les Pauls that classic fans were used to seeing. These days, Bruce still keeps ESPs by his side and even has some of the new guitars that were inspired by those from the KISS days.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: You have some new guitars inspired by the old KISS days. Were there some specs and features on your Kiss-era guitars that were useful for performing that music?
Bruce Kulick: "There was a whole evolution going on. I mean, first of all, it started when Eddie Van Halen was tinkering with different things to express himself, of course. And at the same time, you had a company called Floyd Rose that could now make these dive bombs and these very extreme sounds come out of a guitar and stay in tune. We know Hendrix did it. I know you love Hendrix, so do I, and Hendrix was tuning during shows, like, constantly. And he was so brilliant, he could actually play while he was out of tune. But I really used to think, 'I wish Floyd Rose was around for Hendrix. I could only imagine what he might have done.'
"But getting back to my KISS guitars, all of a sudden, I'm in the band. And I remember even Animalize, when Paul asked me to be the ghost guitar. But the question was, 'Do you have a Floyd Rose on a guitar?' You see what I mean? It's like, 'The car has got to be hot-rodded before you can go out with me,' you know what I mean? And I just had one put together, actually. So that's what I did when I played on Animalize. I had a guitar with a Floyd Rose. Now they're asking me to join the band. I'm like, 'Oh my God. I don't have any guitars for this.' And there I am at Sam Ash in Manhattan, finding a used Charvel. And then I told the KISS guys, 'I really need another guitar.' And they said, 'Go ahead and pick out another one.' So all of a sudden, I'm playing these Super Strats."
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KISS Cancer Goodbye III is scheduled to take place December 6 - 8, 2024 in Sarasota, Florida. Kulick and KISS drummer Eric Singer will be performing together multiple times over the weekend.
KISS Cancer Goodbye is excited to have a huge lineup of talented and well known musicians and entertainers performing for the benefit of fighting Cancer. Anton Fig, Chris Jericho, and Todd Kerns, along with many others will be participating in this charity event.
Find further details, and purchase your tickets now at this location.
KISS Cancer Goodbye is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The first year of the event was 2022 and was held in Nashville, TN at SIR Studios and was an evening only, live-streamed performance.
In 2023, KISS Cancer Goodbye partnered with Harvest House and relocated to Sarasota, FL. It was expanded to two days and included in-person live music, comedy and other activities. Performers included Bruce Kulick, Ace Frehley and many other amazing musicians.
Between KISS Cancer Goodbye I & II, event organizers raised and donated over $100,000 to the American Cancer Society for the fight against Cancer!
For 2024, KCG will be expanded to three days. In addition to live music and comedy, a Fan Expo will be added. The Fan Expo will be open all thee days and include some of the biggest names in KISS memorabilia, including KISS Army Warehouse, KISS Replicas, KLA, KISS Army Spain and more. It will also include opportunities to meet and get autographs and pictures with many of the musical artists.
The weekend will also be interlaced with charitable raffles and other fundraising activities. In order to maximize charitable fundraising, the event will include both in-person viewing and live streaming during portions of the event.
Further details can be found on Facebook.
