Bruce Kulick argues KISS never got the 'credit' they deserved musically
"This stuff is hard," Kulick says
Last updated 22nd Jul 2024
Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick has argued that the band’s music is much more complex than many people realise.
In a fresh interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Kulick pointed towards the guitar solo in KISS’s 1976 anthem ‘Detroit Rock City’ as an example of the band’s musical complexity.
“(Nobody) could play it better than those guys the way they performed it. So anyone that considers Kiss simple or easy music to play, they’re idiots. This stuff is hard,” Kulick said.
The 70-year-old rocker, who was a member of KISS from 1984 to 1996, continued: “It’s just that the band never got credit that way, and it always should.
“Gene (Simmons) never wants to brag about how good he is on bass and what a tremendous musician he actually is. That’s part of his schtick, I believe. I don’t buy it for a second.”
Kulick went on to shower the “unbelievably gifted” Paul Stanley with superlatives calling him “a tremendous rhythm (guitar) player,” before adding: “These guys are really, really talented musicians.
“The body of songs and the catalogue that they created, I’m just thrilled to be part of it.”
KISS called it a day at the conclusion of their multi-year End of the Road Tour in New York in December 2023.
They plan to launch their new era as ABBA-style avatars in 2027.
The A to Z of the hottest band in the world, KISS:
A - Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley was the original KISS guitar player who infamously turned up for his audition in 1973 wearing one red and one orange sneaker. He also designed the lightning bolt KISS logo and came up with the idea of having his guitar have smoke billowing out of it as a special effect.
B - Bruce and Bob Kulick
Both Bruce and Bob Kulick played guitar for KISS; Bob auditioned the same day Ace did in 1973 (Ace got the gig of course), but he did play on studio cuts from 1977's Alive II and KISS Killers in 1982. His younger brother Bruce was drafted in to cover for an ailing Mark St John for the 1984 Animalize UK tour, and his quality - combined with St John failing to recover sufficiently from a hand problem - meant Bruce had the job for the next 12 years.
C – Criss (Peter Criss)
Peter Criss, the original drummer who had played in bands called Lips & Chelsea prior to meeting Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley to form a trio. When he was first set to meet the other two outside a New York recording studio, a well-dressed Peter walked right past Gene and Paul thinking they were guys from the street rather than budding rock stars. Peter sang but played very little drums on his own 1978 KISS solo album, 'Peter Criss', due to the effects of a car crash that he was very lucky to survive.
D – Detroit
Detroit was arguably the first American big city that took KISS to its heart, as the band were selling out arenas there before anywhere else in the country. 'Detroit Rock City' from 1976 was written in celebration of the place, telling the story of a fan who dies in a car crash heading for the city to see the band. On the album, the news report you can hear at the start of the song was read out by producer Bob Ezrin.
E - Exciter
'Exciter' is the first track on the 'Lick It Up' album in 1983 which saw the band appear on the front cover without makeup for the first time. Vinnie Vincent appears on that cover but it's not his guitar solo on 'Exciter.' Evidently the producer Michael James Jackson didn't think Vincent's efforts suited the song and Rick Derringer was drafted in to play the main solo instead.
F - Forever
'Forever' is only KISS' second ever US Top 10 single hit after 'Beth' in 1976, and, like 'Beth', a ballad. This one was written by Paul Stanley with a certain Michael Bolton, a man who had Bruce Kulick as guitarist in his band Blackjack a few years before his huge success as a solo artist.
G - Gene Simmons
Born Chaim Witz in the Israeli port city of Haifa, Gene emigrated with his mother to New York as a young boy and learned English by watching cartoons on TV and reading Marvel comics, perhaps firing his imagination for the character he was to become on stage. He also made movies in the 1980's after the makeup came off, most famously alongside Tom Selleck as the baddie in sci-fi film Runaway and as a transvestite in Never Too Young To Die.
H - Hide Your Heart
A single released from 1989's 'Hot In The Shade' LP, but the song's impact was diluted by the fact that there are no less than five versions of the song that existed around the same time as well as KISS' version. Molly Hatchet, Robin Beck & Bonnie Tyler all recorded the song and even former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley did it on his 'Trouble Walkin' album too.
I - I
Another KISS song where all is not what it seems. It was the final track on the ill-fated 'Music from the Elder' album from 1981, an album to which Ace Frehley barely contributed ahead of his departure from the band the following year. Not only that, but new drummer Eric Carr didn't have the right feel for the track according to legendary producer Bob Ezrin, and he brought in session player Allan Schwartzberg to play drums. Schwartzberg already held the distinction of being the only musician to contribute to two of the KISS 1978 solo albums, namely Gene and Peter's.
J – John (Mark St John)
Mark St John is the KISS member with the shortest tenure in the band. He was recruited for the 1984 'Animalize' album, played most but not all of the guitar solos and then developed a rare arthritic condition in his hand that forced him to sit out the European Tour that supported the album, including extensive dates in the UK. Bruce Kulick came in as a temporary measure, but it soon became clear that he fit the band better than St John. Mark was let go soon after the band started the American leg of the tour.
K - KISSTORY
KISSTORY was the name of a giant coffee table book weighing 9 lbs released in 1995 full of unreleased photos and information about the history of the band. It wasn't available in bookstores but only by calling a special phone number to order. Future KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer played a major part in putting the project together from scratch.
L - Lakeland
Lakeland in Florida was where Ace Frehley was electrocuted on stage in 1976 when touching a metal handrail on the stage that hadn't been properly grounded. He recovered to finish the set that night and the incident spawned two things; first, the band invested in one of the first wireless guitar systems to avoid a similar thing happening in future. Secondly, it inspired Ace to write what became his signature song, 'Shock Me.'
M - Man of 1,000 Faces
'Man Of 1,000 Faces' is a song Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album that was written some years before as a tribute to one of Gene's heroes when growing up, the silent movie legend Lon Chaney, famous for playing the Hunchback of Norte Dame, Phantom of the Opera in the 1920s.
N - New York Groove
All four KISS solo albums in 1978 had singles released from them, but only Ace's version of the old Hello song 'New York Groove' was a hit, making No.13 on the US chart. The confidence Ace derived from the success of the single led to at least 3 Frehley sung tracks on the next 2 KISS studio albums, 'Dynasty' and 'Unmasked.'
O - Ozone
'Ozone' is a spaced-out track from Ace Frehley's 1978 solo album that was subsequently covered in 1995 by a fledgling band called Foo Fighters as a B-side to Dave Grohl's second Foos single 'I'll Stick Around.' Dave had also recorded a KISS cover whilst in Nirvana, contributing a version of 'Do You Love Me?' to the KISS covers album 'Hard to Believe' in 1990.
P - Paul Stanley
Born Stanley Eisen in New York, Paul Stanley is completely deaf on one side, as he was born with a microtia where his right ear should have been. Instead, he had a crumpled mass of cartilage that he hid under his rock star hairdo for years until the early 80's when he underwent surgery to correct the look of his right ear. When KISS cut their hair short for 1981's 'The Elde'r, Paul wore a purple bandana to hide the microtia.
Q - Queens
Queens, New York is the district where KISS played their first ever live gig on Jan 30th 1973 at the Coventry Club. They performed two sets that night for an audience of 10 people, including the band's girlfriends! It's also been suggested that one Joey Ramone was present at one of KISS' first shows.
R - Rush
KISS took Rush out on tour during the Canadian trio's early days with Neil Peart having just joined. The two bands forged a very close friendship as they toured across America in 1974 and 75. KISS have been known for giving some hugely successful bands opening slots over the years, including Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Judas Priest and Bon Jovi.
S - Simmons and Stanley
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have been the mainstays of KISS since they formed the band in 1973. Paul took a dislike to Gene when they first met at a mutual friend's house on account of Gene's arrogance towards Paul's songwriting, as Gene felt he was the only person he knew who could write songs. The first song Paul played for Gene was called 'Sunday Driver', which eventually wound up on KISS debut album, retitled 'Let Me Know.'
T - Tommy Thayer
Tommy Thayer is the current KISS guitarist but who performed a number of roles within the KISS organisation before he replaced Ace Frehley 20 years ago. He'd co-written songs with Gene on 'Hot In the Shade' from 1989, booked a KISS Convention tour of American Hotels in the mid 90s, and acted as the band's road manager during the Reunion tour. Tommy was even asked by Gene and Paul to work with both Peter Criss and Ace Frehley prior to the 1996 reunion to help them to remember their respective drum and guitar parts for the classic songs, which they'd mostly forgotten, especially in Peter's case.
U - Unplugged
MTV were instrumental in what was to become a fully-fledged reunion of the original KISS line-up when in 1995 they asked the band to perform on the well-known Unplugged show after the current line-up had been playing a series of acoustic shows across America. MTV bosses wanted Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to join the band for part of the show, which they did. Within a year, the make-up, costumes and the original four were plotting a massive money-spinning reunion tour.
V - Vinnie Vincent
Originally Vincent Cusano, Vinnie Vincent was a session musician who, amongst his pre-KISS jobs, wrote songs for the Happy Days spin off show Joanie loves Chachi and also played on the big Dan Hartman disco hit 'Instant Replay'. He joined KISS late in 1982 and had his gold Egyptian Ankh makeup design put together for him by Paul Stanley.
W - Wicked Lester
Wicked Lester was Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley's pre-KISS band that recorded an album for CBS in 1972 that was shelved and the band broke up, leading to Paul & Gene starting KISS. A few years later, CBS threatened to release Wicked Lester at the height of KISS' fame and the band were forced to buy the rights to the album in order to prevent its release, but bootleg copies of the eclectic album have long been circulating between fans. Wicked Lester made it into our gallery of the worst original band names.
X – X-Ray Eyes
'X-Ray Eyes' is one of just two Gene Simmons songs on 1979's 'Dynasty' studio album, the least he's contributed to any studio LP the band has released. Gene also only played bass on four of the album's songs, including this one.
Y – "You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world, KISS!"
This has long been the band's introduction onstage, but in the very early days, their introduction was simply 'Ladies and gentlemen, put your two lips together and KISS' until roadie JR Smalling heard the now famous phrase being used on a TV car commercial and adapted it for the band introduction. It's JR's voice you can hear saying the classic intro on 1975's 'KISS Alive!' album. Planet Rock's very own Joe Elliott got to say the line a few years ago when Def Leppard toured with KISS.
Z – Zerbe (Anthony Zerbe)
Anthony Zerbe played a mad scientist looking to destroy the band in the 1978 TV Movie KISS Meets the Phantom Of The Park (also known as 'KISS in Attack of the Phantoms' in Europe), a film that the band were utterly embarrassed to watch back at the premiere. Yes, it was that bad! Zerbe went on to star as a Bond villain in Licence To Kill some years later.