Bruce Kulick wasn’t invited to Kiss’ farewell concert. Here’s how the group’s longtime guitarist explained why he didn’t attend the festivities at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December: “I wasn’t asked to be there and I wasn’t invited,” Kulick said Conversation with “Ultimate Classic Rock”.
Bruce Kulick: Conciliatory words
The guitarist previously asserted that he had a good relationship with his Kiss companions. According to Kulick, there is friendly contact with Ace Frehley, Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. He played concerts with Peter Criss. Nevertheless, he described the lead-up to the event as follows: “It was clear to me that this statement from Gene and Paul that everyone would be invited to ‘End Of The Road’ was a gesture and wasn’t necessarily going to happen.”
However, Kulick spoke even more clearly about Kiss’s manager, Doc McGhee. “Someone asked him on a podcast, ‘What about Bruce Kulick?'” the musician said in the interview. McGhee is said to have answered this question: “Kiss is not a jam band.” Kulick then recalled his career with Kiss – after all, he played with the band from 1984 to 1996, the phase without a mask. “I don’t jam,” Kulick concluded.
“Doc doesn’t like my era because he had nothing to do with it, and that’s fine. Doc was always nice to me. I also know how important he was to the grand vision of Kiss after I was no longer there. But I feel like saying that the band isn’t jamming and it would be a jam if I were on stage is just a nice way of saying, ‘No one but Kiss is going to be on stage,'” Kulicks said Look at the statement. He even understands that. “I wasn’t looking for a magical moment where I plug in my guitar and get on stage with Kiss. The fans would have lost their minds, I really believe that. But it does not matter. “I just sat back because I knew I wasn’t invited,” he said.
“If they had wanted me to be there, they would have asked me to come”
He only found one thing uncomfortable: that acquaintances asked him before the show whether they would see each other backstage later. He wished them a lot of fun: “What else could I have said? I really wanted everyone to have a good time. It means a lot to me that the fans are still having fun.” Nevertheless, he seemed disappointed that the names of Kiss’s companions or supporters were not mentioned during the show. Neither words nor pictures listed who was part of the group over the years. “I know a lot of fans were disappointed by this,” Kulick concluded. “If they had wanted me to be there, they would have asked me to come. I respect that. What makes it a little weirder, however, is that Gene and Paul invited me back then, when Kiss were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.”
“Kisstory,” as Kulick called it, would have been represented at this honor, although only the founding members were honored, but not at the band’s final concert, which celebrated the entire work – a strange contrast. Kulick still shared his personal bright spot from the show: when it could be heard for a moment in the form of the opening riff of “God Gave Rock And Roll To You”.
The musician actually wanted to talk to “Ultimate Classic Rock” about his departure from Grand Funk Railroad. He also announced that he would dedicate himself to his solo music and possibly memoirs in the new year.