Vinnie Vincent, very special guest at most of the US KISS conventions, finally spills unknown revelations of KISStory. In a question and answer session Vinnie comes clean on every question fans ever wanted answered by the bearer of the Egyptian ankh cross.

Fan : Tell me about "Killer", that's one of my favorites.
Vinnie : That's a good song. The band was  recording at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles. We were writing it while "Creatures" was being recorded and I think I came up with the idea. Gene added some good stuff to it and the song just grew and became finished. We finished it in the studio.
Fan : One of the all time KISS classics is "I Love It Loud", would you share the story about that? How it came about...and how your own sound came about. These are probably the most unique sounds on any record
Vinnie : When we recorded "Creatures" I was still new to the band. That album was recorded at a studio in LA called Record One in a tiled room, the room provided a great echo for the drums, and it was the best drum sound I have ever heard. It was a fabulously interesting recording. That was my favorite recording experience because of the studio, the experimentation that was involved in that record, and I was very new to the band at that time. It was a real thrill. As far as your question on "I Love It Loud"; Gene had a chant which was the beginning...and I wrote the lyrics. We worked back and forth real well Gene,Paul and I, we had a good chemistry. I think we left behind some really good music that I'm proud of. We had a good interplay, you know;  I'll feed you an idea, you feed it back to me and eventually...we both go, "yeah this is it" !
Fan : What sort of differences did you see between writing with Paul compared to Gene ? Would they come in with a guitar...with an idea first ?
Vinnie : About "Lick It Up"...I remember saying to Paul, "I've got a great idea for a song and I started singing it to him. I don't think it clicked with him at first. He didn't seem to excited about it and I said to myself at that time; I think this would be a great new single for this record. I had the title, I had the melody basically and then I said to Gene; I think I've got a winner here and I think you should hear it. When Gene heard it he said; you should play it to Paul. I told Gene I just did  but i don't think  Paul likes it . The next time I played it for Paul, he said, "Hey ! - this is great - we should work on it". So a lot of times when you hear songs you may not be in the right frame of mind to get something right away,  but in a different mood, you go; Hey ! - this is great. That's how "Lick It Up" came about.
Fan : I think one of Paul's favorite songs of recent KISS is "I Still Love You", which you co-wrote with him. Is there a story behind that?
Vinnie : We both were into it very much and we both contributed a lot to it. It just clicked. I think writing with them is really a terrific chemistry. We always write very well together and I think we have a real natural thing when we get together, something just happens.
Fan : You played on the "Creatures" album, probably on most of the tracks, were there other guitarists that played ?
Vinnie : From my recollection, they were auditioning tons of guitar players and I mean tons. There may have been two tons of people if you put them on a scale.We are talking 13 years ago and if I remember correctly they were still auditioning players, and the way they did it was to have some of them come into the studio and play on some tracks. I think that was the part of the audition process. I think they had a few players come in and at some point - I was asked to play. They liked my style.... I finished the record and later I joined the group
Fan : Did the band record "Back On the Streets"? Did you sing it ?
Vinnie : There was a song that I had demoed called "Back On the Streets" which I recorded for my own album at some point, the producer, Michael James Jackson heard the song and he said : this is a hit song - we want to record this song. That was part of the beginning process of me joining the band and getting introduced to them. Paul sang it. We recorded it for "Creatures". A couple of years ago, I asked Gene why we didn't release that song. He said that Paul didn't think he sang it that well.
Fan : Maybe it will be in the box set.... Vinnie : I think it should, because it really is a great tune.
Fan: Did you come up with your makeup design ?
Vinnie : No, I didn't. I thought it was a great design, the ankh cross was Paul's idea and i think it was terrific.
Fan : Was it difficult learning how to put the makeup on ?
Vinnie: I have some polaroids of early designs, very diffrent from what the makeup finally looked like.
I used to practice at home to get it right.
Fan : How long did it take for you to put it on ?
Vinnie : To begin with - about 45 minutes, towards the end of the tour - maybe 15.
Fan : Was it difficult getting used to the costumes, you weren't used to performing in something like that prior to joining KISS ?
Vinnie : It was very hard. I think the hardest part was the boots, the platform boots were so high, I used to fall down a lot on stage. I remember Gene telling me : "if you go down, stay there and it'll look like a part of the performance" It took some time to get used to the boots.
Fan : When you put on the makeup, did it make you feel different about yourself ?Vinnie : Yeah, with the mask I felt very fortified actually.
Fan : Is it true that you currently are writing a book ? Vinnie : Yes
Fan : Tell us about it...
Vinnie : I have decided to write about my tenure in Kiss because I keep being asked questions that I can never really answer 100% truthfully. I have read a lot of things about me and my time in Kiss Which I don't approve of so I am writing this book because I want the truth to come out.
Fan : Is it true that Paul and Gene asked Ace to re-join the band in the middle of the "Creatures" tour ?
Vinnie : I am not around when people make private phone calls, but I asked Gene about it and he said no.
Fan : Did you ever meet Ace ?
Vinnie : I met Ace once and he seemed like a really nice guy. We got along very well. We had a short conversation. I don't think I'll ever meet Ace again. I met him when I first joined the band. He wished me luck and said ; Have fun... Good luck, and that was it.
Fan : Do you have any recollections from the "Creatures" tour ? What was it like ?
Vinnie: It was very hard to take the place of someone loved so much by the fans, it's tough to be the new guy...
I didn't want to take anyone's place, I was there because I was asked to be there. I hoped that I could give the fans my best and that they would be happy with me. I remember what it was like in the beginning , it was a brand new experience - very intense...It was also a lot of fun. We learned a lot, we did some great shows...Rio. It was a great tour. To begin with, for me, the shows were very tentative, because I was still learning the show and it was pretty difficult, but as the tour got on it felt better and better.
Fan : Rio was the last show that Kiss performed with makeup, did you know that it would be the last show with makeup?
Vinnie : We knew it was going to be the last show with makeup. Rio is really hard to describe, it was pandemonium like you've never seen it, it was the ultimate adulation, and it was probably the biggest rock show you could imagine at that time. So it was wonderful.
Fan : Kiss took the makeup off on MTV. What was it like for you guys ? Did you think : maybe we shouldn't do this after all  - any hesitation?
Vinnie : For me it wasn't that major because I had  been doing it for a short period. I think it had to be done. The "Creatures" tour wasn't successful...I think the band needed to change. There were a lot of changes going on within the band.
Fan : Can I ask you about the "Lick It Up" cover, some rumours say that you were originally going to take the cover photo in makeup but then you changed your mind at the last minute...
Vinnie : I remember that cover. We did a lot of trial covers for "Lick It Up", a lot of different settings without makeup, the makeup was off and the decision to remove it for good had been made long before the cover shoot.
Fan : Did Rick Derringer play lead guitar on "Exciter" ?Vinnie : Yes
Fan : Why did he play ?
Vinnie : Gene and Paul didn't like my solo on that song, I loved it though, I think it was one of my best pieces, but for some reason....it annoyed me a great deal because I wasn't told - they just did it. I think the version that I played on should have been on the record.
Rick is a great guitar player by the way.
Fan : What was it like playing without the makeup for the first time ? Were you guys nervous ?
Vinnie : Well,  we were in a foreign country (Portugal), they don't speak English and things were very different from what we're used to, but it was great. I think the "Lick It Up" tour was a real "free feeling" tour. I think Gene had a hard time to begin with, but he ended up doing great and I think he got really used to it. It was a great tour because it was a new thing happening with the band....it was special.
Fan : Paul and Gene have said that you were told to leave the band because you refused to sign a contract, what's the story behind that ?
Vinnie : We had business problems from the day i met them to this day. I love them dearly, we write great songs together, this will be in my book - the answers to many questions, the real true answers.
Fan : Do you have a publisher yet or are you going to shop it first ?
Vinnie : No, I'm writing it myself with a writer. I will produce it myself and sell it through my record company. So, the way to get it will be through fan magazines and my own record company. By the way - my record company is called Metalluna Records.
Fan : How did you come to write with Paul and Gene for the "Revenge" album ?
Vinnie : I ran into Gene and Paul at A&M recording studios in LA and we talked about some things. It was good to see them again, I hadn't seen them in a long time. Shortly after I got a call from Gene, he asked me if I would like to write for the "Revenge" album - I thought it was a great idea.
Fan : What do you think of the the tracks you came up with for the "Revenge" album ?
Vinnie : I think "Unholy" came out great, "I just wanna" is a good song. I left during "Heart of crome" so I wasn't there at the finishing stage. I think that song could have turned out a lot better.
Fan : Any chance you'll write with KISS in the future ? Vinnie : There are two things you have to take into consideration when you're working professionally....one is the business side, second - you have to like who you're working with. So if we can make sure we'll get along then we'll probably work together again.
Fan : Can you share some memories of Eric Carr ? Vinnie : (Vinnie has a moment of silence before answering) Eric was my friend, Eric was a very caring, loving, generous and funny human being. I miss him a lot. I think about him very often.There's not one day that goes by without me thinking of him. He was one of the nicest persons I've ever known.
Fan : Thank you Vinnie ! Vinnie : Thank YOU !