On December 23, former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick performed the National Anthem at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The occasion? A super-exciting matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers.
Kulick joined Kiss in 1984 and stuck around for 12 years—from the Animalize tour through the band's 1996 reunion tour. Let us not forget, he's also the axman behind Michael Bolton's 1985 album, Everybody's Crazy.
"Kiss is one of those bands the whole world knows, and usually, people that aren't really a fan will only think of makeup as Kiss, because that's what, of course, made them famous and they've been back in that for so many years," Kulick told California Rock News. "But a real fan knows there's a whole wealth of material—over a decade of years that are non-makeup, which is… I kind of wave the flag for all of that.
"If you, for example, didn't know there was a makeup Kiss, and there wouldn't have been a version for me to join if it wasn't for the makeup Kiss, but the truth is… When I was in the band, we kept it going, we had hits, we had gold, platinum records, toured the world—arenas, the whole thing… But I find, even with them continuing, and they turn on new generations of fans. So they… For instance, they were in Japan not that long ago, and now they're going to South America, and now I'm seeing a lot of people following me on Twitter and Facebook [from] South America.
"In Japan, I picked up all these fans that started following me, 'cause [Kiss recently] went to Japan. And they did something very smart in Japan, where they kind of were doing gigs with a very popular pop group of little Japanese women. And that was really interesting, even though it looks odd. But it exposed Kiss, and what Kiss represents, and everything about Kiss' music and the vibe of Kiss to a whole another generation.
"I noticed I'm getting all these tweets from fans over there… It's written in Japanese letters; I don't know what it is. I go, 'Why would a 15-year-old know about me?' But, again, it's because [Kiss is] out there. Kiss is one of those bands that you just keep sharing, the same way, I'm sure… Now AC/DC is coming out with a new record and everything, and they're gonna be touring, so there'll be new 15-year-olds that will [go], 'Oh my God! AC/DC. This is amazing.' And that's what's great about the kind of music that I grew up with."
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Kulick has been a member of Grand Funk Railroad since 2000. Enjoy!
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
