Vinnie Vincent Invasion

All Music Guide:

Although he forged a brief solo career in the late '80s, guitarist Vinnie Vincent is best known for his short stint in Kiss, from 1982-1984. Born Vincent Cusano on August 5, 1952, in Connecticut, he picked up guitar at a very early age, inspired by the speed of bluegrass (!) and rock & roll. Throughout the '70s, he recorded an unnoticed album with the band Treasure, and paid the bills by doing session work (for Laura Nyro, Dan Hartman, and writing music for the TV show Happy Days). After returning to heavy metal with the outfit Warrior, Cusano met Kiss' Gene Simmons through a mutual friend. Kiss was experiencing problems with original guitarist Ace Frehley at this time, so Simmons invited Vinnie to co-write some songs and play lead on 1982's Creatures of the Night. When it became clear that Frehley was leaving the band for good after the album's release, Cusano was asked to join the band.

Changing his name to Vinnie Vincent and assuming the alter ego of an Egyptian warrior (which his facial makeup and outfit reflected), he joined Kiss on their first U.S. tour in three years. Unfortunately, the public didn't welcome the band back with open arms, as the tour and the album weren't successful (even though Creatures was their best and heaviest release in years). After a string of mammoth, sold-out live dates in Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 1983, Vincent worked with Kiss on their next album, Lick It Up, with which Vinnie had more of a prominent songwriting role. With extra publicity added to the album's release by the group finally "unmasking," Lick It Up was Kiss' first record in three years to obtain gold certification in the U.S. The subsequent tour was a rocky one for Vincent, however. Reportedly bickering over his salary, he was fired after a European tour, but was rehired for the American leg. When writing began for their next album (what would be 1984's Animalize), Vincent was either fired or left on his own, and replaced by Mark St. John.

Vincent soon formed the Vinnie Vincent Invasion, which signed to Chrysalis and issued a self-titled debut in 1986. The album was more pop-based than his heavier work with Kiss (the songs were mostly an excuse for Vincent to shred away on his six-string) but fit in with the then-popular glam/pop-metal climate (Poison, Bon Jovi, Ratt, etc.). After just one more album (1988's All Systems Go), the band split up, with singer Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum finding chart success with Slaughter in the early '90s. With a much delayed solo album and rumored box set never materializing, little was heard from Vincent as he appeared as a guest at Kiss conventions throughout the early '90s. He helped Kiss with some of the songwriting for their 1992 back-to-basics album Revenge, but the reconciliation with his former bandmembers didn't last long. By 1997, he had issued a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Kiss, declaring that he had not received the royalties he was entitled to.

Wikipedia:

Vinnie Vincent Invasion was an American glam metal band formed in 1984 by former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent.

History

Forming the band in the mid-1980's, Vinnie Vincent recruited bassist Dana Strum, who had served as a talent scout in L.A., recruiting band members for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne. Because he had found both Jake E. Lee and the late Randy Rhoads for Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Stanley had contacted Osbourne to inquire about where he found the guitarists, and was given Strum's name. Unable to find anyone Kiss considered to be on Vincent's level, Strum decided to find Vincent himself in hopes of working together. Bobby Rock came on board as the drummer. With the nucleus of the band completed, the band searched for a lead vocalist.

They were very impressed with an audition tape they had received of a singer, whose vocal style was reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. Unfortunately, the auditionee had neglected to leave a name or any form of identification on the tape. As the band attempted to track down the "mystery singer," they temporarily hired former Journey singer Robert Fleischman, to provide vocals on Vinnie Vincent Invasion's self-titled debut album. The record included primarily the style of glam metal, with much of it re-worked versions of demos Vincent recorded in 1982 with former New England members Hirsch Gardner, Gary Shea, and Jimmy Waldo as Warrior, with Vincent essentially replacing John Fannon as guitarist and vocalist. Warrior disbanded when Vincent was selected to be a member of Kiss.

The identity of the elusive "mystery singer" was revealed to be Mark Slaughter, when he successfully contacted the band. Fleischman exited the band to make way for the new lead singer. During the Slaughter-Fleischman transition, a video was produced for the song "Boyz Are Gonna Rock" from their debut album, featuring Slaughter as the vocalist, lipsyncing over Fleischman's vocal track. With Slaughter now on board, the band released their second album, All Systems Go in May 1988. The album featured one of the group's best-known hits, "Ashes to Ashes," as well as a song called "Love Kills," which appeared on the A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master soundtrack the same year.

Later in 1988, the band was released from their contract with Chrysalis Records. Having grown annoyed with what they perceived to be Vincent's domination of the project, Slaughter and Strum left to form the band Slaughter, which would go on to have success. Bobby Rock has played as a touring drummer for Slaughter, but was not in the initial line-up. After Vinnie Vincent Invasion broke up, he briefly joined Nitro, later Nelson, and then went on to play as a session musician with other bands. Subsequent to the band's release from their Chrysalis contract and the resultant split of Slaughter and Strum to form Slaughter, Vincent reunited with original Vinnie Vincent Invasion vocalist Robert Fleischman and recorded the unreleased album Pyro Messiah (aka Guitars From Hell).

A tribute album entitled KISS MY ANKH: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent was released by SplitScreen Entertainment on August 27, 2008. The album consists of new recordings of songs from Vincent's careers with Kiss and Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Featured artists include Steve Brown of Trixter, Troy Patrick Farrell of White Lion, T.J. Racer of Nitro, Sheldon Tarsha of Adler's Appetite, Chris Caffery of Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ryan Roxie from the Alice Cooper band and rock and roll comic C.C. Banana, who performs a parody of the Kiss song "Unholy" (rewritten as a roast of Danger Danger vocalist Ted Poley).