KISS frontman/bassist, Gene Simmons, took part in a Q&A in Adelaide, Australia, where he is currently on tour with his solo band, supported by original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley.
When asked about former guitarist Vinnie Vincent, Simmons said, “He’s about to get into some more legal problems, because he tried to trademark the makeup and to trademark Vinnie Vincent KISS, the logo.
There’s something called the classic failure mechanism, which I was told by doctors and everything — I’m not saying he is one. But there are people who simply cannot handle when things are starting to go their way — success — so they torpedo it by making stupid decisions to make sure they don’t succeeed, so they can deal with that. Some people just can’t fathom being up there, so they turn to other stuff and torpedo it.”
Simmons added, “Vinnie is a great guy, very talented, and maybe, in my view, his own worst enemy — in my opinion.”
See Simmons’ interview below.
On July 23rd, Vincent (real name is Vincent Cusano), filed two applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the word mark Vinnie Vincent’s KISS. If granted, the registrations will protect the use of the standard character mark of Vinnie Vincent’s KISS for entertainment services, specifically “live performances by internationally known musical artist and guitarist Vinnie Vincent,” as well as for goods and services, including “compact discs featuring music.”
Vinnie Vincent recently announced that he will be playing two shows, December 7th and December 8th, at Graceland. The concert will start with an acoustic set, followed by an intermission, and then a full shred electric set. These performances will be Vincent’s return to the stage in over 30 years.
9 Responses
Vinnie should stick to songwriting and playing – two areas he is really good at