According to their official website, the Atlanta KISS Expo has announced that former KISS guitarist, Vinnie Vincent, will be their special guest, next year.
Vincent will be signing autographs and taking photos during the special VIP Meet & Greet on Friday, January 19th, 2018, as well as all day long at the Atlanta Kiss Expo on Saturday, January 20th, 2018.
The organizers state this will be Vincent’s first public appearance in almost twenty years, “We have worked long and hard to secure the legendary Ankh Warrior for the show, and he’s been absolutely awesome and is looking forward to meeting all of his fans.”
Vincent replaced lead guitarist Ace Frehley in 1982 and played with KISS for two years.
21 Responses
tomorrow, the 2018 Atlanta kiss expo will announce the disappearance of guitarist Vinnie Vincent.
This will definitely be something I would attend! Vinnie Vincent helped resurrect KISS from the depths of despair that was “The Elder” and “Unmasked” albums. “Creatures of the Night” and “Lick It Up” are two of my favorite albums after the classic lineup split. Vinnie definitely gave Gene and Paul the kick in the ass that they needed to right the sinking ship. Unfortunately, he also couldn’t take the fact the Gene and Paul were always going to be the leaders of the band. And he also sort of resented the fact that Gene and Paul kept him from going to crazy with the solos, a fact that he certainly fixed with the first Vinnie Vincent Invasion album (which I still love, although some of solos are just WAY over the top). Vinnie also helped write some of the songs on the “Revenge” album, I believe, which is another of my favorite KISS albums. He’s a talented guy, so it’s good to see him come out again.
Rolling Stone actually did a long piece on Vinnie Vincent about a year or two ago and, despite their best efforts, were unable to locate him. So for a guy, who obviously didn’t even want the publicity and opportunities that a high-profile interview could’ve gotten him, to be lured out of obscurity suddenly seems really odd….unless maybe he’s absolutely destitute.
Rumors are swirling that Kiss will be doing a true farewell tour throughout 2018-19 with the last handful of shows featuring all living members of Kiss past and present playing together on several songs on select dates (a la Steven Adler). The final four shows will be in the 4 major US cities, LA, Chicago, New York and Atlanta and each of those shows will feature all living members of Kiss past and present.
I’ve always thought that this would be the best way for KISS to end their career! If it’s true that one of the final shows with all of the living members participating would be in Atlanta, I will definitely be attending! Even though it would sadden me for KISS to retire, I think everyone recognizes that it’s time for the guys to hang it up. Paul’s voice is shot, and Gene is definitely not moving around the stage the way he used to. They’re both close to 70 years old, so it makes sense! And it would be terrific for Ace, Peter, Bruce, and even Vinnie to participate in some final shows. You can bet that the shows will be EPIC!!
Frank, i read somewhere a short while ago something similar to the rumor you mention. The article I read said something about KI$$ using a different era/tour for some of the major dates. For example, they would recreate the Love Gun tour at one city, recreate Destroyer for another, recreate Revenge for another, etc….That would be a neat way to call it a career.
I just don’t believe a word of this latest rumor. Who do you believe? An unsourced rumor that describes some dream scenario that old-school die-hard KISS fans fantasize about, or the repeated words of Paul Stanley who says he has no desire to revisit the past – even for one night? I’ll go with Paul. These persistent, unsourced rumors are basically spread by guys who can’t accept “no” for an answer. Realistically, the legal wrangling over money alone makes this “dream” scenario an impossibility.
Hi RTunes,
I would think if this was not true, and only a rumor, the Atlanta KISS Expo would have received a Cease and Desist letter, by now.
As of today (8/18), Vincent’s appearance is still being advertised on their website. Additionally, they have a Q&A section, where they answer questions regarding Vincent’s attendance. You can view it, here: https://www.lakissexpo.com/faq.
Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that Vincent will not change his mind, and pull out of the event. However, as of now, it appears that he will be at the Expo.
D 🙂
it will be interesting to hear what Vinnie has to say after laying low for so long , sadly I cant make the trip to Atlanta – as far as kiss getting together everybody on a final tour , could it be done ….yes.. could it be done well ???…… will it happen……probably not – I would love to hear eddies take on this rumor , it does look like ace is dropping weight , and pete could pull off a couple of tunes a night for a final send off tour , make up? no make up? half make up? if it happens I really hope they don’t rape the fans with huge ticket prices and a ridiculously priced meet and greet package , but they most likely will – I hope it happens for the fans-
I think they should do it without the makeup. As a long time KISS fan, I’ve been over the whole makeup thing since they originally unmasked when LICK IT UP was released. When they decided to put it back on for the first reunion tour, I thought is was sort of cheesy. The whole mystery of the makeup was that you didn’t know what the guys looked like under the makeup. Once that was gone, I was like “What’s the point”? We all know that Gene isn’t a demon, and that Ace isn’t from space! I would much rather have all the guys without makeup, and have them celebrate the music that they have created for 40 years! The classic makeup period only lasted for about 10 years, so why do they have to keep trying to recreate it? And you know that the ticket prices for something like this is going to be OUTRAGEOUS! I think that they should do a lottery type deal for meet and greets in each of the four “final” show cities. That would give all ticket buyers an equal chance of meeting the band.
Keith, for God’s sake man, that reunion was almost a religious experience to a lot of people….Kiss were also the only band that could’ve brought back the big show in the 90s….and Ace; lead guitar…Eddie Van Halen couldn’t get arrested at that point…..they came back and took back their championship belt and it was undisputed who the kings of rock were….undisputed, that these four guys could take over the world, and they did.