Vinnie Vincent

Vinnie Vincent
Birth name	Vincent John Cusano
Also known as	"The Ankh Warrior"
Born	(1952-08-06) August 6, 1952 Bridgeport, Connecticut
Genres	Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock
Occupations	Musician Songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1970–2000
Associated acts	Vinnie Vincent Invasion Kiss Dan Hartman Treasure Laura Nyro Warrior Heat

Vinnie Vincent (born Vincent John Cusano; August 6, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, well known as a former member in the band Kiss, as well as the leader of his own band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion.

Early life

Vincent was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Theresa "Terri" (Farraro) and Alfonso Cusano, musicians. He picked up the guitar at an early age and was inspired by bluegrass and rock and roll. In 1980, Vincent moved to Los Angeles, California where he became a staff songwriter for the television series Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Many of the series songs were written on Vincent's acoustic guitar while sitting at the "Cunningham's" kitchen table on the Happy Days set, during off-time from the show's rehearsal schedule. Vincent has said the times of working at the Paramount lot were genuinely "happy days". According to the site "Kiss Related Recordings", Vincent has played with the bands Hunter, Warrior, Hitchhikers, and Heat going as far back as 1970.

Kiss

After befriending Gene Simmons, Vincent was brought in as the replacement for guitarist Ace Frehley. Vincent's personality meshed well with Simmons and Paul Stanley. However, Vincent's refusal to sign the employment contract strained the relationship. Due partly to disputes over what his role in the band was and his pay would be (some reports indicated that Vincent had asked for, and was flatly denied, a percentage of the band's gross profits), and despite the exhortations of both Simmons and Stanley, all through his tenure with the band Vincent refused to sign any contract making his employment official. This ultimately led to Vincent leaving the band after the North American leg of the "Lick It Up" tour.

At a March show in Quebec City, as the band prepared to close out their set, Vincent broke into an impromptu solo, leaving the other band members standing onstage with nothing to do. After the "Lick It Up" tour ended in March 1984, Vincent was terminated from the band, and replaced by Mark St. John (birth name Mark Norton). Despite parting on bad terms, Vincent was later utilized by Kiss as a songwriter on the 1992 album Revenge, contributing to the songs "Unholy", "Heart Of Chrome" and "I Just Wanna". Vincent again fell out of favor with Simmons and Stanley, as they claimed that Vincent again began "making all kinds of crazy demands and pulling the same kind of crazy stuff all over again".

Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Vincent formed the band Vinnie Vincent Invasion in the mid-1980s and released two studio albums. First, Vinnie Vincent Invasion in 1986 and All Systems Go in 1988. The band broke-up in 1989. After that, the band's singer Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum formed Slaughter.

Later career

In 1996, Vinnie Vincent released a solo EP, called Euphoria , once again with Robert Fleischman on vocals. 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 the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Featured artists include Steve Brown of Trixter, Troy Patrick Farrell of White Lion, T.J. Racer of Nitro, Mike Weeks of Robert Fleischman's band, 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).

Discography

Kiss

• Creatures of the Night (1982)
• Lick It Up (1983)
• Revenge (1992) songwriting credits only

Compilation

• Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988)
• Alive III (1993) songwriting credits only
• MTV Unplugged (1993) songwriting credits only
• The Box Set (2001)
• The Very Best of Kiss (2002)
• Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003) songwriting credits only
• The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection (2004)
• The Best of Kiss, Volume 3: The Millennium Collection (2006) songwriting credits only
• Kiss Alive! 1975-2000 (2006) songwriting credits only
• The Best of KISS: Green Series (2008)
• Playlist Plus (2008)
• Playlist Your Way (2008)
• Jigoku-Retsuden (2008) songwriting credits only
• 15 Classics (2008) digital download only
• 15 Discoveries (2008) digital download only
• 45 The Complete Collection (2008) digital download only
• Alive! The Millennium Concert (2008) songwriting credits & digital download only
• Sonic Boom Disc 2 (Kiss Klassics) (2009) songwriting credits only

Vinnie Vincent Invasion

• Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986)
• All Systems Go (1988)
• Pyro Messiah (circa 1990 Enigma Records, unreleased)

• Euphoria (EP) (1996)
• Archive Volumes I: Speedball Jamm

Wendy O. Williams

• W.O.W. (1984 Passport)

"Ain't None Of Your Business" Songwriter (Simmons, Carr & Vincent) & Guitar

Peter Criss

• Let Me Rock You (1982)

John Waite

• No Brakes (1984 EMI)

Songwriter "Tears" (1981)

Dan Hartman

• Instant Replay (1978)

Rhythm & Acoustic Guitars, Tambourine, Backing Vocal

Treasure

• Epic #PE 34890 (1977)

Guitar & Lead Vocals on "Innocent Eyes" & "Turn Yourself Around" (with Felix Cavaliere: of The Rascals)

Tribute albums

• Kiss My Ankh: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent (2008)

The Bangles

• Everything (1988) Songwriting credit & Guitars for "Make a Play for Her Now"

Quotes

"My chemistry with the band helped put them back on top and gave them a musical credibility that they'd never had before, yet I couldn't get the recognition I needed. I felt like I was imprisoned in a small cubicle, like it was someone else's house..." (Vinnie about leaving Kiss in Kerrang! Magazine. Black Diamond (writer: Dale Sherman), 1997)

References

Preceded by Ace Frehley

Lead guitarist of Kiss 1982–1984

Succeeded by Mark St. John