Malmsteen n [Riffolog - larsborgeteien.no · Malmsteen th this yea as speechles e to feel tha IG...

APRIL 1996 • VOLUME 13 • NO. 6

FEATURES

24 The Best Guitarists You've Never Heard Of We could name them here, but you've never heard of them. So read on

28 Kiss The rock circus rolls back into town

28 Riffology Classic riffs and solos, plus a Kiss history

42 Alive Again Little Deuce Scoop: Exclusive interviews with Ace, Gene and Bruce on the family reunion and future plans

48 Rhythm Displacement by Jon Finn Professor Finn gets funky

56 Studio Guitarists byWolfMarsha/1 Session great Steve Lukather takes us on a walk behind the glass

PROFILE

21 Bert Jansch byHPNewquist

COLUMNS

70 Mike Stern OVER THE TOP Bop 'n' Roll, Part 2

72 Alex Skolnick THE METAL EDGE

74 Reeves Gabrels BEYOND GUITAR

76 Tony Franklin BASS NOTES

78 152 158

Steve Morse OPEN EARS

HookinQ Up Your Pedals SOUND F/X

The Recording Guitarist Oat's What I ua About DAT

DEPARTMENTS

6 Opening Act 8 Input

10 Groundwire 68 Contest WinaB.C. Rich guitar

69 Toy Box Knowyourtubetypes 156 Guitar Picks 164 Tracks 172 Advertiser Index

ENCORE

176 Musical Definitions by Charles H. Chapman and Jon Chappell

GUITAR & BASS SHEET MUSIC

81 Performance Notes by Jon Chappell 82 Explaining Tab 83 MY JEKYLL DOESN'T HIDE Ozzy Osbourne 95 BETH Kiss

105 AFTERSHOCK Van Halen 129 SATELLITE Dave Matthews Band 140 INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN Tom Petty

ssues ofyo rou decide t

:again.

easure to se Malmsteen th this yea as speechles e to feel tha

IG nally realize vrite for thos n [Riffolog ative bits an It's about tim ndwagon.

feature on hi r looking u

Malmsteen i se articles o ,usands of o .ne. Thank yo 1e faith to pri md of cours

ntinued on page 1

the sit and 8; judge! and sc and re big pri NewJ given took a Comp bandit with h tory a Ourc

EMO, h moun- in in Nepal's Inner Dolpo region. He s not only the first to scale the ountain, but saved a friend's life dur the climb.At lower altitudes you

n find the new anthology set, which lly compiled himself, unlike last year's uier retrospective, which didn't actly get Billy's stamp of approval. ach will be released in conjunction th a CD-ROM featuring interview tage, vids, rare photos, and song

ps. -RM

for a live r.

precursors to Eddie Van Halen's popular two-handed taps). Stanley was a stock rhythm guitar player-no better or worse than thousands of others-and Simmons was about as generic a hard-rock bassist as you could get. But all that was beside the point: Kiss put on the best rock shows in

the world. To make their concerts even more spectacular, they would line up dozens of empty speaker cabinets onstage to make it seem like Kiss had the biggest guitar amplifica tion system on planet Earth. To Kiss' credit, the audience bought it. But if you consider that the '70s were the "big ger is better" decade (remember, Smokey & The Bandit was considered a real gem of a movie in its day), this shouldn't be sur prising. Although it was a fun decade for entertain ment, no one has ever characterized the 1970s as the decade of good taste. The first three Kiss studio

albums were relatively non descript affairs, but the aptly

titled Alive! double disc served

Kiss began as a four-piece in New York City, circa 1972. Bass player and for mer grade-school teacher Gene Simmons (born Chaim Whitz, later Gene Klein) and guitarist Paul Stanley (a.k.a. Stanley Eisen) had covered Beatles tunes in Wicked Lester, but wanted to form a glam-rock band, using clown and kabuki make-up as their original contribution to the genre. After answering an advertise ment in a New York paper, Paul Frehley joined the band as lead guitarist. From the outset, the band was never taken seriously. Their riffs were admittedly stolen from the best sources ("Firehouse" from Zeppelin's "Misty Mountain Hop," for instance), their songs never ventured far from a four-chord format, and what they lacked in technical ability they made up in volume and stage presence. Despite the protests of his modern-day fans, Frehley was hardly a lead-guitar innovator; the majority of his solos relied on bending single notes over and over (although his pick-tapping solos were

up all the fury, frenzy, and fire (literally) of a Kiss concert. One of the great ironies here is that few people had heard of Kiss before the live set came out. So just who were all those people that filled the coliseum shown on the back cover? Like Peter Frampton, whose Frampton Comes Alive! would create the same mystery the following year, Kiss already had a deeply loyal fan base that could fill the rafters whenever the band hit town. It was just that the wider world hadn't

...

heard of them ... yet, that is. With the release of Alive!, however, the

band found its "overnight" success, and whetted the public's appetite for a studio album that would deliver the same high volume rock goods. Since most of the world had never listened to any of the band's stu dio records, Kiss had to come up with some thing that would not be snickered at. Fortunately, the band succeeded. By all accounts, then and now, Destroyer was an exceptiona.[ rock album; not from the stand point of technical guitar playing, but from the marriage of big guitar songs with studio technology. Under the guidance of producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd), the

Words and Music by Gene Simmons. ©1974 Hori Productions America, Inc., Gladwyne Music Pub. Corp. & Cafe Americana

band came up with a well-arranged, deftly orchestrated set. Utilizing harmony guitars on "Detroit Rock City" and "Shout It Out Loud," thundering power chords on "Do You Love Me," and eerie riffing on "God Of Thunder," Ezrin got more mileage than most people expected out of Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley. The solos were well-chore ographed (especially "Detroit Rock City") but never felt forced or stilted. The record's success was due as much to the guitarists' ability to make pomp rock sound raw and reckless as for Ezrin's technical direction.

To further build up the growing Kiss tsunami, the band appeared on national Tv; landing a prime spot on comedian Paul

Text continues on page 35

Deuce Here's a chordal riff that mixes three note triads with doublestops.You can play this riff entirely out of 5th position by using your ring finger for the 7th-fret doublestops.

STRUTTER from Alive! (0:56 - I :03) AS 85 AS 85 AS B5

AS F#5

Words and Music by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. ©1974 Hori Productions America, Inc., Gladwyne Music Pub. Corp. & Cafe Americana

NOTH IN' TO LOSE from Alive! (0:00 - 0:03) " .

.

-'-.__../

sf.

-n

=t1 .____.. p

II II II II

p

Words and Music by Ace Frehley. ©I 974, I 977 Hori Productions America, Inc. & Cafe Americana

32 GUITAR APRIL 1996

PARASITE from Alive! (2:04 - 2: I I)

Army wants

you!

Think of this riff in_ two parts: the straight-ahead, high-low sound of bars 1-2 versus the bouncy, syncop:ited figure m bars 3-4. Note that both parts end with a two-beat figure that's unlike the preceding I ½ bars.

Shuffle feel ( qr=qce) N.C.(Cim) I. 2.

II

------- H H

Wordsand Music by Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin. ©1976 by Hori Productions America, Inc., All By Myself Music & Cafe Americana

SHE from Alive! (0: 13 - 0: 19) G5 8>5 G5 C5 112

J) N.C.

112

Continued from page 32 Lynde's 1976 Halloween special. Like The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, this was the first chance many teenagers had to wit ness the band's dazzling performance power. After burning all over "Detroit Rock City," Peter Criss gently crooned his way through the ballad "Beth" (all lip-synched, of course) and, in a flash, Kiss had instantly turned every 13-year-old in America into a charter member of the Kiss Army, as their fan base was called. Kissmania had begun.

After Destroyer, and the breakthrough

success of "Beth"-a piano single-Kiss embarked on a long and arduous journey that continues to this day. Rock And Roll Over, Love Gun, Alive II and Double Platinum followed, as did the release of simultaneous solo albums, which despite "shipping platinum" reportedly didn't sell too well. Considered a brilliant public rela tions ploy, little memorable music was cre ated here, with the exception of Frehley, who had shown that he was capable of both writing and playing his own material, gain-

ing airplay with "New York Groove." But the band members began to suffer from their own glam excesses-especially Frehley. Sinking deeper into drugs and drink, he became reckless (wrecking cars seemed to be an ongoing pastime) and alienated him self from the other members of the band, especially Simmons and Stanley, who were notorious control freaks.

Frehley departed from the band bitterly in 1982 after a series of poorly conceived and received albums, notably The Elder and

Text continues on page 40

112

------- sf.

:::i:~ic~~~ Music by Gene Simmons and Steve Coronel. ©J 975, 1977 Hori Productions America, Inc .. G/adwyne Music Pub. Corp., Rock Steady Music & Cafe

BLACK DIAMOND from Alive! (0: 18 - 0:36) Am F G6

A sl.

~ H ~ H H p .. H H -I I

let ring .!! H .!! H p .!! +--1 8-' --;_ --., . ----.,

st.

Am Fmaj9 G6

" . H ~ H H r"' I I I l l l l I sf. - H !:I H p

·' " II --., . . II II

sf. A5 N.C. F G C G C G C G

~

~ &

-~ /4) H "JI "'

' ~ ~ ~

--,J -: ·- ~ ~ --,J ..

~ ~ --,J -: ·- H H

' 112 -~ _;f\ H

- " . • . C C " : " 0/ : " " - - II - - - - - - - - . - - II

- - - " - - -- - - - " . . H . H 112

A Jj

f) "

- ·- - • ·- - ~ j j --, -: H j j --, j j --,J -: H H

112 ~~ r-,

" " - - - - - - - II

- - - - - - - ----., - - . - ,. . - " - . - - - . - - - " " . . . . H H H

Words and Music by Paul Stanley. ©1974 Hori Productions America, Inc .. Gladiuyne Music Pub. Corp. & Cafe Americana

Words and Music by Paul Stanley. ©1976 Hori Productions America, Inc. & Cafe Americana

I STOLE YOUR LOVE from Alive If (0:05 - 0:09) els A5 B5

p

Words and Music by Paul Stanley. ©1977 Hori Productions America, Inc.

C


"JI

Full Full Full Full

})}} Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full

} } J)}} } } ) Lt! HpHPHPHpHPtt ~Hp .............. -----...:-. - pH PH PH PHPHPHPHp

·"= - ----=--=- - ·- -

Fult Full Full Full Full Full Full } !-!~)-!~ .. ~ ~ H p

"JI .. ~

~ F;ll 711 L._3_J

Full Full Full Full Full f~ t-)-·~ ~ H_P

,c:_, -c, • '

) A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. (8 a) (8 a) (8 a) (8 a) /8 a) /8 a) /8 a) /8 a) I½ Full

T~- ·····-,. ·--{fl. ········-. A t ~ t t t #t ~ r ~ A.H. - I½ A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H.

Full _) ..... ... · ---.~ull 1r2 A.H.

1~4 r· ·-,. ..... ........ ......_,_ I

A.H. pitch: F: Ir2 ........ AH .... --, AH ! A.H. /8 a) /8 a) ,-3--, is a) A - I

~ u* ........___,. .. l "I I ., .. p

H lrl

f .............. \ A.H . A.H. A.H.

I • ...

Full Full

Full

sf.

Words and Music by Gene Simmons and Vinnie Vincent ©1992 Hori Productions America, Inc. and Gene Simmons Worldwide

Continued from page 35

Creatures Of The Night. He was replaced by Vinnie Vincent, a Frehley look-alike who was technically a better player than Ace. Upon hiring Vincent, Kiss removed its make-up and shored up its career with Lick It Up, a surprising return to its early sim plicity. Though a skilled player, Vincent was apparently even more difficult to manage than Frehley, and he was tossed out by Simmons and Stanley. Contemporary metal flash Mark St. John was hired in 1984 for Animalize, but he was soon diagnosed as having Reiter's Syndrome and was unable to continue playing with the band (he later worked briefly with Peter Criss).

Kiss finally settled on New Yorker Bruce Kulick, formerly of the band Blackjack (fea turing local singer Michael Bolotin, who later shortened his name to "Bolton"). In retrospect, he was probably the most well rounded guitarist to ever join the Kiss ranks. While he had to play much of Frehley's material over the years, he was instrumental in the band's return to promi nence in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a hard-rock band par excellence. With Kulick, the band recorded 1992's Revenge, which pushed them back to a popularity rivaling their Destroyer days. Interestingly, Vinnie Vincent also received co-writing credit on that album.

Frehley continued on, post-Kiss, with a checkered solo career, releasing albums under his own name and with a loose outfit he called Frehley's Comet. Surprisingly, he emerged as one of the biggest influences on the guitarists of early '90s metal, notably Pantera's Dimebag Darrell and Anthrax's Scott Ian; even country-pop sensation Garth Brooks turned out to be a huge fan. In hindsight, this may have more to do with Frehley's stage antics and simple power chords than any technical proficiency. Still, as a guitarist, he is appreciated-even wor shipped-more in retrospect than he ever was during his tenure with Kiss.

As for the larger Kiss phenomenon, rock critics are still scratching their heads look ing for an answer. But pop culture is a tricky beast, and it's often hard to figure out a rational reason why one celebrity vehicle


flies and why another goes down the toilet. Perhaps the best explanation behind Kiss' success is just what any of their fans will tell you (that is, before they punch you in the teeth). And that is simply that Kiss writes great kick-ass rockers, looks cooler than anyone else, and is perhaps the best freakin' live band in the world. Now, 20 years after their heyday, the Kiss juggernaut rolls on, even earning their own segment on MTV's Unplugged. After all the back-bit ing and mudslinging, there was Stanley, Simmons, Kulick and new drummer Eric Singer joined onstage by Ace Frehley and Peter Criss for rollicking acoustic versions of "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Nothin' To Lose," plus a new take on "Beth." And judg ing by all the smiles and fist-pumping from the audience, you could tell that many of these same fans were the ones who watched the Paul Lynde Halloween special, all those many years ago. This, if nothing else, proves that the Kiss Army is alive and well in 1996. Amen to that. ~

All rights for Cafe Americana in the U.S. Administered by Intersong U.S.A., Inc. All rights outside the U.S. Controlled by Polygram International Publishing, Inc. All rights for I Stole Your Love, Shock Me, and Unholy Administered by Polygram International Publishing, Inc. All titles: International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved

EVERY MAJOR BRAND

ACOUSTIC, ELECTRIC AND BASS GUITARS BASS AND GUITAR AMPS • VINTAGE GUITARS

EFFECTS PEDALS• GUITAR SYNTHESIZERS• KEYBOARDS SOUND SYSTEMS • PRO AUDIO & RECORDING EQUIPMENT

WE'LL BEAT ANY DEAL! CALL Now!

GEORGE HARRISON WITH DEREK SNYDER - GUITAR DEPT.

Boz SCAGGS WITH RICK WAITE - G.M.

B.B. KING AT WEST L.A. MUSIC

11WHERE THE PROS SHOP'' Phone and Fax orders accepted. We Ship Everywhere.

1,-----~ ------ 11Where The Pros Shop11

WEST L.A. MUSIC 11345 Santa Monica Blvd. West Los Angeles

Two blocks West of the San Diego (405) Freeway (310) 477·1945 Fax: (310) 477•2476

ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS, FINANCING,

AND LEASING.

GUITAR APRIL 1996 41

When did you guys start talking about get ting together for the Unplugged show?

The history of this really starts with the Kiss Army, who on their own-through the make-up years and through the non-make up years-have been holding Kiss conven tions all over the world. They kept asking us to appear at Kiss conventions, and we just really couldn't do it. We physically couldn't be everywhere at once. So we decided to hold our own Kiss conventions, and basically kept promoters and booking agencies away, and rented the places ourselves. In essence, we put together sort of a traveling Kiss Hall of Fame. Twenty mannequins, classic guitars, artwork, lyrics, Kiss tribute bands, and so on. We decided to break the final wall, the moat that separates band and fan. We were all in the same room, no make-up, no fancy lights, no nothing. Initially, we'd just get up there and have heart-to-hearts with the fans. It became very clear that while they wanted to talk to us and find out what was in our minds, they still wanted to hear us play. We weren't lugging around a stage or anything, so the acoustic thing became a reality. We started playing acoustic stuff and literally taking requests on the spot. A better time I can't remember having. The fans really got to know us, and we really got to know them a lot better.

The conventions were going to start in Los Angeles. Peter called me out of the blue and told me about his daughter, who was now a teenager, who loved the band but was too young to really have seen it and all that. In fact, I think she was born after Peter had left the band. But he wanted to know whether or not he could bring her down and just show her the stuff ... you know, "this is what I used to wear, this is what your dad did." I said sure. We had run into each other over the years. And we'd had our differences within the band, but outside the band, as human beings, you're always a part of the family. I said, "Sure, you bet. And in fact, I'm sure people want to ask you a couple of questions, so why don't you get up and do a symposium? You know, get up there and let them ask you whatever's on their minds." And that's how that developed.

Then when I told the rest of the guys, Eric Singer in particular, he said, "How could you insult him like that?" I said, "What did I do?" He said, "How come you didn't ask him to play with us?" And I told Singer, "The reality is, I was thinking of you; that you're in Kiss now, and Peter is not." But Singer turned around and said, "I think it would be the coolest thing. The fans would get off on it, and so would I." So, I told Peter about it, and he said, "Yeah, sure, what the hell." We did two tunes together. Peter sang "Hard Luck Woman" and then Singer and Peter sang "Nothin' To Lose" together. We had such a great time that we decided, well, this is cool, we'll keep in touch, good luck on your tour and so on. Then we parted company.

Later, MTV got hot on the idea of these Kiss conventions. They wanted to film one. And that developed into the Kiss Unplugged thing in their studios. Now, before that, we had talked amongst ourselves and decided to invite Ace to the conventions. After all, if you've invited Peter, the very least you can do is invite Ace. Well, Ace couldn't make it to the Kiss conventions, because he and Peter were both out on tour together. On the other hand, when we were due to go into the MTV studio, Ace was finally available. So we said, since he couldn't make it to the conventions, why does n't he come to the Unplugged and sort of sit in?

And then it immedi ately brought up the question, Well, wait a minute: If Ace is going to be on Unplugged for a song or two, how come Peter's not there? So we said, we'll invite both of them, we'll do maybe two songs together, and that's it. Then it sort of developed into how about Bruce and Eric? What do they do, just sort of get offstage? How do you dance a dance you've never learned? Slowly but surely, with all of us Ace, Peter, myself, Eric, ' Paul, Bruce-we all fig- ' ured out what the right vibe was. To tell you that we had a good time would really be an understatement. It was legitimate, it was real, and it was really heartfelt by everyone involved.

was just singing, somebody else was playing bass. So there was no real adjustment. But certainly when we started playing the tunes together, we had a rehearsal hall and we thought it would take a while to just sort of jive. But the gears were designed to all mesh. The very same thing that attracted us to each other in the beginning kicked in when we saw each other years later. The songs being played by those hands and voices just came out sounding right-almost like those songs were designed for those people.

Is this the first time it could have happened?

No, it happened before. We jumped up onstage when Ace was playing New York at the Limelight in '88 or '89. We went there to see him, just to lend support, and he literally came off the stage and dragged us onstage. And people thought it meant more than that, but the reality is that over the years I've produced other artists and always invited Ace and Peter to play. So over the years, we've always sort of kept in touch, even though we were not in the same band anymore.

When you hopped onstage at the Limelight, or when Petersat in at the conven tion, and when you were rehearsing Unplugged, did everything gel immediately?

The first time we jumped up with Ace, I

How did you decide on the song selection? A lot of tunes were thrown around. Ace

wanted to do "Shock Me," and we tried it, but because we were playing Unplugged, acoustic, it's a completely different world. Something about "Shock Me" prevented it from really coming alive on acoustic. So Ace changed his mind, decided to do the Stones' "2000 Man." And we went along with it.

Why that instead of another Kiss tune? You know, that's funny. I mentioned that

to him, too. He just said, '2000 Man' is about Ace, it doesn't matter who wrote it."

How much did you rehearse before you went in to MTV? ..


Day and a half. We went in there, we went over the songs, oh, four or five times, and that was it.

Was everything completely comfortable? No, it wasn't 100% comfortable. The

funny thing about family quarrels is, as time goes by, you forget just what it was you were fighting about. When it's happening, broth ers and sisters are allowed to fight like cats and dogs, but if anybody on the outside has anything to say about it, you protect your own. I felt very comfortable, emotionally and otherwise, just really plowing into Ace and Peter about whatever my point of view was. But, clearly, if anyone ever said any thing bad about Ace or Peter from the out side, I'd kill them. I have the right to have an emotional point of view about Ace and Peter. Outsiders have nothing to say about it.

So it's very clear that you consider those guys still part of the extended Kiss family.

Well, you have no choice. The fans clearly will not let you forget that. And let's be clear: nobody here is fooling themselves with the idea that 10, 20, 30 years down the line, peo ple still aren't going to say, "Oh, you're that guy from Kiss, right?" That's your brand, that's your birthmark.

Are there people who have played with the band that were not necessarily members of Kiss?

There were other members of the band, but clearly Eric Carr was in Kiss, absolutely. Eric literally drummed his entire life in Kiss and died in Kiss. He was with us 11 years. There was never a sweeter person; I've never met another human being who had a sweeter disposition. This guy never said a bad word about anybody. Other members didn't last, and/or couldn't take it, or just didn't have the

right vibe-talent notwithstanding. There are a lot of talented people out there. There's just an otherness about the band, and I'm not sure I can describe it as well as a Kiss fan could. It's just some other kind of a ... almost a cross between superheroes, religion, and .. . let's just say the band to its fans takes on a larger-than-life importance.

Look, I don't fool myself. The most impor tant band that has ever existed, to me, was The Beatles. End of story. Everybody else can kiss their boot-heels, including me. But I will tell you, Kiss fans will tell you, whether you listen to the band anymore or not is not even the point. It changed peoples lives. And I don't know why. I mean, when you think about it, it's all kind of silly. You wear make up, you spit blood, you spit fire, and sing songs, and then you go home. We had no platform, no point of view, we never talked about the secret of life, had no political stance. We were closer to comic-book people, and yet there was sort of an uplifting quality that the people got out of it.

But in retrospect, the music has caught up to the legacy of Kiss, influencing bands like Soundgarden, Pantera, and Nine Inch Nails. Why is the music as important now as the make-up and the shows were then?

Beats me [laughs]. I tell you, this band does not have a self-esteem problem, but we never planned it that way. We just wanted to walk our walk, talk our talk, and write the songs we loved writing and singing. And never had any point of view about doing any thing more than putting on a great show. Writing great tunes that didn't mean very much. Ear candy. But the one thing that we always had a point of view on was that the single "I," one person, can change the world. The 'T' was very important in the lyric over all. "I want to rock and roll"-not we will, we

will rock you. Sure, that's cool, the sense of everybody together. But all movements-bowel or other wise-come from one person. And maybe that connected somehow. "!," so that when you sang the lyrics in the audience, you didn't sing "We," you sang "!," and imme diately it connected to you, yes you, I'm talking to you.

Let's say you or Paul at this point pulled a Stu Sutcliffe and just dis appeared. Could it be Kiss without Gene Simmons? It would be a different Kiss, but there's absolutely no reason why Kiss can't continue in any way, shape or form. There's no differ ence between Kiss and a football team or a commando team. A team is only ever as good as the people in it. And once a team believes that we're nothing without Joe Wombat,

you're screwed, because all your eggs are in one basket. And there are many bands that have succeeded and done very well without members who they thought couldn't be replaced. In fact, some bands never had orig inal members at all. The Oak Ridge Boys: there's not a single original member of The Oak Ridge Boys. Those guys started in the late '30s. Sort of a Menudo of country music.

Do you get pissed off when you guys get knocked?

You know what? I almost consider it a kind of badge of honor. Think about it. Only important people get picked on. Even the Pope; not everybody likes the guy. I can't think of a single important person in music, or otherwise, who doesn't get knocked by somebody. So if we're in that league, that's not so bad. The only people who don't get picked on are the people you don't care about. There's no such thing as bad press, there's only press. If you don't get press, that's bad.

So you're not even concerned that they spell your name right.

You know ... just send a check. Because it doesn't matter what I say, people still get what they want to get out of it. You pay your ticket, and you're allowed to take whatever you want home.

Anything else in the near future that you think is worth talking about?

Well, at the same time as the Unplugged album and long-form video, there's also going to be a $10 magazine called Kiss Nation, like a Playboy size with Playboy bind ing and a fold-out, but everybody's got their clothes on. It's going to be a 50 page comic book, plus another 100-odd pages of articles and stuff. Then we'll have "Kiss Meets The X-


Man," written by Stan Lee. And I want to make sure you put the 1-800-905-KISS in this article for those who want to order the KISStory book. That's very important. Because my mother does want another house." -

For guitarist Bruce Kulick, the Unplugged record wasn't so much about a reunion as it was about making Kiss' battery of electric songs work acoustically. He, like Gene, was similarly tight-lipped about the band's reunion plans, laughing every time he had to say "No comment." Bruce, Gene, Paul, and Eric Singer finished a new studio album in February, their first since Revenge. However, that album has been put on hold due to the release of the Unplugged record and the reunion tour. So instead, Bruce talked to us briefly about making the switch from plugged to unplugged.

"We had been playing the Kiss conven tions sort of acoustically when Alex Colletti from MTV came out to see us in Detroit. He was a fan, but even so, I don't think that he was prepared for what he saw. Most people don't think that Kiss can play acoustically and still get a crowd going. I think he was impressed with the roar of the crowd.

"We hoped that the convention could be an MTV piece, but Colletti decided to do a full-fledged Unplugged. That sounded great, but I don't think any of us were quite ready for the nightmare of what that really meant. I didn't know how difficult MTV would be about instruments. When they said no electrics, they meant it. Paul came to me early on and said that the Chet Atkins elec tro-acoustics we had been using weren't going to be allowed for the show. I had been running them through a SansAmp pedal dur ing the conventions to get a tiny bit of distor tion during solos, and it sounded a bit more Strat-like than an acoustic, so I was cheating a little then. But MTV wanted none of that. They wanted real acoustics.

"That wasn't going to be so easy for us. We always tune down a half step, and I usually try to use light strings for my solos. Plus, we were going to play variations of guitar parts that were originally written to be played on Les Pauls and Strats. Regardless of how beau tiful a Martin or another acoustic is, electric guitar parts are just not going to sound quite right.

"So we had acoustics brought in from all over. We got them from SIR [a New York rental/rehearsal studio] and from Sam Ash, and even from the manufacturers. Martins, Takamines, Ovations, Epiphones. I ended up using an Ovation Elite, because I could rip more on that than on a Martin. I did cheat a little there, too, because I used a Bass DI from SansAmp to get a boost in my tone. It was also something that I knew I could step on that would lift me above the band's vol ume. And that was okay with MT\!, as long as

I used an acoustic guitar. Their criterion was basically 'if the guitar doesn't have a hole in it, you can't use it.'

"Getting the equipment all taken care of was actually more difficult than having all the original Kiss guys together again. To be honest, it was a little tense at first, but I think it was also exciting. I mean, these guys hadn't worked together in years. I had run into Ace a few times at SIR in New York, so I knew him only in passing, and Peter had hung out a few times during the convention. Everybody was tense and excited at the same time. I know what I do, and I know what Ace does, and he's the same way. For the two of us, I think our biggest concern was suffering over how to make the guitars work acoustically. Ace was maybe even a little more surprised then I was about using acoustics. He went through a bunch of guitars.

"The most interesting thing about the actual session was getting two drummers to work together in an acoustic setting. With the guitar players, we were all trying to remem ber which riffs went to which songs and showing each other variations on different parts. But when you're drumming along to acoustics, how much can you do? But I think Eric and Peter pulled it off really well.'' -

Of course, the essential ingredient for a full-scale reunion was the return of guitarist Ace Frehley. After all, it was his vibrato laden solos and spacy stage persona that gave the original lineup a certain amount of musical credibility while contributing to its other-worldly mystique. Wh~t would it be like coming back to a band that he had left of his own accord 15 years before?

"I was on tour in Canada with Peter Criss when Gene approached my manager about doing an Unplugged. We thought it would be good for Kiss and great exposure for me and for Peter. I was excited, so we jumped at it. Even prior to Unplugged, me and Paul and Gene had sat down a couple of times over dinner and discussed old times and basically buried the hatchet. With that out of the way, we were able to talk about doing business without any worries. Plus, I cleaned up my act; they didn't have to worry about me walking in after drinking three bottles of champagne.

"I was a little nervous and skeptical when I met up with them in New York. I didn't know what to expect. But I walked into SIR with Peter, and they made us feel right at home. They gave us big hugs and we remi nisced for a while. Then we talked about what songs we were going to try. Bruce was very gracious too-he helped me out with 'Beth' because I wasn't sure of all the chords [laughs]. The only awkward thing for me, actually, was playing acoustic guitars, since I'm used to playing a Les Paul.

"I couldn't see anything negative about

getting back with Kiss. I only saw positive things. I respect Gene, Paul, Bruce, and Eric as musicians, and I look forward to working with them in any capacity at any time in the future. And I'm still working with my own band. We have material in the can and we're ready to shop it."

In addition to rejoining Kiss for the reunion, Ace plans to lend his name to a new line of Les Pauls, courtesy of Gibson's Custom Shop.

"It looks like I might end up doing an Ace Frehley signature model Les Paul, which I'm really not supposed to talk about yet. It's a three-pickup cherry sunburst with a flame top, gold hardware, Grover tuners, with

cream and black pickups. But it won't have a flaming pickup-I wouldn't want the law suits!"

Speaking of which, what is the deal with that flaming pickup?

"Basically, it was a pickup containing a smoke bomb and a quartz light. The quartz light was so bright that with the smoke com ing out, it looked like it was on fire. On occas sion, the cardboard cylinder that surrounded the smoke bomb did catch on fire, and flames did come out. But nothing ever actu ally ignited. And then the fireworks came out of the stand, not the guitar."

So how does Ace feel about merging his infamous showmanship with the musician ship he has cultivated as a solo artist?

"I think I can do both at the same time," Ace says with a knowing grin. ..


lliSS Alllln -

LEARN REC: You can get the practical, real-world skills needed to successfully start your career as a recording engineer, producer or studio musician. • Hands-on approach, learning by doing • Previous experience not required • Complete 300 hours of training in less than 2 months •6 studios filled with the latest equipment •Small classes, excellent personal attention •Job placement assistance • Financial aid available • Low cost, on-campus housing

For free brochure, call or write today 1-800-848-9900 1-614-663-2544 THE RECORDING WORKSHOP 455-E Massieville Rd Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 Ohio State Board of Proprietary School Registration #80-07-0696T

ART I:> I N


The Unplugged session proved to be the catalyst for a reunion that would bring Ace and Peter back to the Kiss family as full members-at least for a while. The question then became: What to do? The various sce narios that were tossed about, kicked about, and rumored about ran from the expected to the incredibly bizarre. Among them:

Kiss on Broadway, The Show. A musical retrospective, a la Beatlemania. All members of Kiss, from Simmons to Singer, would be played either by Broadway musicians and actors or by tribute bands.

Upside: A walk down memory lane for any Kiss fan.

Downside: There'd probably be a lot of old ladies visiting Times Square who go to the show expecting family fare along the lines of Cats.

Kiss On Broadway, Live. A retrospective of the band's history, only this time played by the original band members themselves, for an extended series of shows on Broadway.

Upside: An intimate evening with your favorite Kiss characters, up close and per sonal.

Downside: The rigors of doing eight shows a week might sap the spontaneity from what should be a "rock show."

Kiss, The Reunion Album. An album with contributions from the most visible players, past and present.

Upside: Probably won't include Vinnie Vincent.

Downside. The band might be tempted to do a new version of the disco hit "I Was Made For Loving You." * Kiss, The Reunion Tour. The four origi

nal band members would pull out all the stops for a full-scale arena tour. Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter would perform with make-up (Eric and Bruce would sit this one out in preparation for the release of the studio record). Expect plenty of fireworks and onstage jams. Incidentally, this gets our vote as being the most likely scenario to play itself out in 1996.

Upside. Just like the old days, man. "You wanted the best, and you got it!"

Downside. Might be mistaken for other "Bring Back The Geezers" tours.

What really ends up happening or not happening is in the hands of Gene and Paul, who are now acting as their own managers. Make no mistake, it will be their show from start to finish. Ace, Peter, Bruce, and Eric will be along for the ride in some capacity, lending chops and nostalgia to the proceed ings. But when all is said and done, Gene and Paul will be the ringmasters in what promises to be one of the biggest rock and roll circuses of the year. ~

Ho gm allc anc Di~ all I

thr. wit

Chor dimi maj! maj£ who alte1 blue

The amp vinti 50-• spe, cha, spri1 and haw sing /Th, ligh Fret $39!

OJ,

II is

111

111

l

Transcribed by Steve Gorenberg Tablature Explanation page 82

BETH As Recorded by Kiss

(From the album KISS UNPLUGGED/Mercury Records)

Words and Music by Peter Criss, Stanley Penridge and Bob Ezrin

Tune down 1/2 step: @=E~ Q)=G~ (2)=A~ @=B~ @=D~ (D=E~

Moderately J = 110 C Rhy. Fig. I (Gtr. I) Dm7 G

Intro _J_

J l fl • • I J_ I I I I J • • ~ u - - - - ~ - -- - - -- s - -- - -

M ~ - ~ ~

~ ~ tJ ... I _l J l I J I . . I I J l I I 'nif letring

" -"- ~ A . " A

- - - - -"- __. . __.

A - - . ~ .J

J> . - ft . - A -" -

A -

ft

J>

- - - - -

,.. - - - A - A - D A - - -

Rhy. Fig. IA (*Gtr. II)

J t ~ I _j • • - ~ - - - . ~ ~ ~

n n ~ - - - - - - ~ - - -

~ ~ - r ~ ' ... I _l J ' I [ I r I J - •__) v 'll 'nif let ring ,, H sl. wlfingers---------------------------i

-" A ~ - :; - . - ,! - ;; - ~ _.I

A A - - - ~ ;: i, __;; = - - -

- - - - - - - -

,.. n

-= - . - - --- --- - C

*Acous.

Dm7 H sl.

' _./--_. I I J l

fl_ - I J_ I J_ 0

~ - ~ - - ~ - - - - - - ~ ~ OJ

- ~

,1 ... I J_ J l J I I . . u . ft

-"- . . ft . - :; - - ~ = .

ft - ~ -" . - ~ C

~ A - - - ~ .

A - = -

- - ,,. - =

-

- (end Rhy. Fig. IA) ,., J-. • ._ - t ~ ,n,

~ ~ r ~ - ~

- - r ~- - ~ - - r - - - r

tt tJ ... -

I J L 1 I I L l I J r I r I J ~ ~ - . • - . . - ;: J> - - - - - : - - - - - ~ =-

~ - - - -

G ( end Rhy. Fig. I)

Copyright 01976 Cafe Americana, Inc., KISS Songs, Inc., Rock Steady Music, Inc. (ASCAP) and All By Myse~ Publishing Co., Ltd. (BMI)


II s

II

II

Transcribed by Steve Gorenberg Tablature Explanation page 82




Tune down 1/2 step:

@=Eb Q)=Gb (2)=Ab @=Bb @=Db (i)=Eb

Moderately J = 110 C Rhy. Fig. I (Gtr. I)

Dm7 G Intro

J I J I J I " . .. I I I I I .. .. - ,. r

:' - - - - r - - r

,. .: - - - - - r - - - r 11 I I I L I I I - • • I I _J l I I ~ 11if let ring - :: . - . - - - - - . - . - - - -

. I - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 :: - - - - - - - - - - n - - - -

Rhy. Fig. IA (*Gtr. II)

..J !: ~ I ' • .. - - I ,. ~ - ~ - - - - ~ ~ - - - :' - - ~ - - ~ ~ I I J ' , r I r I I - :.J •-.;:::)' 11 11if let ring

' r H sf. wlfingers -- - - ---- - -- -- - -- --- - -- - -- - -i :: . - - - '! - . - - = - I - ! - :: - - - = ;. = = - 4 :: - - - - - - - - - K - - ;. - - - - --- - - *Acous.

C Dm7

H sf.

..J- .. I I J ~ I J " .. - I I I I .,, - - - - " - - r - - - - - - ' - r r - - ~ ~ - I I I I I - . . tt ..

- - - - . - - '! - . - - . - '! - - - :: - - - = - - - - - - - - - - '! - - - . = - :: -

(end Rhy. Fig. IA) ..J- .. ~ ~ .... ' .. .. - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - ~ "

"" . ~ ~ "

~ ~ - I I I I I I I I I r I r I J tt - :: - - - '! '! - - . - - - '! - - . . - - = - - - . - - - - '! -

- - !" - - :: -

G ( end Rhy. Fig. I)

Copyright 01976 Cafe Americana. Inc .• KISS Songs, Inc .• Rock Steady Music, Inc. (ASCAP) and NI By Myse~ Publishing Co., Ltd. (BM/)

' , GUITAR APRIL 1996 95

Beth

D7 F G Am

' ,...._, I - ~ - . ~ - - - ~ . . - - - ~ ~ ~ - - - - ~ I tJ I I I --- think I hear them call - ing. Oh Beth, what can L, I do?

I .J ' I ~J I l. - -- - J - - ~ . , .. - - - - - ,_ - - - ti I . 'I I I .. e- 11

- - - - - - - . - V '! - - V ~ - - - - - . - -.c = = V - V = - V ..

- - - - " ~ I J - l. • .. .. - - ~- - .. .. -- ~ - . . .. . ,. . '. . . i....J I ~ "flt I

~~ ~ ~ ] ~ .. .I .. - - ~- 111 111 111 - -

11 111

- - - . ! ! . = '! '! V . - - - - - ! ! - ! ! '! V .! - - - - '! V "' = . = ~ = - '.! : . = = = '? '? : : = ~ - V .. V V '! = '! - - ..

V V V V

1.

G F G C

" I - - - - - . .. - - - ~ - ' - ~ - I

Beth, what can-- I do? 2. You

J}- .. ~ (end Rhy. Fig. 2) " .. - ,-..

" .. . - ~ - - ·" ~ . . ~

- ·- . . - -~ I I I I tJ ~ ~ 1 ~ .I J . 11'--'11 '-' _..

,_, - - - _, - '! '! - '! '! = . =

V = ! '! .! ! I - - .;. V = = '! = :: V '!I - = '? : = ~ = .. V

V V ~ '! = V V

' • -:--- .. ~ ~ . - ~ , . . J J J

. - - - ,. . - -'!; * - t I ~ i ~

- .. ·.1 - - 1_..11 1

- '! . = .! ! V - , _, - - V V - - '.! = / V] - = - ~ . - - = .. V '! = V .. , V V


Beth 2.

" I .. - - .. - - - L - L - - tJ

Beth, what can I I\

- .. ~ ' .. .. .. - ·- - . ~ .. L . " L

" ,-.::

~ 1 ~ .I _ .. _11 11 11 . - - - '! \ '! = . = ~ ! .,.

.! .,, :, - = - - :t ~ '! = : ·- V .,. .,. .,. V

V

I'\ .~ " • .,-, - . - L .. ~ - . . - . .,_ ~ I

-~ 1 ~ .. .I 1, _1 - ., V

! . - ~ = -.c - V

'!

C

w/Rhy. Figs. 1 & lA C

do?

-

G

- Dm7

Dm7

F G

G

- w/Rhy. Fills 1 & lA Esus4 E

II Guitar solo w/Rhy. Fig. 2 Am

Em

s/.

Full G F

Full Gtr.11 At1 [-)!: ~ s/. s/. .. ---

~ e ee • .. .. --- .. .. - - - - . ~ - - - - , ~ . - - tl I ~ I I - r

L._3--l I/ Full Full Full Full j _J - ...... ······.·-:. A.H .• s/ . r.p / - - - -- . - , . - - ·- rv ,v - - -' .,. - - - V - - ,v ·- .. ,v V = - V - V .. "' ..

V

V ,

D7

Full Full ) }··············-:.

L._3--..J

H p L._3--..J

p


Beth

F G 1/2

Am

I "'. ! s/. ~ .. ~ ..- j I .. .. - r- - - .· ' - - - ~ - ~ - ~ - •J -

Full 1/2 I\ p I ' p sl. I .. - - - - '", - ·- ,;..-c ,_ - - - - - - - 'V, - ,_ - - - - - - u - V - ' "' "'

s/.

s/.

3rd Verse C Dm Em

~ I - - ~ - - - - - - ., - . - ~ - - , ~ ~ ., ~ - - - - . ' - I ._J - 3. Beth, I know., you're lone - ly, and I hope you'll be al - right,.

Gtr. I I I J I I I I I I I I I ' .. - - - ~ ., ~ - - - ~ - - - .. I . ._J

- . - - - - - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - ' - - - V - - - '

Gtr. II .-* .. .............. .. j - .. - - - - - - - - - - ..i - i I r I u

- - - - "!. -

--., T - = - - .! - - - - - - - - "' - - - - - V -


Beth

Am G F G

'cause me and the boys.L, will be play - ing all

w/Rhy. Figs. I & IA C Dm7 G

.,.......- - ., night. _ Ooh. _

Dm7 G Gtr. I

C 17'.,

rit.

Gtr. II (Spoken:) All night .

rit.


BASS LINE FOR



Transcribed by Steve Gorenberg

Tune down l /2 stepr @=E~ @=D~ Q)=A~ (D=GI,

Moderately J = 110 C

I . ~ ..


Beth

Chorus Am G F Em D7

sl.

mf sl. ..

"' K ..

C H H Dm7 G r~ - ,,,--., H ' .

I i..,..,,i

H H r--,._ ., I I II 1 - I ·n I

I I ., ., .• I - II

H

Just a few more hours ...

sl. Dm7 G H

1. I -- F G Am G F G C - sl. I I .. I - I I ., "". I

tt . ..

G F G

1st, 2nd Verses C *,

2. You sl. sl.

Dm Em Am G

'

(Voca/:)1. Beth, hear say you feel

you so

I

call - ing . emp - ty .

1 II,

T I -

TT .. ,. I _, _, I

*w/slight variations ad lib repeat.

C H Dm7 G ~ H

I l l' I I V l ..

H ,,--.., H

H F G C

' . .. --a• .. ,

I I I -

' I V I ..

Esus4 E sl.

'

I I I ' C sl. I ... )~~-~ ..

II .

I .. I - ' II I -.i

s/.

Copyright 01976 Cafe Americana, Inc., KISS Songs, Inc., Rock Steady Music, Inc. (ASCAP) and NI By Myself Publishing Co., ltd. (BMI)


sl. l .,

I .. l

H Dm7 Esus4 E ,,,.--- -

-· I ~ I

H I I II .. I - I -- II I ., .,

I ;; II


Beth

Guitar solo Am G F Em

s/ . . .. er • .... <]. ' ..

let ring---------------------------······i I I I I

I I I V V I :; ' V / I

s/.

D7 F G Am G

s/. s/. ,, ..- . .. I I I -:

I I I I / - I I l. ,, I

V .,_ I V ,v ,v I ,, I'" '" :; I

st. s/.

3rd Verse F G C C Om

I I ' I ' . .. • -._,- l r

3. Beth, know you're lone ly ~

I II I I I _, " II ' I

V I .v V II V V I ., V I

Em Am G F G C

' '" . u--

I I ,I I I I I II V I

I I ·11 .. I

.. H ,--___ Dm7 G

H C

'

I

s/. H .! '- I I I I - - I

I ., I I ., I 1., V ' I "' I

H

.. .. H ,,..--..._ - Dm7 G

H . .. I

s/. rit. --- H '- I I I

' I II

I II I . I - l" II

H


Malmsteen n [Riffolog - larsborgeteien.no · Malmsteen th this yea as speechles e to feel tha IG...

Documents

Transcript of Malmsteen n [Riffolog - larsborgeteien.no · Malmsteen th this yea as speechles e to feel tha IG...