Vinnie Vincent: Once an Asshole, always an Asshole

[Saiyaman]

http://rocknewsdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/n2406vincent.jpg
Okay this is former Kiss guitarist Vincent Cusano AKA Vinnie Vincent.

Among Kiss fans he's known as "The Pharaoh" because of his Egyptian style make up.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sUruuhKlUIg/SpK7OLoltMI/AAAAAAAAAVY/_2jdDkgLfRw/s320/vinnie-vincent-738540.jpg
But among Kiss fans he's also known for being a world class asshole. Let me explain: when Vincent replaced original guitarist Ace Frehley, he basically was a salaried employee of the band, who got his paycheck every month and was well looked after during the long tours. But he quickly began behaving very disrespectful towards the fans and abusing his place in the band. He actually never renewed his contract with Kiss because he figured that they'd need him and would never fire him anyway. (A decision that would later come to haunt him...) To him joining Kiss was the key to stardom and while the others were going "Hey, calm down, you're not there yet, you need to earn it." Vincent never listened and was shown the door.

He later sued Kiss for 6 million dollars in royalties he claimed they owed him. But the Judge dismissed the case stating that he was a salaried employee of the band and should have renewed his contract, because he didn't, the band didn't owe him anything. Having paid him his salary on time during the time he was still employed by them, in addition, the amount he wanted to have was excessive.

In the early nineties Kiss drummer Eric Carr died and at the funeral Gene Simmons got in a conversation with Vinnie who also was attending. Simmons had since learned about Vinnie losing his house and because of Simmons knowing that the songs Vinnie wrote were the reason why Kiss began the eighties with a good solid record. ("Creatures of the night") and knowing from personal experience what it's like to live in extreme poverty. He basically stuck out his hand, let bygones be bygones and bought him a house. As a thank you Vinnie wrote a couple of tunes that ended up on Kiss' subsiquent release ("Revenge") and was paid for them.

But he quickly turned into the asshole they fired 10 years earlier again when he once again sued the band for the royalties he said they still owed him, again though, the judge stated the fact that during his time as a salaried employee of the band, he was paid accordingly and had he renewed his contract he'd received his final payments but seeing that he didn't the band owed him nothing.

Okay then now that I explained what a wonderful personality mister Cusano has here's the reason why I'm posting a thread about him, you might have recognized that picture with which I opened this as being a police mug shot. That's because it is...

http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/vinnie-vincent-incarceration/1961/
Row at his house, abuse towards his wife, dead dogs in his yard...
:caning:

Once an asshole, always an asshole.

 

[sr71plt]

*shrug* I still don't see what that has to do with erotica--unless you think that beating your wife is erotic, maybe?

 

[Saiyaman]

*shrug* I still don't see what that has to do with erotica--unless you think that beating your wife is erotic, maybe?

Come on, there are topics opened on this forum about Politics, wars and I opened a couple about jet planes, there's nothing erotic about those and yet nobody complains about those threads being here.

 

[sr71plt]

yet nobody complains about those threads being here.

Of course they do--and have on the most recent political ones.

You led with your chin on raising the reason you posted it to the forum and then saying it was about domestic abuse. Since this is an erotica forum and I don't see domestic abuse as erotic, I'm still left hanging on your reason for posting it. You find domestic abuse erotic?

 

[Stella_Omega]

I don't find domestic abuse erotic, nor do I think that politics are erotic. But it's a free speech™ forum, no matter what some of us think.

Vinnie reminds me of the things that Charlie Watts said about Brian Jones: "Success is not good for some people."

 

[Saiyaman]

Of course they do--and have on the most recent political ones.

You led with your chin on raising the reason you posted it to the forum and then saying it was about domestic abuse. Since this is an erotica forum and I don't see domestic abuse as erotic, I'm still left hanging on your reason for posting it. You find domestic abuse erotic?

I am a Kiss fan and this is a former Kiss member being a dick, I'm appalled by his behavior and wanted to share my feelings of disgust.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I am a Kiss fan and this is a former Kiss member being a dick, I'm appalled by his behavior and wanted to share my feelings of disgust.

Consider it shared. I think it's disgusting too.

What on earth, though-- made you a Kiss fan?

They seemed like too-late-to-the-party, to me-- wannabe Tubes, who themselves were wannabe David Bowie. Give me Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zep anyday. Joe Walsh, now there's a guitar hero! Even the Beach Boys had more of what got me wet than Kiss ever did, just saying...

Can you explain it?

 

[TE999]

Consider it shared. I think it's disgusting too.

What on earth, though-- made you a Kiss fan?

They seemed like too-late-to-the-party, to me-- wannabe Tubes, who themselves were wannabe David Bowie. Give me Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zep anyday. Joe Walsh, now there's a guitar hero! Even the Beach Boys had more of what got me wet than Kiss ever did, just saying...

Can you explain it?

You mean Gene Simmons tongue didn't get your knickers damp?

 

[Belegon]

Consider it shared. I think it's disgusting too.

What on earth, though-- made you a Kiss fan?

They seemed like too-late-to-the-party, to me-- wannabe Tubes, who themselves were wannabe David Bowie. Give me Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zep anyday. Joe Walsh, now there's a guitar hero! Even the Beach Boys had more of what got me wet than Kiss ever did, just saying...

Can you explain it?

I think that, after all this time, Kiss has earned the right to not be called wannabe anythings.

Like them or not is a personal choice, an opinion. You are entitled to yours. But they paid their dues and regardless of feelings about their music or musicianship, the band has proven to be influential and popular for almost forty years.

Kiss helped pave the way for an entire generation of hard rock musicians and almost created the idea of the heavy metal concert as an experience encompassing pyrotechnics, special effects and set changes.

Not everybody can be the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. They may not be the heirs of Mozart, but they never claimed to be. What they do claim is to be entertainers, and they do that well.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Eh, you're right, Bel. They made the money. That proves something.

 

[lovecraft68]

*shrug* I still don't see what that has to do with erotica--unless you think that beating your wife is erotic, maybe?

About as much as the what did you eat, drink last night threads, or any of the GB like political threads that keep popping up.

It's an open forum. Don't like it don't comment.

As an aside not sure about beating, but according to the non con section and some loving wives stories watching your wife getting raped is, so maybe there is a slight connection here.

 

[Saiyaman]

Consider it shared. I think it's disgusting too.

What on earth, though-- made you a Kiss fan?

They seemed like too-late-to-the-party, to me-- wannabe Tubes, who themselves were wannabe David Bowie. Give me Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zep anyday. Joe Walsh, now there's a guitar hero! Even the Beach Boys had more of what got me wet than Kiss ever did, just saying...

Can you explain it?

Since you aked.

First of all, it's a mistake to think that Kiss got the big figures right away, in fact they were making so little money that the record company was going belly up. Singer Paul Stanley had an endorsement with Gibson Guitars but he pawned the guitars almost right away because of needing money to pay off the dept and still make ends meet. The guys eventually all moved in with each other because they couldn't afford to pay the rent from their individual apartments.

As I stated in my opening post, Gene Simmons KNOWS extreme poverty, he has been there and he knows that once you get the cash coming in there's NO WAY he'll ever go back there. Can you blame him?

Kiss was one of those bands that were inspired by The New York Dolls, to play simple "three chords and the truth" Rock N Roll, something that's evident in their early publicity pictures.
http://www.kissfaq.com/pictures/kiss_73_001_lg.jpg
From left to right: Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss.

But they quickly decided to abandon using girl type make up (although in the eighties they'd revisit it) after seeing Alice Cooper live.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2I7X7LTtKyY/TQcQhYX_1uI/AAAAAAAAAJg/79FduVw4DMM/s1600/alice+cooper_0.JPG
They then decided to take the Alice Cooper show and take it to the extreme, with in effect FOUR Alice Coopers. But each with their own distinct image.
http://www.murashev.com/dmdl/assets/artists/77.jpg
From left to right: Peter Criss "The Cat", Gene Simmons "The demon", Paul Stanley "The Starchild" and Ace Frehley "The Spaceman"

http://bp1.blogger.com/_I2PhZDEXSaY/Rum9SyRj8AI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/VTqWV7y8Ees/s400/eric+carr.jpg
With later members Eric Carr becoming "the Fox" and as noted Vinnie Vincent becoming "The Pharaoh"

In every line up of Kiss however, simple three chord rock songs were what drove them but it was also what held them back.

Because I mentioned the poverty before, why were they poor? For the same reason why the Ramones and The New York Dolls were poor, they were underground bands and their shit wasn't selling AT ALL! Look up the album charts from that time 1973-1975 you won't find albums of the cool bands we all know off in there, no way. What sold in those days was prog rock and easy listening like The Carpenters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT7MS0GxKoQ
A very young an inexperienced Gene Simmons during the very first live TV appearance of the band, comedienne Toti Fields totally tears him a new one.

The complaint that the members of Kiss heard over and over about their albums was "They don't sound like what you guys do live" so, as a last ditch effort before calling it a day, the recorded two live shows at Cobo Hall in Detroit, compiled the best tracks from those shows and released it as a double live album.
http://spf.fotolog.com/photo/47/53/28/kissalive35/1221824051586_f.jpg
And then finally the money came, that's what broke them.

So what do I like about their music then?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzRizL3Xnns
It's simple, enjoyable, go nuts Rock N roll.

 

[Saiyaman]

Almost forgot, Kiss never took themselves seriously as evident in this footage when they try to introduce their then new drummer Eric Carr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kc7UWU6rjw
"LOOK, IT'S ROCK N ROLL!"

 

[Belegon]

Eh, you're right, Bel. They made the money. That proves something.

Right. Because making people happy is useless if it doesn't meet everyone's expectations as Original And Artistic.

Sorry. We disagree greatly here. I do not feel that everyone has to meet that standard. There is something to be said for simply being a good entertainer. It may not mean you are "immortal" but there isn't anything wrong with it either.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Right. Because making people happy is useless if it doesn't meet everyone's expectations as Original And Artistic.

Sorry. We disagree greatly here. I do not feel that everyone has to meet that standard. There is something to be said for simply being a good entertainer. It may not mean you are "immortal" but there isn't anything wrong with it either.

Dude, where are you getting the hostility from?
Giving money, in this nation, is how we show that we value something. So yeah, they got the money. My personal feelings were only expressed as my personal feelings.

 

[lovecraft68]

Dude, where are you getting the hostility from?
Giving money, in this nation, is how we show that we value something. So yeah, they got the money. My personal feelings were only expressed as my personal feelings.

Watch out Stella! Kiss Army numbers in the millions

Besides remember what those anti rock idiots used to tell us back in the 80's

Kiss stands for kids in Satan's service!

Although I think Kiss has stayed to late to the dance and would not pay to see them at this point they were a fun band with a great image and some great anthems

Much like ACDC their music was not cpmplicated but a lot of "three cords and an attitude"

I have to say that watching Gene Simmons perform God of Thunder, back in his hey day with the blood flowing from his mouth and the smoke and lyrics really is one of my best rock and roll memories.