Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

Guitarist fondly remembers great music and great vibes during the “Paul Stanley” album sessions, the positive musical chemistry between himself and Stanley, and offers insight on his guitar tracks and his opinion on the album 35 years later.

Below are excerpts from Kulick’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate

KissFAQ: Bob, when the calendar turned to 1978, in terms of your work with KISS, you had come off playing some guitar tracks on the studio recordings on “Alive II.” When did you first learn about the KISS solo album project?

Bob Kulick: Well actually, I got a call from Paul and I got a call from Gene as well. Both asked me to play guitar on their solo albums. Paul was trying to do a more organic band-like approach, whereas Gene was trying to get a whole bunch of guests and piece it all together. You know, I would have liked to have played on both records. But the reality was if I played on Gene’s record, as Gene pointed out to me, then there’s two records with the same lead player on it, which I could understand his point. And also the fact that Paul was like, “Well, wait a minute. I’m using him so you can’t use him.” So I basically just said, “No problem. I totally understand.” But [Paul’s album] was a different project than the KISS “Alive II” thing in that Paul certainly gave me more latitude and longitude in terms of what I was able to play by virtue of me not trying to have to be somebody else.

KF: Right. And I know that Gene was interested in you playing on his album but ultimately it didn’t come to be since you were on Paul’s album. Was this initially decided from the get-go then?

BK: No, I wouldn’t say it was from the get-go because we started Paul’s record and then Gene went to England. And then it still went on from there. Gene actually sent me a letter, “I’m really sorry that it didn’t work out. I feel bad.” It was like, “No worries.” I ended up writing a couple of things with Gene that saw the light of day. So you know, it kind of turned into like, “I write with Gene but I play with Paul.” Although that changed when I got up and played with Gene at that beer fest they had here in downtown L.A. during Octoberfest [last year].

KF: Bob, when you first got together with Paul regarding his solo album, did he play you some of the music he was working on? I’m curious what your first reaction was to hearing the material.

BK: Well, by the time we got ready to do this, we basically went into the recording studio. And he would show us the song. “Here’s what I wrote. Here’s ‘Move On.’ “OK.” “Here’s how it goes.” And we’d play along, learn the song and come up with a vibe for the songs. The New York portion of the program was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, I believe with Dave Wittman as engineer. Paul conducted the sessions. You know, we really didn’t have a producer. He asked me to suggest a bass player, which I did. Steve Buslowe, who was also the guy I suggested for the Meat Loaf gig. He is an amazingly creative bass player!!! And Paul wanted to use Richie Fontana, who I knew from Billy Squier’s thing, Piper.

KF: I was going to ask about Jeff Glixman. He ended up co-producing four tracks in L.A. but from what I have read it seems he and Paul didn’t gel together. Do you remember what the issue was?

BK: It was Paul’s insecurity, “You know, maybe I need help?” And I said, “Help? What kind of help? It’s just music. We know when it’s right.” So [Jeff Glixman] really had no effect on us whatsoever. I’m not saying anything bad about the guy. He was fine and he wasn’t condescending in any way shape or form to me. He knew Paul loved my playing. To this day, “Larger Than Life,” it stands on its own. “All-American Man” stands on its own. They might not do them [live] but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist and they’re not great and people don’t ask about them. But this was the opportunity to be me. So all that stuff — “Goodbye” and all those songs on Paul’s record — I had a great time playing. And the added attraction was that I had become accustomed to: “Well, that’s the last time you’ll ever play on that. That’s it. I played on the record and there ain’t going to be no live band. You ain’t gonna be touring.” But in Paul’s case, [nearly 10 years later], it was Paul asking, “What would you think about doing some shows?” “Excuse me?” “You know, like me and you and a few guys will go out and play.” “Huh? You’re kidding right?” “No, no, we’ll play. We’ll do a tour.” Then it was like, “Wait a minute. Paul’s serious!!!!!”

With Paul’s record, I really got to play a lot of stuff that was me. “Tonight You Belong To Me,” “Goodbye” and “Move On” — I was like, “Wow, this is really exciting.” The [sings riff to “Tonight You Belong To Me”] — you know that riff. It’s like a ball player, do they remember those games that were great games? You bet they do. You want to remember that. It’s a good memory; those are good memories. Like yesterday I see the set-up. Paul had all those Gibson TV models, Les Pauls and a Flying V and all that. I was like, “Let me try that one.” We just had a good time with it. And it sounded like it. And he sang his ass off. And that’s what the Paul Stanley KISS would have sounded like, at least with me on lead guitar. Sort of like what KISS “Alive II” side four sounds like and “Nowhere To Run,” because people ask me about that song too.

KF: Getting deeper into some of the album’s tracks, the solo in “Tonight You Belong To Me” is one of my favorites. It’s very melodic while maintaining an edge, and your fantastic vibrato really shines through.

BK: I thought, “What should that be like? Maybe end on some high notes, start off with a definitive melody.” Your mind and hand-eye coordination [take over] and you don’t think about it and the idea just pops out and there it is. It just happens. I didn’t work out any of those solos really, I just did them on the spot. Eventually we found what we were looking for. I say we, because Paul had to be happy and so did I.

KF: Your leads do sound very spontaneous.

BK: That’s the way to make something special. It happened because the moment [was] right to have the kind of fun that one wants to have under those circumstances, which is [like] the batter batting in the bottom of the ninth with the winning run on base. A hit wins the game. You live for that. So this was one of those moments. I remember I had my old Les Paul, “OK, here we go. ‘Tonight You Belong To Me.'” And that’s what came out, pretty much. I think I fixed a couple of notes maybe. That was it. It was like, “Fuck, that’s great!” We tried a few other solos but they weren’t as good.

KF: “Ain’t Quite Right” is a moody song, a real departure for Paul at the time. To my ears, your solo is a clinic in dynamics. Your lines really fit perfectly with the music: they starts quietly and build momentum only to gently cascade into those final singable licks. What do you remember about this particular solo?

BK: Well again, I hate to keep using the baseball analogy but baseball is my sport of choice. I play softball and hand-eye coordination — they are kind of linked together. The song and where it was — as you say, the vibe of the song — was in my wheelhouse. That’s the pitch that I could hit out of the park. That groove, that feel, those licks … they just [came] to me. You’re able to just really play to this vibe. For me, it’s an easy vibe to play with. That was the good thing about [the album] — the style of Paul’s writing really fit the style of my playing. And it really easily married together, like, “Oh, that’s seamless.” “Yeah, exactly. It’s the right vibe for what it is.” It wasn’t work, it was, “Let’s just have some fun,” which makes it 100 times better. We had fun doing it. And that’s the thing, this was not a stressful situation. This was a really relaxed … let’s have some fun situation. We did.

KF: “Take Me Away (Together As One)” is another departure. There is a lot of acoustic guitar and some dynamic swings. I don’t know that I’ve heard a song from Paul like it before or after. Bob, did you play any acoustic on this track?

KF: One of the things I love about “Take Me Away” is your memorable fills in between Paul’s vocal parts. I take it these were overdubbed after Paul sang his lead vocal?

BK: Yes, that was a “wait until the vocal was on there and see if it needs anything else. You know what, let’s see about putting some licks in here.” See with guys that can really play — and I’m not saying that in an egotistical way — and that can fill a hole with something meaningful, then you try to [let them] find it. “Here’s where the vocal ends. Stick something in there that will work with the vocal in the track that will help it.” You know, [in the] second verse, something slightly different happens. Like “Goodbye,” where we did the same thing — [we] stuck some stuff inside there, not just [the same thing], but also licks that definitely helped move the song along and answered Paul’s vocals correctly. And it was definitely one of the things that Jimmy Page used to do. Paul’s a huge Led Zeppelin fan, so he allowed me, “Yeah, yeah. Throw some shit in there. Go for it.” If he didn’t like it, he’d make that face, “Nah.” “Can I try again?” “Sure.” Eventually I’d find something and he’d say, “I like that!” “I like it too.” Again, we were friends, we hung out together, we went to the same concerts together, we went out to eat together, we listened to music together — so was it so unusual that the guitar vibe was so really together on this [album]? No, it was the fact that we were in sync at that moment in our lives. We were very in sync. We were like best friends and I really cherish that time we spent together.

KF:  Bob, your sound seems fairly straightforward on Paul’s album. Aside from guitars, did you use any pedals or effects?

BK: Mainly I just plugged directly into the Marshall. And they ran the effects through the board so if I had more delay — you know “[make it] a little bit wetter” — whatever it was, it went through the board. I may have used the wah-wah pedal on something. It’s possible I just kind of set it in a setting — sometimes rather than “wah-wah-wah” you just set it somewhere and it kind of speaks in a cool way to what you’re playing. But really, no, it was pretty much pure.

KF:  Bob, putting your studio hat on, what’s your take on how Paul’s album holds up, from a production standpoint?

BK: Well, it’s a great record. How could anybody fault it? It sounds like the people who were doing it were having a good time. And all the songs seem sincere. As a producer, that’s all you could really ask for. Paul sang his ass off as he always does. Even live, he always gave 100 percent even if he didn’t have it. He always went for it. [He never] chickened out. The record pretty much has that spontaneous vibe, especially the New York tracks. But all of it to me was special in that I enjoyed playing with him.

KF: And sonically speaking?

BK: I think it holds up. I do. Because the most important things are the songs and the performances. That’s still the single most important thing. Paul’s voice sounds great and the guitars sound great. Those guitars are miked up really well in a recording studio. All of the sounds are organic. I like that. Everything fits.

Entire Bob Kulick interview:

http://www.kissfaq.com/78/interview_bob_kulick.php