HOW BOB KULICK’S SECRET KISS PAST HELPED BUILD A BRIGHT FUTURE: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Four decades after proving he could keep a big secret for his friends in Kiss, Bob Kulick is riding a new wave of popularity thanks to his first-ever solo album, four co-writing credits on Gene Simmons’ Vault Experience box set, and a show-stealing turn alongside his brother Bruce Kulick at last year’s Kiss Kruise.

The sibling duo helped both 2018’s upcoming Kruise and this May's Indy Kiss fan expo sell out in record time by announcing they would again be sharing the stage at the two events. Kulick is keeping busy with his producing career, while also overseeing a reissue campaign focused on his '80s and ’90s bands.

Kulick, who auditioned for the lead guitar spot in Kiss in 1973 literally just before Ace Frehley got his turn (and ultimately the job), stayed friends with the group and got the call when Frehley was unable or unwilling to record new material for the studio side of the band’s 1977 Alive II album. Kulick's stellar performance led to him working on three more Kiss albums, including Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album, 1980's Unmasked and 1982's Killers.

But other than Stanley's album, Kulick's involvement was kept hidden from the public by the band, who wanted to maintain the illusion that Frehley was still a full-time contributing member of the group.

How did he manage to keep his mouth shut? "It was simple. I equated it in my own way to the Beatles and Eric Clapton. The Beatles recorded ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and wound up with Clapton actually playing the solo. It was un-credited, and everybody originally thought that was George Harrison – ‘Wow, Harrison’s chops really are something these days' – when the reality was that it wasn’t him.

"In this circumstance, being friends with Gene and Paul, it was important to me that when they said ‘this has to be between us and us only,' that I’m going to keep my word. It’s all about integrity, and that’s how I’m able to keep going," Kulick said. "I make great music; I don’t settle. I never went for the easy way: 'Oh, just take the money.' I never did that; it’s just not me. I never recorded an artist and took their money if I thought they were below the bar line, like ‘this is going to be embarrassing.” It wouldn’t help them, it wouldn’t help me."

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