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[The Linguini Occurrence]

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Edited November 14, 2014 by The Linguini Occurrence

[Val22]

I find that hard to believe. I mean I don't think Eddie would have been a good fit for Kiss.

Eddie Van Halen is a one of a kind guitar player and Van Halen is a straight forward rock band. I can't see Eddie putting on makeup and making his guitar have fire works coming out of it.

I like Kiss and Van Halen and have seen both these bands, but I don't think Eddie would have been right for Kiss.

[Cosmo]

I think Eddie would be a good substitute for Ace. I personally prefer Ace but every guitar player that came after him in KISS was shit compared to him. Wouldn't be the case with Eddie.

[wasted]

No comment.

[DR DOOM]

Yeah according to Gene he talked EVH out of it...couldn't imagine it working out.

Would they have ended up with Alex on drums???

[dalsh327]

It was just a frustrated guitarist venting in the middle of the "Fair Warning" sessions, it sounded like his version of running away with the circus and face it, Ace's solos wouldn't have taken him much effort to learn, considering he had already played with KISS in the studio (Love Gun demos).

You're talking about a time when Dave is telling Ed to dump Valerie because it's bad for the band's image.

Gene talked him out of it because he didn't need another boozer in KISS, Gene knew his own band was in decline, while Van Halen was selling out everywhere they played.

KISS could have fooled people into thinking Ed was Ace with the makeup on, as long as he stuck to playing solos the way Ace did.

I think Alex would have been in, but being that Gene has been answering questions on Twitter, might as well get him to answer that one.

Edited March 14, 2014 by dalsh327

[Yesterdays-Civil-War]

Gene produced VH's first demo and had them sign a contract under his name. Gene was trying so hard to get them signed and get them an album. Once they got a deal with Warner Brothers he ripped up his contract and told them to go for it.

Eddie did want to be in KISS because of his good ties with Gene from '76/'77 and he was done with DLR. I think Gene knew deep down that Eddie would have been weird in KISS, and he has said in his first book that he wanted an unknown player rather than someone who had already made it big.

I personally prefer Ace but every guitar player that came after him in KISS was shit compared to him. Wouldn't be the case with Eddie.

Ace, in his prime, I'd agree maybe to some extent. And his prime was a very very short stint of time in the mid-late 70's. He ruined himself with drugs and alcohol, which is precisely why Bob Kulick had to come in and do his guitar parts on Dynasty, Unmasked, Creatures, etc. Same goes for Peter Criss and Valentine coming in and doing his parts. Frehley's Comet had its moments, but overall it, and the rest of Ace's solo career, was just so bland.

I think Vinnie Vincent was a great addition, his songwriting was off the chain and he had so much talent. It's a shame he was an asshole. I wouldn't say he was shit compared to Ace though. Same goes for Bruce Kulick. He was KISS's most consistent guitarist and is personally my favorite.

I think you have a point with Mark St. John and Tommy Thayer. Mark was just an odd fit and that whole situation with his hand was bizarre.

Tommy, even though he had to reteach a washed-up Ace his solos for the reunion tour, his entire career for the most part, has just been to mimic Ace.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Yesterdays-Civil-War

[JONEZY]

I can't believe Ed would have been happy in KISS. And he was already well known/popular. He won guitar player of the year for Guitar magazine for a few years and Van Halen were only getting bigger. Ed's never commented on this so I have to believe its true.

[Mastodonny]

Had EVH joined, kiss would've had exactly one member with talent.

[Cosmo]

I personally prefer Ace but every guitar player that came after him in KISS was shit compared to him. Wouldn't be the case with Eddie.

Ace, in his prime, I'd agree maybe to some extent. And his prime was a very very short stint of time in the mid-late 70's. He ruined himself with drugs and alcohol, which is precisely why Bob Kulick had to come in and do his guitar parts on Dynasty, Unmasked, Creatures, etc. Same goes for Peter Criss and Valentine coming in and doing his parts. Frehley's Comet had its moments, but overall it, and the rest of Ace's solo career, was just so bland.

I think Vinnie Vincent was a great addition, his songwriting was off the chain and he had so much talent. It's a shame he was an asshole. I wouldn't say he was shit compared to Ace though. Same goes for Bruce Kulick. He was KISS's most consistent guitarist and is personally my favorite.

I think you have a point with Mark St. John and Tommy Thayer. Mark was just an odd fit and that whole situation with his hand was bizarre.

Tommy, even though he had to reteach a washed-up Ace his solos for the reunion tour, his entire career for the most part, has just been to mimic Ace.

Yeah, I'm talking about pre-drugdriven Ace, up until Dynasty, in those first 6 KISS albums + his solo album, THAT Ace is one of my favorite guitar players EVER. I prefer that Ace to anything Van Halen has to offer.

[Yesterdays-Civil-War]

I personally prefer Ace but every guitar player that came after him in KISS was shit compared to him. Wouldn't be the case with Eddie.

Ace, in his prime, I'd agree maybe to some extent. And his prime was a very very short stint of time in the mid-late 70's. He ruined himself with drugs and alcohol, which is precisely why Bob Kulick had to come in and do his guitar parts on Dynasty, Unmasked, Creatures, etc. Same goes for Peter Criss and Valentine coming in and doing his parts. Frehley's Comet had its moments, but overall it, and the rest of Ace's solo career, was just so bland.

I think Vinnie Vincent was a great addition, his songwriting was off the chain and he had so much talent. It's a shame he was an asshole. I wouldn't say he was shit compared to Ace though. Same goes for Bruce Kulick. He was KISS's most consistent guitarist and is personally my favorite.

I think you have a point with Mark St. John and Tommy Thayer. Mark was just an odd fit and that whole situation with his hand was bizarre.

Tommy, even though he had to reteach a washed-up Ace his solos for the reunion tour, his entire career for the most part, has just been to mimic Ace.

Yeah, I'm talking about pre-drugdriven Ace, up until Dynasty, in those first 6 KISS albums + his solo album, THAT Ace is one of my favorite guitar players EVER. I prefer that Ace to anything Van Halen has to offer.

I'm with you. I prefer Ace's '78 solo album to Van Halen's entire discography.

[DieselDaisy]

Ace is fuckin great.

[mrandyk]

Eddie addressed that rumor in the mid-90s. He says he has absolutely no recollection of this happened, or he jokingly asked to join.

Hearing Gene tell the story just shows how big of a dickbag he is.

[James Bond]

The story has been floating around for ever, and it has even popped up in a few official KISS biographies. It's not a stretch - the timing does indeed line-up, so Gene might not be full of it or inventing a story. They more or less used the Creatures of the Night recording sessions as an experiment. They were auditioning guitarists. Even though Vinnie Vincent ended up on most of the songs in the final product, there were a few other players around at the time, like Steve Farris from Mr. Mister who did the solo on the title track. Eddie has always been a KISS fan (Van Halen covered lots of KISS in the early days) so it wouldn't be unrealistic to think that the thought, "Fuck Dave. I'll just join up with Gene" or something like that.

It would have been interesting, but I'm glad for the sake of both bands that it never happened.