Guitar World - Guitar World Presents Dear Guitar Hero: The Worlds Most Celebrated Guitarists Answer Their Fans Most Burning Questions

Copyright 2012 by Guitar World.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Published in 2012 by Backbeat Books

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Contents

DEAR GUITAR HERO

Q: Where did you get the idea for the smoking guitar? How did you make it work? And did it ever get out of hand and cause serious damage? GARY

In the early Seventies, we were on tour in Canada and I bought some smoke bombs. I had just replaced the pickups on my Les Paul with hand-wound DiMarizioswhich [Larry DiMarzio] was winding in his bedroom at the timeand I wondered if the smoke would come out the pickup ring if a bomb was in the potentiometer. It worked, but it wasnt a great effect, and it badly gummed up my volume and tone controls. The idea manifested itself again when Kiss got bigger. I got together with an engineer and developed a fake rhythm pickup that snapped into a box mounted in the guitars body. We stuck the smoke bombs in there, and it worked fine.

Sometimes, for a really big show, Id have my tech pack in an extra-big bomb. When we did that, the metal plate on the guitars back would heat up and burn my leg, or cause a little fire. When Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons] sold a bunch of my costumes, I noticed that some of them had burn marks on the right leg.

Q: Do you consider the classic solos in Detroit Rock City and Love Gun to be your best work? BILL BETTIS

Those two are obviously catchy and have been really popular, but I dont have any favorites. Some people freak out over the instrumentals like Fractured Mirror. A friend says he put them all together on a CD and it works great for seducing women. Truthfully, though, once Ive recorded something, I tend to move on and not look back.

Q: How did you feel when Gene and Paul made you into everything from a comic-book hero to a condom style? JAMES EDWARDS

A lot of it was cool, and a lot of it was overkill, but it was out of my control, so I had to let it go. I left the group in 83 and didnt rejoin till 96, and during that time they took the ball and ran with it. Even when I rejoined, they made deals that I had no control over. I never saw the product until after the fact.

Q: What effect are you using on the solo in Strange Ways? I love that sound. ROY SNAKE HELVENSTINE JR.

That was a heavy distortion unitprobably a Big Muff or a Fuzz Faceand a Marshall amp on 10. I usually performed my solos from the control room, with my amp out in the studio. But for Strange Ways, I stood in front of the amp, which is how I got all the crazy feedback.

Did having to put makeup on every night ever get annoying?

TRAVIS BOWLING

Yeah. Everything becomes a drag if you have to do it night in and night out. One of my worst experiences happened in Paris in the Seventies. I drank too much champagne after a big show and fell asleep with my makeup on. I had an allergic reaction and woke up with my eyes swollen shut. I thought I had gone blind and was terrified. Our manager brought over a doctor who gave me cortisone shots, and that fixed it.

Q: How long did it take you guys to put your makeup on each night? CHANCE HOWE

About an hour, sometimes a little longer, if we had the time. I could throw it on in half an hour if I had to, but the lines wouldnt be as straight.

Q: What do you like so much about the Les Paul? Have you ever played another guitar on an album or onstage? MIKE WILLIAMSON

In the studio Ive often doubled my parts with Fender Strats or Telecasters. The harmonic range of a Fender is different than that of a Les Paul, and you get a much thicker sound by blending them. I really like Fenders in the studio but I cant get the meat and sustain I want from them live. The Les Paul is the only guitar that I would consider a heavy rock guitar. It just has everything I want and need.

Q: In 1973, on theMidnight SpecialTV show, Kiss were playing She when you let loose with some crazy Van Halenstyle two-handed tapping. This was, of course, long before Eruption. How and when did you learn how to tap like that? STEPHANIE

First, it obviously wasnt Van Halen style. Gene discovered Van Halen, and I remember Eddie Van Halen sitting in the pit watching me tap at Madison Square Garden. Im not saying Eddie got it from me, but I definitely didnt get it from him. I just picked that up over the years from experimentation. The one difference in how I tap is that I actually use my pick instead of my fingers.

Q: Which songs did you play on KissPsycho CircusCD? The leads on Its My Life and You Wanted the Best sound like you, as does some of the toggle switching on Journey of 1,000 Years. G.S.

Uh, sure. That sounds right. [laughs] I honestly dont know which tracks I played on. I may have played on every track, for all I know. I wasnt there for all the sessions, and Tommy [Thayer] was around for some, but I couldnt tell you how it all shook out.

Q: Did you ever get tired of Genes theatrics? BAXTER HALL

Not really. Genes theatrics are great and a trademark part of Kiss. We are a theatrical rock group, and as long as the fans want to see that, they are going to get it.

The only thing about Gene that sometimes gets overbearing is hell try to come over to me when Im playing and shove his tongue down my throat. He actually made it one time, and I had to run off stage and gargle with Listerine.

I just wanted to let you know that Kiss sucks without you.

PAUL SANTOS

Thanks. Everyones entitled to his opinion, and some people have said they think the group sounds better now. They must not have ever heard the original lineup, though.

Q: Hey have you ever thought of forming a band with [former Kiss drummer] Peter Criss? MORGAN HARRIS

Not really, but it could be cool. Usually when I got off the road from a Kiss tour, I tried to distance myself from all three guys because we get a little sick of each other. And Ive always used [