Vinnie Vincent
| Vinnie Vincent | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Vincent John Cusano |
| Also known as | "The Ankh Warrior" |
| Born |
August 6, 1952 Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Genres | Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1970–1997 |
| Associated acts | Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Kiss, Dan Hartman, Treasure, Laura Nyro, Warrior, Heat |
Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist and songwriter. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 makeup period. Vincent was the last member to wear a unique makeup/costume configuration, as the character of "Ankh warrior" (a design created by Paul Stanley), until he and the band were first shown without the makeup during an interview on MTV in September 1983. He also was the leader of his own band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion.
Vincent John Cusano was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Theresa "Terri" (Ferraro) and Alfonso Cusano, musicians. Both of his parents were of Italian descent. He picked up the guitar at an early age and was inspired by bluegrass and rock and roll. In 1980, Vincent moved to Los Angeles, California where he became a staff songwriter for the television series Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Many of the series songs were written on Vincent's acoustic guitar while sitting at the Cunninghams' kitchen table on the Happy Days set, during off-time from the show's rehearsal schedule. Vincent has said the times of working at the Paramount lot were genuinely "happy days". According to the site "Kiss Related Recordings", Vincent has played with Dan Hartman as well as the bands Hunter, Warrior, Hitchhikers and Heat going as far back as 1970. Prior to his tenure in Kiss, Vincent appeared as guitarist on former Young Rascal Felix Cavaliere's project, a group called Treasure in 1977.
After being introduced to the band by songwriter Adam Mitchell, Vincent was brought in as the replacement for guitarist Ace Frehley. Vincent's personality meshed well with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, thus enabling him to play lead guitar on six of the nine tracks on the Creatures of the Night album as well as co-writing three. After a disappointing Creatures of the Night/Tenth Anniversary tour, that finished on a high at what ended up being the "last" makeup show (and Kiss' largest crowd attendance) at Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, Vincent returned to the studio with Kiss to record the Lick It Up album. His work was productive, yielding eight co-writes out of the ten songs on the album (a record for any member until Bruce Kulick's nine on Carnival of Souls and Stanley's ten on Monster).
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