Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, who was with the band from 1984–1996, recently spoke with Michael Cavacini in a career-spanning interview. Following is an excerpt from the in-depth conversation.

Q: Was there a KISS song you helped write that didn’t make it on to an album? If so, which song? And why didn’t it make the cut?

Kulick: "A song immediately comes to mind, and the ironic thing about is that it’s a song other people covered but KISS didn’t release. It’s called 'Sword and Stone'. It was written with Desmond Child and Paul, and it was written during the Crazy Nights era. The producer, Ron Nevison, just didn’t like it. I thought it was a really good song. The guy from Loverboy covered it, Desmond included it on a solo album and then a German band covered it. (laughs) All these other people released the song but we didn’t.

The fans who’ve heard it – because it got leaked somehow – think it’s a great song. As much as I was flattered that artists were covering a song I was a part of – I kind of started the guitar chords in that song and then brought it to Paul and Desmond – I didn’t make the money I would have made if it would have been on a KISS record, which would have gone Gold or Platinum."

Q: What was it like performing with Ace and Peter at MTV Unplugged?

Kulick: "In one way it was really exciting because, at that point, I’m fully aware of the history of the band. I wasn’t a huge KISS fan growing up because I was pretty jaded by my brother working with them and I got to know Paul while they were still in their makeup. I didn’t have stars in my eyes around them. I respected them. I knew they were talented and famous and rich (laughs). But there I am about to perform with the original lineup. I never met Ace prior to this, but I heard a million stories about him. The same with Peter. And then they walked through the door into SIR Studios in New York. Part of it was exciting and part of it was awkward. 

MTV knew we were doing really well with the Convention Tour but they only wanted to do the show if they could also score a reunion. There was that pressure too, which felt pretty awkward, to be honest. And I wasn’t really aware of how much behind the scenes was going on about them examining if it was possible to do a reunion tour. I always say the Unplugged performance, DVD and album was the catalyst for them to do the Reunion Tour in ’96. It made sense because it made the four of them have to negotiate and have a contract. You’d think it would be because one of them said, 'Oh, I miss you.' (laughs) It’s not that, it was business. It made sense. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Unplugged but I will say that despite the negativity I’m putting out there about it being a business move, I thought the playing and the overall event was amazing. I know the fans really loved it and it proved a lot about the version of the band I was in with Eric Singer. And then we all got to play together. We could have done something like that for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame too, but it wasn’t meant to be."

Go to this location for the complete interview.