Bruce Kulick Announces His Departure From Grand Funk Railroad

Bruce Kulick has left Grand Funk Railroad after 23 years. He performed his remaining live performance with the group on Dec. 14 in Marietta, Ohio.

The previous Kiss guitarist turned 70 that very same month, and as he tells UCR throughout an unique interview, the milestone made him think about his future. “I actually wished to take a look at what I wished to do personally and creatively,” he says. “I’ve all the time liked taking part in with Grand Funk for all of these years, however all of that journey for many weekends of each month, all 12 months, the time concerned grew to become an increasing number of tough.”

As Kulick shared throughout a wide-ranging dialog, he’ll flip the main focus again to his personal legacy right here in 2024. He’s wanting ahead to having the possibility to work on a wide range of potential tasks — together with new solo music and a possible memoir.

There’s Some Good Information for Kiss Followers

Whereas he was cautious to emphasize that nothing is ready in stone but, Kulick is happy about many prospects — together with the potential alternative to spend extra time celebrating “his period” of Kiss. He has seen first-hand how new generations have continued to find his previous work with the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame legends. “It’s simply exceptional that I used to be concerned with a band with that sort of fame and that sort of affect on the youth,” he marvels. “Each era going from there, that they haven’t forgotten me in any respect is great.”

Within the first a part of the interview beneath, Kulick affords further insights relating to his departure from Grand Funk and tells UCR why you will not be studying his model of “The Filth” if he does put out a e book.

Bruce, I think about that quite a bit went into making the choice to step away from Grand Funk after such an unimaginable run.
I feel a lot of my followers had been conscious that for the final 23 years, in the event that they actually studied my profession, I’ve been performing with Grand Funk Railroad. Yearly was strong with dates. It might occur in any month. It wasn’t like, “Okay, we’re doing three months and you then’re off for the remainder of the 12 months,” nonetheless lots of different bands [might do it]. As a band that may do the fly dates, because it’s known as, each month, mainly, there have been dates. Throughout the second half of the 12 months, particularly within the fall, once I began to consider 2024, I actually wished to take a look at what I wished to do personally and creatively.

With the journey, It actually made my days at house change into extra like, “Effectively, what can I accomplish that I like to do [with] my profession, earlier than I’ve acquired to go journey once more?” That will be very arduous. You are able to do some issues on the highway. You fly and also you see a man with a laptop computer and he’s doing all of his enterprise there. However I don’t fly that properly so I’m [not] immediately going to be Mr. Creativity on the lengthy flights. As well as, I ought to point out that the band, 80% of the time, was acting on the East Coast or within the Midwest, which meant I had the longest journeys of the entire guys within the band. Every time they got here out to Vegas to carry out, they had been conscious of the journey, from the East Coast, the place a lot of the different guys reside — after which going again — the way it simply kicks your ass.

The pandemic actually gave me a possibility to take a seat again and do nothing or bounce into 1,000,000 issues. I feel everyone on the market is aware of that I jumped into 1,000,000 issues, with my spouse and with out. However we had been a staff in lots of issues. As a result of even when it was nearly me, Lisa was most likely filming me or ensuring every thing was proper, if it wasn’t the songs that we did collectively or the cooking web sites that we created content material for, it was me engaged on music and entertaining the followers. No matter you possibly can do then, I used to be very proactive and I liked it. By the point I used to be prepared to return to journey, I used to be in shock, to be trustworthy. However I used to be conscious that that was the vast majority of my life and it acquired very acquainted fairly shortly. Performing reside on stage with these guys, they’re a terrific band, you understand, that was the half I preferred. That was the solely half I preferred! The 80-minute present is the one half that I actually loved. The remaining was so arduous for me, time-wise.

Watch Grand Funk Railroad Carry out ‘ I am Your Captain (Nearer to Dwelling)’

I get that. It felt like an excellent time to make a change.
I don’t desire a loopy tempo, however I’m not retiring. I simply need it solely to be about my legacy, my profession and every thing which means one thing to me. I imply, my Kiss followers have been wonderful. They love my period. As a result of definitely, Kiss wasn’t [promoting] the non-makeup years. Yeah, possibly on an anniversary, a product got here out every now and then, but it surely’s all the time been about them in make-up and the classic years after which the brand new band actually representing these nice songs. So in time, you understand throughout the pandemic, how a lot I used to be waving the flag of my period. I’ll proceed to do this, however there’s a lot extra that I can do. I had all of those songs that I began to demo.

August was slightly loopy, however I acquired actually motivated to file just a few issues on my Garageband. I had labored with Todd Kerns a bit on just a few songs that I had prior to now. Then, he acquired busy and with my fixed [schedule], each weekend, being gone, I can’t say that I used to be capable of make the progress that I do know I can do with out that sort of journey schedule. So there’s been unique music that I wish to proceed to have the ability to put out one other solo file. I definitely could possibly be engaged on a e book lastly, which I’ve nice tales for. There’s so many different inventive issues that I wish to [pursue]. I really like doing the movies that I’ve been doing, celebrating anniversaries and issues of my Kiss profession. I’d prefer to be extra inventive with that. I wish to do extra issues with my spouse. I wish to preserve the alternatives fully open to [be] performing music that I feel folks know me for.

READ MORE: Bruce Kulick Performs His Final Kiss Present

So far as writing a e book, I do know that it’s one thing you’ve checked out prior to now. How far did you get into doing one beforehand?
It’s acquired to be about 20 years in the past, I’d must examine the dates. There was any individual within the business that I used to be working with, Ken Gullic, who really was very influential in Kissology popping out and issues like that, as a result of he labored for [the label] Common. He was concerned with my BK3 album as properly. We had the thought of doing a e book collectively and he was capable of go get interviews with folks [like] my dad and mom and Bob Ezrin. There are chapters that exist that I by no means took any additional.

What’s ironic was that on the time, yeah, that was virtually sufficient to ask folks, should you had been searching for a e book deal, “What do you suppose [as far as a book telling] the story about Bruce Kulick?” Timing-wise, it really wasn’t nice. It was too shut [to Kiss] with their [ongoing] fame, the reunion and [return to] make-up. However all of the [publishers] wished was the filth — like Motley Crue. I received’t do a e book like that. I don’t like ripping folks aside. I’ve heard loads of the books from folks I’ve labored with and I’ve learn issues. And I’m sort of like, “They didn’t must say it that approach.” However I get that they wished to say that they didn’t get together with this individual or that individual. I’m not taking a look at a e book like that. Which meant I wasn’t going to get a e book deal again then. [Laughs]

You realize, for me, I wish to have fun my years, however inform the backstory. I’d prefer to get into the issues that provided that you had been there you possibly can describe. For instance, what it was prefer to be at a video shoot for 12 hours with Eric Carr doing “God Gave Rock and Roll to You II.” I don’t must say something detrimental about anyone. Clearly, there are some tales I feel are nice to clear up for folks, as a result of they had been conscious there was pressure right here or there. You realize, what was it like working within the band? However I actually wish to simply inform my story within the sense of celebrating the music and the way it was performed — virtually like a few of my blogs that I used to have on my outdated web site. I nonetheless suppose it could be very compelling for folks.

I do know some folks have written books and the extra outrageous they wish to be, the higher, is the way in which they checked out it. I feel sadly, a few of the publishers desire if you’re saying outlandish [things] with heavy accusations. I’ll be trustworthy, I believed each Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] had been very unusual with one another. I didn’t learn all of it, however some issues that I’ve heard, I used to be like “Ooh, I’m wondering how that felt for the opposite individual to learn that or hear it on the audiobook?” I feel I’ve an ideal story to inform. There’s sure issues about even how my profession began and the way I acquired to that time to being in Kiss — and another issues that I’ve been actually quiet about, as a result of I wish to put it aside for the e book.

With Grand Funk, what has your involvement been serving to them make the transition to a brand new guitar participant?
There’s some actually nice recordings of us. The brand new man, who they don’t need me to speak about presently, is somebody I do know properly. He was capable of come to some reveals to have eyes on every thing. There are solely a few issues that he had questions on, which I used to be more than pleased to help with. I used to be shocked at how many individuals had been contacting me and asking about [my departure]. Look, for that band to have the identical constant guys for 23 years, that’s fairly exceptional. However a part of that was additionally everyone actually understanding what their position was and what the job entailed.

Don [Brewer] is a really good and bold chief within the sense of maintaining everyone of their lane to know what to do and what they need to do and what they should do. Although generally issues weren’t all the time dealt with in my imaginative and prescient, they had been dealt with to guard how he views Grand Funk’s survival. He’s performed an admirable job with that. I really thanked him as I used to be having the dialog about my retirement.

Enjoying to Don’s drumming for all of these years was an actual pleasure. Eric Singer loves him — he got here to see us just a few instances. You realize, a band is just good as their drummer, that’s one of many issues that musicians generally say. Whenever you’ve acquired a drummer that’s within the pocket and strong — and he nonetheless sings nice. Eric was throughout me, “He nonetheless sings the identical as 1970! That’s unbelievable! He’s wonderful!” I’ve acquired to offer it to Don that he’s 75 and he’s nonetheless singing and taking part in nice drums and main this model of Grand Funk Railroad. It’s unimaginable.