Legendary guitarist George Lynch offered a candid assessment of his relationship with Kiss’ music in a new interview, admitting that the late Ace Frehley was not a personal influence on his playing.
Speaking with Robert Cavuoto of Myglobalmind, the Dokken and Lynch Mob founder was hesitant to make the admission, given Frehley‘s recent passing.
“No. And I feel bad saying that, that he just died, but he wasn’t,” Lynch responded when asked if Frehley was an influence.
Lynch was quick to clarify that while Frehley‘s guitar work didn’t shape his style, the band’s visual presentation was impossible to ignore.
“The only thing that impressed me… the thing that really actually transfixed me with Kiss in the early days was their image and their show,” Lynch explained. “The first album, I just looked at, ‘Who are these demons? What the hell? It’s so cool.’ And it influenced, I think, all of us, just like Van Halen influenced us, and [Led] Zeppelin influenced everybody. It was one of those things.”
Lynch‘s history with Kiss runs deeper than just being a casual observer. He recounted a story from his pre-Dokken days when his band, The Boyz, played a showcase for Gene Simmons. The Kiss bassist’s primary feedback had nothing to do with the music.
“[Gene] made us change our names,” Lynch recalled. “He was just, like, ‘All your names su*k. You need new names.’ So he gave us all new names… I became John Lynx. I think [drummer] Mick [Brown] or the bass player was Nikki Thunders… And the bass player was Trevor Roxx. And that lasted for a couple of days, and we changed our names to our real names.”
Lynch later read Simmons’ recollection of the encounter in a Van Halen biography. Gene mentioned seeing Lynch‘s band (then called Xciter) a second time, but his interest had shifted.
“His mention in the book was, ‘Yeah, Xciter [George‘s other pre-Dokken band] was on that too and they su*ked.’ That’s all he said,” Lynch noted. “Unfortunately, Van Halen came out after us, and they just shifted gears and got Van Halen.”
Lynch is currently on tour with Lynch Mob, featuring vocalist Andrew Freeman, bassist Jaron Gulino, and drummer Brian Tichy. The band’s final studio album, Dancing With The Devil, is scheduled for release on November 28.
