PAUL STANLEY's Lead Guitarist Talks About KISS Frontman's New Solo CD

Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Glam-Metal.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Brad Fernquist, who performed most of the lead guitar on the new solo album from KISS frontman Paul Stanley. An excerpt from the chat follows:

Glam-Metal.com: Another one of my favorite artists that you have worked with is Paul Stanley of KISS. You worked with him on his soon-to-be-released solo record, right?

Fernquist: "Yes, I did. I played almost all the leads on his record. I also played some rhythm guitar. That was a really great experience. He was totally fun to hang out with and he was funny. I meet him before briefly but never spent any time with him, so I didn't know what he was like or what to expect. But he turned out to be a great guy to be around. And the music is very cool."

Glam-Metal.com: What does it sound like?

Fernquist: "Well, I'm younger, so I think that he brought me in because he wanted it to sound more like modern rock. If it does sound like KISS, it's because it's Paul Stanley. But it's modern rock, it does have some heavy tunes and a couple of laid back ballads. But overall it sounds very modern."

Glam-Metal.com: Did you co-write any of the material with him?

Fernquist: "No, no definitely not. Basically what happened is I worked for an artist that Doc McGee managed and he called me in and Paul liked my playing and from there it just worked out."

Glam-Metal.com: Wow, what a great gig that must have been. There are probably 30 million guitarists out there that would have killed for the chance to play on Paul Stanley's new upcoming release.

Fernquist: "Yeah, it was pretty cool. To be honest because I'm younger, I kind of missed out on the whole KISS thing. I knew the obvious songs and hits and stuff like that, but I kind of missed the whole big KISS thing. But even so, I still knew who KISS and Paul Stanley were, but I didn't grow up learning Ace Frehley riffs or anything like that. But don't get me wrong, it was definitely cool working with him, I had to pinch myself a few times to prove that I wasn't dreaming. It was fun. He was a very cool guy to work with."

Glam-Metal.com: Do you consider yourself a Kiss fan now after working with him?

Fernquist: "Definitely. I actually had a chance, because I was out on the road touring, and got a chance to see my first KISS show a couple summers ago in either Houston or Dallas. And I totally got it. I was like 'Wow, this is like the biggest show I've ever seen.' And I've been to a lot of big shows. It had you interested from the beginning to the end. The guys in the GOO GOO DOLLS are big KISS fans as well and I've learned a lot about KISS through those guys. But, after seeing their show, I would buy tickets in a second to watch them play again."

Read the entire interview at Glam-Metal.com.