Bruce Kulick On Grand Funk Railroad’s 2020 “Some Kind of Wonderful Tour,” KISS & More
Known as “The American Band,” the high-energy five-piece group known as Grand Funk Railroad just kicked off the Some Kind Of Wonderful Tour on February 8th. The band — which still includes original founding members Don Brewer and Mel Schacher, in addition to singer Max Carl of 38 Special, guitarist Bruce Kulick of KISS and keyboardist Tim Cashion of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band — has earned 13 gold and 10 platinum records with record sales exceeding 25 million copies sold.
Rock historians ought to know that Grand Funk Railroad — which formed 51 years ago in Michigan — laid the groundwork for such bands as Foreigner, Journey, Van Halen and Bon Jovi with its signature hard driving sound, soulful vocals, muscular instrumentation and forceful pop melodies. Mega-hits like “We’re An American Band,” “I’m Your Captain/Closer To Home,” “Locomotion,” and “Some Kind Of Wonderful” not only still dominate rock radio, but also pop up regularly on movie soundtracks and in advertising campaigns. And as the legend goes, Grand Funk’s 1971 performance at Flushing, New York’s Shea Stadium (former of the New York Mets) sold out faster than that of The Beatles.
The aforementioned Bruce Kulick was not only a member of KISS for 12 years, but his touring and/or recording credits also include Meat Loaf, Michael Bolton, Union (along with Motley Crue’s John Corabi), Lordi, Billy Squier, ESP, Ronnie Spector, Graham Bonnet, Don Johnson, Michael Schenker, Lita Ford and Long Island legends The Good Rats. Notably, music he has been a part of has also been sampled by the likes of Jay-Z and Kanye West. Kulick has been a part of Grand Funk Railroad for 20 years, yet he still maintains a strong connection with his KISS roots, appearing on multiple editions of the KISS Kruise — including the one coming up later this year — and also contributing to solo projects of both KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley over the years.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Bruce Kulick by phone on February 12, 2020 about the current Grand Funk Railroad tour, his KISS history, being sampled by top hip-hop artists, his New York roots, whether he has a book in the works, and plenty more. The full interview is embedded below and will also be on a future edition of the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast. More on Kulick is at www.brucekulick.com, while Grand Funk Railroad tour dates are at www.grandfunkrailroad.com.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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