Former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent's attempt to return to the concert stage this past February took a detour when his two dates in Nashville were canceled less than two weeks before they were supposed to take place. In a rare interview, he repeatedly denied that the decision to cancel was his idea.

"There's only one uncontroverted fact that actually did happen, and that is that I, Vinnie Vincent, did not cancel that show," he said on the new episode of Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon (embedded below). "A matter of fact, My attorney Chris Royer had been negotiating for months with the promoter. So this was done all between the promoter and my attorney."

Vincent added that a non-disparaging clause in the settlement agreement prohibits him from giving all the details, but he was able to reveal that "a week before the show was actually canceled, it was determined and decided and agreed upon that the show would proceed as a Vinnie Shredd Festival show because of my dissatisfaction with someone who picked a singer that I didn't approve of."

The guitarist also said that the official statement by the promoter that read, in part, "we are shocked at this development, and it is, unfortunately, beyond our control. The matter has been turned over to our attorney" was "disingenuously untrue" and that Vincent's attorney is willing to put out a video "clarifying -- and I think that's a good way -- that Vinnie was not responsible for canceling the show."

Vincent, however, was able to speak about his next show, an intimate performance on June 7 at S.I.R. Soundstage in Nashville, which has a capacity of 60 people. He's calling it Speedball Jamm, after his 2001 limited edition CD that consisted of a single 71-minute instrumental track assembled from rehearsals.

"June 7 is that recording -- the fun of that recording -- come to life," he said. "It's the informal, onstage-look-at-each-other and everybody just join in [and] follow where I'm going and let's play our asses off and have fun. It'll probably be about an hour or so of guitar. Vinnie guitar."

Vincent also had strong words for his critics, saying he wants no part of the "trash-and-bash society that we've turned into" and prefers to remain positive.

"Right now I'm in a great place," he said. "I'm driving my car now. I'm not a passenger, and I control where I go. And if I don't like who is driving my car, I'll pull the damn fucking car over and stop and get out. So this is now me controlling my destination and how I'm getting there and who's in the car with me, if I allow anybody in."

 

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