Former KISS guitarist and collaborator Vinnie Vincent is nowhere to be found online after it was revealed that tickets to his first solo show in 30 years would be on sale, Friday, July 27.
The guitarist had previously advertised "an acoustic event" on December 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, but listed no venue. Vincent's official website offered no further details. As of Friday, there was no link to tickets or mention of a venue. The line on the poster that previously said tickets would be available Friday had been changed to read "Tickets on sale soon."
It's possible the VinnieVincentLive.com website went live this week in error. But the gaffe is enough to illicit flashbacks for the guitarist's fans — and no, it doesn't take much after the last three decades.
Vincent, a former studio ace who played uncredited on multiple KISS albums before replacing Ace Frehley in the band from 1983 - 1984, has earned a reputation for being elusive and flaking out on commitments.
Since he returned to the public eye at the Atlanta KISS Expo in January, Vincent appeared at one of Gene Simmons' Vault events in Nashville and at a handful of conventions around the country.
Vincent said at a New Jersey convention in April that he was looking at getting back on tour early next year, but he later deleted his official Facebook page — his only public social media account — after withdrawing in May from Nashville's August Rock N Pod Expo.
"He shut it down after bailing on the Expo," explained Joshua Toomey of the Talk Toomey podcast. "He was getting crazy hate."
Toomey says the Expo withdrew its offer to Vincent after he began making progressively more onerous demands, including asking for a cash guarantee. The podcaster lambasted Vincent on a May episode of Talk Toomey for turning his back on fans who have supported and defended him for years.
In a 2014 piece on Vincent title The Long Kiss Goodbye: The Search for Vinnie Vincent, Rolling Stone reported that the guitarist "drew the ire of some fans when he failed to issue refunds for pre-orders from his website. Some customers even threatened him with a lawsuit for alleged fraud for selling a product, The Vinnie Vincent Archives, which he never intended to deliver."
But Vinnie Vincent's fans have experienced this uncertainty before, and many are still rooting for their guitar hero.
If Vincent does follow-through with the Dec. 7 show, his fans will surely be delighted and there to support him.
But if he disappears again, no one will be surprised.
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