Kiss Army Argentina Exclusive Interview with Adam Mitchell: It was very easy to work with Eric Carr,

he was very open to new ideas

ADAM MITCHEL WAS A VERY CLOSE FRIEND OF ERIC CARR AND A GOOD PARTNER TO KISS DURING HIS 80s DAYS AND HE TOOK SOME TIME TO SHARE HIS MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES WITH KISS IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH KISS ARMY ARGENTINA.

Kiss Army Argentina: Adam, first of all, it is a pleasure to have this contact with you, so thanks a lot for your time. Adam Mitchell: Thanks, it's always a pleasure to do anything on Eric's behalf. He was a great friend and a great talent. Kiss Army Argentina: Many people are impressed by your ability and talent to write songs for many different artists with different styles, such as KISS, Art Garfunkel, Olivia Newton-John, Chicago, to mention just a few of them. What is your secret to achieve that? Adam Mitchell: Thanks. First of all, it is a pleasure to be here. All great songs, as it turns out, have five elements. Well, as you may know, I'm on the board of the Songwriters Guild of America and I teach songwriting all over the country and, via Skype, all over the world. The reason that I started to teach in the 1st place is that it suddenly occurred to me one day that, as you said, I had written all these successful songs in different styles which most writers don't do. Most writers are either metal writers, rock writers, country writers or whatever. But they tend to stick to one style. But here I was, writing in all these different styles and doing well, so I started thinking about what it was that I actually did that worked for me. To make a long story short, I began to realize that all great songs, no matter what style, share certain things in common, 5 things to be exact, and that if you are writing a song and your song is missing one of these elements, it won't work. As I said, I teach songwriting now to people all over the world, so if you're a songwriter, check out my website, www.expertsongwriter.com, and you'll find a much more detailed explanation of the process there. By the way, if you go to my website, there are a lot of funny KISS stories too! Kiss Army Argentina: You have worked with KISS in many songs, for many years. Please tell us how it all started.

-2Adam Mitchell: Back in the late 60s, I was living in Canada and producing a band called Fludd. We'd had a few hit records and A&M Records in Los Angeles sent up a producer, Michael James Jackson, to meet with their manager, regarding the possibility of signing them into the American label. I met Michael in their managers office one day, just by chance, and he and I became good friends. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1976, we resumed our friendship and in 1980 or 81, he was producing Creatures of the Night, and asked me to get involved with the writing. I honestly thought it would be one or 2 days at the most. Never dreamed that I would end up with 10 different songs on KISS records and 30 years later we would all still be friends. Kiss Army Argentina: Was it you the one who introduced Vinnie Vincent to KISS? How did it happen? Adam Mitchell: Yes, it was me. I'm the guilty party! I had written a big hit with Vinnie for John Waite called Tears. When KISS were looking for a new guitar player, I told Gene that I knew a guy who played like Ace but that I wasn't sure about his personality. As it turns out, I was right on both counts. They tried out something like 75 guitar players. Vinnie was the best but in the end it wasn't a good personal mix. Kiss Army Argentina: Your contributions to KISS can be found in albums with different styles, such as Killers, Creatures of the Night and Crazy Nights. What can you tell us about your experience in those albums? Adam Mitchell: Creatures was the 1st record I worked on. When Paul and I had done the demo at my house, I had come up with a riff, the one you hear in the middle and right at the end of the song, and we kept on pulling in all these super heavyweight guitarists like Robben Ford to play it on the record because it was quite complicated. But in the end, no one played it quite the way I did, I guess because I made it up, so I ended up playing it on the record. I liked Creatures very much, the entire album. Michael Jackson got some great drum sounds on it, especially on Keep Me Comin' which was one of 4 tracks we recorded in New York. On Crazy Nights what I remember most is how much better than the record Paul and I thought our demo was. We had mixed the crowd singing the chorus much louder and it felt more like an arena vibe. Kiss Army Argentina: We know that in the time of Creatures of the Night, KISS was undergoing a sort of turmoil regarding guitarists: they had many of them for that album; in fact, neither Gene nor Paul remember with certainty the details of this situation. We know that, one way or another, Steve Farris, Vinnie Vincent, Rick Derringer and even Bob Kulick participated. What do you remember about this situation? How did it affect the recording process of the album? Adam Mitchell: As far as the recording goes, no, I don't think it affected it very much at all. The record sounds great and in the end that's all that counts, no? Kiss Army Argentina: Regarding your collaborations with KISS, is there any unreleased material? AM: Well, there are several songs that Gene and I wrote or Paul and I wrote which were never recorded. But as far as actual recordings, no I don't think there are any. Kiss Army Argentina: Of all the KISS songs to which you contributed, what are in your opinion the best ones? Especially bearing in mind that your contributions have included songs in albums that are very different, such as Creatures of the Night and Crazy Nights Adam Mitchell: Hard question to answer because each of them is stylistically so different. But I would have to say, Creatures of the Night would probably be my favorite.

-3Kiss Army Argentina: Leaving aside the working and musical relationship, to which of the members of the band did you feel closer? Adam Mitchell: Paul and I and Bruce and I are certainly the closest and still good friends. Gene, I still consider a very good friend but just don't happen to see each other that much. Kiss Army Argentina: As you know, it is impossible not to mention Eric Carr, considering that the 20th anniversary of his early departure is about to be commemorated. How was your relationship with Eric? What memories do you have from those days? Adam Mitchell: I had a wonderful relationship with Eric. He was hilariously funny, a great drummer and a very good friend. He died on my birthday, November 24. A wonderful guy. His drum solo was always my favorite part of the show. If you go to my website, there are some very funny stories on there about Eric. Kiss Army Argentina: Focusing again on Eric Carr, we know that your contributions as a songwriter and as a musician have been essential for the Rockheads. Please tell us about your experience in that project, in which Bruce Kulick has been closely involved as well. Adam Mitchell: Well, it's been a long and winding road and, as you may know, the 1st Rockheads comic book has just been released. When Eric came up with the idea in the 1st place, he wanted to keep it entirely separate from KISS, to give it a life and identity of its own. So he asked Bruce and I to come in and help with the writing. Like everything with Eric, it was lots of fun. As I said, Eric was very, very funny and just hanging out with him was always a pleasure and working with him was too. Very easy to work with, very open to new ideas and very full of good ideas himself. Kiss Army Argentina: Now, almost magically, we find about more unreleased material from Eric: Unfinished Business is a great way of celebrating the life and work of the Fox, and once again, we see that you have collaborated in this project too. Dial L for Love means really a lot for KISS and for Erics fans: we have heard about it but we never had the opportunity to actually know the song, and now we do. Please tell us about the process of working with Eric in this song, and if the version that we will find in Unfinished Business is the original one. Adam Mitchell: As far as the song itself goes, yes that is the original. I think it was Gene who came up with the title and to be honest, I don't remember that much about the actual writing of it because we were writing so much in those days. But I think we started it, the writing of it, in Gene's house, his old house, the one that used to be on the property before he tore it down and built Casa Simmons! Kiss Army Argentina: Unfinished Business, as we said before, will be a great tribute to Eric. By the way, it is amazing how the love and admiration of Erics fans is very much alive after all these years. For instance, in Argentina, one of our great KISS tribute bands, KISSnation, has already confirmed a show to honor Erics memory. How do you feel when you remember Eric and when you see that this love of his fans is still so strong? Adam Mitchell: Well, it's fantastic for me. As I said, Eric died on my birthday and I always think of that every year when my birthday rolls around. I'm very pleased to see that his memory is still alive and that his presence is still among us. Kiss Army Argentina: How do you remember Eric? Could you please share with us a story or anecdote that you lived with him? Adam Mitchell: As you know, the 80s were the big hair decade. Gene and Paul had big hair but Eric had REALLY big hair! It used to drive Gene and Paul crazy. They were always on him, trying to get him to

-4make it just a LITTLE bit smaller. But Eric wouldn't listen. He never went anywhere without a can of hairspray! In fact, there is another great story about his hair on my website too. Another time, I was dropping him off at some girls place. His car was and being repaired or something. Anyway, he was all dressed to the max and he opened the car door and stepped out right into a pile of dog shit! Aye, was he mad. Kiss Army Argentina: Which is in your opinion, the best part of Erics legacy, both as a musician and as a person? Adam Mitchell: Well, he influenced a huge number of fans I think, not only to become better musicians but also better people. I think that's tremendously important. I always remember Eric the person more even than Eric the drummer. He was a great guy. Kiss Army Argentina: Please tell us about your current projects and your plans for the future. Adam Mitchell: Well, still writing and playing a lot. And teaching: I find I really enjoy the process of helping someone to become a better songwriter. It is great to be able to help someone's talents to really blossom; the love of music is really a wonderful thing to have in life and I'm so glad that it and Eric have been part of mine.

Interview: MARCELO GARCIA and DIEGO FERREYRA (Kiss Army Argentina) Translation: Mariana MIA Abello (Kiss Army Argentina) October 2011