Bruce Kulick explains what happened with blackjack
[ad_1]
Bruce Kulick reflected on what went wrong with Blackjack, the group he formed with Michael bolton in 1979.
The band existed for about a year and released two albums during that time, while touring nationally. But in a new interview with Rolling stone, Grand Funk Railroad and the former student of Kiss Kulick said they had been misdirected by their record company.
Recalling that he had recently left Meat Loaf’s group, he continued: “At that time, Michael Bolotin – [his name] at the time – gets this fantastic opportunity. He went on a solo recording deal, and the people around him at the label wanted a band. The bands were better than the solo artists. That’s when he reached out to guys he loved. We had a great bass player with Jimmy Haslip, an amazing guy who won a Grammy for jazz fusion groups. He was our John Paul Jones. And then Sandy Gennaro, a great drummer from Staten Island, worked really hard. He loved Led Zeppelin and all that. We were definitely in love with that kind of big British blues-rock, that kind of band and Bad Company. “
Even though the label “poured a lot of money” into Blackjack’s self-titled debut album, Kulick noted, “I remember when it came out, the # 1 album that killed it all was Breakfast in America by Supertramp. It wasn’t exactly rock’n’roll that we were doing. He added: “[T]record label hat, Polydor, they got him so excited we didn’t get a chance to get out the door. They put so much money and hype into it, but the phones didn’t ring with the songs. All we could do was guess. âDid we choose the wrong single? Did we not have the right tour? “
He argued that everything had worked out for the best, however. “And then Michael went solo and changed his name to Bolton. I’m working again and recording with him. Now we’re recording with Bob Seger. Who is Bob Seger’s drummer? Don Brewer from Grand Funk Railroad⦠Everything fits together.
Kulick briefly worked with Billy Squier in 1980, but ended up with mixed loyalties as Blackjack tried to save their future. As a result, he could only watch sideways as Squier became “a quadruple platinum number 1 artist.” But he continued, âThen I realized if I was loyal to Billy instead of Blackjack, I might not have had the opportunity to get the Kiss gig. That’s why often times, when a door closes, you never really know what the full picture is until a certain time has passed.
Watch the Blackjack âLove Me Tonightâ Video
Top 100 rock albums from the 80s
UCR takes a chronological look at the top 100 rock albums of the 80s.
[ad_2]