That time when VITO BRATTA was courted by both OZZY OSBOURNE and KISS

Published September 18 2023 at 18:23

Guitar World magazine has published an interview with former WHITE LION guitarist Vito Bratta in which he details his close encounter with both OZZY OSBOURNE and KISS in the early 1980s.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

"Unfurling his next revelation, Bratta continues, "But that wasn't the only opportunity I had - I have to tell you about the Kiss thing that happened after Ace Frehley left the band."

Of course, we know that after Frehley exited Kiss's orbit, Richie Sambora, Doug Aldrich and Michael Kelly Smith were considered for the role before the band settled on Vinnie Vincent. But, Bratta, with his irrepressible attitude and fiery licks, was considered, too.

I knew they were there, and I just did my thing, which included walking out and doing a half-an-hour guitar solo right in front of their faces.

"My cover band had two guitar players," Bratta recalls. "There was another guy named Ace and me. He had the Ace Frehley hair and did the whole pentatonic thing. He was nothing like me [laughs]. But he did go out to California to audition when Ace [Frehley] left Kiss. And they must have liked him because when he came back to New York, Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons] showed up at the clubs we were playing to see him live."

Laughing, Bratta recalls how he not-so-subtly inserted himself into Kiss's post-Spaceman conversation.

"I guess they liked the other guy," he shrugs. "They came out to see him, right? So, I knew they were there, and I just did my thing, which included walking out and doing a half-an-hour guitar solo right in front of their faces."

Not surprisingly, Stanley and Simmons were impressed - even though Bratta was an entirely different animal than Frehley. Moreover, Vinnie Vincent had not yet polarized the duo regarding all things shred. That is to say, their minds were perhaps a bit blown.

"Long story short, I stole the show," Bratta laughs. "I get off stage, and Paul and Gene want to talk to me. They think I'd be 'perfect for Kiss,' probably because I was doing all this modern stuff they'd been missing. I was doing the tapping, and all that, which they liked. So, they said, 'Hey, we like you. We think you'd be perfect for Kiss. Would you consider playing a Les Paul?"

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Here's some vintage WHITE LION recorded live in 1988: