Paul Stanley recalls Eddie Van Halen suggesting KISS hire Mr. Mister’s Steve Farris to replace Ace Frehley

Paul Stanley recalls Eddie Van Halen suggesting KISS hire Mr. Mister’s Steve Farris to replace Ace Frehley

The KISS Kruise VIII continues and video footage (see below) has surfaced of KISS frontman Paul Stanley answering a question from a fan while on the cruise regarding whether Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen almost joined KISS.

Stanley stated (as transcribed by Sleaze Roxx): “No. No, Eddie Van Halen did not almost join KISS. Eddie was down in the studio. I think there was some strife within the band [Van Halen] and at that point, for him, and Eddie came down just to see what was going on. And I remember he was really blown away by the solo in [the song] “Creatures [Of The Night].” He said, ‘Get that guy.’ That guy who played the solo in “Creatures” was a guy named Steve Farris, who was in a band called Mr. Mister, who had a bunch of hits. But the guitar player was great. And at that point, Eddie was getting into keyboards. And I remember he brought some, some tapes of some of the songs he was working on. And it was, like, this guy is this unbelievable guitar player. I was like ‘Eddie, what are you doing on keyboards?’ But that was the start of “Jump” and all that other stuff that came afterwards. But Eddie was never going to join KISS and was never almost in KISS.”

In an article on Metal Talk titled “Undiscovered KISStory – The KISS guitarist auditions of 1982 Part 1 … And the mystery wow who actually played guitar on the Creatures Of The Night album“, Farris‘ KISS “audition” is discussed as the article states:

“It’s long been known that Steve Farris of Mr Mister fame, recorded some of the guitars on the ‘Creatures of the Night‘ album, including the solo on the title track. It was uncertain though if he had actually auditioned live with the band and been considered for the job or if like Bob Kulick, he was just a studio player as far as the band were concerned.

Paul Stanley cleared up that mystery in his autobiography ‘Face the Music‘. He tells how Eddie Van Halen “came down to the studio one day… he listened to some of the stuff we had including a solo on the title track by Steve Farris.

“‘Why don’t you get that guy?’ asked Eddie. He was blown away. The fact was we had rehearsed with Farris but the fit hadn’t been right.”

Farris of course went on to success with Mr Mister including two US number one hit singles (‘Kyrie’ and ‘Broken Wings’) and a matching number one album (‘Welcome to the Real World’). As session player he has since played in the studio for Tori Amos, Belinda Carlisle and Diana Ross and on tour with Whitesnake in 1997.”

Video of Paul Stanley at KISS Kruise VIII answering question about Eddie Van Halen:

Paul Stanley on “Did Eddie Van Halen Almost Join KISS?” KISS Kruise VIII

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