Vinnie Vincent Invasion Bio

Vinnie Vincent was born Vincent Cusano to Terri and Alfonso Cusano in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1952. As he grew up, his mother sang country and his father played steel guitar. Young Vincent developed a passion for music at an early age, and was taking the guitar seriously by age ten. The 60`s saw Vinnie giving guitar lessons at a local music shop while he played in various bands. By the early 70`s, Vinnie`s dedication paid off when he landed a spot in the band `Treasure` with Felix Cavaliere, formerly of the Young Rascals. Though this band was short-lived, it gave him his first taste of success.

In the years that followed, Vinnie played guitar as a hired gun for artists such as Laura Nyro and Dan Hartman. It was during this time that Vinnie formed another short-lived band called `Warrior`, whose break-up left him fed up with his surroundings and spurred him to move to Los Angeles. Writing songs with fellow musician Adam Mitchell led to a meeting with Gene Simmons , and Vinnie soon found himself penning tunes with Gene. Ironically, during the time that Vinnie and Gene were writing for the latest Kiss album, the band was searching for a replacement for Ace Frehley. When he had finished work on `Creatures of the Night`, Vinnie left, but was soon invited to join Kiss without an audition.