Shea discussed the band’s experience working with different guitarists and how they came close to having Vincent as a permanent member before KISS intervened.
“We played with Yngwie, did more of the classical Michael Schenker kind of heavy rock kind of stuff. Second album was Steve Vai, and Steve brought a different flavor to the music, which was really cool. We lost Steve Daily Roth. I mean, David could get anybody on Earth to be in his band at that point at Van Halen. He picked our guy,” Shea said.
The bassist then explained how they initially connected with Vinnie Vincent through Gene Simmons’ recommendation.
“And prior to that, Jimmy and I would have been playing with Vinnie Vincent before we started. He was working with KISS and co-writing with them. And New England lost its guitar player, and Gene Simmons said, ‘You should check out this guy, Vinnie, we’re working with in LA. He’s a great guitar player, a great writer, a great singer, but he’s too short to be in KISS. You guys can have him,'” he continued.
Shea described how the collaboration with Vincent developed and ultimately ended when KISS decided to bring him back.
“So we sent a tape to Boston, and we had a bunch of guys at that point who were auditioning. And he sent us a really great tape. We thought it was cool music. We learned his stuff as well, which blew his mind. We got to play our stuff and auditioned for us. And then we played his demo tape, and he couldn’t believe it because, man, I can’t find anybody in LA who plays like you guys. So we decided the best way to keep the New England thing going was to start a whole new band with Vinnie,” Shea explained.
“So we just locked the apartment I had for like 10 years and never saw it again, and moved to Los Angeles, sight unseen, let’s do it. And that went along for about two months, and all was going pretty well with that. And then the guys in KISS decided Vinnie could be in the band and offer him a deal you couldn’t refuse. So we lost Vinnie to KISS, and we lost Steve Vai to David Lee Roth.”
The bassist also defended Vincent’s abilities as a guitarist despite later criticism.
“Vinnie is a great guitar player. Later on, when he had his Invasion thing, and he kind of went off the deep end with that, with the shredding thing and stuff, he kind of lost what he had. He had a really cool Jeff Beck style. He’s a great guitar player. And a lot of people out there say all these horrible things about him, and they disparage him and whatever. And it’s like, it’s just unfair because the guy’s, I think the guy’s a great guitar player. Never not just changed my mind on that. So we moved on and Alcatraz hired Danny Johnson from Rod Stewart’s band. Rod Stewart’s band to be in the third album, which we did. It was just a different change of change up the vibes, a little less on the shredding thing, a little more on songs. And that was that.”
This story reflects the complex musical journey that led to Alcatrazz’s formation and the band’s ability to adapt despite losing key musicians to bigger opportunities.
New England released three albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Shea and keyboardist Jimmy Waldo briefly played in a band called Warrior with Vincent before eventually forming Alcatrazz. This intermediate project served as a bridge between their New England days and the formation of their more famous heavy metal outfit.
The name “Alcatrazz” itself has an interesting origin story. Shea coined the band name with a deliberate extra “z” to avoid trademark issues with Alcatraz Island while aiming for an “A” name like AC/DC. The creative spelling helped distinguish the band while maintaining the powerful imagery associated with the famous prison.
Alcatrazz’s official biography confirmed that the heavy metal band was officially formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by Jimmy Waldo, Gary Shea, and Graham Bonnet. Both Shea and Waldo were former members of the melodic rock band New England. This formation came after their brief stint with Vincent fell through due to KISS’s intervention.
The band’s ability to attract and work with world-class guitarists became a defining characteristic of Alcatrazz, after the Warrior project ended, Shea went on to form Alcatrazz, which featured several big-name guitarists during their run, including Yngwie Malmsteen. This made the band a launching pad for some of the most talented musicians in heavy metal.
Courtesy of Kiss Army Pavia