After 23 years, guitarist Bruce Kulick announced he was leaving Grand Funk Railroad, with his final performance taking place on December 14 in Marietta, Ohio. Kulick has been with GFR since 2000, after performing with other artists and bands including MeatLoaf, Union, and KISS.

Kulick. who turned 70 on December 12, says that he loved performing with Grand Funk Railroad but explained how touring became too much. “I really wanted to look at what I wanted to do personally and creatively. I’ve always loved playing with Grand Funk for all of those years, but all of that travel for most weekends of every month, all year, the time involved became more and more difficult .. The band, 80% of the time, was performing on the East Coast or in the Midwest, which meant I had the longest trips of all of the guys in the band. Whenever they came out to Vegas to perform, they were aware of the trip, from the East Coast, where most of the other guys live — and then going back — how it just kicks your a**.”

However, Kulick added that he wasn’t retiring: “I’m not retiring. I just want it only to be about my legacy, my career and everything that means something to me. I mean, my Kiss fans have been amazing. They love my era. It’s just remarkable that I was involved with a band with that kind of fame and that kind of influence on the youth. Every generation going from there, that they haven’t forgotten me at all is wonderful … For me, I want to celebrate my years, but tell the backstory. I’d like to get into the things that only if you were there you could describe. For example, what it was like to be at a video shoot for 12 hours with Eric Carr doing ‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You II.’”

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