Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent is apparently planning to celebrate his 67th birthday at a private event for select fans in August in Nashville, Tennessee. A poster announcing the birthday bash was posted on Vinnie's official web site, along with the following caption: "Vinnie Vincent's Birthday Bash August 10th, 2019 – Nashville, TN. Stay tuned for news and event details!" A message purportedly from Vincent to his fans about the event was posted two weeks ago on Facebook. In the missive, the musician lamented the existence of "relentless Internet bullying mobs of hate-filled lunatics engaged in the systematic witch hunt to sabotage my brand name and reputation" and expressed his desire to "publicly enjoy this ride with the fans whether it's playing, recording or reconnecting with the fans." Vinnie went on to say that he was "planning some surprises" at the bash and promised that "it will be a blast." The official announcement of Vinnie's birthday party comes just a month after the cancelation of his performance at the "Speedballjamm", which was scheduled to take place on June 7 at the S.I.R. Soundstage in Nashville. Vincent's "Speedballjamm" appearance was being billed as an intimate event, with only 60 VIP tickets being made available at the cost of $300 per ticket. The performance was supposed to see Vincent backed by his handpicked musicians, Mike Weeks and Chuck White. Earlier in the year, Vinnie called off his original comeback concerts. which were supposed to take place February 8 and February 9 in Nashville, due to a dispute with the promoter. Robert Fleischman, a former member of JOURNEY and Vincent's post-KISS band VINNIE VINCENT INVASION, was supposed to sing for Vinnie but abruptly pulled out of the project in November, saying that he was unhappy about elements of the production. Derek Christopher, the promoter of Vinnie's comeback concerts, said that he was "shocked" by Vincent's decision to scrap the shows two weeks before they were scheduled to take place. Vincent's plan for his comeback has publicly changed several times. In the initial announcement, the show — which was originally slated to happen in November — was described as a true solo gig with Vinnie singing and playing songs from his career on acoustic guitar and telling stories about the old days. Last summer, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons suggested in an interview that Vincent was "his own worst enemy" and expressed his doubt that Vinnie would successfully relaunch his career. "There's something called the classic failure mechanism, which I was told by doctors and everything — I'm not saying he is one," Simmons said at the time when asked about Vincent's attempt to trademark the name "Vinnie Vincent's Kiss". "But there are people who simply cannot handle when things are starting to go their way — success — so they torpedo it by making stupid decisions to make sure they don't succeed, so they can deal with that." Vincent — who was a member of KISS when the band publicly "unmasked" in 1983 — made several public appearances last year after spending the past two decades out of the public eye. Vinnie joined KISS in 1982, replacing Ace Frehley. As the "Ankh Warrior," he toured with the group in support of "Creatures Of The Night", on which he played lead guitar on six songs prior to becoming an official member of the band.
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