Created and maintained by Ken Rodenas

Very few people have the opportunity to pick the great guitarists they want to play with, but fans do get opportunities to obtain a pick that has been played with by a great guitarist. Below is a reference guide to the various guitar picks used over the years by Bruce Kulick.

 

Koolick's is my word play on is last name and the "cool licks" he lays down on guitar..

 

Official Tour Picks

 
KISS: Animalize Tour 1984-1985

 

 

KISS called upon Bruce just before the Animalize tour to fill in when guitarist Mark St. John came down with Reitter's Syndrome. Not knowing which guitarist would appear on stage, and since Bruce was initially just a guest touring musician, his signature did not appear on the picks. By December, Bruce fit in so well he became the guitarist for KISS for the next 12 years. And by Spring 1985, he had his first signature pick.

 

KISS: Asylum Tour 1985-1986

 

 

Bruce is now an official member of KISS. The brown version of this pick was only used for a few limited dates on the tour. It is so rare, he did not even remember it and had to be shown photos 30 years later to prove their existence.

 

KISS: Crazy Nights Tour 1987-88

 

 

This same design would later be resurrected for the Hot In The Shade tour.
 

 



A rare silver version used on some of the last shows of the tour in the UK.

 
KISS: Hot In The Shade Tour 1990

 

 

Re-printed design from Crazy Nights tour.  Note the logo sits higher on the pick and is a brighter shade of gold.

 

KISS: Revenge Club Tour 1992

 

In support of the album, KISS played 20 specially selected club gigs in various cities around the US and UK prior to embarking on their world tour. This is the first time his natural signature appeared on a pick.

 

KISS: Revenge Tour 1992-1994

 

 

 

Also known as the "arena" tour. Due to an accidental variation in the color of the white celluloid, a more cream colored/off-white version exists in addition to the traditional white and mustard yellow picks.

 
KISS: Conventions & MTV Unplugged 1995

 

 

 

In reaction to the successful fan-based expos, KISS decided to stage their own conventions, where they stripped down and played their songs purely acoustic. This of course culminated in the now famous MTV Unplugged special.

 
UNION 1997-2001

 

After leaving KISS, Bruce teamed up with frontman John Corabi to form Union. Together with Brent Fitz on drums and James Hunting on bass they formed something powerful, magical and unique.

Union toured sporadically, but did not really have tour names or tie their schedule to specific album releases. As far as I can tell, Bruce started with black print and went to silver print. Note that his first picks did not have the Union diamonds in the logo.

Union's first tour kicked was in 1998, with the band going on hiatus after playing Sweden in 2000. Though a few one-off appearances occurred after Sweden, no new picks were made for those limited shows.

 
Grand Funk Railroad 2002 (Prototypes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first attempt to use the Grand Funk logo was a little too busy, resulting in the modified, simpler version commissioned below (2002-2004).

 


 

 

 

 

 

The second attempt used this modified, simpler version of the Grand Funk logo. Ultimately, the logo work would be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise in the final approved version of the tour picks.

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2002-2004

 

 

 

Although Bruce joined Grand Funk Railroad at the end of 2000, he did not have custom picks until the beginning of 2002.

 
Grand Funk Railroad 2005-2006

 

 

The initial artwork Bruce initially hoped to use back in 2002 was perfected, making these look very sharp! If you notice, Bruce also used a different variation of his signature with these picks compared to his first GFR picks.

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2006-2008

 

 

 

 

New colors and the block print logo in white print this time around.

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2008-2009

 

 

 

 

Two new pick colors in the block print logo with gold print this time.

 
Grand Funk Railroad 2010-2012

 

 

 

Transparent blue replaced white on the pick color palette and silver foil print replaced the gold foil of the previous set.

 
Kulick & Gava Live on Tour 2011

 

 

Bruce played a couple of dates on March 11th in Buenos Aires and March 12 in Rosario with his friend, Sebastian Gava.

They played songs from each of their respective solo albums and some KISS classics.

 
Grand Funk Railroad 2012-2013

 

 

 

New graphics featuring The American Band slogan and Uncle Sam "I Want You" hand.

 
Grand Funk Railroad 2013-2014

 

 

 

 

Grand Funk shortened to GFR on these red, white and blue pearl picks.

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2015-2016

 

 

 

Two different logos. The first 3 came out in early 2015. The second much later in the year.

 
Grand Funk Railroad 2017-2018

 

 

 

Font changes to both the GFR logo on the front and the Kulick.net font on the back. These would be the last of the .net picks, as .com would kick in by 2019.

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2019

 

 

 

 

First full, multi-color print picks for Bruce.

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2020

 

 

 

Red font replaced the yellow from previous year and 50th Anniversary replaced by Some Kind of Wonderful.  Also a dedicated Some Kind of Wonderful pick. Both because the year's tour was named Some Kind of Wonderful after the iconic song.

 

 

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2021

 

 

 

The pearl pick is an exact re-issue of the 2020 version.  The solid white Some Kind of Wonderful pick had "TOUR 2020" removed. It is also printed in a slightly darker red, though that was not intentional.

 

 

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2022



The classic logo over the US flag. Printed on white pearl, this pick screams "We're an American Band'!

 

 

Grand Funk Railroad 2023

 

Go see Bruce on tour with Grand Funk Railroad and you just may catch one of these brand new designs!

This design makes you want to do the Locomotion.
 Note the change in signature midway through the year. The one furthest left used the first half of the year and the rest the second half of the year.

 
The Holy Grail!

 

If you've made it this far down the page, you must be a serious pick collector! Although Bruce certainly has used many of the picks shown above, THIS is what Bruce plays with most...a generic .73MM Dunlop nylon pick.

 

Novelty and Promotional Picks

 

Please visit BruceKulick.com for all the latest news on Bruce and

check out his Shop to see which of these items are still available.

 

Musicade Promotional Picks

 

 

 

These picks were sold through magazines in the mid-1980s. The signatures are upside down from the logos on the other side.

 

Dutch Fan Club Pick

 

 

This pick is from a Dutch fan club in the mid to late 1980s called Kiss Army Explorer.

 
ESP Guitars


These picks were made for handouts at the annual NAMM conventions (with the exception of the green one, which started off as an accident. The pick company used the ESP Guitars logo instead of the Eric Singer Project logo. Since Bruce endorses ESP guitars, they just let him have the picks). There are different plastics, different size picks and different size logos used over the years. Also, the E in ESP is different on the Japanese versions from the American versions due to a copyright in Japan on the speaker in the E by Electrovoice.

 

Return of the Comet

 

 

Promotional pick for the 1997 tribute album to Ace Frehley.

 
Eric Singer Project

 

Promotional pick for the 1998 "Lost and Spaced" album. Incidentally, this is the pick they were supposed to be making when the green ESP Guitars pick mentioned above was made.

 

Unholy Down Under

 

 

 

Oversized promotional pick (5" x 3") from 1996 to commemorate the Unholy Down Under featuring Bruce and Eric Singer. It was a series of clinics and jams in Australia in the wake of the KISS make-up reunion of the original 4 members.

 
I Walk Alone

 

 

 

Oversized promotional picks (5" x 3") from 1998 to commemorate the release of the Carnival of Souls album featuring Bruce on vocals on "I Walk Alone". The black one is silver foil print. Both are blank on the back.

 
Audiodog

 

 

 

Promotional pick for Bruce's 2001 solo album, Audiodog. The dog reference is to Bruce's dog, Joe.

 
Transformer

 

 

 

Promotional picks for Bruce's 2003 solo album, Transformer.

 

KKB 1974

 

 

 

Promotional picks for Bruce's 2008 release of KKB, which features music recorded back in 1974!

 
BK3







 

 

 

 

 

Promotional picks for Bruce's 2009 solo album, BK3.

Style 1 came out in 2009 in 18 different colors. Some were printed in gold, some on silver and some in black. The inspiration for the logo work on this one is drawn from the Australian EP pre-release.








 

 

 









 

 

 



Style 2 came out in 2010 in 6 different colors, all with gold print. These utilize the font from the full BK3 release on both sides of the picks.




 

 

 

 



Style 3 came out in 2011 in the same 6 colors as style 2, but this time with silver foil print. These utilize the cool font from the full BK3 release on both sides of the picks.

 
Joe the Audiodog 16th Birthday Party 2011

 

 

Bruce had very limited quantity special picks made to celebrate the 16th birthday of the one and only "Joe the Audiodog."  Due to overwhelming popularity the extras were sold, with part of the proceeds from each sale donated to the Pet Adoption Fund in California, where Bruce adopted Joe.

 

Bruce & Lisa's Wedding Picks

 

 

 

 

Given out as table favors and in gift bags at Bruce and Lisa's reception on January 4, 2014.

 

Bruce Kulick Model Guitar - Rock N' Roll Relics

 

These were available with Bruce's BK Model guitar produced by Rock N' Roll Relics, which was sold exclusively online by Rebel Guitars (2014 debut).

 
BK3 Vinyl

 

 

 

 

Promotional picks for the 2015 vinyl release of BK3. One random color included in each album.

 
KKB Got To Get Back

 

Promotional pick for the 2015 Got To Get Back re-mastered release from KKB, Bruce's first band. One pick included in each CD.

 

Personal Appearances 2016-2018

 

 

 

First personal picks not tied to a band or specific CD. Used during personal appearances.

 

Crazy Nights 30th Anniversary

These were packaged in 2017 with full and miniature replicas of his banana ESP M-1 guitar featured in the recording and album artwork for Crazy Nights.

Fan designed pick after his famous Radioactive suit from the tour. Sold in 2018 as part of a pick pack along with a stage photo in that suit.

 

BK3 Red Vinyl Re-Issue

Fan designed pick after his famous Radioactive suit from the tour. Sold in 2018 as part of a pick pack along with a stage photo in that suit.

 

Asylum Multi-Swirl

These 2019 picks were packaged with full and miniature replicas of his multi-swirl ESP M-1 guitar featured on the Asylum tour and in the “Who Wants To Be Lonely” video.

 

2019 Animalize 35th Anniversary

 

Tin and set of 4 picks to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Animalize, where Bruce played on two songs as a ghost musician and toured in place of Mark St. John to earn a permanent spot in KISS.

 

2020 Asylum 35th Anniversary

 

Tin and set of 4 picks to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Asylum, Bruce's official first full album with KISS.

 
12/31/20 New Year's Eve KLA Auction

Bruce held a small online auction on 12/31/20 of KISS memorabilia he'd collected over the years. A fun way to have a COVID-safe socially distant interaction with the fans and also place some of these special items in fans' hands to enjoy.

 
2021 Valentine's KLA Auction

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held a small online auction on 02/14/21 of KISS memorabilia he'd collected over the years and artwork mde by Lisa. A fun way to have a COVID-safe socially distant interaction with the fans and also place some of these special items in fans' hands to enjoy.

 
 
2021 KISS Kruise X Merch pack

This pick pack of Bruce Kulick and the Vegas Mob was sold at the merch booth on KISS Kruise X.

   
 
12/31/21 New Year's Eve KLA Auction

Bruce held an online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 12/31/21 consisting of KISS memorabilia he'd collected over the years and personalized autographed items. A fun way to have a COVID-safe socially distant interaction with the fans and also place some of these special items in fans' hands to enjoy.

 
02/14/2022 Valentine's KLA Auction

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held a fun online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 02/14/22 of KISS memorabilia he'd collected over the years and artwork made by Lisa. A fun way to have a COVID-safe, socially distant interaction with the fans and also place some of these special items in fans' hands to enjoy.

 
 
2022 Revenge 30th Anniversary

 

Tin and set of 4 picks to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Revenge, Bruce's favorite album with KISS.

 
2022 Creatures Fest VIP

Bruce was a featured guest at the Memorial Day weekend event featuring the four living ex-members of KISS. The promoters of the event had a set of picks made for the buyers of various VIP packages. This was the one they made of Bruce.

 
07/05/2022 Red, White and Bruce KLA Auction

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held a fun online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 07/05/22 deemed Red, White and Bruce for the 4th of July holiday.

 
2022 Kulick's Pancake Recipes

Bruce and Lisa created this promo pick for their KulicksPancakeRecipes.com website.

 
2022 Kulick's French Toast Recipes

Bruce and Lisa created these promo picks for their KulicksFrenchToast Recipes.com website.

 

Crazy Nights 35th Anniversary 2022

 

Tin and set of 4 picks to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Crazy Nights album and tour. The gold and silver on white picks represent the colors of the tour picks and his radioactive suit and Eric Carr's iconic chikara drum decals also represented.

 
12/31/22 New Years Eve Weekend Experience

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, hosted a weekend of activities to celebrate the new year. These picks were included in the gift bags given to the attendees.
02/14/2023 Valentine's KLA Auction

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held their 3rd annual Valentine's Day online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 02/14/23.

 
05/29/2023 Memorial Day KLA Auction

2023 KISS Live Auction Memorial Day picks

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held a Memorial Day online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 05/29/23. The theme of these picks is to honor the 30th anniversary of the Alive III tour. These are the first picks to feature his new stacked two-line signature.

 
12/12/2023 70th Birthday Party Favors

2023 70th birthday party favor picks

Bruce's wife, Lisa, threw a 70th birthday party dinner for their closest friends. These picks were given out as party favors. The white pick is very Las Vegas. The blue pick is a modern take on his 2009 Style 1 BK3 pick.

 
02/14/2024 Valentine's KLA Auction

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held their 4th annual Valentine's Day online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 02/14/24.

 

2024 Personal Appearances

 

 

 

Second set of personal picks not tied to a band or specific CD. Used during personal appearances.

The first two with the black signatures were made in teh Spring. When those ran out by October, the red signature was made.

 
07/04/2024 Red, White and Bruce II KLA Auction

Bruce and his wife, Lisa, held a fun online auction at the KISS Live Auctions Facebook group on 07/04/24 deemed Red, White and Bruce II for the 4th of July holiday.

 
2024 Kulick's Cookie Recipes

Bruce and Lisa created these picks to promote their KulicksCookieRecipes.com website.

 

2024 Hot In The Shade 35th Anniversary

 

Tin and set of 4 picks to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Hot In The Shade album. The gold on white picks represent the colors of the tour picks. Leo the sphinx from the album cover and stage, the tour shirts sold at merch and the postage cancellation from the album cover also all symbolized in this set.

 

 

Please visit BruceKulick.com for all the latest news on Bruce and

check out his Shop to see which of these items are still available.

 
 

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