ROCK GODS KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer is proud of Scottish roots
BY CHRIS SWEENEY / www.TheScottishSun.co.uk
The axe-wielding black-and-white knight is gearing up for the superstar band�s latest spectacular world tour.
Speaking to The Scottish Sun from his Los Angeles home, rock god Tommy says: �Being in KISS is absolutely as good as you�d imagine. And I�m not just saying that.
�I�ve been so fortunate to play lead guitar for one of the biggest rock groups in history � and you cannot find anything wrong with that.
�I wake up every morning thinking the same thing, �I�m a lucky son of a bitch�.�
Tommy is counting down the days until the face-painted warriors � who have sold more than 100million albums � hit The SSE Hydro in Glasgow in May.
And as he gets read to wow his Scots fans, he spoke fondly of his Celtic heritage.
He says: �The Scottish fans are dear to our hearts. Glasgow is going to be a fantastic show.
�And I have Scottish roots. My mother�s family is from Scotland.
�We are Cunninghams. My understanding is that my family fled Scotland as they were horse thieves.
�So they had to run away to the new world.
�I�m pretty much one of you. Maybe a few other things mixed in here and there but I�m Scottish deep down.�
The gig here will also allow Tommy to indulge one of his unlikely passions � art collecting.
He�s got right into Scots landscape painter Scott Naismith, who studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee.
Tommy, 56, explains: �I saw some of his paintings at the LA art show last year and I got a hold of him.
�I didn�t even know he was Scottish at the time. He�s a beautiful painter. So I�m going to buy a couple of his paintings when I come over at this studio � and he�s going to come to the show too.
�I haven�t met him yet, so I�m looking forward to meeting him properly. His work is a little abstract. He uses beautiful bright colours which really appeals to me. I collect art a bit, I enjoy that kind of stuff.�
Tommy admits people are surprised that he�s not all sex, drugs and rock �n� roll.
He says: �I�ve got a little sophisticated side to me. Not bad for a rock �n� roll guitar player, huh?
�Some people think, �What�s with this guy?� when they know I�m into art and like to play golf. I�m also into fine wine.
�But don�t forget, I like to rock like the best of them. I like to live a little on the edge, get out and party a little bit.
�I enjoy the women of course. But I�ve never been out of control and doing drugs. That would compromise who I am and what I do. I like to be a good, solid person and do the right things.�
Playing golf seems to a recurring theme for lots of hard rockers. Alice Cooper is a fanatic and Bon Jovi�s Tico Torres is also an avid player.
Tommy says: �I love golf. I haven�t golfed in Scotland � I have played in Ireland and England.
