Letters

I bought CREATURES OF THE NIGHT the day it was released. On my way to the record store I was thinking two things: This album better be heavy. And, I hope it has at LEAST two kick ass guitar solos. This is what we needed from KISS to get people to start talking about them again, in a good way. Heavy, to regain some credibility with the heavier-is-better crowd. Many of whom had turned their backs on KISS from DYNASTY through THE ELDER. Two kick ass guitar solos, to get people talking about what a great guitarist Ace was. During this time period if you mentioned a bands name, people would often judge the band by their lead guitarists solos. Example: If you were to mention OZZY, people would not talk about OZZY they would talk about Randy Rhoads. Van Halen? Eddie. AC/DC? Angus. And, so forth. The lead guitarist was king. I wanted a heavy album with guitar solos that would floor people. To say, �See, the KISS you loved is back and Ace is tearing it up.� Something I could play once and they would talk about it with other people. I may have only been sixteen at the time. But, I was smarter than the average Yogi. I knew Peoria, Illinois, the city where I lived, was a major test market. If it played in Peoria it would play anywhere. I knew people who mattered paid attention to what was going on there. I also knew that if this album delivered the goods, Peoria was the place where KISS fans needed to put forth the extra effort to help it succeed. This was something we took very seriously. The album delivered, sort of. It was heavy, but there were no guitar solos of the kind I had in mind. However, every song was a song I could play at a party and proudly announce it was KISS, even �I Still Love You�. I could tell it was recorded with the meters hitting into the red (red lighting). As an audiophile it bothered the crap out of me. It was nearly impossible to equalize properly, even if you had top of the line stereo equipment. But, I understood why it was recorded that way. To put the emphasis on �heavy� and �loud�. �War Machine� was my instant favorite. It described the way I felt inside as a KISS fan who had plans to �turn the tides�. I came up with a plan. I had been buying rock magazines for years. I had hundreds of them. I would read them cover to cover. I learned everything there was to know about every band there was in those magazines. I also had a huge record collection. Like I said, I was only sixteen, but I had over 400 albums and 600 singles at this point. My dad gave me my first record collection, a collection of 45�s, when I was three as he was moving out of the house. Other kids in the neighborhood my age would be listening to Disney records. I was jamming out on The Kinks, The Hollies, Elvis, The Beatles and so forth. Over the years I�d pick up albums at yard sales. I would buy everything musically and sample songs on albums looking for hidden gems. What this meant was: With the magazines and the albums, I usually knew more about someone else�s favorite band than they did! KISS gave me what I needed with COTN to start winning people back one at a time. In a place where it mattered most, Peoria. Here�s how it worked: Step 1: I would have a friend come over and mention the new KISS album. They would tell me they didn�t like KISS anymore. I would ask them who they did like. They would tell me. I would tell them, �Oh, I like that band, too. Look, I have some/all of their albums.� , �Did you know that band opened for KISS?�, �Did you know that band has named KISS as an influence?�, �Did you know the people in that band are KISS fans?� and things like that. And, I would whip out a rock magazine, or magazines, to prove it. Step 2: I would then take the time to listen to their favorite song from their favorite band with them. Maybe even a few songs. We�d talk about those songs and I would say, �You know, you�d probably like this new KISS song. It is similar to song X (one of the songs we just listened to).� I would play a song from COTN and the reaction would usually be, �WOW! That�s KISS? Let me hear some other songs.� I�d play more songs and they would start telling me how much of a KISS fan they used to be and how they had KISS ALIVE II and DESTROYER and so on. Mission accomplished. From this point forward I made it a point to get the records of any band who mentioned KISS as an influence in a rock magazine. These bands and the people in them were part of the KISS Army, an extension, the way I saw it. We�d support newer bands, like Motley Crue and Metallica, before they hit it big. It didn�t just happen. We knew what we were doing. We were building a KISS legacy. Through the struggle of the DYNASTY - THE ELDER period KISS fans had learned something very important, stick together. Supporting new bands who were influenced by KISS was us supporting fellow KISS fans. I remember some of my friends telling me about Black N� Blue. How great they were and how they were KISS fans. Some of those same friends now are down on Tommy Thayer. This is one reason why I�ve been telling my stories in letters. To support Tommy. I see what Tommy and Eric do as honoring Ace and Peter. Since this was an important time period and so much happened it is impossible to say everything in one letter about COTN.