Letters

It is hard to believe that it has been 9 years since Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer became the current, and permanent, members of Kiss. Both had been temporary members of the band prior to 2003. Singer returned to the band at the end of 2003 after Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley opted not to renew Peter Criss' contract. In 2009 both men played and sang on the Kiss album �Sonic Boom�, the first studio album to feature the current line-up. Usually the original line up of a band are the ones that fans identify with the most as those members are the force that founded the music they love. Those founding members did all the �grunt� work to make it in the music industry. They were the ones who made the initial connection with the masses and also shaped the sound that we now hear. Unfortunately there sometimes comes a time when a band starts to have issues internally. They never usually bubble to the surface right away, as the band will try to keep things amongst themselves at first but these things tend to never go well. After months of stress between the band members, it will hit a breaking point and we have three possible scenarios: 1. The band continues on unhappily, 2. The band breaks up, or 3. There is a shake-up of the line up as new members are brought in. I personally prefer to see a band at least attempt to bring in some new blood to salvage what they had created. I know there are some people who will not agree with me but why have a band disappear if you can get some hungry musicians in there who can make it work. I definitely appreciate the original Kiss line up, as they were something special. However, Kiss has had multiple line-up changes over the years and I can honestly say that I have never taken issue with anyone who has ever been in the band, they each added something unique to it. Eric and Tommy both have added a new life to Kiss and the band gets along a lot better now. I have been a supporter of Tommy Thayer�s since he joined Kiss. He had a history with the band and was actually the person who taught Ace Frehley his solos for the Reunion Tour as Ace could not remember them. He was given an opportunity to step into the biggest band in the world when Ace, once again, wanted to leave Kiss. By saying yes, he willingly walked into a very tough position for he knew how some of the fans would react. Each new member brings the possibility of a band creating a new chapter and also some new music that we may not have had the opportunity to hear if the change did not happen. We can either be a fan with a closed mind and never accept change in any form, or we can look at the band over-all and be willing to see it evolve as it carries on making music we love. Source: Jason Huskins, Random Rants, 08/12/2012.