KISSin leads to Marriage.....
I am a huge KISS fan, and so is My husband Barry. I am American from Kentucky and he is British from Kent, England but living in Wales. 4000 miles apart but KISS brought us together. We met in the chat room on KISSONLINE back in late 2001. We chatted and became friends, Barry was known as A KISS ELDER and I was Babydoll. We met a lot of fellow KISS fans and made new friends, but we sensed there was something more between us. We talked in the chat room and then on messenger and got to know each other better. We exchanged photos and sent a couple of letters in the mail. We did voice chat so we could hear each other's accents and also phone calls when money allowed. Barry said we should meet, I said yes we should. So I said well I can come over... The thing was, I had no passport and had never even been on a plane before! I am from a tiny town in Kentucky, called Brownsville. People there just generally don't travel far, especially my family. I was 24 and falling in love so I said SURE I will come over. So I had to get a passport and book plane tickets and face airports and travelling alone.. a totally new experience. I was not scared or nervous particularly, though my family were and didn't want me to go. I knew Barry was a great guy, even though we had yet to see each other in person. So I booked tickets and planned for 2 weeks in the UK. My Son, Joshua was 7 at the time and he stayed with his Dad.
My Dad drove me to the airport and had tears in his eyes as I walked through to Security.. I was just excited because Barry meant so much to me. I didn't really think to be nervous..it never occured to me! The plane ride from Nashville to Philadelphia wasn't that long, but walking around the airport was a bit daunting as it was so big! But I found where I was going and had no problems. I then boarded the plane for Manchester, England. The flight was long and I was too excited to think of sleep! I was hearing everyone's accents and they were hearing my Southern drawl..I felt a bit conspicuous! But I was so looking forward to seeing Barry. We had chatted for several months and this was what we had been waiting for. I arrived at the gate and he was there, looking great in his leather jacket. I just walked right up to him and we kissed and kissed. I had 2 great weeks in the UK, we did some sight seeing and went out to eat and mostly just spent all our time together. When it was time for me to return to the US, Barry said he didn't want me to go... Ever. So I went back for 3 weeks, sorted out my affairs, and came back.. that was June 2002 and I have been here ever since. My son Josh, didn't want to move abroad and leave his Dad and grandparents, friends or school.. So as much as it hurt me, I had to respect what he wanted and he stayed with his Dad. (It is something I still have trouble dealing with, but he is a wonderful young man and we have a great relationship.)
I had to sort out all my Visas and such and we decided to get married! So as our first meeting in person was on May 25, 2002, we decided to get married on May 24, 2003. We had a lovely wedding and a short stay in Scotland for a honeymoon.
Barry had seen KISS in concert many times, but I had never had the chance. So when we found out they were playing Download Festival at Donington, we had to get tickets!!! That was my first time seeing KISS live and they blew me away!! We had managed to get ourselves very close to the front, about 3 rows back in a huge crowd of about 60,000. It was tremendous and I don't think I stopped screaming through the whole show! I couldn't wait to see them again. We found that DRESSED TO KILL the KISS Tribute band (The World's Longest running..20 years and counting) were playing within driving distance of us and decided to check them out. They are phenomenal and really do KISS proud. We met them and have been lucky enough to become friends with them. They give us a great KISS fix to keep us going!
In August 2009, Barry and I welcomed our first baby together, a little girl named Nia Starr. She is a true Starr and loves to rock and roll (sometimes all night!) She has KISS tee shirts and little onesies too and always loves to hear KISS music. We are training her up right!
When it was announced that KISS were playing the UK in 2010, we KNEW we had to see them as much as we could. Sadly, Barry lost his Father, whom he was extremely close to, in late 2009 and was still feeling the depression and grief. But he said to me, we should do a Meet and Greet, it is a once in a lifetime experience and we should live life to the fullest.. So we looked into the Meet and Greet Experience. But with a new baby and all the bills we had inherited with the house after we lost my Father in law, we just couldn't afford to pay for the Meet and Greet. So we said we would go for the Premium Ticket package as 2 people from each show would be upgraded, and who knows we may get lucky. Either way, we would have front row seats and a fantastic show! So when I got the email confirmation saying we had MEET AND GREET I nearly passed out!!! I couldn't believe it.
We saw KISS in Liverpool on May 4th and were blown away, it was a smaller venue and not sold out, but a killer show and really whetted our appetites for our Meet and Greet in 6 days time......
So the day finally arrives for our Meet and Greet, May 10, 2010 in Manchester, England. We got lost trying to find the Arena.. we parked in a car park that was at least half a mile away though we didn't realize it...We had been told on email to meet at the Box office at 6pm and don't be late..Well we were late. The parking attendant said the arena was a 5 or 10 minute walk away... well it was now 10 minutes til 6......so we said are you sure? He said oh yes you will make it. So we paid our £10 to park and started looking for the arena. It was VERY far.. and we had to RUN... Thank Goodness I hadn't worn the heels I had worn to Liverpool or there is NO way I could have run! So we RAN..and then we finally got to the Arena.. only to be told the box office was in the train station.....more running and stairs.. At least I was getting my exercise..for the MONTH!! We found the window for the Premium ticket packages and checked in. The lady gave us Early Entry passes and told us that Dean Snowden (whom we were told to meet at 6) was around someplace and just wait and he would be back. So we found him, told him we were for Meet and Greet but sorry we had been late. He said we already have everyone for the Meet and Greet.. and I said.no.. WE are for Meet and Greet and showed him email and waiver form we had signed. He looked at them and said ok, and gave us our wristbands and Meet and Greet passes. I asked if there was a problem and he said not anything you have done, not your fault, you get to meet the band so you are good. Woohoo..we were in! So we had an hour to wait. We had some food and texted friends to say where we were and what time we were going to meet KISS. It was so exciting. We met up with our friends in DRESSED TO KILL who were in full makeup and costume and then went to wait for our escort backstage!
We were ushered down a corridor to wait, everyone was smiling and chatty and excited to meet KISS. of course! So we waited there a few minutes and then we were taken to a room with a backdrop that said Sonic Boom.. wow, we would be meeting KISS in a few minutes and have our photos taken right there!! The atmosphere was one of excitement, I suppose there were 25 or 30 people there so it was not as big as I had expected. We waited and at one point everyone went quiet.. you could hear a pin drop for just a minute... and soon KISS walked in! Everyone cheered and screamed and whistled! Wow, there they were, our musical heroes, the reason that Barry and I were together, the reason we have our Beautiful little Starr.. They were stood right in front of us, in full makeup and costume and it was breathtaking...........
We waited our turn for our photos to be taken, and I walked over to hug Tommy and then Paul.. I showed them an 8x10 photo of Starr in her KISS tee shirt and they all oohed and aahed... Paul asked how old she is and what her name is. I said Starr and he liked that. We took a photo or 2 and I moved to stand in front of Eric, I asked him if I could have a hug and he said of course! So I hugged him and he commented on my necklace and said he really liked it. (It was a Star necklace to commemorate our daughter) I then looked up at Gene Simmons, larger than life!!! I think I said GENE!! and he pressed me to his chest and that was thrilling!! We turned around for photos and Gene put his arm around my neck.. the photos are amazing! Then we moved to get back in line to wait for the guys to come and autograph our items.
Paul was first and Barry just kept saying wow, Paul Stanley is right there.......it was so amazing. He was gracious and lovely and he blew me a kiss after he signed our posters and cd and our picture of Starr. Next we met Tommy and he signed our things and chatted for a few moments. I told him my friend loved him and he said thank you to her, he was such a gentleman and just so very lovely. He blew me a kiss as well which was so nice! Next we met Eric, and he signed our items and chatted briefly before moving on. It was an amazing experience. Finally we met Gene, and he was so so nice. I was afraid I would be incoherent with excitement, but Gene was actually very easy to talk to and he picked up on my accent and asked me where I was from. So I told him, Kentucky... he said wow, Kentucky. I said Yes and it is YOUR fault I am here and I told him I had met Barry on KOL. He said really? Have you written this down? I said no. He said do it, Write it down and send it to me. I said I had tried once on KOL but hadn't gotten through. He said well Explore it.. send it. So Here I am.. and that is OUR story.. Gene Asked.. so he Shall Receive!
Meeting KISS was a dream come true for both Barry and myself, and now 2 days later we are still recovering! It was magical and surreal, amazing and awesome. The concert was absolutely the best show I have ever seen. We had front row seats on Gene's side of the stage and I don't think I stopped screaming all night. I sang along on every song (badly, but still) and It was truly an AWESOME show. This was a once in a lifetime experience for us, if we ever got to meet KISS again, of course that would be wonderful..but if we don't we still have the legacy of their fantastic music, the memories of the AMAZING concerts we have been to and most of all we have the AWESOME memories of Meeting and Greeting the Hottest Band in the World.......................KISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted on 05/12/2010
