Letters

I work for a TV channel in the UK and was lucky enough to meet Gene and Paul in 2012. I asked Gene to sign my 'Alive 2' gatefold vinyl and he asked where I'd like it signed, I opted for the inside cover. As Gene opened my gatefold, one of his entourage mentioned that he'd loved this particular live shot of the band since he was a teenager. With no hint of irony, Gene looked down at the gatefold and uttered these words, "This" -- he paused, as he ran his hand over the cover -- "This is not for ordinary people". That's Gene all over, I loved that moment.

Meine pers�nliche Kiss tory ist etwas abenteuerlich da ich das wirklich große Pech hatte, 1967 auf der falschen Seite der Mauer in der N�he von Berlin geboren zu sein. Was das heißt, kann wohl nur jemand verstehen, dem es ebenso ging. Kiss waren in dem Land namens DDR verboten und es gab keine M�glichkeit, Platten, T-Shirts oder was auch immer von Kiss offiziell zu kaufen. Meine erste �Begegnung� mit Kiss hatte ich 1979 via Fernsehen. Da wurde ein Konzert gebracht welches sie, warum auch immer, in 2 Teile geteilt hatten. Ich saß mit meinen 12 Jahren vorm Fernseher und war hin und weg von dem ganzen Bombast der Show, den Effekten und der für damalige Verh�ltnisse recht harten Musik. So freute ich mich wie irre auf den 2. Teil. Saß wieder vorm Fernseher und musste erfahren, dass der wegen vieler Beschwerden von anderen Zuschauern nicht gesendet werden würde. Und dann war es irgendwie passiert: a new Kiss - Fan was born! Um sich mit Musik von Kiss zu versorgen musste das Radio herhalten und alles was man bekommen konnte, ob gute oder schlechte Qualit�t, wurde auf Kassetten festgehalten und behütet. In der DDR gab es einen blühenden Schwarzmarkt und ganz besonders Poster und Platten von Kiss waren heiß begehrt. Selbige konnte man zu horrenden Preise kaufen (eine LP kostete 100 � 150 Mark, ein Poster je nach Gr�ße 20 bis �.. Mark). So gingen die wenigen Taschengelder schnell drauf und ich beschaffte mir Ferienjobs, um das finanzieren zu k�nnen. Meine erste Platte war eine Single Auskopplung von Paul Stanleys Solo Lp. Nicht grad DER Rock Hammer aber wenigstens schon mal WAS von Kiss. Mit Postern und Berichten von Kiss hatte ich mich im laufe der Jahre dermaßen eingedeckt, dass sogar die Decke meines Zimmers als Pinnwand herhalten musste. Für T-Shirts musste die rare �West - Verwandtschaft� herhalten. Es war aber nicht so, dass ich mich getraut h�tte danach zu fragen. Sie erfuhren mal, dass ich auf diese Band abfuhr und schickten mir dann eins. Ein weißes Shirt mit riesigem original Logo Aufdruck. Womit meine Probleme aber schon vorprogrammiert waren denn immer mal wieder, wenn ich das anzog, wurde ich deswegen von der Schule suspendiert. �zur Schaustellung faschistoider Symbole�, hieß es da. Wenigstens hielten meine Eltern zu mir so dass sich dieser Ärger in Grenzen hielt. Kiss waren verboten und an den Besuch eines Live Konzerts war überhaupt nicht zu denken. So erlebte ich die ganze Phase, Peter Criss� Ausstieg, Ace Frehleys Abgang, der The Elder Flop (?), ihre Demaskierung und die Phase, wo sie unmaskiert auftraten, quasi nur aus der Ferne. Es gab w�hrend der vielen Jahre aber keine Zeit, wo ich an der Band und ihrer Musik zweifelte. Wahrscheinlich war ich schon mehr Fanatiker als Fan ;-). Insofern DAS in der Zone überhaupt m�glich gewesen ist. W�hrend eines Ungarn Urlaubs, 1987, deckte ich mich endlich mit Kiss Platten ein, soweit ich sie tragen konnte und mein Geld reichte. War nur noch die Schwierigkeit, diese über die Grenze in die DDR zu schmuggeln. Wobei ich weniger Angst vor den Konsequenzen hatte, sondern vielmehr darum bangte, dass man sie mir beim auffinden abnehmen würde. Wir fuhren aber mit einem Nachtzug, die Abteile waren übervoll und die Grenzer schienen mir ein wenig unmotiviert gewesen zu sein. Glück gehabt . Tja, und dann kam das Jahr 1989. Die Mauer fiel und der Markt für das vermisste war pl�tzlich offen. So verging nicht viel Zeit und ich hatte alles was es bis dato von Kiss auf Platte oder dann auch auf Cd gab bei mir zu Hause zu stehen. Man konnte jetzt sogar anspruchsvoll sein und sich nur Platten und Cd�s mit original Cover / Logo suchen. Was, wie ich feststellen musste, auch im anderen Deutschland nicht grad einfach war. Was nun noch fehlte war ein Live Konzert. Kiss dümpelten damals durch die Gegend und hielten sich mehr in den Staaten, England, Australien und bei Kiss Conventions auf. Nur eben nicht in Deutschland. Leider fehlte mir damals das n�tige Kleingeld um zu einem Konzert ins Ausland zu fliegen. Am 26. August 1994 war ich bei einer Kiss Convention in Berlin wo auch Peter Criss anwesend gewesen ist und ein paar Lieder mit einer Coverband gespielt hat. Immerhin schon mal ein Anfang. Aber dann durfte ich erleben, wie ein Jugendtraum, welchen ich immer gehegt habe, wahr wurde. Die Kiss Reunion und damit verbunden die M�glichkeit, die Helden meiner l�ngst vergangenen Kindheit wiedervereint, in voller Montur, mit Kostümen und ihrer Show live auf der Bühne zu sehen. Etwas, was ich mir nicht mal mehr ertr�umt h�tte. Am 4. Dezember 1996, nach 17 Jahren, stand ich in der Berliner Deutschlandhalle und h�rte zum allerersten male die Konzertansage überhaupt, live und laut: �you wanted the best�..�. Der Vorhang fiel und da oben standen sie, eben jene . Wie es mir dabei und in diesem Moment ging kann ich in Worte gar nicht fassen. Es war einfach�unglaublich�.der Wahnsinn. Wenn ich z. Bsp. An das Intro von �Black Diamond� denke, bekomme ich noch heute feuchten Augen. So habe ich den folgenden Jahren alles an Konzerten versucht nachzuholen, was ich zu Mauerzeiten entbehrt hatte. Und in diesem Jahr, 2010, m�chte ich mein �Dasein� als Kiss Fan, welcher ich nun seit über 30 Jahren bin damit kr�nen, dass ich �meine� Band nicht nur live auf der Bühne treffe, sondern auch pers�nlich. Das Meet & Greet war am 26. Mai 2010 war für mich das Highlight! Thanks for so much years - thanks for the music - thanks for the beautyful moments!!!!

40 years! It's a long time, but also a blink! I remember playing ALIVE! on my old record player, and getting goosebumps when Paul screamed "Do you believe in rock and roll?" during Peter's drum solo, and being addicted for life. So many GREAT songs and tours! How the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame can continue to ignore such an iconic band in favor of artists like ABBA and Conway Twitty illustrates how irrelevant the Hall really is. Congrats on the milestone to the Hottest Band In The World!

Very odd how thinking about this letter created such very clear images in my mind from 40 years ago! "My KISSED Life, In Brushes" My first memory of KISS was in 1974; I was 12 years old. I was tagging along with my dad who was doing some shopping in one of Winnipeg's "SAM THE RECORD MAN" stores at the new Garden City Mall. I had not yet gotten into music and knew nothing about the music world, but I found myself taking a very long look at a vinyl album being displayed on the wall (perhaps a hundred more were displayed but I only noticed - and remembered - this one). I was really taken by the 4 white faces in black background staring back at me; I even remember feeling just a bit intimidated by them. I am obviously speaking of the first album, simply titled "KISS". I'm sure I forgot the name of the band by the time I walked out of that store, but the image became locked away in my mind. More on that in a bit. My second brush with KISS came in the summer of 1975. I guess by this time I was starting to find myself pausing to enjoy what seemed like pleasing music on the radio. On one such occasion I must have heard part of Rock N Roll All Nite for the very first time and found myself really enjoying it. I didn't hear the name of the song or the name of the band but I sure recognized how music had really grabbed me for the first time. Which leads me to.... My third brush with KISS must have been only a short time later. I was tossing the ball at "Larry and Randy's" place and Randy had his classic red 9-volt transistor radio playing on his porch. All of a sudden I recognized the opening notes to Rock N Roll All Nite and ran to the radio shouting "I love this song!!" For the first time in my life I made a point of stopping what I was doing so I could listen to a song on the radio. My fourth brush with KISS came by some extremely good fortune. Or was it fate? Again what must have been a short time later, I was at home in my bedroom and I could hear the records my 15 year-old sister was playing on our stereo system in the basement. It was all just background noise to whatever I was doing until I heard THAT song again and immediately realized that "my sister must actually have a record by the band who plays that song I like". After she was done with the stereo I asked sissy about the record she had just been playing. She said that it was a birthday gift from our "Baba" who, being an old-country grandmother, had just asked the music store sales clerk to "just grab something the kids are listening to these days". That store clerk sold her KISS ALIVE, perhaps only because it was a bit pricier as a double-album? My sister admitted that she would have declined this album had she been asked and had just played it this one time and confirmed it was not to her taste. With that I seized the opportunity to ask if I could then listen to it. When she pulled it out of our little record cabinet I couldn't believe my eyes - there on the cover where those same four freaks whom I had noticed up on the wall of the record store last year....this is the band that plays that song that I love? It took a moment for me to process the image of these wild looking guys and �perfect� sound of Rock N Roll All Nite, and then it hit me all at once and hard: these guys aren't freaks.....they're freakin' cool! After playing Alive for myself that first time, man I was hooked for life. I've had numerous other brushes with KISS over the years, including my first KISS concert in Winnipeg in 1977, many more here over the years, and a few on road trips including Halloween Night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for the Psycho Circus tour in 1998. I also had the great fortune of meeting Paul and Gene in 1980, and Gene again in 2000, and on both occasions they were very gracious and went out of their way to spend a few minutes with me. From 1975 until today, there have been very few positive constants for me....my close friends, those of my family who are still living.....and my passion for my favorite band. KISS has seen me through every significant event in my life and thrilled me so many times. Nothing will top the anticipation and excitement I had waiting for the curtain to drop at my very first KISS concert � I was 15 and was about to see my heroes�.live! There was the mini-reunion on Unplugged; the dream-come-true reunion tours that followed; and the dream-come-true release of new material in 2009 after hearing them say for years it would never happen. My last brush with KISS seems to be a never-ending stroke, as 40 years later KISS is rolling along as strong as ever. Words cannot describe how lucky I feel to still have them still playing a prominent role in my life. Thanks KISS, for all the years of entertainment, comfort, security and pride. Happy 40th anniversary to you and your millions of fans across the planet.

When I was 16 and living in England, KISS album were difficult to get. This German exchange student came to stay and he came with me to the shop when I bought my first KISS album which was Destroyer. He was unmerciful in his ridicule and criticism. He came back to stay with us the following year by which time he had become another convert to the KISS cause ... magic !! There are loads of others not least taking my brother to his first ever concert. KISS at Wembley Arena in 1979. Loads of great memories ... thanks Guys !!

The concert was amazing! I was waiting for it almost 10 years after the last time KISS played in Brazil on Psycho Circus tour. That day I cannot tickets and I heard the concert in front of the stadium, even after slept there. I ran out home, 2000 miles distant to see KISS. In 2012, I finally get a new opportunity: with a friend, I shout KISS song out loud during all the concert in Sao Paulo. Thanks to inspire me to play guitar and listen so many compositions perfect, KISS. I love it!

In the 1982's you performed the album Alive II tour and a Brazilian TV network broadcast the show. I was 3 years old and watching out for each entry on stage when suddenly Gene appears in the corner of the stage spitting fire like a real demon. I ran out of my room in fear that monster, but the sound that came after, the guitars, explosions, made me go back and sit there watching until the end. Even today when I'm stressed, nervous Kiss is listening to me and I hang all there in our world, the Kiss world.

Hello that such, my name is Chucho, and I'm from Mexico, I have been a fan of the band since my first 3 years of life (now I have 37 years old), was one of the most precious gifts I have to this day and was the first vinyl, try to collect all that you have done, demos, videos, audios, magazines, everything! KISS for me has been quite simply a way of life, with you I cry, laugh, I'm happy, I get angry, everything absolutely everything, in difficult moments of my life, his music has been quite simply the best "medicine" to heal my soul, but I can tell KISS FOREVER!, hope to see you again in Mexico, I have come in 1994, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2010 and 2012 and look forward to seeing how many times to follow're here, plain and simple love the band, I love his music, as I said is my way of life. Happy 40 years of Rock and Roll, Long Live KISS Greetings Chucho V�zquez PS: Sorry for my bad writing but English is not my forte.

January 18, 2013 Dear KISSONLINE.COM (and to all the members of KISS) This is a letter describing WHY I LOVE KISS I am a KISS fanatic - just turned 50 this year - and have been since I was 13 years old. It was 1975 when I got my first KISS album in the Fall, KISS ALIVE!, from a boyfriend when I was in the 8th grade named Brian L. (I won't say his last name for privacy reasons). I must say I was not impressed with the cover - in fact I was downright "grossed out" (I think this is the proper expression from the 70's!) by the appearance of the band. But, alas I took the album home and listened to it - WOW. I listened to it over and over and over. (I must confess it was the only album I had, lol) and I was hooked literally for life. I withstood countless ridicule during my high school years at Clare High for loving KISS, but looking back at my high school yearbook, I am still proud they have a picture in there of me with my little compact portable tape player, with a solitary ear bud in my ear, walking down the high school hallway jamming to KISS. They also had a cool one of me in my Clare High Pioneers softball team jacket with Ace Frehley makeup on. My bedroom was filled with KISS posters and pages of pictures from the band ripped out of Circus magazine. I even had posters on the ceiling that interconnected and formed a giant picture of the members of KISS. My locker was filled with pictures of KISS as well. I can still remember Christmas Day of 1977, when my sister (who is one year younger) and I received purses from our mother as one of our gifts. I can't say that I really liked receiving a purse, but when we looked inside - - OMG - - KISS tickets!!! My first KISS concert (my first concert ever in fact) was on January 21 (a day after my favorite Paul Stanley's birthday), 1978 at Olympia Stadium. I sat in Section 14, Row J, Seat 16. I know because I still have my ticket framed on the wall to this day. The cost of the ticket was only $8. 50. I was 15 years old. It was one of the best days of my life. My mom bought us souvenirs including a KISS Alive II t-shirt and a gold metal KISS belt buckle that I still wear under my shirt to work every day. My sister and I could hardly see the band, but we had binoculars, which afforded us a close up view of our heroes. We literally screamed every word to every song at the top of our lungs and bounced up and down, hugging each other over and over. Unbelievable. My mom made us leave during the encore, right after Peter Criss sang "Beth" I believe, which I still hold a resentment about to this day! BUT--the best part of the story was yet to come. You see, my mom took pictures of cars and they were placed in a newspaper type magazine of autos for sale. One of the benefits was that she was rewarded for outstanding sales by receiving two rooms in the top floor of the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, the PENTHOUSE floor. After the concert, we went to the Hyatt to spend the night and lo and behold, KISS WAS STAYING ON THE ENTIRE FLOOR!!! We literally went out of our minds. The really hard part was that we were only allowed to stay in our room - we couldn't wander the halls at all - and had to be escorted by security to and from the elevators. We ordered room service that night and the person who brought our food said he had a hand towel that had been used by Ace Frehley. I still have that brown towel in my hope chest, and no, I never washed it. The next day, Sunday, my mom, sister and I had just checked out of our room and turned in our key to the penthouse suites and we were standing around literally crying because we had been so close to our heroes and didn't even get a glimpse of them. But then, my sister saw a guy with long, black hair walking right by us with a newspaper in his hands (I didn't even see him) and pointed at him, shouting at the top of her lungs, "THAT'S PAUL STANLEY!!!". My mom, sister and I ran towards him as he walked quickly to the elevator and he graciously let us get on that elevator with him. I will never forget how I was face to face with the member of KISS I held highest in esteem, and HE DIDN'T HAVE HIS KISS MAKEUP ON. (This was when no one was allowed to take photographs of KISS and no one knew what they looked like without their makeup). I looked at him and said, "You don't look like what I thought you'd look like." (what a stupid thing to say I know). I had recently bought a post card that had a picture of the hotel on one side, and had put it in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out and turned it over to the blank side and PAUL STANLEY SIGNED IT. It says, "TO LORI LOVE PAUL STANLEY KISS with a star drawn next to his name. My poor sister didn't have anything for him to sign, so when we got to the penthouse floor, there was a table with napkins on it and he signed one of the napkins for her. We went back down to the lobby and out to the street where we jumped up and down, hugged and screamed and screamed and screamed. It was one of the best days of my life and I was only 15 years old. I have seen KISS so many times I've lost track. I often travel for hours to cities remotely near my now home of Midland, MI to see KISS. I would go online to find a KISS concert that had a seat close to the stage (usually in the first 10 rows) and then I would just get in my car and drive. I've been to the Cleveland area 5-6 hours away; Indianapolis 6 hours away and my furthest excursion, to the college campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. It took me 11 hours to get there, one way. I had no idea how long it would take for me to get there, so I left around midnight the night before the concert, drove straight through, and arrived around noon the next day. I waited around outside of the concert with the other KISS fans for the entire day, watched the show that night, and drove home all night. I remember my ears ringing for hours and my friend telling me to stop talking so loud because I'd gone half deaf from the concert. One of the biggest thrills I've ever had going to see KISS was when my good friend surprised me with tickets to go see KISS at Tiger Stadium in 1996. It was the first show of the reunion tour when the 4 original member of KISS put their makeup back on and had the biggest money grossing tour of any band for the entire year. I can still remember the electricity that was in the air while we were waiting for the show. It was unbelievable. My friend has told me many times since then that his siblings who went also went to the show have told him to NEVER bring that girl to a concert ever again. They couldn't hear hardly because I had screamed so loudly the entire show. I saw KISS three times during the farewell tour. I was SO depressed going to those shows because I thought they'd be my last. I cried during the shows. It was painful to think I'd never see them again. But, THANK GOD, they changed their minds and are still together to this day, stronger than ever with Eric & Tommy bringing them new life. There are so many memories and such joy for me having been a KISS fanatic for the past 37 years (they started in 1973, so they've now been together for 39 years!!). I have every album several times over - on records, 8 track and cassette tapes and CD's. I've purchased every reincarnation of every album and the box sets in the fancy carrying case. I still love my LOVE GUN gun that is from the album that snaps open. I am a true diehard KISS fan and my whole house is decorated with various framed pictures (one of my favorites is a huge picture of Paul Stanley's face made out of little individual pictures of the band), banners, KISS figurines, my KISS lava lamp, my Rock and Roll Over clock, my autographed Paul Stanley guitar, my giant door poster that adorns my bedroom door, my KISS slurpee cups from the 70's my friend gave me, the list goes on and on. I even have a tattoo, like so many other diehard KISS fans, of the band's name KISS on my right shoulder. My Michigan license plate is KISS4VR (KISS FOREVER, of course) and my email address is also my official KISS Membership name that I use to sign in on the KISSONLINE.com website - kissfan1(@chartermi.net. But, the most intimate part of my story is what KISS has done for me every day of my life since I was 13 years old. I had been raised by my grandparents since birth, and my loving grandmother passed away in 1975, when I was 13 years old. I remember the feelings of overwhelming sadness and indescribable pain. When my boyfriend, Brian gave me that KISS ALIVE! album in the Fall of 1975, he gave me what became my salvation. When I listened to KISS, all I felt was joy. When I was sad and missing my grandmother, it made me feel happy and brought me peace. It made life worth living. It may sound extreme to someone else who isn't a KISS fanatic, but those of you who are, know exactly what I am talking about. When I got teased in school growing up, and was made fun of, especially for loving KISS, KISS was always there to bring me up. When I was happy and in a good mood, listening to KISS made it even better. All I have is overwhelming gratitude for the band that loves its fans as much as we love them. THANK YOU KISS for being there - ALWAYS. You truly are the HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD, now and forever. Lori Faley [email protected] Midland, Michigan

The new place where I am working at is Nebaj, a little town between the highlands of my country, Guatemala. They suffered a lot during our 30 years lasting armed internal conflict, something less than a civil war. I found this bootlegged cap of KISS at their marketplace. So, please, take it as a sample of the admiration and love from your fans everywhere in the world at your 40th anniversary. I have been hearing your music almost from your beginning and hope to keep on doing it for all my life! Love you, KISS!