Kiss News

30 Years Ago: KISS Complete a Hail Mary Named �Lick It Up�

On Sept. 18, 1978, Kiss were on top of the world. On that day, all four members of the famously face-painted group released solo albums in one of the most extravagant displays of marketing power in rock history.

Exactly five years later, the band�s original lineup was reduced by half, and their commercial standing had suffered an incredibly sharp decline. So they decided to make a drastic, previously unthinkable change in order to save their careers: They took off their trademark makeup and revealed their real faces on the cover of their 1983 comeback album �Lick It Up.�

How did things get so dire so quickly? Here�s the quick roundup: The solo albums didn�t sell to expectations, and together with a live album and a best-of released right around the same time, Kiss overloaded the market.

Then the band attempted to reach a broader audience with a pair of albums � 1979s �Dynasty� and 1980s �Unmasked� � that drifted too far into pop and disco for those who loved its original hard-rock sound. To make matters worse, the records didn�t connect with new fans. After original drummer Peter Criss left, the band�s attempt to return to its roots somehow got derailed and turned into the disastrous 1981 concept album �Music From the Elder.� Lead guitarist Ace Frehley checked out somewhere in the middle of making the record, and it seemed like remaining founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons had hit bottom.

Amazingly, they recovered � at least creatively � with 1982s �Creatures of the Night,� a defiant, backs-to-the-wall masterpiece that added new levels of grit, drama and shading to their repertoire. It should have returned Kiss to the top of the mountain. Instead, it went largely ignored by an audience that had either moved on or grown tired of the band�s recent stylistic wanderings.
30 Years Ago: KISS Complete a Hail Mary Named �Lick It Up�

On Sept. 18, 1978, Kiss were on top of the world. On that day, all four members of the famously face-painted group released solo albums in one of the most extravagant displays of marketing power in rock history.

Exactly five years later, the band�s original lineup was reduced by half, and their commercial standing had suffered an incredibly sharp decline. So they decided to make a drastic, previously unthinkable change in order to save their careers: They took off their trademark makeup and revealed their real faces on the cover of their 1983 comeback album �Lick It Up.�

How did things get so dire so quickly? Here�s the quick roundup: The solo albums didn�t sell to expectations, and together with a live album and a best-of released right around the same time, Kiss overloaded the market.

Then the band attempted to reach a broader audience with a pair of albums � 1979s �Dynasty� and 1980s �Unmasked� � that drifted too far into pop and disco for those who loved its original hard-rock sound. To make matters worse, the records didn�t connect with new fans. After original drummer Peter Criss left, the band�s attempt to return to its roots somehow got derailed and turned into the disastrous 1981 concept album �Music From the Elder.� Lead guitarist Ace Frehley checked out somewhere in the middle of making the record, and it seemed like remaining founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons had hit bottom.

Amazingly, they recovered � at least creatively � with 1982s �Creatures of the Night,� a defiant, backs-to-the-wall masterpiece that added new levels of grit, drama and shading to their repertoire. It should have returned Kiss to the top of the mountain. Instead, it went largely ignored by an audience that had either moved on or grown tired of the band�s recent stylistic wanderings.

It was now clear that a big change was needed, so on Sept. 18, 1983, Stanley, Simmons, drummer Eric Carr and new guitarist Vinnie Vincent appeared on MTV to reveal their real faces. The album that the stunt was designed to promote, �Lick It Up,� was released the same day. And for the first time in five years, things worked out exactly as the band had planned.

�I�ve always believed that �Lick It Up� was proof that people listen with their eyes,� Stanley said in the book �Kiss: Behind the Mask.� �The response to �Lick It Up� was four times the response to �Creatures,� and I think that�s purely because people were tired of the image of the band and couldn�t hear past what they saw. It�s a really good album, but it�s not in the same league as �Creatures of the Night.��

While �Lick It Up� does trade the glorious dynamics and slightly outside-the-lines coloring of its predecessor for a much sleeker, polished and slightly pop-metal sound, Stanley is a bit too harsh. The songwriting chemistry among Simmons, Vincent and himself didn�t last long due to personal and contractual differences, but it did result in one of the band�s most cohesive and appealing albums.

The insanely catchy title track broke the dam at radio and MTV, despite a somewhat strange post-apocalyptic video that spends its first 30 seconds showing the band�s crotches walking down the street and the rest of the time demonstrating that Simmons has no idea what to do with himself in front of a camera without his fire breathing, fake blood and demon makeup.

Other highlights include Stanley and Carr�s half-rapped, half-sung �All Hell�s Breaking Loose,� and three stomping numbers in which Simmons reclaims his crown as rock�s most unrepentant naughty and unsubtle lyricist: �Not for the Innocent,� �Fits Like a Glove� and the charmingly titled �Dance All Over Your Face.�

Kiss� new image and second strong album in a row were enough to return them to some degree of their former glory, as �Lick It Up� cracked the Top 30 on the album chart and more and more fans once again turned up at their concerts. The following year brought another new album and the massive �Heaven�s on Fire� single, confirming that the band had successfully escaped its turn-of-the-decade troubles and entered a second era of success. Oddly enough, Sept. 18 also marks the anniversary of another Kiss album release: 1987s keyboard-infested �Crazy Nights.�

2013 Coach of the Year to become team�s first head coach

McMillen to Bring His Football Expertise and AFL Knowledge to Los Angeles

Today, LA KISS Co-Owners Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Doc McGhee and Brett Bouchy have announced the inaugural Head Coach of the team as AFL veteran, Bob McMillen.

Before joining LA KISS as their new head coach, McMillen had a lengthy playing career in the AFL and retired in 2007 as the league�s second all-time leading rusher for both career yards and rushing attempts. After retiring as a player, McMillen was hired by the Chicago Rush and served as Head Coach for the team for three years. In 2013 McMillen was also elected into the AFL Hall of Fame for his services to the game.

Brett Bouchy, co-owner of LA KISS said �During our search for the first-ever head coach of LA KISS, we knew we had to get a coach with relevant AFL playing and coaching experience � someone well respected around the league and beyond�

In 2013, McMillen received Head Coach of the Year honors from the Arena Football League and was elected into the Arena Football Hall of Fame.2013 Coach of the Year to become team�s first head coach

McMillen to Bring His Football Expertise and AFL Knowledge to Los Angeles

Today, LA KISS Co-Owners Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Doc McGhee and Brett Bouchy have announced the inaugural Head Coach of the team as AFL veteran, Bob McMillen.

Before joining LA KISS as their new head coach, McMillen had a lengthy playing career in the AFL and retired in 2007 as the league�s second all-time leading rusher for both career yards and rushing attempts. After retiring as a player, McMillen was hired by the Chicago Rush and served as Head Coach for the team for three years. In 2013 McMillen was also elected into the AFL Hall of Fame for his services to the game.

Brett Bouchy, co-owner of LA KISS said �During our search for the first-ever head coach of LA KISS, we knew we had to get a coach with relevant AFL playing and coaching experience � someone well respected around the league and beyond�

In 2013, McMillen received Head Coach of the Year honors from the Arena Football League and was elected into the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

"I'm beyond excited to be given the honor of being named the first head coach of LA KISS,� stated Bob McMillen, head coach of LA KISS. �I�m very much looking forward to putting in the hard work with our team and owners, and in the end producing a top tier product both on and off the field.�

McMillen will be tasked with leading the charge for LA KISS on the field in their inaugural season, and expectations will be high with the new AFL franchise. LA KISS ownership is confident in his ability to lead the team and field an excellent team that will be expected to make an immediate impact.

Gene Simmons of KISS said, ��We�re proud to announce Bob McMillen as head coach of our LA KISS AFL team. Bob shares our passion for bringing real, in-your-face football to the fans and he has a take no prisoner�s attitude which is the LA KISS philosophy. Go big, or go home��

Paul Stanley of Kiss added ��Bob McMillen is another step in deepening our line in the sand. From the ground up we are building a team that will accept nothing less than victory. We will win��

The AFL (www.arenafootball.com), which is dedicated to playing and promoting in-arena professional football around the world, will mark its 27th season in 2014, as well as the inaugural season for LA KISS.

For more information on LA KISS, or to purchase season tickets, please visit www.lakissfootball.com

KISS founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley: Peter Criss and Ace Frehley got what they deserved

By Nicki Gostin

Legendary KISS founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have collaborated on the memoir �Nothin� To Lose,� an oral history of their rock band�s genesis. �It�s an overview of the band,� explained Stanley. �How it came about from its inception, almost from the time the sperm fertilized the egg really.� Indeed. FOX411 spoke to both Stanley and Simmons about the book, their football plans, and what went wrong with original KISS members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.

FOX411: Ace Frehley and Peter Criss both have memoirs out that paint pretty harsh portraits of both of you. Was that upsetting?

Simmons: Ace took me to lunch before his book came out and he read me a chapter about how he almost drowned in a pool and I saved him by diving in and pulling him out. He asked if it was accurate. I said, '95 percent of it was accurate, except it wasn't you; it was Peter Criss who was drowning. You've been a f**king drug addict all of your life. Both Peter and Ace were at one point pure, innocent, believed all for one, one for all, and then they succumbed to the clich�s of rock. So neither Ace nor Peter were fully conscious when any of those things happened. It's up to you if you want to believe them. We wish them the best, but those books, to my estimation, they're closer to fiction.
KISS founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley: Peter Criss and Ace Frehley got what they deserved

By Nicki Gostin

Legendary KISS founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have collaborated on the memoir �Nothin� To Lose,� an oral history of their rock band�s genesis. �It�s an overview of the band,� explained Stanley. �How it came about from its inception, almost from the time the sperm fertilized the egg really.� Indeed. FOX411 spoke to both Stanley and Simmons about the book, their football plans, and what went wrong with original KISS members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.

FOX411: Ace Frehley and Peter Criss both have memoirs out that paint pretty harsh portraits of both of you. Was that upsetting?

Simmons: Ace took me to lunch before his book came out and he read me a chapter about how he almost drowned in a pool and I saved him by diving in and pulling him out. He asked if it was accurate. I said, '95 percent of it was accurate, except it wasn't you; it was Peter Criss who was drowning. You've been a f**king drug addict all of your life. Both Peter and Ace were at one point pure, innocent, believed all for one, one for all, and then they succumbed to the clich�s of rock. So neither Ace nor Peter were fully conscious when any of those things happened. It's up to you if you want to believe them. We wish them the best, but those books, to my estimation, they're closer to fiction.

Stanley: The fact remains from what I've seen of those books, they clearly still see themselves as victims, and when you can't take responsibility for your situation, you blame others. The proof is what they have done outside of the band and it amounts to a big zero. I would say nothing if they had not said something first. I certainly wish them well and you can't help but believe that they're incredibly envious of the success we've had without them, which was part of the problem in the first place. If somebody thinks they're irreplaceable they're either completely deluded, stupid, or intoxicated. In their case they abused their position in the band under the assumption that they were then only people who could do what they do, and here we are 40 years later playing arenas and venturing into areas most other bands would find impossible, like having an AFL football team, the first new football team in L.A. in decades, LAKISS, which will play in Anaheim.

FOX411: It's kind of amazing that both of you never got caught up in drugs or drinking.

Stanley: I've never had any aversion to a good bottle of wine, but certainly moderation and common sense tells you what to stay away from. If somebody said to me, 'Hey, here's something that will make you impotent, lose your teeth and get hepatitis,' you'd have to be an idiot to say, 'Sign me up.' People who get involved in drugs have problems that are so deep seated that fame will not cure it. If anything, it will only take it to another level. It'll exacerbate everything that's bad.

Simmons: The real idea is, if you're serious about life and consider every 24 hours as if they're the only 24 hours of any day that you'll have, you'll get up and you'll work hard no matter how much money you have, you'll respect yourself, your other band mates and your fans. If you're remiss in doing any of that stuff, you get to get exactly what you want out of life. You get to sleep in the bed you make, there's just no other way to think about that.

FOX411: You're doing great now, but the band lost money for quite a while.

Stanley: It goes back to victories are not necessarily won by individuals. It's a team, or an army. In this case KISS Army started early, people believing in us perhaps as much as we did, who were willing to make any sacrifice to keep the band going. We had a manager that was willing to put a quarter of a million dollars on a credit card to keep the band going, and he didn't have a quarter of a million dollars to pay it off. It all goes back to the idea of surrounding yourself with people who believe like you do.

FOX411: You guys had a lot of groupies.

Stanley: It was exhilarating. It certainly took some getting used to, but I'm a quick study. To go from being an unpopular, chubby little kid who was chasing girls and couldn't seem to catch them, to being chased after and making sure I ran slow enough that I did get caught, it was 180 degree turn. It was being given the keys to the candy store.

Simmons: Let's just say that the male of the species should feel blessed if the female of the species allows him to come near enough to her. Just one would be heaven, everything else is cream.

FOX411: Can we say you've had a whole lot of cream?

Simmons: Yes ma'am.

FOX411: Is there any licensing idea you've said no to?

Simmons: Long ago we decided not to listen to people who weren't qualified to make any rules. The people who write for a living aren't even journalists, they still live in their mother's basement, their faces are still pockmarked and girls still won't pay them attention. We decided to make our own rules. One of them was, we're going to have a great time and be spectacular and do all kinds of things that have no precedent. Toys and games, we love them! From our perspective, it's a KISS world, you're just living in it.

Stanley: In terms of merchandise you can't force anyone to buy something. All we've done is given the fans what they want. The only thing we can take credit for is acute hearing. We also don't put out anything we have moral issues with. We've had opportunities to be sponsored by cigarette companies and have always turned that down no matter how much money was involved.