Kiss News

It's been 40 years since KISS put on paint and changed the face of rock and roll

New York band has sold more than 100 million records and played to 22 million fans since they first formed on E. 23rd St. in 1973

By Ethan Sacks / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Back before they could afford to party all day, they were already rock �n� rolling all night.

Forty years ago this month, KISS bassist Gene Simmons, guitarists Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss dabbed on some black and white facepaint bought in a Manhattan hobby store and forever left their mark on music history.

�We were just four kids off the streets of New York that dreamed big," Simmons, who was born Chaim Witz, told the Daily News this week.

There�s no historical plaque in front of the six-story, cast-iron building at 10 E. 23rd St., where KISS first formed and practiced their three-chord riffs in a dingy fourth floor loft with yolk-encrusted egg crates nailed to the walls to muffle the noise.

But maybe there should be one: KISS has gone on to sell more than 100 million records and perform live in front of an estimated 22 million fans.It's been 40 years since KISS put on paint and changed the face of rock and roll

New York band has sold more than 100 million records and played to 22 million fans since they first formed on E. 23rd St. in 1973

By Ethan Sacks / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Back before they could afford to party all day, they were already rock �n� rolling all night.

Forty years ago this month, KISS bassist Gene Simmons, guitarists Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss dabbed on some black and white facepaint bought in a Manhattan hobby store and forever left their mark on music history.

�We were just four kids off the streets of New York that dreamed big," Simmons, who was born Chaim Witz, told the Daily News this week.

There�s no historical plaque in front of the six-story, cast-iron building at 10 E. 23rd St., where KISS first formed and practiced their three-chord riffs in a dingy fourth floor loft with yolk-encrusted egg crates nailed to the walls to muffle the noise.

But maybe there should be one: KISS has gone on to sell more than 100 million records and perform live in front of an estimated 22 million fans.

Stanley (born Stanley Eisen), who drove a cab to pay the bills in those days, says one of them hit on the eureka idea one day that an ominous look would get people to notice them long enough to hear their music in a New York scene already oversaturated with bands.
The makeup was a work in progress.

�Paul drew a circle around his eye,� says Simmons. �He looked like the dog on �Our Gang.� It was Ace who suggested to Paul to put two stars, one over each eyes, and Paul said, �I'm just going to do one. I'm too lazy.� And that's why to this day he only has one star.�

Stanley remembers it slightly differently.

�I always liked the asymmetry of it,� he says, laughing. �Maybe it's because there's at least two sides to me.�

They debuted their new look at a pair of gigs at an Amityville, Long Island, club called The Daisy on March 9 and 10, 1973 � and got panned by their first critic.

�I remember playing The Daisy and locking ourselves in the owner's office because one of the bouncers said he was going to kill us because of the way we looked,� says Stanley.

�The first night there really was a handful of people, but within a few times of playing there, they were literally breaking the windows to get into the place.�

Within a few days, the band found themselves in a studio, recording a demo with producer Eddie Kramer of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin fame.

�That five-song demo got us a record contract right away; that five-song demo got us a manager,� says Simmons.

�Within a year and a half of that record coming out, we were playing Anaheim Stadium.�

Criss, aka George Peter Criscuolla of Brooklyn, was drummed out of the band in 1980; Frehley left two years later. Both have briefly returned several times over the years, but their platform shoes currently are filled.

Stanley still can close his eyes and recall stepping on the Madison Square Garden stage for the first time � a Queens boy's dream.

�When I played there the first time, I remembered not too much earlier than that, driving my cab and driving a couple to Madison Square Garden to see Elvis Presley (in 1972),� says Stanley, �and I thought to myself,

�One of these days people are going to be coming here to see me.� �

By Hart Baur

Paul Stanley doesn�t do anything half speed. The KISS frontman is now getting into the restaurant biz. He and bandmate Gene Simmons will co-host this weekend�s opening of Rock & Brews in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. There are plans for 50-plus locations in North America, possibly Miami.

So taking on the restaurant business now?

Absolutely, man. Obviously for me to get involved in something worthwhile is important. I�m not out there selling liquid, soap or detergents. The idea when I got involved was that I was never going to be in the back seat. I have a pizza oven at home, I grow my own produce, so I know a lot about what we are doing.

Is KISS ever going to show up and play?

There is no live music. You can see the lyrics on the screens so you can pick up the words you�ve never heard before [laughs].

Want to talk a little bit about the latest �Monster� album?

I couldn�t be more pleased or proud of it. It speaks a lot about the band and it really backs up what this band is about, what it�s been about and what the future holds for us. One of my rules for this album was no recycled old material. And don�t reinvent the wheel. A lot of times as you grow you learn your craft better, but you don�t necessarily become better at it. You may become a technically better songwriter, but you�re not writing better songs. So the idea for me was: Let�s simplify things and don�t over-think things.By Hart Baur

Paul Stanley doesn�t do anything half speed. The KISS frontman is now getting into the restaurant biz. He and bandmate Gene Simmons will co-host this weekend�s opening of Rock & Brews in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. There are plans for 50-plus locations in North America, possibly Miami.

So taking on the restaurant business now?

Absolutely, man. Obviously for me to get involved in something worthwhile is important. I�m not out there selling liquid, soap or detergents. The idea when I got involved was that I was never going to be in the back seat. I have a pizza oven at home, I grow my own produce, so I know a lot about what we are doing.

Is KISS ever going to show up and play?

There is no live music. You can see the lyrics on the screens so you can pick up the words you�ve never heard before [laughs].

Want to talk a little bit about the latest �Monster� album?

I couldn�t be more pleased or proud of it. It speaks a lot about the band and it really backs up what this band is about, what it�s been about and what the future holds for us. One of my rules for this album was no recycled old material. And don�t reinvent the wheel. A lot of times as you grow you learn your craft better, but you don�t necessarily become better at it. You may become a technically better songwriter, but you�re not writing better songs. So the idea for me was: Let�s simplify things and don�t over-think things.

You have four kids now. How is dad doing?

I am a lucky guy. Amazing wife [ Erin Sutton], amazing kids. Emily is 19 months now, Sarah is 4, Colin is 6, Evan is 18. I�ve been busy and staying busy.

Word is Evan is an amazing guitarist.

He is. He is phenomenal. He was born to play. A lot of people have heard him and ask why I wasn�t as good as him at his age and I say I�m not as good as him now!

Sounds like things are going well.

I live a life that I am proud of and I sleep well at night. You have to like who you see at the end of the day and I do.

Drummer Eric Singer first became aware of KISS when he saw their picture in Rock Scene magazine. He�s now 22 years in the band and explains their mass appeal �from little kids up to people a lot older than us even at this point�, to Bryget Chrisfield.

"The Tour� � KISS and M�tley Crüe�s double-headed touring stint � was always gonna make many rock�n�roll dreams come true when Australian dates were added and KISS drummer Eric Singer promises, �We�ll all come down there together to keep the party going.� Cue excitement for potential debaucherous after-parties. �The great thing is that everybody is a little older, a little wiser and knows how to be smart and to make the whole thing work. And, you know, everybody keeps their ego checked at the door and we realise, �Hey, M�tley does what they do, KISS do what we do and together it�s a win-win, because everybody gets a better show � you get two great bands instead of just one.� And it�s a bigger party and more fun for everybody and I always kind of try to adhere to that philosophy in general, in my own personal life: I like to see everybody benefit from things, not just one person.�Drummer Eric Singer first became aware of KISS when he saw their picture in Rock Scene magazine. He�s now 22 years in the band and explains their mass appeal �from little kids up to people a lot older than us even at this point�, to Bryget Chrisfield.

"The Tour� � KISS and M�tley Crüe�s double-headed touring stint � was always gonna make many rock�n�roll dreams come true when Australian dates were added and KISS drummer Eric Singer promises, �We�ll all come down there together to keep the party going.� Cue excitement for potential debaucherous after-parties. �The great thing is that everybody is a little older, a little wiser and knows how to be smart and to make the whole thing work. And, you know, everybody keeps their ego checked at the door and we realise, �Hey, M�tley does what they do, KISS do what we do and together it�s a win-win, because everybody gets a better show � you get two great bands instead of just one.� And it�s a bigger party and more fun for everybody and I always kind of try to adhere to that philosophy in general, in my own personal life: I like to see everybody benefit from things, not just one person.�

It�s the OG line-up of M�tley Crüe that�s heading Down Under, but only one half of this current KISS line-up are constant members: vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley and vocalist/bassist Gene Simmons. Singer, who officially became KISS�s drummer after Eric Carr passed away in 1991, and lead guitarist Thomas Thayer � whose debut outing in The Spacesuit (replacing Ace Frehley) occurred in 2003 when the band recorded KISS Symphony: Alive IV with the Melbourne Symphony � round out the line-up.

Given that Singer hasn�t always lorded over us from the KISS drum riser, when was it that he first became aware of KISS? �Um, I saw KISS in a magazine back in the �70s called Rock Scene,� he explains. �It was a rock magazine, but the print was almost like a newspaper; the cover was in colour, but all the content was black and white. I always thought that was the coolest magazine � that�s the one that I found I was influenced by the most and there was a section in it that had new bands. And it showed a picture of this band with makeup on.

�Paul Stanley told me that bands would send their own picture in to promote themselves. So I cut that picture out and I remember I taped it or glued it to my little wardrobe, like an armoire, that I had in my bedroom. My mum reminded me of that; she remembered that I had done that. So I was attracted to the band from the first time I saw it, because I liked all the English glam-era bands: The Sweet, Mott The Hoople, T Rex, David Bowie � anything like that I was attracted to. [Coughs a loogie from his throat] Excuse me. So right away, of course, I saw KISS and then when I saw the album cover � I bought the first album, by the way � and I saw how they looked, and then hearing the music, to me somehow it all made sense: the logo, the look, the sound of the band. I thought, �Oh, this band�s got something unique going on here, I have a feeling this band�s gonna be something special. And, um, I think my instincts were right.� Singer acknowledges that �because [he�s] experienced it firsthand�, through his own life experiences, there might be some truth in the law of attraction.

There�s such a strong visual component to being in KISS. When asked whether he has to drum in platform moon boots, Singer chuckles, �Noooo,� before pointing out he�s only required to rock the towering footwear for photo shoots. Then he pauses. �Well one time I actually did do that. We did a gig for a plus-size women�s clothing line here in America and they were doing a fashion show/runway thing in New York City. And a couple of models were Mia Tyler, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith�s daughter, and Anna Nicole Smith. So we did this thing and we had to basically lip sync playing to, like, five songs and then when we finished it we�d get up from behind our instruments and walk down the runaway with all the models to take pictures for the paparazzi. So I had to play in the platforms even though I wasn�t really playing live. And I remember the next thing my legs and ankles were just killing me. It was the most weirdest sensation and so awkward, but that�s the only time that I actually physically [drummed in platforms].

�On stage I just wear regular, like, training-type shoes, sneakers, tennis shoes � whatever you wanna call �em. But I actually got some shoes � I think I found them in the airport in Amsterdam, I don�t remember � a bright silver leather, something that matches my costume. �Cause nobody sees them except me, but I wanna look cool at least to myself back there.�

As a fellow drummer, surely Singer has been tempted to have a crack on Tommy Lee�s drum coaster; the M�tley Crüe stickman�s gargantuan kit is part of a circular rollercoaster structure that enables Lee to drum while in motion, defying gravity while suspended upside down. �I�m not really much for going upside down,� Singer admits, confirming �the whole kit and caboodle� of The Tour�s stage setting, is headed our way. There�s an extra seat on the coaster to accommodate a lucky fan per show, and Singer tells of a nine-year-old �little Philippine girl� named Alexey [Poblete], who came down for a spin during soundcheck when the rock�n�roll circus hit Las Vegas. �She�s on YouTube,� he points out. �You�ll get a kick out of it seeing a little kid that can play at such a high level, at such a young age, and she�s only been playing for three years so she�s pretty amazing.�

On how kids get so good so young these days, Singer observes: �Well you gotta remember, when I was a kid coming up we didn�t even have video machines, you know, to buy instructional videos. You didn�t have YouTube where you can go on there and pretty much watch your favourite drummers over and over. You know, when you�re a kid you�re a sponge. So you just absorb stuff and, bingo! We just had to listen to records and kind of pick things up and then the only time you got to see a drummer play was if you saw them in concert and that was only when they came through town. So our way of learning and picking up things was a lot different.�

Monster is the latest (and 20th) KISS studio album and Singer offers, �I think we realise that KISS is what it is and you�re not trying to chase any trends, or be something you�re not� because at this point in everybody�s life nobody needs headaches to make it work. You have to be workman-like in the sense of your professionalism, and your due diligence, when it needs to apply. But ultimately you wanna be able to have fun.

�I mean, next year will be forty years that KISS has been a band. So it is multi-generational and our fans are really pretty much all ages from little kids up to people a lot older than us even at this point. KISS is not just the music, it�s everything, the whole visual appeal combined with the music, which has made the band unique and turned it into a timeless iconic longevity.�