KISS

Formed: 1973, New York, New York

Members: Peter Criss, drums, vocals (George Peter John Criscoula; born Brooklyn, New York, 20 December 1945); Ace Frehley, guitar, vocals (Paul Daniel Frehley; born Bronx, New York, 27 April 1951); Gene Simmons, bass, vocals (Chaim Witz, changed to Gene Klein; born Haifa, Israel, 25 August 1949); Paul Stanley, guitar, vocals (Stanley Harvey Eisen; born Queens, New York, 20 January 1952). Former members: Eric Carr, drums (Paul Charles Caravello; born Brooklyn, New York, 12 July 1950; died New York, New York, 24 November 1991); Bruce Kulick, guitar (Bruce Howard Kulick; born Brooklyn, New York, 12 December 1953); Eric Singer, drums (Eric D. Mensinger; born Cleveland, Ohio, 12 May 1958); Mark St. John, guitar (Mark Norton; born Hollywood, California, 7 February 1956); Vinnie Vincent, guitar (Vincent John Cusano; born Bridgeport, Connecticut, 6 August 1952).

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Unplugged (1996)

Despite what critics say about them musically, the extravagant rock group KISS will forever occupy an exalted corner of rock history as one of those rare bands responsible for expanding the boundaries of formulaic image, stage demeanor, and aggressive marketing. Illustrious for a ten-year commitment to shielding their identities with elaborate stage makeup, KISS refined the showy theatrical rock styles of David Bowie and Alice Cooper into a choreographed rock and roll circus. The original members of the band reunited in the 1990s and achieved album sales success with slightly less hype and more attention to their music.

Standing in six-inch platform shoes, clad in shiny shoulder-padded costumes, and faces caked with Japanese Kabuki-styled makeup, the four-piece KISS took the rock and roll world by storm in the mid-1970s. It began when Queens, New York, natives, bassist Chiam Witz (Gene Simmons) and guitarist Stan Eisen (Paul Stanley), decided to form a new group after their band, Wicked Lester, folded. They added fellow New Yorkers, guitarist Paul Frehley (Ace Frehley) and drummer George Criscoula (Peter Criss), and embarked on a journey to play hard rock music and garner as much attention as possible by donning costumes and makeup in order to transform themselves into maniacal characters. Simmons came naturally equipped with an unusually long tongue, which he wagged relentlessly, that added perfectly to his demon character. He was also infamous for blowing fire out of his mouth onstage. Stanley was a hunky lothario with lush lips and a star on one eye. Criss, with his painted-on whiskers, looked like a futuristic cat as he beat away on the drums, and Frehley, in a silver and black spacesuit, resembled an outer space creature manipulating the guitar. As they rehearsed material in a Manhattan loft, a choreographer guided them toward a well-rehearsed stage show replete with an extensive light show and exploding flash pots.

KISS cut a record deal with Casablanca Records and toured extensively in 1973 and 1974, gaining fan recognition at every stop. However, as audiences from all across North America were enthralled with KISS's walloping rock and flashy stage show, critics showed great disdain for their music. Not yet introduced to punk rock or to the heavy metal soon to come, critics labeled KISS's music simplistic and vapid. None of the commentary stopped people from buying their records or attending shows and by the release of their live album, Alive (1975), the members of KISS were bona fide rock superstars, and no one knew who they were. With makeup hiding their faces, the members of KISS kept their identities a closely guarded secret by staying in full regalia at all times in public. They recorded a massive amount of records, sometimes releasing several in one year. In 1978 each member of KISS released a separate solo album. They scored a hit with the rock standard "Rock and Roll All Nite," and another with the power ballad "Beth." They became adept marketers and managed to get their KISS label on virtually everything, providing extra royalty money when their popularity began to wane in the 1980s.

KISS went through several band member changes and finally abandoned their makeup in 1983. The late 1980s saw an increased popularity in heavy metal hair bands and KISS managed to rise with the tide. They entered the 1990s having sold nearly 70 million records. They had released more than forty albums, many of them various compilations that recycled song after song. In 1996 the original four members gathered to perform on MTV's live acoustic venue, Unplugged. The subsequent album from that session went platinum.

In 1997 KISS released their first studio album in five years and one of their most intriguing, Carnival of Souls. The band's lineup consisted of Simmons, Stanley, guitarist Bruce Kulick, and Eric Singer on drums. Carnival of Souls contains a deeper grunge sound more associated with bands like Nirvana. The album sold poorly as years of driving, one-dimensional power rock conditioned KISS's massive fan base into expecting a certain signature sound. The original members gathered again to record Psycho Circus (1998), an effort that duplicates their work from the 1970s. One of the highlights for KISS fans on Psycho Circus is the energetic, "I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock and Roll." Another favorite is Criss singing the power ballad, "I Finally Found My Way Home." KISS promoted the album with a successful tour as they performed decked out in full costume and the makeup of their 1970s concert days.

KISS continues to release a wide variety of compilation albums and they have taken advantage of the Internet to expand their barefaced marketing shrewdness. KISS goes light years beyond selling T-shirts, posters, and buttons to hawk items as diverse as condoms, credit cards, children's lunch boxes, school supplies, action figures, paper goods, home décor, and monthly memberships to a XXX website, to name a few. They even have a portion of their website dedicated to female fans, featuring them as KISS Girls by having a provocative picture of them displayed.

In 2003 the original members of KISS toured in full costume and makeup with the legendary rock group Aerosmith. Individually, each member of KISS has attempted solo careers with varying measures of success. Due to their flamboyant and innovative presentation, KISS will always tend to be more closely associated with their show than their music.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

KISS (Casablanca, 1974); Hotter Than Hell (Casablanca, 1974); Dressed to Kill (Casablanca, 1975); Alive (Casablanca, 1975); Destroyer (Casablanca, 1976); KISS—The Originals (Casablanca, 1976); Rock and Roll Over (Casablanca, 1976); Love Gun (Casablanca, 1977); Alive 2 (Casablanca, 1977); Dynasty (Casablanca, 1979); KISS Unmasked (Casablanca, 1980); Creatures of the Night (Casablanca, 1982); Lick It Up (Mercury, 1983); Animalize (Mercury, 1984); Asylum (Mercury, 1985); Crazy Nights (Mercury, 1987); Hot in the Shade (Mercury, 1989); Revenge (Mercury, 1992); Unplugged (Mercury, 1996); Carnival of Souls (Mercury, 1997), Psycho Circus (Mercury, 1998); The Very Best of KISS (Mercury, 2002).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

P. Elliot, KISS Hotter Than Hell: The Stories Behind Every Song (New York, 2002); C. Gooch and J. Suhs, KISS Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History (New York, 2002); G. Simmons and P. Stanley, KISS: The Early Years (New York, 2002).

donald lowe