News Archive August 2010

KISS Drummer Kept Coming Back
From: LowellSun.com
by Ed Hannan
Posted: August 10, 2010

KISS drummer Eric Singer loves to use sports analogies. You could say he's the Billy Martin of rock and roll.

Whereas the fiery Martin managed the New York Yankees on five different occasions, Singer has been the drummer in KISS on three different occasions. He replaced Eric Carr (who himself replaced Peter Criss in 1980) in 1991, but when KISS decided to put the makeup back on in 1996, Criss returned to the band and Singer found himself on the street.

"A friend of mine said, 'It's not the music friends, it's the music business. The bottom line is like all things in life, sometimes you are on the good end of a decision and sometimes you are on the bad end of a decision," Singer said.

"I've known Paul for more than 20 years. I have a friendship with him. Do I take it personally? Sure I do. You have to learn to be an alligator and have tough skin to get through it. I understand why decisions were made. KISS is a company. You have to make decisions to keep it afloat. Sometimes, that means you get downsized."

In 2001, however, just before the Japanese and Australian leg of the Farewell Tour started, Criss left the band again, reportedly unhappy with the salary. Singer returned, but only stayed with the band for a year before Criss returned once again. Yet, when Criss' contract expired in 2004, Singer permanently replaced him.

These days, lineup changes (which were prominent in the 1980s as the band shuffled guitarists and drummers seemingly every two or three years) are as much a thing of the past as farewell tours (which the band did a decade ago for the original lineup).

The makeup has also returned, with Singer donning Criss' Catman costume (lead singer Paul Stanley is The Starchild, Gene Simmons is The Demon, and Tommy Thayer, who replaced Ace Frehley, is The Spaceman).

"We get along so well and play so well together," Singer said of the current lineup. "If, three years ago, you said that we'd be touring for the next three years and have a new record, I wouldn't believe it. I thought we'd do maybe 10-15 shows a year in places like Australia and Europe, with occasional corporate dates in the U.S."

The current KISS lineup will take the stage Saturday night at the Comcast Center in Mansfield. The show is part of the band's summer North American "Hottest Show on Earth" tour, which follows the band's KISS Alive/35 and Sonic Boom tours. The band is touring ostensibly behind its most recent album, last year's Sonic Boom, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart even though it was only sold exclusively at Walmart, missing the top spot thanks to crooner Michael Bublé

"When you have a lot of fun doing something, if people aren't coming to see you, there's no reason to keep playing," Singer said. "But KISS is growing into as big of a machine as before. It is a true pleasure."

Expect to hear such classic KISS cuts as "Detroit Rock City," "Rock & Roll All Nite" and "Beth," as well as see (and hear) pyrotechnics, the fake blood, and the makeup. It's something that, Singer says, everyone should experience. "I always say that going to a KISS concert is like going to Disneyland. You need to do it at least once."

It's cliché to make fun of KISS as a stage-show spectacle, but consider that the band has sold more than 19 million albums in the United States, 100 million albums worldwide, and has been around since 1973. They are doing something right, clearly, to have survived that long.

"Some bands have been around a lot of years, but you find out they never see each other offstage. Many bands, surprisingly, exist that way," Singer said. "We all love KISS and doing the KISS thing.