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KISS and Poison - getting better with age? From: espmagazine.com by Grant Britt 
It's an unlikely pairing-one of the '80s biggest hair-metal bands with the kabuki-faced, campy, glam/arena rockers whose act is as much performance art as music. But there'll be no shortage of fans who'll pay to see Poison and KISS share a stage in the big arenas this summer.
Poison made it big on the strength of their brand of arena rock packed with big pop hooks. But their core group of fans signed up because of the band's raunchy hard rock. Brett Sychak, Matt Smith, Robert Kuykendall and Richard Ream took their hair sprayed, lipsticked, spandex-clad act from Pennsylvania to Hollywood. Reinventing themselves as Bret Michaels, Rikki Rocket, and Bobby Dall, dropping Smith and hooking up with transplanted Brooklynite Bruce Anthony Johannesson, who became C.C. DeVille. The act developed as a hybrid of Def Leppard and Motley Crue. Big hair, screech weasel vocals and an act that was as raunchy backstage as it was on made the group superstars from the time their debut album, Look What The Cat Dragged In, was released in '86. "Talk Dirty To Me" became an '80s party anthem that helped the album sell over three million copies. But it was 1988's Open Up and Say..AHH! that put Poison at the top of the heap. As metal bands quickly discovered, the guys would buy tickets to come out to see you do your rock stuff, but if you had a big power ballad going for you, the girls would buy your records and come to see you and want to get to know you in the biblical sense as well. To facilitate those matters, the band released "Every Rose Has It's Thorn," the band's only number one hit. "Nothin' But A Good Time," from the same album, became the band's signature tune. 1990's Flesh and Blood spawned a couple of big hits for the group. "Unskinny Bop" hit the Top 5, and "Something To Believe In" once again worked its ballad charm on the female audience. That would be the band's last foray into the big time. The' nineties '90s brought in grunge, and hair metal bands quickly turned into dinosaurs. Fights on and off stage had split up the band's two most creative forces, Michaels and DeVille. Michaels kept the band going with replacements, but the fire seemed to have gone out. DeVille would come back for brief intervals, but he and Michaels could not manage to be in each other's company for long. VH-I revealed all the gory details in its "Behind the Music" series, but instead of causing the band to be just another sleazy anecdote in the how-not-to-succeed-in-the-music-business saga, the show gave the band a comeback. A lot of fans liked the warts-and-all presentation and the band soon discovered there were enough fans of the music to make touring worthwhile, if only on a yearly basis. The group put aside their differences and are on the road opening for KISS this summer, with the original lineup intact. KISS has not been as lucky patching up its differences among members. As a result, only two original members, GENE SIMMONS and PAUL STANLEY will be onstage this time out representing the band. Drummer PETER CRISS, who was with the band for last year's tour with Aerosmith, did not have his contract renewed by the band. Simmons contends that Criss complained so much during last year's tour that he was not invited back. Simmons quoted Criss as saying "I've got enough money — I don't have to so this." On his website, Criss responded to the comments by contending that he "sang and drummed my heart out on the Aerosmith tour." He does admit that he's much happier not being on the farewell tour that never seems to end. "The original band is over," Criss wrote. "And as a founding member, I am not shocked at Gene and Paul turning a legendary band into a cover act for just plain profit. How very sad." Despite Criss's feelings, KISS is still a top draw. Guitarist TOMMY THAYER has replaced Frehley and drummer ERIC SINGER is taking Criss's place. A concert review from a tour stop in Phoenix reveals that the band's show is still the over-the-top extravaganza that it always has been. In addition to Simmons' blood spitting antics and tongue acrobatics, the band blasts through all their hits at warp speed and top volume, accompanied by pyrotechnics hot enough to heat up the skin of concert goers thirty rows back. This time around, the band is including some of their lesser-known works including "Parasite" and "Unholy," to the delight of fans who don't seem to care that the band is not all there — the fact that the band is there at all is enough for the legions of loyal soldiers in the KISS army. |
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