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From: Burrn Magazine & KISSOnline JH: In talking about songwriting you have written some killer songs. I remember something that EDDIE VAN HALEN told me once that the hardest thing to do was to write a hit song but you have written tons of hit songs. PS: I have certainly written tons of popular songs. Whether or not they were hits in the classic sense of being a Top Ten on the radio, I’ve always tried to write songs that were accessible, that were memorable and familiar enough that by the second verse you could virtually sing along. I’ve always tried to write songs on an acoustic guitar because to me if it doesn’t sound great on one guitar it’s just not a great song. A great song is not about the arrangement, a great song is a great song. There is a lot of PINK FLOYD that is incredibly well-produced and very atmospheric and sonically brilliant but every one of those songs is a gem. To put it bluntly you can’t polish a turd (laughs). For me when I’m writing it’s got to sound great on one guitar, it’s got to sound great sitting in my house or wherever I’m writing or it’s not good. It can’t be written with the flaws in it with the plan that the flaws will be covered by gloss or production. JH: JOHN KALODNER sort of said the same thing once when he listens to songs as an A & R man; he listens to them in his car. He says if it doesn’t sound good in your car it’s not going to sound good anywhere else. PS: Well I write my songs; you know people ask me if I have a studio in my house or anything like that and as long as I can remember I’ve written my songs on a $39.00 handheld cassette tape recorder with one little speaker that you can buy in any drug store. JH: Really? Why is that? PS: Because a great song doesn’t need anything more than to be recorded in its most basic form. When DESMOND (CHILD) comes over it’s the same thing; a great song doesn’t need a studio. When you do a demo that’s another story but writing a song you need the simplest of tools. JH: Do you follow a particular formula when you write? PS: If there’s a good idea then only to try to keep it interesting from beginning to end and to cut away anything extraneous, cut away the fat. If it’s not needed then cut it out. I think somebody once asked Michelangelo how he took a block of stone and sculpted a horse? And he said that he just cut away all the pieces that don’t look like a horse (laughs). JH: (laughs) I know that STEVEN TYLER has had problems in this area so with your stage voice, your vocal has it caused a strain in singing those high-end falsetto notes? PS: No, I remember probably five years ago my throat doctor asked me if I was dropping keys. In other words are you changing keys to a lower key register so you can sing and I said, lower key? I can sing higher than I’ve ever sung! When we were out with AEROSMITH Steven insisted on a day on and a day off and I said, Steven we were doing four or five shows a week, you know five shows a week and I was singing for two and a half hours a night! Day on and a day off, this is a holiday to me! JH: (laughs) So you do the vocal warm-ups and downs then? PS: Yeah and so does he. Everybody does that but I don’t know many singers around anymore who don’t warm up. JH: I want to talk about the new DVD that just came out in Japan, ROCK THE NATION LIVE! On that it’s a great production of course because KISS don’t do cheesy too well but Japan has a bonus CD that came in their packaging. Why did you do a bonus CD just for the fans in Japan? PS: Our fans in Japan have always been very, very eager to get something that makes it a special package for them and we were only too happy to oblige this time because we had all the extra footage and songs. JH: Does KISS have a label deal? Are you still with a record label? PS: No. JH: Because I noticed on the DVD that it says ‘KISS RECORDS’ and I thought great, this should have happened a 100 years ago. PS: We did that basically because with our deal with SANCTUARY or anyone at this point we want to have total control. And we have also earned the right to not be with anybody when there is no reason. JH: So am I to think that the band is not working on new material or have no interest in releasing a new album? PS: I’m not opposed to it, I’m not opposed to it under the right situation of going back into the studio with the band. JH: Yeah, but------ PS: That’s all I can say. It would take the right situation and the right-------- JH: Maybe in-between Gene’s TV shows you can get a few days in the studio (laughs). PS: (laughs) JH: Well I’m sure with the new fire in the band with Tommy and Eric that these guys are raring to go. PS: Well yeah Tommy would love that. JH: But of course just because you’re a member of KISS there is still a legacy to follow here and you have to keep in line with that legacy. PS: Well yeah and that’s why I’ve kind of sat and said, you know if the time isn’t right and the situation is not right then why should we do something that is not right, especially if you put the name ‘KISS’ on it? JH: How is it that Tommy is producing your new video products? PS: Tommy is great at putting together the long-form videos. He has done that for us for awhile now and everybody has their talents and so why not use them? That happens to be something that he does quite well and he has a grasp of the band that would take somebody else a little time to get. JH: Do you think his talent and usefulness in that field stems from the fact that he has been a fan of the band since you guys started 33 years ago? PS: Oh yeah. He’s a KISS fan who joined the band. I’m a KISS fan who started the band (laughs) but he brings another perspective that’s great. JH: With your solo record tell me about that a little bit. Did you write it all yourself, was it material that you already had? I mean you’ve had 28 years to do this since your last one. PS: Yeah I’m not a fan of taking old material and trying to put a new coat of paint on it. All of these songs were written for the album. JH: So when you sat down and said hey, I’m going to do a solo record, why did you sit down and say that you need to do a solo record? PS: Because I wanted to do an album where I could bring in people to play on the songs that I wrote rather than write the songs for the people who were going to play them. I wanted to be able to have the freedom to be myself without any restrictions or thoughts about what was right for the band. JH: So did you like that better for a change, not having to worry about a whole band, you being in total control and just having to worry about what you thought rather than pleasing three other guys? PS: Well even in a studio situation with the band I still liken it to everybody can be in the car going to the same place but somebody’s got to be in the front seat so it’s not like everybody is in there like we’re raising our hands to get unanimous decisions or majority rules. But this was a situation where I didn’t have to spend any time explaining why I wanted to do something or had to leave material out for someone else’s material. This is about me and it’s about seeing who I am today again without any restrictions. JH: Is there a mindset where this album is going to be different than what your one in 1978 was? PS: Oh it’s totally different. It’s clearly the same person and it’s connected in the sense that maybe the point of view might be similar but it’s the difference between an old black and white photo and IMAX. It’s much larger in scope and much more fully realized. JH: So what kind of material is it? PS: I think it’s really, really powerful and very catchy. JH: More pop-oriented then? PS: I don’t think so but it’s not a retro album. I wasn’t trying to recreate anything that I’ve done before. I wanted to keep the same sensibility but------ JH: So if you had to make a comparison it would be like? PS: Gee, I can’t even do that. I’ve had people in the studio and I would ask them what’s this like and they would go, it’s just great, I can’t tell you what it is. JH: It is a rock album though? PS: Oh totally. JH: It’s not sappy ballads, adult contemporary? PS: There are ballads on it but I think there is a difference between a ballad and a wimpy ballad. There are songs with big orchestras and big power chords and then there is some stuff with strings and acoustic guitars but it’s not retro. JH: No 70’s flavor to it at all? PS: No, why create the past because that’s all you’re doing is recreating something? I’m so steeped in my roots and where I’ve come from that it’s unmistakable when you hear the stuff who it is. But nobody is going to think that it came off an old album. JH: So when will the record LIVE TO WIN come out? PS: I think we should pretty much sign a deal in the next week or so. I was pretty adamant that I find a place for it where I was getting more than a deal; I was getting a company where the field people, the people who actually have to go out and sell this and promote it like it or love it. For me to bust my chops and do a great album and then give it to somebody just because there’s a paycheck I might as well bury it in my backyard.(KISSONLINE note – Paul has signed a deal with Universal Music and his solo CD will b released in September.) JH: So you plan on touring? PS: Yes, I will. JH: My last question to you today is, how in the hell did you guys ever get no photos aside from the CREEM MAGAZINE shots you took where they said your manager agreed that it was okay to do, how did you guys ever work it out to where nobody ever got a shot of you without your makeup on in the early days? I remember the NATIONAL ENQUIRER in the late 70’s did this photo depiction of how they thought you looked. But managing never to have your photos taken without makeup must have been the biggest magic trick in the world so how did you manage it? PS: Well we had people around us all the time to keep that from happening and we were very determined to keep the mystic so it was a 24-hour day job. JH: And of course determination is a very big part of what KISS is and stands for. Like I said before you guys could not have created a better monster. It’s been great talking to you. Thanks for your time. PS: Thank you, John. Take care. |
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