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Crazy For KISSFrom: Missoulian Posted: March 17, 2008 Justin Lawrence still remembers the day his KISS obsession began. He was in kindergarten, and another kid in his class was drawing pictures of the band on stage - complete with big racks of drums, fire cannons and freaky face paint. "I saw what he was doing and I thought that was really cool," recalled Lawrence. "It just took hold of me. Of course my parents were dead-set against the band." In that respect, Lawrence was like so many other kids of the late 1970s. KISS, with its spiked leather outfits, devilish face paint and hard-driving music, quickly became an icon for a whole generation of preteens, even as the band put the fear of rock 'n' roll into an equal number of parents. Like many, Lawrence's parents wouldn't allow any of the band's albums into the house. That all changed in 1980, when Lawrence came to Montana to stay the summer with his grandmother. "My uncle had a KISS album in his office, and I listened to it over and over and over," said Lawrence. "After that, I just ignored my parents and spent all my money on KISS stuff." As he relayed the story on Thursday, Lawrence stood in the living room of his house in Clinton. On the walls hung a dozen guitars, most of them variations on a few models - models made for, and in some cases personally played by, members of KISS. "This is pretty much the entire line of PAUL STANLEY's Silvertones," said Lawrence, gesturing toward a set of guitars on one wall. "Those," he added, turning to another wall, "are my ACE FREHLEYs. Some of these are pretty hard to find." Now 36 years old, Lawrence lives with his wife and daughter in a house that practically overflows with KISS memorabilia. On one shelf in the living room stand two bottles of KISS This, a limited-release vintage of red wine. On another shelf is a stick of KISS deodorant, unopened. Next to that, a KISS snow globe, along with a KISS lighter and several KISS dolls. Busts of the band members are scattered around the room, and an entire shelving unit is devoted to KISS videos and even old eight-track tapes. "This isn't even the start of it," said Lawrence. "I've got tons of stuff crammed in closets and all over the place." In fact, Lawrence's love for the band is largely responsible for his current profession. Back in the early '80s, Lawrence caught an episode of the television program, "3-2-1 Contact," which focused on the lives of KISS' technical crew. "I thought, ‘Hey, that's something I can do,' " he said. Lawrence now owns HellHouse Sound, a local concert sound and lighting company. Lawrence fully recognizes the irony of his continued obsession with a band that is long past its heyday. After all, KISS had already begun to lose its hold on popular culture when Lawrence got his first KISS album in 1980. "By the time I broke free from my parents' rules, the '70s were over and I was behind the game," he said. "But that never stopped me. When I was a teenager in the '80s, I basically spent all my money on KISS stuff. It slowed down when I started playing and collecting guitars and living on my own. It got harder to find the good stuff anyway, because the band was really in a lull and there wasn't anything new coming out (in terms of KISS merchandise). But then the reunion came (KISS reunited for a tour in 1996), and eBay showed up and suddenly you could get all this stuff that I'd forgotten even existed." Over the years, Lawrence became something of a known player in the trade of KISS memorabilia and, especially, bootleg videos and audio of concerts. In fact, other than a brief encounter with guitarist ACE FREHLEY 21 years ago, Lawrence's only interaction with the band has been in the form of cease-and-desist letters from the band's attorneys. "They're not at all interested in having their stuff taped and traded," said Lawrence. "They didn't much like it when I had that stuff available online." Lawrence figures he has between 600 and 700 video recordings of performances and interviews with the band, and easily over 1,000 audio recordings of concerts. A strange obsession? Well, sure. But Lawrence insists there's more to KISS than the crass merchandising and glitzy facade put forth by the band would suggest. "I guess I feel like a lot of people forget that the band had some really great albums," said Lawrence. "That original band working together on those first six albums, those are definitely great records." In past years, Lawrence wore his KISS obsession like a badge - or, more specifically, like a license plate: "KISS RME," the plate read, referencing the name of the band's fan club, the KISS Army. But Lawrence eventually let the plates lapse. "Every vehicle we've ever put that plate on, we've totaled it," he said. "It's weird. So I finally decided not to use the plate anymore." Justin isn't the only member of his family in love with KISS. On Thursday afternoon, Justin's 4-year-old daughter, Kaelyn - who prefers to go by the name "Jenny the Cat," sported an oversized T-shirt adorned with an iron-on picture of ACE FREHLEY. "Actually I like Gene best," said Kaelyn, referring to GENE SIMMONS, the band's lead singer and bassist. "I like Gene 'cause he wags his tongue out, like this." Kaelyn stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. A little later, Kaelyn pointed to the illustration on the record jacket of "Rock and Roll Over," one of the band's earliest albums. "See?" she said. "There's silly Gene, he's got his tongue rolled up like a butterfly." One wonders if Gene intended to roll up his tongue like a butterfly. Indeed, one wonders if Gene or the rest of the band expected that its myriad spin-off products would end up as the predominant home decor theme for a young family in Clinton, Mont., in the early years of the 21st century. "I'm in hock up to my ears because of KISS," sighed Justin. "I kind of go in phases. Right now I'm really into the guitars. So we've got guitars all over the walls, and this isn't even half the KISS guitars I've bought over the years." "I suppose eventually it'll be something else," he said. "There's never been a time in my life when I wasn't into KISS." Pucker up ACE FREHLEY, former lead guitarist with KISS, will appear live with his new band at the Wilma Theater on Monday, March 17, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $31 in advance (available from Rockin Rudy's and EarCandy Music, by calling 800-965-4827, and online at www.ticketweb.com), or $34 on the day of the show. |
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