Once in the Army, Always in the Army
By: SubChurch1@aol.com

Ok.... so zoom back to 1975. There I am, 11 years old and holding onto what would be the shrine of my youth. KISS Alive 1. Just handed to me by best friend as a birthday present. First rock and roll album, first KISS album for me.

From the moment I heard "You wanted the best... you got the best!" on the opening track, and unfolded the booklet that was inside the album, I was hooked. After much begging and about three months later I was officially a member of the KISS army. Card carrying even.

Through the band's ups and downs, I lived, breathed, ate and slept KISS. 1977 brought them to Sam Houston Colliseum in Houston. 1978 and the Love Gun tour brought them to the Summit for two sold out shows with Styx. I was there for both of them screaming my head off. Mentally, I was onstage with all four of them. 1979 brought them back for the Dynasty tour. To see Gene fly to the top of the Summit, and Ace's rocket guitar was incredible. In 1983, I saw them again. This time it was to be their last tour with make up on. Even if Ace and Peter were replaced, it was still KISS.

So now, in the year 2000, I finally get to see them again in all their blood spewing, fire bretahing, grease painted, smoking guitar glory. To me, this is all that matters. That my kids will be able to fianlly see what I have been telling them, and showing them on video for ten years now. That KISS is the ultimate in rock and roll shows. And it doesn't get any better to me. To see all four onstage, in all their bombastic glory. To KISS army members, it shouldn't matter if they were all in wheelchairs. It is still KISS.

To the fans that are wondering why they suck now, you should have been around when Unmasked and Music from the Elder came out. The same questions were asked then as well.

While I am proud to still own all my original KISS albums in their original printings, I also own them on cd so I can hear the music through the scratches. The album cover for Destroyer framed in Gene Simmons eyes is in full tattoo glory on my back. Yes, it's the exact same size as the album. I wear that tattoo proudest of all, and I show it at the drop of a hat and explain what this band has meant to me.

So for the so called fans that say they are starting to suck, just sit back and enjoy the ride they are taking us on now. Or sit back and complain. Myself, I am going to relish in knowing that the greatest band, the most influential in my opinion, has gone down in a blaze of glory as it should be.

And like in the days when KISS slugged it out on the Midnight Special, paired with Peter Frampton, I am going to smile knowing they have kicked the butts of every so called rock and roll band that is having their music played on the radio today. And when my grandkids ask me who the hell that is tattooed on my back, I can tell them the same stories and about being in the proudest army of them all....

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