Could Have Been The I-Mac Of The Music World
By: Aaron Nauman

My my my... I tried to resist submitting an article to "Sound Off," however now I simply cannot help myself. The aspect of a forum like this that I appreciate is that all fans can express their opinions without censorship and we can all respond whether or not we agree. I find it hard to believe that anyone would become a KISS fan for "Reason to Live (Kevin Potts)," but hey, ain't that America. Let the fun begin...

Similar to Andy (Aspirin guy), I am the same age and grew up with belt buckles, colorforms, KISS on Tour board game, dolls, etc. My first album was Destroyer when I was six. Needless to say I was hooked and thus began the next twenty-two years worth of buying bootleg albums, videos, records, imports, and almost anything else I could get my hands on. One of my good friends and I often test each others' KISS trivia to see who is the better KISS fan. It is safe to say it is a tie (even though I do have more albums!).

But something has changed. I don't buy every album anymore, nor the comics, books, or even videos. In response to Steve Ponchaud, our opinions do matter. In essence we are the stock holders and hold the financial purse strings of KISS. What happened when Microsoft came out with Windows? Apple was brought to the verge of extinction, only to be saved by Microsoft. If fans did not like what KISS is producing and chose not to buy anything the bottom line would be drastically affected and KISS would have to scratch their heads and come up with something the market wants. Of course I bought Unmasked, but not for its musical merits, only because I am a die-hard fan and would buy just about any album they put out. Do I care that Anton Fig played on it and not Peter Criss? No, because it will never grace my turntable ever again. Psycho Circus and its tour could have been the I-Mac of the music world, launching KISS back into the spotlight and rejuvenating fans of all flavors.

So what has changed? Not KISS; they will continue to blitz fans with mostly useless merchandising that our parents asked us, "Do you really need that?" that we now asks ourselves. I have become a more savvy KISS fan who chooses not to fall for live albums that really aren't, songs from the vault that have been overdubbed with new vocals (Who really believed that was Gene '74 singing Two Timer on YWTBYGTB?), and snippets of videos I already have bootlegged.

Entertainment Weekly rated the new album an "A" and I mostly agree. Very few songs are concert worthy in my opinion, but the songs weren't laden with sexual innuendoes like, "I'm gonna put my log in your fireplace." or "Bend over baby and let me be the driver." No matter what they put out from now on it will not sound like '76. The mystique is gone, we know what they look like, the demon is just an overweight bass player who plays two strings, and Peter Criss couldn't play a drum solo or keep a beat to save his life. His chops are so bad it's embarrassing. Ace and Paul are the only two musicians left in the band. Ace may play the same solo night after night, but his playing on Psycho was great when it was really him, not some NY studio musician. I play drums and sound more like Peter Criss than Peter Criss.

Patrick Maxwell asked, "Where were all the fans when Revenge came out?" Where you do you think they were? At home because they didn't care about KISS without makeup. Fair weather fans are nothing new to music or sports or any aspect of entertainment. The St. Louis Cardinals couldn't give tickets away until Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs. The die hard fans like myself will go to any concert no matter what the line-up is because it is KISS.

Sorry for the digressions. So what would I like to see? Just like Joe Raggi commented earlier, no opening band, longer concerts, more albums, surprise songs that would be like pulling a rabbit out of a hat (does it really matter if Ace plays on Heaven's on Fire?) and stuff no one can buy. KISS claims to have every show on video, so how about a concert that even the best bootleggers don't have? The Grateful Dead have a series of albums called "Dick's Picks" where an archivist gets to choose the concert he wants, remixes it a bit (no new overdubbed vocals or guitars) and releases it in its true raw concert experience. KISS could do this with videos. How about the concert Peter Criss didn't play drums on the Reunion Tour? Or a rare Mark St. John show? Or the whole Creatures Rio show? They can keep the Elder and Unmasked songs to a minimum, but even I chuckle at the thought of them playing "Is that You?"

I am passionate about KISS and enjoy a good debate with someone who hates them, even though they can probably name several songs from the '80's as well as a few from the make-up era (closet fans I'm sure). Many will read this and think I am not a die-hard. Just the opposite; I am a long-term fan that is neither a purist nor an advocate of forgetting the '80's. I would like to think of myself as making a difference by not letting KISS get too much of my money for products I can do without. I may have a Reunion Tour ornament on my X-mas tree (or is that KISS-mas?), but I would have to be independently wealthy to buy a $600.00 leather jacket... and that is pushing it a bit.

KISS ASYLUM -- KISS Museum News Archive Features Tour Dates Photos