KISS of Death
By: Kevin Potts

A lot has happened in the couple of years since KISS was on MTV Unplugged. KISS has effectively put on the shelf two members, Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick, who had the potential to be members of one of the strongest, savviest KISS lineups of all time since Ace and Peter. Psycho Circus has become a thunderous success in the comic book world, and a modest success in the music world. KISS had come off the high of the highest-grossing tour of 1997's summer, and they'd attempted to recapture some of their former glory, pulling out the leather outfits, the black/white facepaint, and a renewed commitment to their fans to make the best music in the world.

But I also think the seeds of KISS' ultimate demise as a musical unit were laid at this time. I think they should have left it at the top, with people remembering the glory, and letting them get back to respecting KISS as a new force of the 90s, not a resurged force from the 70s, proving they could hack it with the "big boys" of this era. When the Reunion Tour ended, Paul and Gene should have thanked Ace and Peter, told them, "We should do it again sometime, maybe around the time KISS is going to end", and called up Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick and said, "Let's get out there and do a tour for Carnival Of Souls the right way, the KISS way."

But they didn't. Their egos got the better of them. I expect to get flamed into submission for that statement, and that's fine. There's an e-mail address attached to this article.

KISS continued on, and said, "We can do it again." But they screwed up. Multiple interviews have Gene and Paul saying some of the mistakes they made were that KISS hadn't been a four-way effort after one point, and that they had over-merchandised. In X-Treme Closeup, Paul was quoted as saying, "At one point I looked out the window and there were FAMILIES standing outside. And I thought to myself, 'Something's wrong'." He then went on to say, "KISS became all things to all people; we're a rock and roll band, and I don't necessarily think that goes hand in hand with family entertainment."

So, there was renewed hope when Psycho Circus came out, that this time Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter would do it right. They wouldn't over-merchandise. They would focus on the music, and they would offer a spectacle in-concert that would blow our minds. What did we get? We got a bad circus act that only lasted perhaps the first eighth of the tour. We got cheesy 3D effects that were nowhere NEAR what Gene promised in interviews about the tour. We got the same hyperbole that Gene and Paul were always known for. But there was one primary difference in this over confidence: Whereas previously it was a sign of Gene's "My Way" (if you'll forgive the Crazy Nights reference) attitude, now it was simply bragging, and the goods weren't there to back it up. Gene had become arrogant in an entirely unattractive way, and KISS was slowly beginning to disintegrate.

The merchandising machine rolled into existence again, blowing off dust gathering since 1978, and it became such an incredible monstrosity that it very quickly got out of the control of the KISS money-making machine. T-shirts arrived. Three different sets of action figures. A magazine in conjunction with Todd McFarlane productions, which served only to give out-of-date information and reprints of comic books that KISS fans already had. Sales on Psycho Circus were nowhere near what Paul and Gene had projected, and as a result, when they had to deal with a lawsuit from Alice Cooper's people regarding "Dreamin'" they had to pull out that sad fact in order to save a bit of cash.

KISS has overextended themselves, and I think it's time we all recognized that the "Hottest Band In The World" has finally, after years of hanging on by their fingernails and having that golden "Second Chance" come along with Bruce and Eric Singer, reached its end. Gene is busy with movie projects again, a trap he'd fallen into in the 80s to the detriment of the band. Paul is involved with Phanton Of The Opera and a Broadway production of "Jekyll & Hide" and, for the first time since he helped form KISS from the ashes of Wicked Lester, Paul's main focus is not on KISS. Peter and Ace have been disgruntled since the recording of Psycho Circus, to such a degree that Ace, always street-savvy and able to see the writing on the wall, is shopping around for a record label to produce his first solo effort in ten years.

So what can KISS do? Have they finally been given the kiss of death? By all accurate word we can get out of the KISS Financial Camp, the new album is going to be a double album, and a concept album to boot. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE Music From The Elder and consider it one of KISS' best albums. But in terms of sales figures it was a complete disaster, and at this tender point in their career KISS can't afford to take these kinds of chances. Their fans have finally, after 25 years, grown tired of the ceaseless merchandising.

So I again ask, "What can KISS do?" They can give us one final tour and then do the sensible thing, hang up the dragon boots. They can give us a tour where they'll respect and represent ALL their eras; where we can finally see some of the METAL songs from The Elder played; can see "The Oath" and "I" played live; see "Shandi" and "Two Sides Of The Coin" played. We can see the classics and we can see "Reason To Live" (the reason I got into KISS in the first place). We can see Ace and Peter with the makeup and we can see them one last time as a KISS of the 90s, living on the skill of the original lineup with a new attitude, in the glory of their skill and talent, bare-faced as they were at Unplugged.

We can see KISS get rid of the merchandising, beyond t-shirts at the venues. If it's good enough for other bands, at this point in KISS' career, when they've proven they can do it all, then it's good enough for KISS. We can finally see KISS provide us with the "Farewell Tour" they've always talked about and always known, in the back of their heads, was coming. But what's it going to take? It's going to take one final spurt of renewed commitment to KISS, and a lack of this renewed interest of self.

Ace: Put aside the solo project. Get in the studio and write the same material you wrote in the 70s; make another "Cold Gin", make another "Shock Me", make songs that Gene, Paul and a producer would be PROUD to have on a new album. We know you're capable of it. After 19 years of producing nothing of any merit, it's time to finally show that you ARE the Ace.

Peter: Insist that you actually play ALL the drum tracks on the new album. Write another "Beth", write another "Strange Ways", write another "Baby Driver." Give us the thunderous drum solos you proved on the Reunion Tour you've still got in you. And when you sing "Beth" at the last show of the Farewell Tour, kick our asses with it and show your mother you MEAN it.

Gene: Get off your high horse. You've proven you're on top of the world. You've proven you can do more than be a bass player in the best band on this planet. You've proven you can do more than be one of the best singers, with one of the most impressive stage presences in the world. Now it's time to show us all, one last time, in the studio and on the road, that you can truly be "The Demon" once and for all. Leave Hollywood behind; it'll be there when KISS is done. Give us the commitment you had begun to rediscover with "Revenge". After all the years of support we've given you, we deserve that much at least.

Paul: Leave acting behind as well; you've had the most singular vision for KISS of all. The fact that you're finally letting that vision get diluted is a sign that the end has come. When you get in that studio, give us another "Love Gun", give us another "Detroit Rock City", and give us another "Creatures Of The Night". And when you get on that stage for the last tour, we want to hear you scream at the top of your lungs, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" when introducing "Cold Gin." We want to hear you scream out, "So let's Rock And Roll All Nite and Party Every Day!"

KISS, it's time to be KISS, one last time. We know we can look forward to solo albums from Ace, Gene and Paul, and maybe even Peter. We know we can look forward to Hollywood endeavors from Gene, and Broadway endeavors from Paul. Give us something to hope for again, and show us that, one last time, KISS can exist, with full acknowledgement of where it's been, where it's at, and where it will be in the annals of rock and roll history.

Because when the curtain falls, we want to remember, "Welcome to the show" and not, "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me?"

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