KISS Alive Forever will officially be released tomorrow, Tuesday, October 1, and will be available at booksellers throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you don't see it on the book shelf of your favorite book store, be sure to ask for it as the larger booksellers often take their time getting product out on the floor. If your local bookseller is sold out, you can still order copies on line at www.kissaliveforever.com. Orders are shipping within 24 hours.

If you're planning on being in the Baltimore area on the weekend of October 12-13, be sure to stop by the KISS Expo on Sunday the 13th where KISS Alive Forever authors Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs will be appearing as special guests. The authors will be on hand all day to sign copies of their new book, as well as participate in a Q & A session with convention organizer George DeCampo.

Here is the fourth of five KISS ASYLUM exclusive sneak previews of KISS Alive Forever.

From Chapter 12 Dynasty

Some pictures are worth more than a thousand words.

June 15, 1979
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland Civic Center
Opening Act: Nantucket
Attendance: 8,136 Capacity: 8,136
Promoter: Beach Club Promotions

Wardrobe manager, Pixie Esmonde: "Lakeland was horrible: it was a million degrees, the air-conditioning just sucked and the entire place smelled like a swamp. All of my stuff hadn't arrived, the road cases I'd ordered were too big and unwieldy; it was a nightmare.

"The repair-work I had to do to Gene's boots was done by mixing two plastics together. I would use the glue/plastic mixture to create the knobs/veins on the boots, and then finish it with silver paint. It really stunk and it would knock you out if you inhaled too much of it so I had to repair them outside in 95° heat. When I was repairing them I had to fend off these giant Palmetto bugs, and you'd occasionally even see an alligator.

"After the first show was over, we were in the dressing room and Gene was in his makeup with his jumpsuit down to his waist. Suddenly, I hear this scream like a girl: 'Pixie! Pixie! Pixie! Come in here.' So I run in and ask, 'What's the matter? You OK?' And I'm expecting him to be covered in blood, fallen down, an alligator, you name it. 'No, there's a Palmetto bug on the floor and I need you to kill it.' I said, 'What? You big pussy!' So, I killed a big Palmetto bug. Unbeknownst to Gene, the next day, while I was outside polishing the boots, a couple of Palmetto bugs crawled up on them and got stuck in some glue. Because he behaved so badly the day before, I just let them lay there, die and then polished them silver."

Production manager Ken Anderson: "At the first show, the drum riser rolled downstage just fine. Then it came time for it to roll back upstage and it wasn't going to move. I think it moved three feet and died. And, in full view of the audience, Gene and Paul and Ace got in front of it and pushed it back upstage. In the meantime, I was looking for an oven to stick my head in."

From KISS ALIVE FOREVER: THE COMPLETE TOURING HISTORY by Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs. (c) 2002 by Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs. Published by Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, New York. Photo (c) 1979 by Tommy Sommers.