Matthew Wilkening | Ultimate Classic Rock

Yes, it’s Kiss lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, in a photo taken from the 1976 yearbook of Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon. Thayer has been a member of the famous facepaint-wearing group for over 10 years now. He fulfilled the same role — sometimes with only slightly less makeup — in the band Black ‘n Blue for much of the ’80s.

Thayer rose literally from the ground level of the Kiss organization to reach his on-stage position. In a 2006 interview, he describes being hired to clean Gene Simmons’ gutters and paint Paul Stanley’s house. However he soon began working with them to assemble the massive ‘Kisstory’ book, produced and edited several of their long-form home videos, and helped original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss re-learn their parts for the group’s 1996 reunion tour. Six years later, he wound up taking over both Frehley’s job and Spaceman on-stage persona.