Cassius Morris

Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with bassist Neil Jason, one of a select group of musicians who played on two of the KISS solo albums.

The following are excerpts from Jason’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On the direction of the material for Criss’ album:

KF: As it turns out, Peter’s album proved to be quite a departure from KISS’ typical sound. There were some old-time rock and roll, R&B and soul influences sprinkled throughout. I’m curious if you recall any discussion that this material might be a little left-of-center for KISS’ audience.

NJ: Well, obviously there’s quite a few ways for us to look at it as sidemen and as musicians. But if your entire career is defined by the band and you want to do a “solo record” — which means you step away from the band — then maybe you do something that you wanted to do. Now if you didn’t want to do anything else, like, “Well, I kind of just want to do that,” then he would have done that. And as far as the production decisions, I think a lot of the tunes were chosen for Peter’s voice and they sounded great and I didn’t see it as a departure from KISS. It was Peter Criss, who is part of KISS. So some of the tunes are right there and some of them aren’t. But that’s how Peter sings. If you liked “Beth,” then you’d like this.

KF: Well said, Neil. There are certainly songs on the lighter side, a la “Beth,” like “Easy Thing” and “I Can’t Stop The Rain.” I don’t know, I just think the fans were expecting something different from Peter.

NJ: Well, I’m assuming that the fans that love them dearly and listen to every note wanted four KISS albums at the same time because that would just about be enough at the same time for them. But, they got, I don’t know, two KISS albums — actually, they got four KISS albums. There are four personalities that make KISS and that’s why those four guys have a sound. It’s like if George Harrison does a record, it didn’t necessarily sound like the Beatles. If Ringo did a record, it didn’t sound like the Beatles. You know what I mean?

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Patty Jenkins | Hampton Roads

Bill Tiernan

Kiss Army marched into nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Portsmouth last night with nearly every spot of the 6,500-seat amphitheater filled. It was a family affair; as men, women and children wore the signature markings of their onstage heroes.

The night of theatrics, which could be dubbed the Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley show, did not seem to disappoint the legion of fans that took in the light show featuring an enormous spider-like mechanical metal structure and loud explosives from pyrotechnics that had the warmth of the heat hitting them in their faces.

As in the past when Kiss has visited Hampton Roads, Simmons gets his fans going with stage stunts that include being pulled up into the rafters, spitting out fake blood with the extension of his tongue while showcasing his bass solo.

“Want me to come out to you?” Stanley entices his fans as a pulley takes him across the audience onto a round metal mini stage set up for his guitar spotlight moment performing “Love Gun.”

In the end it’s these antics and the classic hits that have made Kiss a household name in rock music.

Kiss stayed tried and true to format, but left the surprise with opening act Leogun.

The London-based trio featuring frontman and guitarist Tommy Smith, bassist Matt Johnson and drummer Mike Lloyd were welcomed by the Kiss Army.

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with Larry Harris, the former executive vice president for Casablanca Records.

The following are excerpts from Harris’ interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On the internal friction in the band:

KF: In doing some research, I came across an article in a May 1977 issue of “Billboard” in which Bill Aucoin mentioned the idea of the KISS members doing solo albums. And I also understand there was a proviso regarding solo albums in KISS’ record contract that was signed in late 1976. Larry, when do you recall the solo albums becoming a topic of conversation around the office?

LH: To be honest, I don’t remember the date, it was so long ago. It probably initially came up in typical conversation about when the next album would be. What I do remember, which I talk about in the book, was Howard Marks coming in — and Aucoin may have been there too — and telling us that the guys weren’t getting along very well. And possibly one way to get more product out in the street and stop them from breaking up would be solo albums.

KF: Yes, you mention that Bill Aucoin implied that the band would break up if the label refused to release four solo albums. Were the label’s hands essentially tied into going forward with the project?

LH: Well, it was either that or taking our only big rock act — because everybody else we had was either R&B, disco or comedy — that we started the label with and having them disintegrate. So we really had no choice in the matter if we wanted them or hoped that they would stay together.

On the gambling mentality of Neil Bogart:

KF: According to your book, Neil Bogart initially thought to release a total of 2 million solo albums, which equated to half a million for each album. But Howard Marks balked by quoting that KISS’ contract stipulated 1 million of each album needed to be pressed. I’m no lawyer, but if one solo album counted as half an album in the record contract, wouldn’t it be possible that pressing half the normal total would have been permissible?

LH: I have no idea. I don’t remember that saying that in the contract, or do I remember memorizing the contract 40 years ago (laughs). Neil was a gambler. And Neil felt if he was going to do this kind of investment — which was all that advertising per album — he was going to go for the throat. He wasn’t about to say, “I’m afraid to do it.” That wasn’t his style.

KF: Understood. But did Neil ever show any hesitance, maybe at the beginning?

LH: Howard Marks had a large influence on our company because he was a very smart guy and he helped Neil negotiate with KISS on a few levels when we were having some difficulties with them. Howard also made a fortune from KISS. From the $500,000 for each album in advertising, Howard wound up with 15 percent of that, aside form whatever else he was making with the band. So it behooved Howard for this to happen. I remember there was initially some reluctance about putting out four albums at one time and the cost involved but I think once Neil realized that it was either the group breaking up or this happening, he embraced it.

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with vocalist Susan Collins, who sang background vocals on three tracks on Ace Frehley’s 1978 solo album, including the hit “New York Groove.”

The following are excerpts from Collins’ interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On her first impressions of Frehley:

KF: What were your first general impressions of Ace?

SC: You know, I have to be honest and tell you he was the nicest and sweetest guy. He knew who I was by my reputation and he wanted, through Eddie Kramer, “my sound” on his record. That’s why he hired me, for my sound. But he didn’t know what he was going to be getting when I walked into the room. He was so respectful and so sweet. When I said Ace, “What do you think about this?” He was like, “Susan, just do whatever you want. I’ll take whatever I like and I’ll leave the rest.” He really respected and allowed actual creative freedom.

On the background credits for “New York Groove”:

KF: Regarding the album’s credits, you are credited as singing background vocals on three tracks: “Speedin’ Back To My Baby,” “What’s On Your Mind?” and “New York Groove.” The credit actually reads “David Lasley and Susan Collins & Co.” Can you shed some light?

SC: Yes, I’ll tell you why because this is what happened. Are you familiar with David’s sound? David has one of the most gorgeous voices you’ve ever heard in your life. I happen to love the way he sings low, but he’s a very high singer. He always sings higher parts. The reason Co. is listed is this — when we did “New York Groove,” I did “New York Groove.” I tripled myself. My voice is tripled.

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with art director Dennis Woloch, who secured the services of Eraldo Carugati to create the artwork for the 1978 KISS solo albums.

The following are excerpts from Woloch’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On the decision to do portraits for the KISS solo albums:

KF: It was certainly an unprecedented campaign. As you alluded to, no one had ever done something like this before. Do you remember thinking that the ante for the artwork needed to be upped accordingly?

DW: There’s no question about it. I thought that this was the most important KISS-related project to date. My immediate goal that I set for myself was to try to make them as classic and timeless as possible. I didn’t want these things to look dated. I actually never want anything I do to wind up looking dated. I try to avoid anything trendy because if you do something trendy, it looks great now and it looks terrible tomorrow. It’s just always like that. You go back and look at something that was done years ago and it was obviously designed for the times, but it doesn’t hold up. But I think most of the KISS stuff does hold up still

KF: I agree, Dennis.

DW: Yeah, you know, I really had that in the back of my mind. “Let’s not be too trendy with type styles that come and go [and] colors that come and go, [and] silly ideas that come and go.” So for these solo albums, I said, “OK. Timeless and classic.” And I sort of right away knew that they would have to be portraits of each guy. I just couldn’t imagine any other image on there even though I tried. Because portraits was one of the first ideas that came into my head, I said, “Well, it’s got to be their face.” I mean now it seems so obvious, in retrospect, to say, “Well, yeah. What else would you have done?” Well you could have done a lot of things. I mean, they could have all looked different — one from the other. You could have tried to maybe capture each guy’s individual personality on it. Or talk to each guy and say, “What do you like? What are your favorite colors?” But that would have been wrong because it really is KISS. KISS is an entity, as a whole. So I kept it that way. Then I said, “OK, portraits. That’s a given. But let me keep thinking.” I kept thinking and I said, “Maybe it should be their whole body standing there? Their whole figure. Hmmm … no.” (laughs) Because then you have costumes and that comes and goes and that becomes dated where you could point at it and say, “Oh, 1978.” So I didn’t do that. And so I went back to portraits. I think this was a key decision — when I decided not to do a photograph.

KF: I’ve always wondered if photos of the band members were ever a consideration.

DW: Yeah, I don’t know why, because of the “classic” feeling that I was trying to put across, I thought it would be better served by illustration. You know, a photo is just not the same as art.

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Nicole Pitt | WKTV News

Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with vocalist/pianist Eric Troyer, who contributed background vocals and played piano on the tracks “Radioactive” and “Living In Sin.”

The following are excerpts from Troyer’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On other musicians around the studio:

KF: Do you recall any of the other musicians who were present while you were in the studio?

ET: Yeah, I was there when Skunk Baxter did some guitar work. Rick Nielsen — it’s funny because when Cheap Trick first burst out they came to New York and did a show at Max’s Kansas City and Gene and I went to see them. Gene said, “You’ve got to come along and see this band. They’re outrageous. We’re thinking about bringing them along on tour with us.” So we went and we sat right in front. Rick, of course, was throwing picks at us all night. And Gene was throwing hundred dollar bills at him (laughs). It was really cool. So I knew Rick from those days. And then he was there at the session and he did some guitar work and it was really nice to see him. I’ve see him a few years since too — he’s a great guy, a great guitar player. We were hanging around with Cher a lot because Gene and Cher were together at that time. So I was there [when] Cher did her vocal part on “Living In Sin at the Holiday Inn,” which reminded me of that whole thing. I was just listening to it just a few minutes ago and I was like, “Oh my God, that was so awesome!” And Bob Seger and I did some vocals. I think I did some vocals separately too. I played piano — there’s some banging piano that I put on both those tracks [“Living In Sin” and “Radioactive”]. I was also there when Helen Reddy did her vocal part — she was kind of a pain in the ass but..

CRD: Yes, but what we did is we took them and did lithographs of the posters and that’s what made them special and a limited edition as a collectible item. We sent them to special press people that had been very supportive of us, and to radio and to VIPs in the business. So it wasn’t going to be blanketed. Those lithographs were going to be a really special item, so anyone who got one, it wasn’t like a mass-produced thing.

Putting together the piano part for “Radioactive:

KF: You are credited as playing piano on a couple of tracks, one of which was “Radioactive,” the single from the album. What do you remember about the piano part on this track?

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with Carol Ross-Durborow, who was head of the Press Office, the publicity subsidiary of Aucoin Management.

The following are excerpts from Ross-Durborow’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On the solo albums being a milestone in KISStory:

KF: That’s right in the time frame we’re primarily discussing, so it’s a perfect segue into the solo albums. When I think of the classic era of KISS, the solo albums stand out as perhaps the band’s biggest milestone, if not the biggest KISS project from a publicity standpoint. Would you agree?

CRD: Yes, I agree with you. Let me tell you something, deciding to do the solo albums was a long process. There were a lot of meetings with Casablanca. But Neil Bogart — in spite of what other people in the industry thought — he was so committed to this band. Neil was going to spend the money. He was told, “This is crazy. You shouldn’t be doing this. This is taking a big risk. It’s a lot of money involved.” But he was just so into it. And beside the fact, he enjoyed working with Bill Aucoin and thought that Bill was one of the great managers in the business, which we all agreed. But it was a real labor of love. And it was a long process. It was a turning point for wonderful, incredible projects. We thought, “Wow, this is going to be wonderful because this has not happened before.” I wanted to really make it very special. And so with what Casablanca was doing, and what we had planned to do for the media, it was great. I had suggested from the individual albums that we do special posters and have a gallery showing, which we did for the press. And then of course each member of the band signed their specific poster and we gave them away as collectibles. We made it very, very special. And it was only a limited edition. So that added to what Casablanca Records was doing promotion-wise. It was interesting because people were taking bets on which album and poster was going to get the most play. It became, “Is it going to be Gene? Is it going to be Paul?”

KF: And which posters are these specifically? Are these posters of the album covers?

CRD: Yes, but what we did is we took them and did lithographs of the posters and that’s what made them special and a limited edition as a collectible item. We sent them to special press people that had been very supportive of us, and to radio and to VIPs in the business. So it wasn’t going to be blanketed. Those lithographs were going to be a really special item, so anyone who got one, it wasn’t like a mass-produced thing.

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Jack Gattinella | YouTube
 

KISSmuseum.com

Over 150 Shirts – The KISS Museum recently purchased a HUGE KISS T-shirt collection from a private collector. We have photographed each one individually and they are now up for sale at KISSmuseum.com. Being from a private collector, they are all different styles, prices, and sizes, spanning the eras of the ’70s to the present. Some are brand new, others washed and worn. Only one of each, so if there is one you have to have, you need to grab it now!Click HERE for the ENTIRE T-Shirt colletionClick HERE for just the new shirts Click HERE for just the washed and worn shirts

Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with renowned R&B/jazz guitarist John Tropea, who added his six-string talents to select tracks on Peter Criss’ 1978 solo album.

The following are excerpts from Tropea’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On the direction of the material

KF: Peter’s solo album draws heavily upon R&B and traditional rock and roll flavors. And of course, KISS are very much straight-ahead hard rock. Do you recall that the material on this project reflecting a different direction than KISS’ typical musical blueprint?

JT: Oh, I absolutely was aware of that. I mean, playing acoustic guitar on Peter Criss’ record definitely takes it out of a hard rock kind of thing. It was definitely understood that it was not the same thing as a KISS record. It was his solo album. Today, we would call it a vanity project. But not a vanity project that’s vanity like, but for somebody who’s a star.

Recollections of the tracking process

KF: You’ve mentioned some of the other musicians on the tracks you played on were drummer Allan Schwartzberg and bassist Neil Jason. At these session, I believe there was also guitarist Elliott Randall, and pianist Richard T. Bear. Do you recall tracking with the band live? Or were your parts an overdub situation?

JT: As I remember, I think it was Elliott and myself together with the rhythm section. There may have been a day when we went in and either fixed guitars or did some acoustics on top of what we did. I’m sure there was a day like that because we usually did the rhythm section first with the percussion and then we would sweeten it with any additional guitar solos, doubling and whatever.

His impression of the tracks he played on:

KF: John, I sent you the three tracks you played on: “I Can’t Stop The Rain,” “Easy Thing” and “Rock Me Baby.” In listening back to these tracks 35 years later, what’s your take?

JT: My first impression is their really good. I think going into digital recording today, they really had a nice production. Everything was good. I was proud to be on it.

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an interview with Carol Kaye, who worked as the band’s publicist at the Press Office, a subsidiary of Aucoin Management.

The following are excerpts from Kaye’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On the scope of the solo album project:

KF: In the context of the 1978 record industry, just how big of an event was the KISS solo albums?

CK: It was huge. It was huge. The buzz, the momentum and the excitement leading up to the releases and then the actual releases. And of course, people were like, “Is Gene selling more than Paul? Is Peter pissed off? What about Ace?” It was really crazy. But that wasn’t coming from the band; they were happy for each other. It wasn’t an internal “let’s see who sells more” [competition]. It wasn’t that way at all. But it was an amazing thing.. They were on top of the world and being part of it, we were just thrown into this with them. From the minute we got into the office in the morning, the phones were ringing off the hook. We did crazy, crazy things. We did fun things. I remember doing events like the one where there was a painted Volkswagen on display at Sotheby’s with all of the KISS faces on it and we had a big press event about that and [wrote] press releases about it. It was so creative and that’s how I still think of my business. I try to be an extremely creative publicist, which I learned from the greatest band in the world.

KF: The press kits for the solo albums have been described as comparable to those put together by major Hollywood studios to promote movies. Just how atypical were they for a music release at the time?

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G Barton | Classic Rock Magazine

The film promises to offer the most in-depth look yet at the band who formed in New York in the early 70s as Wicked Lester and went on to sell over 75 million albums.

Kiss singer/rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley says: “We are thrilled to have Alan on board to help tell the definitive KIss story. Alan’s knowledge of the band amazed even us.”

Band manager Doc McGhee added: “It’s an epic undertaking and everyone’s committed 100 per cent to bring this story to the big screen. We knew Alan was the only man for the job and we can’t wait to get started.”

Parker is currently in New York where work on the movie has just started. He comments: “I’m incredibly proud to be on board for this film, telling the story of a band I love so much and that has such a rich history.”

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Steve Bartlett | The Telegram

Keith Gosse

It wouldn’t surprise me if St. John’s city council had an emergency vote on roof repairs for Mile One because KISS blew the lid off the place Sunday night.

I joke, of course, but if there ever was a show to wreck the rafters and release the rivets, it was this one.

There were explosions. Lots and lots of explosions.

And lots and lots of pyro.

And a whole lot of other things that made it a one-of-a-kind, over-the-top rock spectacle.

The band landed on stage playing on a monstrous mechanical spider that did all sorts things throughout the show.

They kicked it off with the song “Psycho Circus” and proceeded to rock ‘n’ roll all nite, delivering a set that mixed most of their popular stuff with a few new ones.

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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.

Joe Degraffenreid passed away on Wednesday July 31st in Noble Oklahoma. Joe D was born on October 16 1970. Joe was a very talented person who was a very talented musician who was very passionate about his music. Joe has played with many other fellow musicians throughout his life. Joe never met anyone he didn’t like. He was a fun-loving son, boyfriend, brother, and fellow musician as well as a great friend. Joe D. Spent the last 2 1/2 years playing in a band called 10BURN4. Joe’s passion and love was practicing and playing with 10BURN4. Joe was the lead guitar for 10BURN4 and was very talented and a awesome guitar player. Joe played his own unique style of guitar by plugging his guitar into his Marshall Amp and he would entertain many many people and they would stop what they were doing to listen to Joe amaze the crowd with his awesomeness. His guitar solos and his special way of adding uniqueness to his playing was nothing but amazing.

One of Joe’s hobbies was collecting KISS memorabilia. He has loved KISS since he was a child. He was known worldwide for his KISS HELL fanzine. Joe was a guitar player in the band called “Faux Kiss”. He was “Ace Frehley” and absolutely loved playing KISS songs as “Ace Frehley”. Joe was always amazing to watch play his guitar. He knew anything and everything about music.

Aside from his music his other love is his girlfriend of 3 years Jessica. Those two loved each other so much and Jessica loved going and watching Joe play his band gigs. Joe’s fellow band member of 10BURN4, Shawn, was Joe’s best friend as well as fellow musician and they loved being on stage together bringing Rock & Roll to the OKC area.

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

KissFAQ  has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. Today, the site has published an exclusive interview with John Cavazos, a member of the Citrus College Singers who was participated on Gene Simmons’ 1978 solo album.

The following are excerpts from Cavazos’ interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:

On a nail-biting experience with Cher:

KF: Before we get to Gene’s album, let’s chat about Cher. In his 2001 autobiography, Gene Simmons recounts the story of how the ensemble sang for Cher on her birthday in May 1978. Can you tell us about this experience?

JC: Yeah, actually I was the guy that sang the solo to her. It was her 30th birthday and they obviously were dating at the time. And Gene invited us to come to [his] bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel. And he surprised her. I’m sure she wasn’t too happy about it at first because, you know, she didn’t have any makeup on or anything. But we sang a capella the song “If” by the group Bread. And it happened to be in the pop show that we did. It happened to be my solo with the group backing me up. So he brought her out and after a couple of seconds she warmed up and smiled, and we started singing. And I started walking toward her to sing the solo and, as I would normally do, I would take the lady by the hand. And so I took her [hand] and when I did she grabbed me and I was really nervous. You know, hello it’s Cher! And she took her hand and put it on my heart and I’m sure it was bumping a mile a minute. And as I was singing, “And one by one, the stars will all go out,” she looked at me and she goes, “Oh, you’re nervous. How sweet.” And I about pooped my pants because I thought, “Oh my gosh.” (laughs) She was actually very, very sweet about it and she knew we were just kids and we were in awe of who she was. And of course, KISS was very popular at the time and nobody had ever seen them without their makeup. It was really a super cool moment for all of us.

Recollections of the ensemble’s work at Cherokee Studios on Simmons’ album:

KF: John, what do you remember about heading out to Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles for Gene’s album?

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