Steve Appleford | LA Times
Liz O Baylen
The sideshow at Dodger Stadium is about to begin as Paul Stanley emerges from his backstage trailer, shirtless and in full kabuki drag: bright red lips, his face painted harlequin white, a black star over his right eye. The singer-guitarist is here to perform with his band KISS but hears his name and walks over to a crowd gathered at the fence.
“Arriba!” yells one fan, and Stanley reaches over to shake hands, as dozens of cellphones take snapshots. “Let me see your shoes!” shouts another, and Stanley half-climbs the fence to swing a tasseled silver-and-black platform boot over the top. “Thanks, Paul!”
In less than an hour, Stanley and his musical partner of four decades, Gene Simmons, will lead KISS through two short sets of hooks and hard rock riffs as halftime entertainment for an ice hockey game between the Kings and the Ducks. It’s another strange gig in the ongoing saga of KISS, which long ago evolved from band to lucrative brand, ready for high-profile special events, reality TV and cradle-to-grave business ventures in the form of KISS Hello Kitty Dolls, KISS comics, books, T-shirts, action figures and restaurants as well as KISS caskets and KISS urns.
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Designer John Varvatos recruited KISS for his Spring 2014 advertising campaign, putting the band in sharp suits to echo the 1975 album cover for “Dressed to Kill.” And next month is the unlikely debut of an arena football team called the L.A. KISS, co-owned by Simmons and Stanley (with band manager Doc McGhee and sports exec Brett Bouchy). This is not standard rock ‘n’ roll behavior.
“This is what I do for a living,” jokes Stanley, 62, greeting a friend backstage. “Got to put the kids through school.”