Jay Jay French looked back on what would eventually become KISS, and recalled witnessing what he thinks is the first time the legendary NYC band performed under their new name.
Between dealing drugs (which, as he would often suggest, taught him how to be a good manager) and playing in a myriad of bands, Jay Jay’s pre-Twisted Sister‘s days were definitely picturesque. One fascinating episode in the guitarist/manager’s early career was auditioning for KISS when the on-stage extravaganza that would enter the annals of rock history was barely a glimmer in Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley’s eyes.
As French explains in a recent interview on the Denim and Leather podcast, the audition came as Gene & Paul were “transitioning” from their previous band, Wicked Lester (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“I was babysitting for a guy who was a music business attorney, and his client was a producer named Ron Johnson, who produced the Wicked Lester album. One day, when I was babysitting for his daughter, he told me, ‘Are you in a band right now?’, because he would hear me play guitar in the building. And I said, ‘No, I’m looking for a band.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m representing a guy who’s producing a band, Wicked Lester.’ So, he gave me the phone number of either Gene or the producer.”
“I made a phone call, and I was invited. Gene and Paul came down to see me play. On June 6, 1972, I was playing with a band called Scout, at a church social event, when they asked me to play with them, so I did. They invited me to rehearsal, which I did three or four times. I jammed with them, and I never heard back.”