For just over a year now, I have been taking live music photography. It has been quite an adventure and each and every gig I have shot has come with its own experience and story to tell. And for me, that is where the beauty and true majesty of photography truly lies. Bottom line, its ability to leave you with a story or an experience is what it is all about. And there have been many stories to tell.
Last year I was asked if I would like to be the tour photographer for Ace Frehley’s October fan meet & greet in Melbourne.
“Sure!” I excitedly said.
10 minutes later another email signalled its arrival in my inbox… “Would you be able to do the whole tour?”
I recall just staring at my screen in sheer disbelief for several shell-shocked seconds! I was staring at a chance in a lifetime and I sure as hell was not going to let this go… Opportunities like this only present themselves so often so I agreed to do the whole tour.
A few weeks later, the tour was postponed and I thought my opportunity had disappeared before it could even materialise.
When the tour was rescheduled, I was once again asked to take my seat as the photog and we were all systems go from this point!
I found myself counting down the days and using this time to prepare myself for every-possible-situation that could arise. I put a lot of thought into it and spent time and money on additional gear and peripherals so that I could be ready at all times.
Little did I know the catastrophe that would befall me throughout…
In 1981, it was looking to be all over for KISS. After the release of the disastrous (but oh so amazing) Bob Ezrin produced The Elder album, the band was facing the prospect of a commercial failure.
In a last ditched effort, manager Bill Aucoin and the KISS publicist office, were desperate for any press.
In this series of photos, Gene and Paul visit a hospital.
Gosh, there was a time when I’d be clamoring for a new KISS album like it was the very essence of life itself. But alas, times are different and as a KISS diehard since the mid-70’s – like a relationship gone sour, I have moved on and don’t even consider myself a fan anymore.
I do applaud them for going back into the studio and having a decent crack at releasing a classic “KISS-sounding-album” (their words, not mine) – but how can it possibly be considered classic sounding without the blistering guitars of Ace Frehley or the laid back, swinging backbeat of vintage Peter Criss?
In short, it can’t.
Sure they’ve tried – and there are some decent moments on this album ‘Stand’ is a killer track, as is ‘Say Yeah’ – but if it isn’t insult enough to dress up another guy as Ace Frehley – they’ve tried to make Tommy Thayer sound as close to Ace as is humanly possible. All the lead-breaks are vintage Ace licks. (some note-for-note!) Get the real Spaceman back in the band and cut the charade ok?
Drummer Eric Singer’s vocal on ‘All For The Glory’ is also a decent track. Certainly better than some of the others… I just can’t stand the first single ‘Modern Day Delilah’ – more like modern day doldrums, and the embarrassing ‘Never Enough’ sounds more like ‘classic’ Poison than it does classic KISS.
All the while Simmons and Stanley have been parading around the press throwing out names such as ‘Destroyer’, ‘Love Gun’ & ‘Rock And Roll Over’ as comparisons to this album. Sorry guys, not even close.
Still, it is a helluva lot better than the abomination that was 1998’s ‘Psycho Circus’ and a good, solid hard rock album in its own right. But at the end of the day, there’s really nothing special on here.
In early December 1973, I invited KISS to join me on a trip to Philadelphia to see The Who perform at The Spectrum, a big sports arena. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, and I piled into a Mercedes leased by Jerry Sharell, who had just left Buddah to work as VP of promotion at Elektra Records in LA. Jerry had given me the use of his car when he took the job, and it was quite a step up from my twoseat Opel. The band and I started to get to know each other during the ride from Manhattan to Philly, and it soon became apparent that Gene was the KISS spokesman. I also felt that the other members of the group had been told beforehand to be on their best behavior and say as little as possible. We spent most of the ride without talking much; I could usually carry on long, rambling conversations with anyone, but these guys were so tight-lipped that at times I felt like I was in the car by myself. We arrived at the sold-out twenty-thousand-seat arena and were met by the promoter of the gig, my soon-to-be good friend Larry Magid, who was, and still is, the major promoter of live concerts in the market. We were ushered upstairs to a VIP area to watch the show.
The members of KISS were knocked out by The Who’s performance, as was everyone else in the arena, and on the ride back to New York they did not stop talking about it. Finally, some conversation! I had beendreading the ride home, figuring it would be a repeat of the awkward two hours of silence on the way down, but I was happily surprised. KISS agreed to break guitars onstage (mimicking The Who’s PeteTownshend) if I could find a way for them to afford it. I arranged a deal with the Gibson Guitar Corporation, which would supply the instruments if we would feature the company’s name and logo on KISS’s album covers as well as in the band’s trade and consumer print advertising. We also discussed how we could make Peter Criss’s drum set a centerpiece of the show without actually destroying it, the way The Who did. Though he was no Keith Moon, I always thought Peter was a very solid drummer, and everyone agreed that more attention needed to be paid to him. Shortly thereafter, KISS’s live production began to include a levitating drum riser: Peter would rise up behind the band in a massive bombardment of smoke and explosions.
A week or so later, Neil and I took the band to several magic shops around New York City to get ideas for KISS’s stage show. None of us really had any idea of what we were looking for. Neil was fascinated by the stuff on display, and he kept pointing to things or picking them up and saying, “Larry, come over here and look at this!” One thing that particularly caught his eye was flash paper. Magicians use it all the time to create little fireballs from the palms of their hands. Neil fell in love with the stuff, and for the next year he used it at any meetings involving KISS. We’d be meeting with the Warner people, DJs, promo men, or rack jobbers—any audience, really—and he would suddenly say, “KISS is magic!” and unleash a burst of flash-paper flame. It never failed to impress. He did it so often that I started to predict it—“Oh no, here we go again.” Once you’d seen the man behind the curtain a dozen times, the trick lost a lot of its gee-whiz factor. KISS incorporated a couple of flash-paper effects into their shows for the next year, then they moved on to bigger, more impressive displays.
Whilst his former bandmates have made an absolute mockery of the name KISS, Ace Frehley is about to release his first album in close to two decades. For a diehard Ace Frehley fan like yours truly – this is indeed amazingly exciting news!
The marketing machine is in high-gear the world over for this impending release and here in Australia, Riot Entertainment have announced they will be handling the licensing for the album.
From the press release:
Riot Entertainment are extremely proud to announce a licensing deal for the brand new album by ‘Space’ Ace Frehley titled ‘Anomaly’ for Australia.
Ace Frehley is finally ready to add a new exclamation point to his celebrated career. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the legendary Ex-KISS guitarist has concocted an explosive new solo effort. Flaunting fiery riffs, pristine production by Marty Fredrickson and jaw-dropping craftsmanship, Anomaly, on Frehley’s own Bronx Born Records licensed in Australia by Riot Entertainment, ties together the original KISS axeman’s trailblazing past, present and future.
One of the most beloved personalities in rock ‘n’ roll, Frehley’s the man behind not only KISS’ iconic logo, but the all-time stadium classic ‘New York Groove.’ His supercharged cover of Sweet’s 1975 classic ‘Fox on the Run’ will blow you away, and the record includes several nods to his distinguished career throughout, from the pickup acrobatics of ‘Fractured Quantum’ to the unmistakable signature solo on ‘Outer Space’ and wah-wah scourge of ‘Genghis Khan’ (featuring backing vocals from Meat Loaf’s daughter Pearl Aday). It should go without saying, but “this album has some heavy, heavy songs,” Frehley promises.
Ace Frehley – Anomaly – Track Listing:
01. Foxy & Free 02. Outer Space
03. Pain In The Neck
04. Fox On The Run
05. Genghis Khan
06. Too Many Faces
07. Change The World
08. Space Bear
09. A Little Below The Angels
10. Sister
11. It’s A Great Life
12. Fractured Quantum
13. The Return of Space Bear (Dedicated to Tom Snyder) [iTunes Exclusive album only track]
Continuing on with our look at classic-era KISS, here’s the band in 1974 getting ready for a gig at Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom.
Stay tuned for weekly updates for what is proving to be a popular section here at Dogmatic… When KISS Was Cool! (and Peter Criss could actually play the drums!)
Back in 1974 it had been reported that KISS were duped into being photographed sans make-up by Rock magazine Creem. The band had been promised a generous spread in the magazine on the proviso that they also allow themselves to be photographed without the make-up. Now as everyone knows, back in KISS’ heyday, no one knew what they looked like as photos without the greasepaint in the 70’s were practically non-existant. Granted that today, there are many photos of the band during the 70’s without the make-up. (Look for a future ‘When KISS Was Cool’ segment on this blog for some mind-blowingly candid off-stage shots!)
The following photos are some of the first to appear of the band without the trademark war-paint. Jaan Uhelski, Creem journalist who was once painted with a collage of each member’s make-up and appeared on-stage with KISS in Detroit circa 1975, says… ” I actually inherited the KISS beat at Creem, because no one else really wanted it. For me, nothing is more compelling than an idea whose time had come. KISS’ had. They first came into my life when their promotion man at Casablanca Records called and asked if we could do a Creem profile – the fake ad we used to have in the magazine based on the Dewar’s Scotch ad. So without any hesitation, Larry Harris brought them to our office, a rather casual suite of offices in suburban Detroit above a movie theater. They walked in without their trademark make-up, looking like four rather normal rock types. Very politely they asked if they could take take over the women’s bathroom to suit up. The transformation was incredible. When they had their make-up on they became towering giants and they took up more psychic space than they did without the make-up on…”
Out of all the early classic KISS albums, ‘Hotter Than Hell’ never sat well with me due to the muddy and poor production sound. Looking back over it now, one realizes just how great an album it is as it features some of KISS’ finest material.
The album was released in October of 1974 and featured a garish and colorful Japanese influenced cover art.
The photographer for that infamous photo-session was Norman Seef.
Photographer Norman Seeff designed KISS’ second album cover (Hotter Than Hell) with startling visuals to complement the bands’ powerful sound. Seeff, with art director John Van Hamersveld, took his cue from the band’s kabuki-style makeup and incorporated hints of Japanese culture into the cover. The result: a striking hybrid foursome that jumps off the printed surface and magnifies KISS’ unique look.
Now 30 years later, Norman Seeff is selling some absolutely mind-blowing photos from the Hotter Than Hell photo sessions. The vast majority of these photos have never been seen before. Visitors to Norman’s website can purchase a wide selection of photos from the many, many bands that Norman has shot throughout the years.
I remember it as if it were yesterday! (And I was only feet away from the food-fight that took place!) Unfortunately the YouTube video above has only been posted in segments as this appears to be a 30 minute special edited and chopped down considerably. Major bummer but hopefully the rest of this footage will leak soon. Nonetheless, this brings back a ton of memories at what was a magic gig a lifetime ago!
They were great then. They are nothing but a Vegas act now! So sad!
Following the tremendous success of what was MTV’s The Osbournes, KISS mainman Gene Simmons is set to star in his own ‘reality TV’ show entitled ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’ which is set to feature on the A&E network in August. Undoubtebly, Simmons lacks the charm and personality of Ozzy & co. so it remains to be seen how successful the show will be. The magic of the Osbournes was just how much of a train-wreck Ozzy and his cohorts were.
Synopsis:Dad is Gene Simmons – the legendary, tongue wagging demon of KISS. Mom is Shannon Tweed — former Playmate Of The Year, actress and model. And their kids, Nick and Sophie, are, well…surprisingly charming, well-behaved teenagers dealing with the trials and tribulations of adolescence, even though Mom and Dad are like no one else?s parents.
Gene and Shannon have been happily UNmarried for 22 years and have no plans of getting married any time soon. Gene is a rock star, and a multi-media magnate. He is also the kind of dad who brings Gatorade to his daughter’s soccer games and stands in the front row of his son’s rock band when they play gigs.
It all sounds so contrived but that seems to be the Simmons forte these days. Still, I for one will be checking it out, even for old times sake of once being a KISS diehard.
I used to be a huge fan of KISS back in the day and all the way up until their massively successful Reunion Tour of 1996-1997. Although, I wouldn’t consider myself a fan these days as the band has become an absolute joke and completely ruined by greed and ridiculous merchandise opportunities that are nothing short of farcical. We won’t even begin to mention the KISS Store they were set to launch here in Melbourne, Australia. Doomed from the outset, the supposed store never even launched. The band these days is nothing but a glorified tribute/nostalgia act – I mean, dressing up your road manager in Ace Frehley make-up and costume is downright ludicrous. These schmucks think they can pull that one off but the fans are leaving them in droves.
But from the quagmire that is modern day KISS, I must admit getting a little bit excited about these new collector figures that are about to be released. The KISS band members have been meticulously recreated by Sideshow’s artistic team. Sculptor Pablo Viggiano, working with clothing fabricators Greg Mowry and Gidget Earle, has created the definitive 1:4 scale reproduction of each band member. Sideshow’s Premium Format sculptures stand approximately 18 inches tall, and utilize a variety of components, including polystone, metal, and fabrics to achieve an astonishing likeness.
Sideshow’s Creative Director, Tom Gilliland, anticipates limited editions for each Premium Format KISS figure, with an MSRP of $249.99. The KISS line will begin shipping with ‘The Spaceman’ figure in fourth quarter, 2006. A new figure will be shipped every other month thereafter, until all four band members have regrouped in your collection. Sideshow is the premier source for highly collectible figures, statues, busts, framed art, prop replicas and figure-study maquettes. Sideshow products are available online at: www.sideshowcollectibles.com, as well as through specialty shops, comic book stores, and via collectible web sites worldwide.
