CELEBRATING NATIONAL RECORD STORE DAY

Clouds are for little kids to look up at in the summertime and imagine
 they see dragons and fairies.  It’s not a place to keep your music.

By ALAN K. STOUT

MUSIC ON THE MENU

April 19, 2014

In recognition of “National Record Store Day,” I’m going to talk about records.

I love records. And not just vinyl. I love any form of a physical product that involves music.

My old vinyl Elvis albums that my grandfather gave me back in the ‘70s? Still have them. Still play them.

My collection of old 45s, which celebrates some of the biggest hits of my youth?  Still in the same carrying case I bought, circa 1979. And they still get some spins.

My vast cassette collection from the ’80s? Still have it. And it's still on display.

The CDs I’ve been buying since 1986? They take up an entire wall in my basement. I proudly refer to it as the "Wall of Sound." 

Sure, I’ll download a tune once in a while. I’ll hear some old song on the radio that I’ve always liked, and I’ll snag it for a buck on iTunes and put it on my iPod. But I just don’t understand for the life of me why anyone would rather download an entire CD rather than just buy it. The cost is about the same, and it’s easy enough to take the music from the CD and add it to your iPod, so why not own the actual product, complete with artwork and liner notes? Why not have the actual recording just in case your hard drive crashes? Should I ever lose my iPod or crash my hard drive, my music collection will remain intact. And that’s because it's mostly on CD, not saved on some “cloud.”

Clouds are for little kids to look up at in the summertime and imagine they see dragons and fairies.  It’s not a place to keep your music.

I recently realized that for some reason, I didn’t have a copy of the last Van Halen record, which was released about two years ago.  My bad. Shame on me. I decided to remedy the situation. But I didn’t  go to my (insert expletive here) computer. I went to the (insert expletive here) record store. And guess what? The VH record – brand new – was about $10 bucks. In fact, all of the CDs in the entire Van Halen catalog were less than $10 bucks.

That’s the same price as a download, but I actually own the product. And I can put the music on my iPod.

You can keep your thin-sounding little mp3s floating around on your clouds. It's not for me.

It’s National Record Store Day. And there are two right here in Wilkes-Barre that I frequent often.

I will be visiting both.
 

The shirt says "I STILL BUY RECORDS." Why wouldn't I? (Shown is a portion of my basement's "Wall of Sound")

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Alan K. Stout has covered rock and pop music in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992. He currently contributes stories to The Weekender, the region's #1 arts and entertainment newspaper, and his weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu," can be heard every Sunday from 9-10 p.m. on 105 The River (104.9-FM) in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Follow Alan's thoughts on music on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/musiconthemenu  

Paul Stanley faces the music, drops the mask

 

 

KISS frontman’s new book offers remarkable

insight into the life of the Starchild

By ALAN K. STOUT

MUSIC ON THE MENU
APRIL 14, 2014 

 

There’s a perception that a “biography” can be more revealing than an “autobiography.” A biography, some say, will offer more insight because the subject of the book will be more highly scrutinized, while with an autobiography, the reader will only get what the subject wants you to know. With an autobiography, the author - writing in the first person about their own life - will naturally try to paint themselves in the most positive light. And really, if you were going to write a book about your time on this earth, who wouldn’t want to do that?

But as a reader, I’ll still take an autobiography over a biography any day. The best source to tell your story is you, and with “Face The Music: A Life Exposed,” KISS frontman Paul Stanley truly unmasks for the very first time. It’s a remarkable and inspiring story, and offers much more than simply further projecting the bold mage of “The Starchild,” who can still have 20,000 people in a sold-out arena responding to the snap of his fingers. Sure, we’ve all known what Paul Stanley looks like since 1983, when KISS officially unmasked from its trademark makeup. But the perceived image of Paul Stanley as the gallivant rock star and the true life of the man himself were, for most of his life, about as different as KISS “Alive!” and “Music From The Elder.”

Perception was not reality.

Stanley, his text reveals, was born with a condition known as microtia, which left him with only one ear and deaf on one side. And though, by the late ‘60s, as he grew older and it was fashionably acceptable, he was able to hide the deformity by growing his hair, that was not the case when he was a child. And that made life very difficult. There was relentless teasing from other children, which shockingly, was met with little support from his parents, who were bogged down in a cold marriage and also had a mentally ill daughter to deal with. This left him feeling isolated - a feeling that would stay with him until much later in life.  

Of course, there are also plenty of interesting stories about KISS, the band he helped found and that went on to become one of the most successful rock groups of all-time. Stanley is the last of the original members of KISS to pen an autobiography, and like Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, he doesn’t hold anything back in sharing his perception of his bandmates. And though the disconnect he feels with Frehley and Criss was well known prior to the publication of the book, the text reveals, for the first time, some keen insight into his relationship with Simmons. Though they’ve remained musical and business partners for more than 40 years and Stanley sees Simmons as a brother, they too have had their ups and downs, which Stanley - again for the first time - describes in some detail.

With any book dealing with KISS – especially one written by the band’s greatest sex symbol - you’d also expect some stories about sex, and though Stanley talks about a few ex-lovers and groupies, he’s too much the gentleman and probably too respectful to his family today to take you between the sheets. One interesting tidbit he does share is that his first sexual experiences came when he was about 17 and were with much older women from his Queens neighborhood. The Starchild, we learn, had himself a “Mrs. Robinson” and a “Maggie May.” Actresses Donna Dixon and Lisa Hartman are noted as significant others who had stepped into his life, and it was on a date with British pop star and pinup girl Samantha Fox that he first saw the theatrical production of “Phantom of The Opera.” This would later have a tremendous impact on his life.

Stanley also talks about the frustrations of his first marriage, which he admits he rushed into as he approached the age of 40, and he shares the joys of his second marriage to his wife, Erin. She, and his four children, are the centerpiece of his life.

Throughout the book’s 456 pages, Stanley weaves effortlessly between tales of his personal and professional life. The stories about KISS are plentiful, and it’s fascinating to read his accounts of some of the most memorable moments in the band’s career. In doing so, he gives plenty of praise to those who helped launch that career, and when he feels necessary, properly deflects credit that he and Simmons sometimes get and that he feels is undeserved. He admits the band made some mistakes in handling the illness of drummer Eric Carr, who died of cancer in 1991, and he shares his frustrations with the band’s record label, particularly in the ‘80s. (Seriously, how could “Reason To Live,” from 1987, not have been a Top-40 hit? That’s me asking. Not Stanley.)  Fans here in Northeastern Pennsylvania will find humor in a story he shares about a 1974 show at The Paramount Theater in Wilkes-Barre (now the F.M. Kirby Center) and he talks candidly about how it didn’t take long after the band’s triumphant 1996 reunion tour with its original members for things to become unglued.

But again, it’s the unmasking of the playboy rock star image and his telling of how the scars of a tormented childhood stayed with him for decades that is most interesting. He tells the story of KISS playing a concert at Madison Square Garden in 1977, but rather than taking home some groupie after the show or partying with his bandmates, he went to a deli on 36^th street and had some soup. Alone.

Stanley’s search for inner happiness, he reveals, didn’t really end until he was in fifties.

It was in 1999 during his starring role in the Toronto production of “Phantom of The Opera” that things began to change. Though he’d had plastic surgery in the ‘80s to help correct his ear deformity, he still felt a strong connection to the play’s maimed central character. A woman who’d seen his performance and knew nothing about his own prior condition wrote to him, saying she “had the impression I identified with the character in a way she hadn’t seen with other actors.” She then asked him to get involved with AboutFace, an organization that helps children with facial differences cope with their situations. Stunned by her astute observation about him, he reached out to her, got involved with AboutFace, and in many ways, helped transform his life. Helping others helped him heal. That, and the love for his wife, his children that he adores, and the strength of a revamped KISS, has brought Stanley to where he is today: a happy man, comfortable in his own skin.

In 1978, KISS’ original members all released solo albums on the same day. It was an unprecedented move in the record business. In the case of  their respective autobiographies, they spread the releases out over a 12 year period, with Stanley’s coming last. And though he’s admitted he was always the most reluctant to do so, with “Face The Music: A Life Exposed” it is he that probably revealed the most. 

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Alan K. Stout has covered rock and pop music in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992. He currently contributes stories to The Weekender, the region's #1 arts and entertainment newspaper, and his weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu," can be heard every Sunday from 9-10 p.m. on 105 The River (104.9-FM) in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Follow Alan's thoughts on music on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/musiconthemenu  

KISS: UNITED, UNMASKED AND ENSHRINED

 

(click image to enlarge)

 

 Some final thoughts on KISS and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

By ALAN K. STOUT

MUSIC ON THE MENU BLOG

This is my third and final blog entry that will discuss KISS and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not that I’m tired of writing about KISS. I could probably do that every day. But over the past month, I’ve already done two music blogs on the Hall of Fame topic - which are linked below - and so with this, I am offering some final thoughts which I haven’t yet shared …

When I first heard that KISS had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about four months ago, it never occurred to me that the band would perform with the original lineup, in full makeup, at the induction ceremony. And the reason for that is that I honestly thought it would prohibit them from doing anything else that night. If KISS were going to come to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on April 10 with all of the makeup and the pyro - even if it were just for a few songs - then performing would probably be all they’d be able to do.

Sit with their wives and kids at the ceremonies and enjoy the festivities? Not happening.

Enjoy the performances of the other artists being enshrined? Not happening.

Be able to hang out all night and simply enjoy the fact that they were being honored and shake some hands with those offering congratulations? Not happening.

When KISS plays in full makeup and brings all of the pomp and the flash, it takes hours of preparation. And so, if that’s what they chose to do at the Hall of Fame induction, they’d be back in the dressing room most of the night, slapping on the garb and finalizing the logistics of the performance. And as a fan, that’s not what I really wanted for them. After 40 years of tremendous ass-kicking and great rock albums, I wanted them to be able to sit with their wives and kids at the ceremonies and enjoy the night. I wanted them to be able to enjoy the performances of the other artists being enshrined and just be able to hang out, like any other musician, and enjoy the fact that they were being honored. My thought: No need to be huddled up backstage all night getting ready to do the big KISS thing. You’ve been doing that forever. That’s why you're there. On that night, just enjoy the camaraderie of one another and the company of the other great artists in attendance.

If KISS did perform at the ceremony, which some Hall of Fame artists do, I always imagined it would be more like their performance at “MTV Unplugged.” Not that they’d have to be seated on stools and semi-acoustic – they could rock it, and that would be better – but I assumed they’d wear some cool rock-style clothes and when it was their turn to play, they’d get up and play. And so the fact that some KISS fans were disappointed to learn that the original lineup wasn’t going to slap on the greasepaint and try to blow the roof off the place seemed odd to me. Again, the thought of that happening had never even occurred to me, and not just because Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley haven’t played together in more than a dozen years and most of them don’t even like each other. I really thought the guys would enjoy the night more if they performed without their getups, and of course, back in December, I didn’t know that a reunion of the original four, even for just a few songs, was not something that Gene and Paul were interested in. But now that we all know that, and we know there will be no originals-only reunion, particularly in the makeup, I again say, ‘Who cares?’ In fact, by not appearing in the makeup and bringing the explosive arsenal, it opens up the opportunity for some much more cooler things to happen, should there be a last minute change of heart about not performing at all …

Seeing KISS in makeup tear through “Rock and Roll All Nite” amid an array of fireworks and confetti is always fun. But we’ve seen it many, many times on TV. We’ve seen it at the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the MTV Video Music Awards and every late night talk show.

What haven’t we seen?

A cool, totally-plugged, non-makeup performance of the original KISS lineup. I’ve never seen Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, fully plugged in, perform like that on stage. Nobody has. And even though it won’t happen quite like that, because Gene and Paul have clearly stated they won’t perform with just the original four in any capacity, that doesn’t mean that they still can't perform together in some way. How about if the original four play with current KISS members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer? That’s what Gene and Paul wanted to do anyway. Apparently they were actually willing to perform in makeup and costume with the current band, and then bring Peter and Ace out for a tune or two. But apparently most everyone later agreed that would be very odd for Peter and Ace, simply because only the original four are being enshrined in the Hall of Fame and because Thayer and Singer wear the same makeup styles that Peter and Ace helped make famous. But if you take the makeup and garb out of the mix, there’s nothing odd about it at all. It’s very similar to what they did for some of the “MTV Unplugged” show, though Bruce Kulick was the guitarist at the time. And if you do it again, you better invite Kulick, who played with the band for over a decade and remains a close friend. And maybe even invite former guitarist Vinnie Vincent, who helped write three great albums.

Now we’re talking about something special. Now we’re talking about something we’ve never seen before. And it would satisfy everyone.

 

Think about it:

1) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, at this point, would probably just be happy with a KISS performance of any kind, and the four guys they’re choosing to honor would indeed be performing together.

2) Gene and Paul seem intent on not slighting Thayer and Singer, who have done some fine work with the band for many years. This would take care of that. Though not inducted, they’d also be a part of the KISS/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame celebration. Gene and Paul have also talked about how other former members of KISS, particularly Kulick and the late Eric Carr, should also have been inducted. Well, the Hall of Fame doesn’t seem to listening, but a performance such as the one I’ve described would get Kulick into the celebration as well.

3)  Frehley and Criss have said they refuse to perform with current KISS members wearing "their" makeup. Well, that wouldn’t be happening. But if they really wanted to play for the fans, that would be happening.

So there you have it. One of the coolest KISS appearances ever, which gets the original four on stage together for one last time yet doesn’t slight anyone. And since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is supposedly all about music, KISS could put the music first, just like they did at “MTV Unplugged” almost 20 years ago.

The songs would be at the forefront. 

But wait, there’s more …

By playing sans makeup and costume and just bringing their guitars, it also allows KISS a much better opportunity to be a part of any type of all-star jam that might take place at the end of the ceremonies. Let’s face it: If the band was on stage in full regalia and its seven-inch platform boots and towering over Daryl Hall and John Oates, that would look pretty weird. But by leaving the boots at home, there is potential for a very epic all-star jam at this event. And that’s because in addition to KISS, Nirvana, Hall & Oates and Cat Stevens, the mighty E Street Band is also being enshrined. And that means Bruce Springsteen might show up. And if Bruce Springsteen shows up, Bruce Springsteen is going to play. Imagine the show ending with KISS and The E Street Band on stage, and all of the other present inductees, with Dave Grohl bashing some drums while Paul Stanley and Bruce trade off verses of “Born to Run” or “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Imagine KISS, who have finally been asked to join a fraternity that they should have been asked to join 15 years ago, having a great time playing with someone like The Boss. Bruce loves that kind of stuff. We’ve all seen him do it at these Hall of Fame ceremonies before and at the big charity shows. He loves to have fun with other musicians, and if you saw the clips of him covering everything from AC/DC to The Bee Gees on his recent tour of Australia, you know his musical tastes are varied.

That would make for a very special night. A KISS performance with all past and current living members of the band, sans makeup, which properly showcases a few of their great songs. And then, perhaps a little fun at the end of the night with Bruce, Little Steven, Nils, Max and company. I’m sure - even for Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter -  that would be pretty damn cool.

Of course, none of this will probably happen. But I still hope, despite all of the tensions that seem to have arisen over all of this within the KISS camp over the past few months, that they still find away to enjoy themselves on April 10 in Brooklyn.

They do deserve it.

And that, as I said at the top, is all that really matters to me.
 

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Other recent KISS-related blogs:

 1. KISS and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Much Ado About Nothing:

http://musiconthemenu.blogspot.com/2014/02/kiss-and-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-by.html

2. KISS and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Who should give the speech?
http://musiconthemenu.blogspot.com/2014/03/kiss-and-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-who.html

3. A link to the three-hour radio special I hosted on KISS can also be found here:

http://musiconthemenu.blogspot.com/2014/03/kiss-on-mountain-three-hour-radio.html

4. And all of my KISS archives can be found at:

     http://www.alankstout.com/KISS



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EDDIE VAN HALEN AND THE LOST KISS

 

Eddie Van Halen and KISS, circa 1982

INTERVIEW FROM 1995 HELPS ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS - SORT OF

BY ALAN K. STOUT
MUSIC ON THE MENU BLOG
March 19, 2014

It seems an old interview I did with Eddie Van Halen back in 1995 is making the rounds on the Internet, and since I’ve gotten some inquires about it, I’ll provide a little of the back story …

About three years ago, I posted the actual audio recordings of a bunch of my old newspaper interviews on YouTube, just for fun. Some of them are pretty cool, and I thought some people might enjoy listening to my conversations with people such as Billy Joel, David Bowie, Steven Tyler, Brian Johnson, Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi, Ray Charles and a few others. They’re all still out there in YouTube land, including an interview I did with Eddie Van Halen. And at the very end that interview, from 1995, I asked Eddie about a passage that could be found in what was then a newly published book called “KISSTORY,” in which Gene Simmons talked about how Eddie, circa 1982, had once expressed an interest in joining KISS. Being a huge KISS fan (why else would I have just bought the $150 "KISSTORY" coffee table book?) and also a pretty big Van Halen fan, I figured I’d ask Eddie about it.

Well, that was almost 20 years ago, and though I’d pretty much forgotten about it, I guess the old “Eddie joining KISS” story has somehow found new life on the web, and thus my old interview recently found its way onto a few KISS and Van Halen fan sites, as well as Eddie Trunk's website and the Blabbermouth website. I’m cool with that. You put something on the web, you never know where it can wind up. And though I’ve tried to reply to everyone that has asked me about the interview, I think in order to save some time and make things perfectly clear, it’s best that I just share my response right here:

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Hello, and thanks for writing,

I do clearly remember asking Eddie Van Halen about this. The “KISSTORY” book had literally just come out right around the time I did the interview. I was/am a big KISS fan and am also a Van Halen fan. And while I found the whole “Eddie joining KISS” story to be interesting, it really didn’t make any sense. In 1982, KISS was a band going through a strange time. They’d just come off the “Music From The Elder” concept album, which was a commercial failure. I’ve always really liked the record, but it was a new decade, the musical climate was changing, and KISS had briefly lost its way. Hard-rock was certainly alive and well in 1982 with AC/DC and Van Halen, and Rush was also huge, but KISS, with “The Elder,” took on a new challenge and it didn’t work. And that’s OK. Any band that’s been around for 40 years will hit a few bumps in the road, and that’s where KISS was at that time. This was also the exact same time that Ace Frehley was leaving the band, which put KISS in an even tougher place. Were they looking for a new guitarist around that time? Yes. But why would Eddie Van Halen, who had just come off the magnificent “Fair Warning” album, want to join KISS? This was only four years after Van Halen first arrived on the national music scene, but he was already nearing iconic status because of his innovative playing. Plus, he was in a band that had his name on it and a band that was still very much on the rise. I’m sure Roth was driving Eddie nuts, but not enough, at least at that point, to part ways.

Another reason this made no sense was because this would have happened a year before KISS “unmasked” for the “Lick It Up” album. The band still had that element of mystery to them, and now they were going to put a very recognizable superstar in the band? Sure, Gene had helped VH out in the beginning and had produced their early demos, and Eddie supposedly played on a few of Simmons' demos for KISS around the time of "Love Gun," so there was a friendship there. But Eddie joining KISS in 1982, or ever? Just can’t see it.

Again, I had literally just read “KISSTORY” when I did that interview, so I asked Eddie about it at the end of our conversation. I didn’t tell him it was “off the record,” as a post on the Van Halen fan site indicates. I did tell him that it wasn’t for the story, because I was writing a story about the “Balance” tour coming to Philly, and it just didn’t fit. It was really just for my own curiosity. And thus it was never included in the article that ran in the newspaper. If you listen to the interview, you can hear that the question was really just an afterthought. “KISSTORY” was a $150 coffee table book marketed just to the KISS diehards, not a New York Times best-seller, and the Van Halen story was about three sentences in the book, so I really didn’t see it as a big story.

The reason you hear me chuckling a little, which is noted on the Van Halen fan website, was simply because of Eddie’s reaction to the question, which was one of bewilderment. I certainly didn’t think Eddie was too good for KISS, or vice-versa. If the rumor/story had been just the opposite, and the story went that in 1978 Paul Stanley once considered quitting KISS to join the up-and-coming Van Halen, I also probably would have been chuckling if I had the chance to ask Paul about it, especially if he had the same reaction as Eddie. I am still a big fan of both bands and I do think that some sort of conversation probably happened bewteen Eddie and Gene, though both were also probably a bit foggy on the details in 1995, which was 13 years after the conversation took place. Gene is a very smart guy. When he put that story out there, he had to have known that at some point, somebody was going to ask Eddie about it, and I guess the only person that has ever done that is me, and it took almost 20 years for anyone to notice. If nothing about Eddie joining KISS was ever said, even jokingly, I don't think Gene would have put it in "KISSTORY." And Eddie admits he was really hitting the sauce at the time. All I know is that, for the record, I’d have been the first in line to buy any record that had Paul Stanley, Eddie Van Halen, Gene Simmons and Eric Carr playing on it.

Gotta love the internet. An interview I did almost 20 years ago still has life and can become a topic of discussion.

Rock on .... 

Alan

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So that has been by standard reply to questions about my 1995 interview with Eddie Van Halen. He was, on the two occasions when I interviewed him, a pleasure to talk to. I am still a fan, and as my readers know, I am still an even bigger KISS fan and have been blogging about them quite a bit this month regarding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you missed those blogs, they're linked here:

1. KISS and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Much Ado About Nothing:

http://musiconthemenu.blogspot.com/2014/02/kiss-and-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-by.html

2. KISS and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Who should give the speech?
http://musiconthemenu.blogspot.com/2014/03/kiss-and-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-who.html

3. A link to the three-hour radio special I hosted on KISS can also be found here:

http://musiconthemenu.blogspot.com/2014/03/kiss-on-mountain-three-hour-radio.html

4. And all of my KISS archives can be found at:

     http://www.alankstout.com/KISS

Thanks, as always, for reading and listening.

KISS and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

Who should give the induction speech?

 
By ALAN K. STOUT
MUSIC ON THE MENU
March 5, 2014

Last week, I blogged some of my thoughts on KISS and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The commentary was reposted on KISS’ official website and was also shared on KISS’ official Facebook page, which has more than 11 million followers. Obviously, the feedback has been amazing. Thank you, everyone, for sharing your thoughts. If you missed that blog, you can read it here:

http://www.kissonline.com/news/article/id/39622

Now that I’ve covered that, I’ve also enjoyed having some conversations with some friends about who should be the person at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony to give the speech prior to KISS' induction and officially introduce them as Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. If you’ve watched any of these ceremonies in the past, this is usually a pretty cool moment. Bono introducing Bruce Springsteen, to me, is one that really stands out. His speech was tremendous. And I also enjoyed Springsteen’s speech when he introduced Creedence.

So, who should introduce KISS?

Here are a few ideas:

First, we’ll start with those that are already members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Clearly, those that are peers of KISS, or someone that was one of their musical influences, would bring a nice touch of prestige to the induction.

1. Jimmy Page – Page seems to be a KISS fan. Paul Stanley has never hid his love for all-things-Zeppelin, and Page was photographed a few years ago hanging out backstage at a KISS show. There certainly seems to be some mutual admiration on both sides, and Page actually has a blurb on the back cover of Stanley’s forthcoming autobiography. And let’s face it: having Jimmy Page standing there saying great things about KISS would be very cool.

2. Joe Perry – Perry likes KISS. He played on Gene Simmons’ 1978 solo album and has never had anything but great things to say about the band. His appreciation for the group has been well-documented in several KISS books and he even got on stage and jammed with the band back in 2003 when KISS and Aerosmith toured together.

3. Alice Cooper – Alice has also always had great things to say about KISS. He knows that they took his ideas of combining rock with theatrics to the next level, but rather than resent it, he appreciates it. There seems to be a lot of mutual respect there and a nice friendship. This would be a case of the teacher proudly acknowledging the accomplishments of the students.

4. Geddy Lee – Rush and KISS toured together quite a bit in the early ‘70s and remain great friends. There’s practically a whole chapter about the friendship in the KISS book, “Nothin’ To Lose.” The two bands genuinely like each other as both performers and people, and Gene Simmons even appeared in the excellent Rush documentary, "Beyond The Lighted Stage,” and had some nice things to say about the band.

Next, we’ll throw out a few of KISS’ more accomplished disciples. These are artists that grew up as KISS fans, cite them as a major influence, and went on to have successful careers in music:

5. Nikki Sixx – The KISS influence on Motley Crue, both musically and visually, is obvious. Both bands toured together in 1983 and again, 30 years later, in 2013. Sixx is an excellent speaker and would do a great job with the induction speech. He recently posted on Facebook about how much he's enjoying Paul's new book and he would speak eloquently at the ceremony.  

      6. Sebastian Bach – Sebastian is a huge KISS fan and has talked about it on many occasions. He is actually a KISS collector and did a great job on Skid Row’s cover of the KISS classic, ‘C’mon and Love Me.” His speech  would be passionate and energetic, though probably not as polished as Sixx’s. He would also be the one that would most likely tell the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to f-off for taking 15 years to induct KISS. That could make for an awkward moment, but also one KISS fans would enjoy.

7. Brett Michaels – Like Sixx, Michaels would speak well. He’s another member of the many ‘80s rock bands that have cited KISS as a major influence. Poison once recorded a fun cover of “Rock and Roll All Nite” and often play it in concert. They have also toured with KISS.

8. Dave Grohl – Many members of bands from the ‘90s have also made it clear that KISS had a huge impact on their lives. They were just kids back in the ‘70s when KISS first burst onto the scene, and for many, it was their first exposure to rock and roll. Grohl, now with The Foo Fighters, has been photographed wearing KISS t-shirts and his former band, Nirvana, recorded a few KISS covers. He’s also great at speaking about other bands that have had an influence on him, as was evident at the recent CBS special noting the 50^th anniversary of The Beatles arrival in America. Plus, he'll already be at the event, as Nirvana is being inducted the same night.

9. Mike McCready – The founding member of Pearl Jam says KISS is the reason he picked up a guitar and pursued a career in music. He sports KISS tattoos and, while appearing on VH1 Classic’s “That Metal Show” last year, he was outspoken about his feelings on KISS not being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

10. Tom Morello – Morello, of Rage Against The Machine fame, has been making waves of late due to his collaborations with Bruce Springsteen. He is a huge KISS fan who names them as a major influence. He also appeared on the 1994 KISS tribute album, “KISS My Ass.” And since the E Street Band is being inducted the same night, and he's worked so much with them in recent months, he'll probably be in the house. 

So there you have it. Ten guys that all would be a nice fit to help induct KISS into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

If you could pick one, who would it be? Or, do you have any other ideas? Elton John? He also seems to be a fan of the group. One of the guys from Metallica? Lenny Kravitz? They're all big fans ...
 
Who should give THE speech?

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Alan K. Stout has covered rock and pop music in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992. He currently contributes stories to The Weekender, the region's #1 arts and entertainment newspaper, and his weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu," can be heard every Sunday from 9-10 p.m. on 105 The River (104.9-FM) in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. To view all of his articles on KISS, visit www.alankstout.com/KISS

Follow Alan K. Stout's thoughts on music on Facebook at www.facebook.com/musiconthemenu

KISS and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

 

 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

By ALAN K. STOUT

MUSIC ON THE MENU

February 26, 2014

 

As I sit and write this, I am listening to KISS’ “Double Platinum” album. It’s a compilation record, released in 1978, that features some of the best tracks from KISS’ first six studio albums. It’s one of the best hard-rock records of the ‘70s, and really, one of the best hard-rock records of all-time. And its songs, more than anything, are why KISS will be taking its rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month.

KISS, whose members were schooled on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, have written great songs. They have groove. They have energy. They have swagger. And quite a few of them, such as the ferocious “Deuce” and the grand “Shout It Out Loud,” kick some major ass.

 

Looking for something a little more sentimental? KISS also gave you “Beth” and “Hard Luck Woman.” Though they were hard-rock pioneers that came along only a few short years after Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, KISS has always had a fine sense of melody.

Those songs captured a generation, and when you combined it with the band’s explosive, innovative stage shows and larger-than-life image, it made KISS the most popular band in the world and clearly, as the years passed, one of the most influential. They were Alice Cooper on steroids. They were capable musicians, good songwriters and grand showmen, and again, they had the tunes. I remember watching an interview with Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue many years ago and he was asked about KISS’ influence of Motley’s stageshows, and while he certainly acknowledged that, he made it clear that it was the band’s music he loved the most.

 “KISS,” he said, “have great songs.”  

The fact that KISS has been eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 15 years and are just getting in now is absurd. And if you’re wondering why it took so long, it’s no great mystery. Some of the people that have a lot of the influence on the voting have not wanted them there. Dave Marsh, a respected music journalist who is believed to have a heavy hand in the voting process, once said that "KISS is not a great band, KISS was never a great band, KISS never will be a great band, and I have done my share to keep them off the ballot."

There are things about Dave Marsh that I greatly admire, particularly his appreciation for ‘70s era Elvis Presley. He has written about it in his books and has even written the liner notes for some of the better compilations of Presley’s ‘70s material, and when it comes to studying The King, he is dead on. And he certainly knows his Springsteen. But when it comes to studying KISS, he is absolutely dead wrong.

KISS is a great band. KISS was always a great band. And KISS will always be a great band.

My opinion – and yours - is just as good as Marsh’s, who by the way, has trashed quite a few other noteworthy artists over the years. And that’s why the very idea of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is somewhat asinine. If I recall, Ray Davies of The Kinks pretty much said the same thing many years ago, though not because of the politics of the voting, but rather the sheer stuffiness of it all. Initially, I agreed. I wasn’t so hot on the concept, and over the years, as they put in some artists that I never cared for, I took it less and less seriously, though I can also admit that when I did see a wonderful group being nicely recognized, I was happy for them. It was an odd combination of apathy and interest.

 

In 2007, on a trip to Cleveland, I decided to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. At that point, KISS had been eligible for about eight years, and though that bothered me, it wasn’t enough to keep me from going in and checking out The Beatles’ “Sgt. Peppers” outfits. I figured KISS would get in soon enough, and I while there, I was able to see the hypocrisy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as I noticed they were selling some KISS items in the gift shop. It appeared KISS was good enough for them to make a few bucks off of, but not good enough for enshrinement.  I rolled my eyes, looked at a few of Elvis’s jumpsuits, and left.

I returned to Cleveland two years ago. At that point, KISS had been eligible for the Hall of Fame for more than 12 years and it was really starting to bug me. And that time, even though I walked right by place, I did not go in. In fact, I snapped the photo you see with this column and texted it to a few of my fellow KISS-loving friends. And when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame allowed fans to vote for possible inductees last year and included KISS on the ballot – probably due to all of the public backlash from the band not being in – I refused to vote, as I felt it would be pandering to someone like Marsh, or Kurt Loder, who I also always got a sense from his MTV days was no KISS fan.

Again, to me, nobody's opinion about music is any better than mine, nor yours, and I imagine people like Marsh and Loder might even find it confusing that someone like me – who has seen KISS more than 30 times - also loves Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and has seen the critics’ darlings such as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who and U2 in concert many times and loves them all. I’ve also seen Springsteen 10 times, and I’ve written about music, professionally, for 22 years. And I can certainly tell you that KISS is - if it really matters to you –  very worthy of the being in anyone's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Though the original members of KISS were gracious when they first learned that they finally were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame late last year and that they will be officially enshrined next month, I was glad to see that they’re also not pandering to the institution.  Paul Stanley, a  gifted frontman, vocalist and songwriter, intially said he was glad the band was going in on its own terms, that it was an honor to be in the same company of some of his own musical heroes, and that he is happy for the fans, because he knows it’s important to them. In a recent interview, however, with the U.K.’s  “Classic Rock” magazine, he was much more curt. Asked if he finally felt honored, he said:

 

"No. It was done begrudgingly and because it had become absolutely ludicrous that they were choosing to ignore us. At the end of the day, most people don't realize that the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame was a privately created establishment and that it has a self-appointed board. It's a perfect case of perception becoming reality. People heard 'Rock And Roll Hall of Fame' and gave it credibility. Was it an honor to be nominated? No.”

Stanley - whose band has more gold records than any American rock group in history - wasn’t finished.

“It means a lot to the fans and I understand it because it's validation for them,” he said.  “So for that reason I accept graciously and accept on their behalf. My feelings and my ambivalence about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame hasn't changed any. Their attitude is elitist and it doesn't reflect the public. It reflects a small group who dictate who meets the criteria that they set up as 'rock and roll.' I scratch my head a little and I also take issue with a certain arrogance within that group ... Nonetheless, I look at some of the inductees and any club that has Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and The Who, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones is company I don't mind being in, and my feelings have nothing to do with any of them. It purely has to do with a system which I think is tainted, corrupted and distorted."

Good for him.

Remember, some of the higher-ups at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are also heavily involved with Rolling Stone magazine – the same magazine that, in 1991, failed to even mention the passing of KISS drummer Eric Carr, who had capably held the drum stool in the band for more than a decade and played on several gold and platinum albums. This led to a sharp letter-to-the-editor, signed by Stanley, Gene Simmons and guitarist Bruce Kulick. Clearly, there is a history with KISS and some of those writers and editors, and it’s not a good one.  

So why, with so much brooding hostility, has KISS finally been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Who knows? Respected music critic Chuck Klosterman has been a big supporter of the band and may have had some influence. Spin magazine has been good to them. And radio/TV personality Eddie Trunk, the host of VH1 Classic’s “That Metal Show” - and who also has a friendship with original KISS members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss - has been very outspoken on the absurdity of KISS’ omission from the Hall. Somehow, between all of the backlash, and perhaps with some new voices getting some votes, and with KISS winning that fan poll that I refused to vote in, KISS got in. And let’s face it, most of the bands and artists that the Rolling Stone-type writers love have made it clear that they have a great love for KISS, including the late Kurt Cobain, who ironically will be inducted in the same class. Members of hard-rock bands such as Motley Crue, Metallica and Guns ‘N Roses all love KISS. Grunge bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden love KISS. A KISS tribute album featured everyone from Stevie Wonder to Garth Brooks and Lenny Kravitz. 

 

Who the hell needs Dave Marsh?

Ironically, I admit, I am happy that KISS is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If I didn’t really care that KISS wasn’t in, I probably would have went back inside the last time I was in Cleveland, rather than flipping the place the bird. And it appears lots of KISS fans feel the same. And that’s why so many of them were so upset earlier this week when it was announced that while the original members of KISS plan to appear at the induction ceremonies, they will not perform together. Look, I’ve written more than 40 newspaper articles about KISS, some of which have run in newspapers across the country, so people have been asking me about this all week. And after thinking about it for a few days, my opinion is that I really don’t care. Maybe, I admit, it’s because I’ve always been a Paul and Gene guy. They are the glue. They are the ones that have held the band together for 40 years. And yet they are the ones being criticized for, supposedly, not agreeing to perform with original members Frehley and Criss.

I have no idea what the discussions were like between Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I don’t know for sure what the Hall of Fame wanted, or what Gene and Paul wanted. It does appear, by their recent statements, that Ace and Peter were willing to play with Gene and Paul, but there is speculation that Gene and Paul wanted to honor the whole history of the band, including Frehley, Criss, Kulick and the late Carr, and perform with current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, who have each now been with the group for more than a decade. (Singer was also a member from 1992-1995.)  Supposedly, the Hall of Fame wanted just the original four members, who are the ones being inducted, to perform. And supposedly, Gene and Paul nixed that. 

Confused? Don't be. It's not worth it.

Would it have been cool to see the original four play together one last time? Certainly. I’d have made the trip to Brooklyn to see that. Would it have been odd and just plain wrong to have the current KISS perform in makeup and costume, and have Frehley and Criss relegated to the role of sidemen during the performance? Certainly. Would it have been cool to see Simmons, Stanley, Frehley, Criss, Thayer, Singer and Kulick all perform together without makeup and costume and just kick some ass ? Certainly. But none of it is happening, and the more I think about it, the more I’m OK with it.

 (Two other KISS members, Vinne Vincent and the late Mark St. John, though both talented, had very short stints in the band and are generally not included in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame discussions.)

The original KISS was wonderful. It was magic. But by 1977, only three years after the band’s first album was released, things were beginning to crumble. There was already a lot of tension, and just a few years later, Peter and Ace were gone. But for a whole generation of fans, the ‘80s was still a golden era. I bought 1984’s “Animalize” the day it came out. I remember seeing 1987’s “Reason To Live” being the #1 video on MTV.  “Forever,” from 1989, was a Top-10 hit. “Hide Your Heart” is one of the best songs KISS ever recorded. From 1983-1995 - the non-makeup years - I saw KISS perform many times in packed arenas. Every CD went either gold or platinim. And, if you want to take a look at KISS’ recent history, you’ll also find some great stuff. Two tracks in particular from “Monster,” the band’s latest CD - “Freak” and “Last Chance” - are worthy additions to the KISS catalog. They are tremendous.  Apparently, Stanley and Simmons feel that these things should be a part of all of this. Apparently, the Hall of Fame does not. Criss and Frehley? They probably feel it’s all certainly worth a mention, but no more. It’s created a problem, and Stanley and Simmons, who have worked hard to rebrand the band with its new members over the past 10 years, may simply not want to go backwards, even if it’s just for 10 minutes and a couple of songs.

Again, we really don't know what went down. But what we do know is that KISS is not the first band to not do summersaults and backflips for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rock stars, generally speaking, don’t genuflect for anyone. When Van Halen was enshrined, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth didn’t even bother to show up. When Guns’ N’ Roses was enshrined, Axl Rose as a no-show. He had no interest in performing with his former bandmates. Paul McCartney was also a no-show for The Beatles induction, due to some business disagreements within The Beatles camp. John Fogerty totally blew off the other members of Creedence Clearwater Revival when the band was enshrined and actually performed without them, even though they were there. (That band made KISS look like a happy family.)  Roger Waters would not appear with Pink Floyd. Lots of bad blood there. And Jerry Garcia was a no-show when The Grateful Dead was inducted. He supposedly thought the whole Hall of Fame thing was dumb. 

Hell, even David Crosby, who has been enshrined twice, once as a member of The Byrds and once as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash, once trashed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to me in an interview. He said that when CSN was inducted, he was very offended that their longtime band would not be permitted to join them at their table and would be charged $1,500 each to attend. Other guests, he said, including Neil Young – who coincidently was being inducted at the same time with Buffalo Springfield, were equally miffed. Young was told that if he wanted to bring his kids to the ceremony, he would be charged $1,500 per person. To top it all off, Crosby said that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sold the rights to broadcast the ceremony to VH1, but offered no compensation to the enshrined performers who were providing the entertainment.

“Neil told them to take their award and stuff it where the sun doesn’t shine,” said Crosby. “Joni Mitchell didn’t come for the same reason. She was grossly offended. The first time I went, I felt I was being honored. The second time, I felt I was being taken advantage of.”

I share these stories because it seems as though lots of KISS fans are about to jump off the cliff over all of this. Please, settle down. We don’t know what really went down behind the scenes. But we do know what we've always known.

 

We know that Nikki Sixx was right. KISS has great songs.

 

And we know that Dave Marsh was wrong. KISS is a great band. KISS was always a great band. KISS will always be a great band.

That's all that really matters to me.

And when the original four put their differences aside next month and will hopefully at least stand side-by-side to accept this honor, remember they’re already doing more than some other bands have done in that situation, and that they’re doing it mostly for you. And remember, you don’t need to anyone else to tell you how great you think their songs are.

Just pop in “Double Platinum.”

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Alan K. Stout has covered rock and pop music in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992. He currently contributes stories to The Weekender, the region's #1 arts and entertainment newspaper, and his weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu," can be heard every Sunday from 9-10 p.m. on 105 The River (104.9-FM) in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. To view all of his articles on KISS, visit www.alankstout.com/KISS

Follow Alan K. Stout's thoughts on music on Facebook at www.facebook.com/musiconthemenu