I was a KISS fanatic, and they were the Kings Of The Nightime World. My little brother, with whom I shared a room, can attest to the ferocity of my fanaticism. Our room was festooned with every full page picture from 16 Magazine to Circus to Hit Parader that I could find of my heroes. From the time I began taking guitar lessons at Mountain Music and saw the cover of the KISS Destroyer Easy Guitar Songbook, I was hooked. I read everything I could read, searched for pictures, collected the cassettes, bought the trading cards, and dreamed of becoming the next Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley. Their humble beginnings, their struggles to get recognized and their meteoric flight to the top made them the gods of my youth, and I wish they had never made it beyond the day I graduated from high school.
At the height of their full make-up glory, KISS provided a mythical superhero status for me. They represented more than just music that I loved, but a means of escapism not unlike Batman, Superman or The Lone Ranger. Their alter-egos provided a back story and a depth to the young men that I wanted to be.
As time pushed forward, rumblings outside of the inner circle of KISS leaked issues between the Fantastic Four, and the chink in the armor was exposed. The crushing blow was when Peter left the band. It marked the end of that era and these “superfriends” were no more. When Ace left, there was no hope of recovering the alliance. Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent made valiant efforts to fill the costume voids but could not make it work, and the make-up came off. It was time and the right move, but the mythos was gone.
KISS become a hard rock band and flourished in the metal explosion of the ’80’s. Mtv kept them alive and well and I enjoyed this music, but it was music only. My heroes were gone. Then in the late ’90’s after a couple KISS conventions and an Mtv Unplugged event the Fearsome Foursome were back, full costumes and make-up and the reunion was on. I got to see them in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the magic was recaptured, for the time being. After touring for a couple years, the bottom fell out again and apparently Ace and Peter’s Kryptonite afflicted them again – drugs and alcohol.
The current line-up of Gene and Paul with Eric Singer on drums and Tommy Thayer on lead guitar make KISS music, and it sounds great. But Eric and Tommy are wearing Peter and Ace’s make-up, thus falsifying the mythos. It is not crushing like the first break-up, but it is like watching the CG enhanced version of Star Wars Episode IV; it’s just not the original and it really destroys the legendary status. I guess the early years, when I was so devout and earnest about my allegiance, have strengthened my resolve. It’s probably the same reason I can’t force myself to root for any other teams besides the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Vikings…just straight loyalty.
My loyalty was bolstered by the recent induction of KISS into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Yes, in typical fashion, it was controversial, they did not play because they are still at odds with the RRHOF over the band members inducted, but the induction speech by mega fan Tom Morello is enough to hype a non-fan into collecting the entire catalog and joining the KISS Army. A no more passionate homage has ever been bestowed upon any inductee, and I am now a Tom Morello fan.
I stated this past weekend to a clutch of friends and family that I was done. I will not buy tickets to see them on their 40th anniversary tour, I will not condone the facade of Ace and Peter’s make-up being recycled by those that were not original, and I will not deny the love of the legend they were. I have made the mistake of reading the autobiographies; they have crushed the mythology and made human the superheroes. But I will carry the torch and defend to my dying day, the calling and the love of the band that raised my spirit, but without them, I have a world without heroes.
