ONE OF THOSE FINDS

With the ol’ Ma’s 63rd birthday a mere 5 days away I suggested to my wife that we make a trip to Half Pice Books in the search of a present, not to mention a night of shopping for yours truly. A half hour into our journey through the racks of used books, magazines and CD’s I stumbled across one of those finds. The kind that make your eyes open wide and your heart skip a beat. There I was…scanning the CD’s, trying to remember all of the titles I have been forever searching for…when there it was. Two KISS Solo Album 8-Track cassettes…in the original Casablanca Records and Filmworks sleeve. I grabbed them without hesitation…pausing to make sure no one was lurking around the corner waiting to nab my new found glory. In the original Casablanca sleeves???? Are you kidding me? The most rewarding part…yes sure they are 8-Tracks and most mortal men no longer own an 8-Track player so the demand may be low, but I paid a simple 0.98 cents per cassette. That’s right. On a normal Friday night that I would have normally spent watching THREE’S COMPANY reruns I walked away with a piece of 1970’s KISS glory for no more than two dollars. Thank God for the simple pleasure in life…not to mention my mom.

KISS - A MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL!

Collecting is an addiction. It seeps into your blood and quietly stirs. It keeps you up at night, takes most of your time and energy, and rapes you of all currency. There has never been a sweeter disease. After lucking into adding the 1st Marvel KISS comic book to my collection and learning the a 2nd issue was also issued the MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL KISS was gladly added to the top of my list of must have collectibles.
Most fans would more than likely consider the 2nd comic a second rate follow up to the original. In my sick and twisted way…I kind of like the 2nd issue more. I love how slick the pictures are, the front cover is absolutely mesmerizing, and a killer back cover ad for the KISS solo albums doesn’t hurt matters at all.
Sure the story is extremely cheesy and a tad lame at parts but it reminds me of those really bad STAR TREKS you use to watch on TV when it was raining outside on Sunday afternoons. Cheesy? Yes. But you cannot look away.
I miss the wrap around cover from the 1st issue and the fact that Dr. Doom was in the 1st issue will clearly make the 1st comic a classic but Issue #2 wreaks of that good ol’ fashioned 1978 PHANTOM OF THE PARK fun I look for in KISS merchandise.
To this day I still have never run across an issue with an intact “Bonus! – Full Color, Four Page, Pull-Out KISS POSTER!” as the front cover advertises but I’m sure some day I will. Damn addiction…no matter how you try, you just can’t shake it.

KISS - DOUBLE PLATINUM TELEVISION AD

The inclusion of Casablanca Records founder and President, Neil Bogart in the promotional clip for DOUBLE PLATINUM leads us to be certain of one thing,
"The times…they are a changing’."
For the better or worse? That completely depends upon where you stand. If you were standing in Neil Bogart’s shoes…the world was yours.
As Neil Bogart stands prim and proper in his tuxedo, congratulating KISS on becoming the ‘success story of the decade’ it is overly apparent that the KISS money cow is growing more rapidly obese day by day. The reason behind the release of this album ranges from several different classic KISS urban legends. Some say its release was a simple gesture put out to dispel the rumors that KISS may actually be breaking up. Some believe it was to tide over the KISS record buying public who hadn’t seen a new KISS record since ALIVE II in the fall of 1977 and wouldn’t see a new KISS record until the release of the Solo Albums in the fall of 1978.
Myself? I subscribe to the same ol’ conspiracy theory I always have. Neil Bogart was simply cashing in on the disco craze and the idea of re-mixing a KISS song with a disco beat as far to irresistible. Sure, Casablanca could have issued a 12" disco record but where is the fun in that? More likely, where is the money in that? It would have been far more profitable for the label to release a double disk-gatefold LP and once again reach into the pockets of elementary school kids everywhere.
Big business at it’s best. By the release of DOUBLE PLATINUM in April 1978 it was very obvious…KISS was no longer a simple rock and roll band. They indeed had become ‘big business’ and for the remainder of 1978…business was good.

KISS - DOUBLE PLATINUM

When I was in the first grade the crew in my neighborhood consisted of my two closest friends Shawn and Brian, the neighbor girl from behind my house, Robyn and her two neighbors, Cricket and Tiffany. At first it was a little strange for my small clique to take to this addition of female companionship. However, we soon learned it wasn’t all that bad. They could just as easily help build a fort in the woods, take part in a sand castle battle of green plastic army men, and be up for the occasional round of ‘make believe’ DUKES OF HAZZARD. Besides, Robin’s backyard was home to the biggest oak tree in the neighborhood fully loaded with climbable branches and a killer swing.
The summer of 1981 we blended well together; Robyn had a girl to pal around with and Cricket, who was a few years older than us became the guy who would protect us from the bullies who lived on the ‘bad street’ and occasionally made it into our neighborhood. Tiffany and Cricket were both free wheeling kids whose parent’s worked very odd hours. Much of the time they were left in the care of their older sister. This did little to throw a wrench into anyone else’s works but mine. For in the Howard home things were not so foot loose and fancy free.
At the time my mom was working as a secretary at our church part time and was gone for a major part of the day. My ol’ man was working nights at a trucking company so for the most part my sister was in charge and the rule of the house was ‘never go into anyone’s home whose parent’s are not at home’. Man…my mom was a killjoy even when she was miles away at work.
That meant that on those carefree days of 1981 I was pretty much allowed into anyone’s house, except for the home of Cricket and Tiffany. For my sister and myself, there home became the great unknown.
Soon the inevitable happened and I found myself alone in my house, my sister at the helm and the entire gang at Cricket’s while my mom was off sipping coffee at a Wednesday night Church social supper. Not to be left out of the fun I begged and pleaded and before I knew it my sister and I were jumping our backyard fence and heading straight for Cricket and Tiffany’s home. My mom would have shit.
"First she would have shit, then she would have killed us."
For the life of me I do not remember why…but in order to join our friends in some mid summer’s night mischief, my sister and I had to climb through a window to get inside of the house. This only made breaking the rules feel that much more fun and dangerous. As we propped ourselves up and slid inside the window we landed in Cricket’s older sister’s room and I found myself in a haven of unforgettable memories.
Unbeknownst to myself, Cricket’s sister was a KISS fan. I wasn’t a fan at the time and knew nothing of their music but I recalled liking them from the lunchbox at school earlier that year and was still just as fascinated. I must have wandered around the room two or three times before anyone noticed I wasn’t joining in on the fun because soon Cricket came back into the room to check on me.
As I walked around her room checking out her walls decked to the ceiling in KISS posters my mind was a frenzy of activity. She had everything. "The Spirit of 76’" poster, Solo Posters, Jigsaw Puzzles, Iron-ON’s, and a gigantic record collection. She was a true collector as well as a huge Peter Criss and Ace Frehley fan. Not only did she have a ton of Ace and Peter pictures cut out from random magazines, she had also hung up some artwork of her own; pencil drawings of Ace and Peter…gigantic charcoal drawings of their faces in makeup…most, quite good for a teenage girl. As I stared at the drawings Cricket nudged me,
"This is how she does it," he said slowly pulling a gigantic silver album from the record shelf. He carefully slid a flimsy piece of typing paper out of a notebook on her desk and opened the album. Placing the paper on top of the inner gatefold he carefully rubbed a piece of charcoal pencil over and over creating a silhouette of one of the four KISS faces. Pleased the he had debunked his sister’s artistic talents he smiled at me and threw away the paper.
Looking back at her renditions it was easy to see she had done more than just trace the embossed faces of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. This girl had real talent. Her drawing had taken time and effort. None the less I truly believed, on that day that Peter Criss was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my short life. Something about the Catman’s makeup up captivated me. Staring longer at the silver gatefold photos I found myself lost in that world of fantasy I would discover eight years later.
The shining silver, the embossed photos, the chained links hanging from Gene’s neck, the bullets around Peters chest, the arrogance of Ace Frehley’s stare…it was (and still is) so ‘other worldly’.
The DOUBLE PLATINUM gatefold is by far my favorite KISS album design (as a package)…simply breathtaking.
DOUBLE PLATINUM was the last ‘album’ to ever find its way into my hot little hands years later when the collecting bug bit. On the chance that I would run across it in an antique store it was either in such poor condition or missing the order form and Platinum Certificate that it was never worth purchasing. After 17 years of never owning this little gem I finally broke down and purchased it from an online auction. The last piece of the ‘album goodie’ puzzle solved…paid for at a slightly hefty price.
Oh well…the price we pay for our childhood memories.

KISS - ALIVE II

Had my mother and I been walking through the aisles of Musicland on October 24, 1977 I’m positive I would have stopped dead in my tracks, mouth opened to the floor staring in amazement at the brand new double LP release from KISS. While my mother after taking one glance at the slick black album cover would begin dousing me clean with holy water as if she were Father Merrin herself. A classic tale-tale sign that you are on to something good.
No KISS album has packaged a greater sense of fun and ‘not of this worldliness’ on two pieces of cardboard like KISS ALIVE II. From the packaging, to the song selection, to the ‘extra’ surprise tucked neatly in the record sleeve…ALIVE II ranks a ‘10’ on the scale of all-time KISS must-haves.
Before you load up your slingshots and take aim at my freshly cleaned windows…please hear me out. Yes - KISS ALIVE! is ‘sonically’ a better album. The performance is tighter, the track listing is more mature, and will go down in history as one of the greatest ‘live’ albums of all time…but c’mon…where’s the fun? This is KISS were talking about! For my dollar ALIVE II delivers the goods…two-fold.
The photos used on the front cover are some of the coolest images I have ever seen of the band. Definitely something I would keep in mind is ever shopping the idea of getting a KISS tattoo.
The inner gatefold pic is also just as beautiful. It speaks in a very simple yet effective way. Lock up your daughters, cover your son’s ears and grab the Bible because KISS is coming to town and everything you have ever heard about this band is true. They are going to destroy you…convert you…and leave you wanting more. Classic KISS at it’s best.
It’s been rumored the Gene got the idea for the studio tracks on the album from a ZZ-Top ‘live’ album. Thank God…that is a handful of nuggets sent straight from the Heavens. "All American Man", "Larger Than Life", "Rocket Ride"…jeez! That is some of the best material they have done since ALIVE! I have always wondered what it would have been like if KISS would have saved the material from the 4th side of the record and actually done a ‘new’ KISS record. One can only imagine.
The last kick ass piece of this record is of course the tattoo’s. How freaking sweet is that? Imagine being a 9-year-old kid and being able to cover your arms and face with your heroes. Teachers everywhere must have been disgusted. I was pleasantly pleased when KISS re-issued their CD library including replica’s of the original album inserts. It was my first time I was ever able to come across the tattoo’s. I was young and broke so I purchased the CD, removed the tattoo’s and returned it. I know…it was a crappy thing to do…but I had to have them and I was a very poor college student. I must have been a good boy after that because lady luck tapped me on the shoulder when I purchased ALIVE II at a garage sale. Some little ol’ granny was selling her son’s old record collection and ALIVE II was among the loot. The kid must have taken care of his stuff because for $1.75, I walked away with the "Evolution of KISS" insert, order form, and the KISS tattoos-never put together and completely mint. In all honesty the kid probably wasn’t even a KISS fan. It was probably a forgotten Christmas gift that he could have cared less about. It probably sat in this ladies basement for 23 years.
The simple joys of being a KISS fan…when the wife says "Hey – look a garage sale…let’s stop"…you never know what might be waiting for you.

MARVEL COMICS SUPER SPECIAL

The one item in my collection that is by far the coolest and yet overlooked is the 1977 MARVEL COMICS SUPER SPECIAL – KISS. At the end of the day when all else is said and done this piece of memorabilia is probably one of the most important in the history of the band. Years from now when people mention KISS one thing that will always be said is that they ‘at one time published their own comic book’. That alone makes it important not only in the history of KISS, but rock and roll in general.
I was 15 years old when this little gem walked into my life. Dan and I were visiting the local comic shops in search of another installment of SERCRET WARS and ever so patiently trying to find the (freshly banned) ROCK AND ROLL COMICS PRESENTS GUNS-N-ROSES, when out of nowhere the owner of the shop told us,
"I don’t have the Guns-N-Roses issue…it’s pretty rare, but I do have this…." He held up the bright orange magazine sized comic and all of the air left the room. Dan pulled some wadded bills from his Velcro Van Halen wallet and the next thing I knew we were sitting in his Camaro and he kept repeating to himself,
"I can’t believe I actually own this!"
The fire that burnt in his eyes explained to me just how important this artifact was. Later, Dan would sell the comic to me during the great ‘Dan-unemployment’ phase of 1993 so it has never officially left his sight. The comic remains ‘within the circle’ and can be viewed at any time. It’s simply being preserved in the archives…a little more carefully than it would within the confines of the Thompson vault. Just ask to borrow Van Halen BALANCE on CD if you need further explanation.

THE LAND OF HYPE AND GLORY

Before Gene Simmons put an abrupt end to all of the fun and many years before the internet allowed your mouse to do all of the work, if a fan wanted to get their vintage KISS fix the only option was left in the hands of mail order bootleggers. Everyone had their personal favorite supplier. Mike Jackson lined the pockets Frank Carligo. Myself, I fancied Peter Arquette’s detailed mailers. The bottom line, no matter who you chose they were all gold mines of vintage footage young KISS fans never thought they were ever going to get the chance to see. The first video I ever ordered from such bootleg mailers was a compilation tape called, "Ancient KISS Videos #2" containing one of my more favorite interviews, THE LAND OF HYPE AND GLORY. What makes this video fun for me was that not only was this a KISS interview and outtakes from classic 77’ photo sessions, it also serves as a snapshot of the American landscape circa 1977. The little kid skateboarding at the beach, the brand new single "Smooth Sailing" by The Dingo’s, Foreigner performing "Cold As Ice" and then BAM!!…there it is…KISS in all of their larger than life glory. Hype marketed perfectly. Suddenly everything else seems pretty damn boring. Bill Aucoin is a freaking genius. If you were not a KISS fan before viewing this clip try to fight the urge …it is simply impossible. Besides, what else does a young teenage boy, dreaming of rock stardom need besides the ending quote,
"The youngest KISS is 26, the oldest 31…they are all millionaires."
What a way to make a living…indeed!

The Love Gun

After LOVE GUN sunk it’s sugary sharp teeth into my side I began scouring every music rag and antique outlet I could squeeze into my summer vacation all thanks to an article in my "Might And Magic of KISS" magazine called, "KISS Sells and Everybody’s Buyin’". This served as my first exposure to the mass merchandising world of KISS. Eyeballing treasures like the puzzles, trading cards, toy guitar and the KISS Radio I was completely taken back. Collecting KISS was about to become an addiction.
Down from my bedroom wall went the STAR WARS poster and assorted Motley Crue pics and up went everything KISS I could apply scissors and scotch tape to. All the while keeping a sharp eye on the rainbow leading to the KISS pot of gold. I had no idea it would come in the form of a run down shop in downtown St. Joe called, T & T Variety.
My mom, who commuted downtown everyday for work had mentioned a store with ‘rock and roll stuff in their window’ and that she would drop me by if I wanted to check it out. With the possibility of KISS merchandise inside I didn’t hesitate.
Inside it was everything I had excepted. T & T was your typical rundown, musty smelling, flea market of a store where collectors of all breeds could find vinyl LP records, nudie magazines, and emptied rusted beer cans from days gone by. After several minutes of wandering the cramped store in silence the owner asked me if he could help me find anything. I shyly answered, ‘KISS’ and with a toothy grin he rocked back in his swiveled wooden chair and began rifling through a metal filing cabinet. The next thing I knew I was holding a shiny LOVE GUN belt buckle. I could have puked my stomach felt as if it were going to shoot through my throat.
"How much?" I asked, knowing deep down I could never afford such a sweet ride.
"I’ll take fifteen," he replied. Money had never exchanged hands faster. With that purchase a friendship and lifestyle was formed. I was officially becoming a collector of KISS, and now I had someone working for me on the ‘inside’. The owner of T & T Variety made a promise to me to call me anytime he ran across a KISS item and thank God he stuck to just that promise. A few weeks later a phone message blinked brightly on my answering machine with a message describing something to the effect of a ‘gun’ that ‘hadn’t been put together yet’. Another jog downtown with the ol’ Ma was planned and inside T & T the recorded message rang true. It was a ‘gun’ and all of my LOVE GUN visions of grander were about to come true.
For twenty bucks I was now the proud owner of an unassembled LOVE GUN toy insert and merchandise ordering form that had been packaged in the original album. Not only was this an object that I felt I had no chance in hell of ever owning, but I was about to take part in the pleasure enjoyed by children of the 1970’s…assembling my very own LOVE GUN ‘popping gun’. Sometimes it’s the little things that make life enjoyable.
After assembling my LOVE GUN and playing with it for a few weeks I retired it to a frame where it has remained to this day. Aside from damning comments issued by fellow KISS collector Mike Jackson, a good ol' boy from Faucet Missouri, with the pension to keep all KISS artifacts in perfect MINT condition,
"You don’t fold the Mona Lisa, you’re a fool for putting that together."
I can honestly say I haven’t regretted a single day. In fact lady luck came back hard 12 years later on a Saturday morning Vintage Stock run when I ran across a vinyl copy of LOVE GUN for $6.00…inside the LOVE GUN merchandise form and yet another unfolded, straight as an arrow LOVE GUN toy complete with the BANG! BANG!, folding paper to which has also remained flat as a pancake behind a glass frame to this day.
"Happy Mr. Jackson?" I thought so.