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KISS Announces Another Farewell Tour


Steve Haynie

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24 minutes ago, Steve Haynie said:

No one has to buy KISS stuff, but they do.  Fans are willing to fork over the dough for tickets and meet and greet packages willingly.  People fleece themselves. 

A reasonable person would not turn down the money those guys can make. 

A sound argument for the enduring validity of the quote oft associated with (but never conclusively proven to originate from) PT Barnum: There's a sucker born every minute.

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13 hours ago, diablo175 said:

 

I'm normally very disinterested to enter any into debates or discussions about the band's appeal and merit (or lack thereof) because I have grown rather disenchanted with them. But as a former rabid fan of the band I think I can shed some light on their initial appeal:  For me, it was all about timing. They came onto the scene at a formative time in my youth and checked off all the right boxes for a kid starting to cut his rock n roll teeth. They almost had it all-  drama, spectacle, imagery, a healthy disregard for societal norms, anthemic tunes, a hint of the occult, sex, epic stage shows, a touch of mystery, working class roots, kick ass instruments and gear, and more. All the things a bored, middle class, pubescent lad in the wonder bread  'burbs clamored for. The only thing they didn't have (that I found I was able to overlook/forgive) was a true guitar god. Ace was good enough to adequately fill out a song  and he undoubtedly inspired me, in part, to pick up a guitar. But he was certainly no Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen. Sure, KISS' ill-fated collaboration with Vinny Vincent and later, Bruce Kulick helped to plug, to some degree, that missing component but they would never be known for jaw dropping guitar work regardless.

So, when folks emphatically state their disregard or dislike of Kiss, I shrug, understanding that not everyone had the good fortune of being exposed to them at the time when that sort of rock n roll shock and awe was going to be effective.

You have something against Mark St. John (Norton)?  lol

I think you're right on with what you said here but somehow even with all my friends going crazy for the "original" years (everything prior to Creatures of the Night), I didn't let the confluence of my age and budding rock-fandom and their marketing and image sway me.  I gave them a resounding "meh" then and still do.  Oddly, I had bought Creatures when it caem out and around the mid-90s someone turned me on to Ace's solo album which I liked.  But in all my adult years playing in bands they came up so frequently as an influence or favorite of people I was playing with whose opinions really meant something to me, so I gave the older stuff another shot.

An old bandmate had all of their remastered CDs so on a very long road trip I listened to all of them straight through.  Every. Song.  No skipping, even if I had heard it 1,000 times before.

I ended up finding a few crumbs of stuff I liked, and I noticed the length of those albums was short enough that I could burn copies of two albums on one CD, so I did and now as a non-Kiss fan I have everything they did from the first album through Lick It Up, plus the last couple of studio releases.  I was able to put all the stuff I wanted from the non-Ace solo albums on one CD with room left over (sorry, Gene and Peter!).  I rarely every listen to any of it except the VV-era stuff and Ace's solo album, but now when somebody starts talking about a certain song and how cool it is, I have it (before anyone says anything, I made all those CDs prior to the existence of streaming).

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They need to franchise. One KISS per state, constantly touring. And at the end of the year have a big KISS-Off, with the winner getting a world tour.

And a shiny new bicycle.

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1 hour ago, hamerhead said:

They need to franchise. One KISS per state, constantly touring. And at the end of the year have a big KISS-Off, with the winner getting a world tour.

And a shiny new bicycle.

Some states' versions of KISS might be more interesting than others.  A southern state's Paul might go, "Hey, y'all!!! Let me hear ya!!!"

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2 hours ago, tommy p said:

 

You have something against Mark St. John (Norton)?  lol

I think you're right on with what you said here but somehow even with all my friends going crazy for the "original" years (everything prior to Creatures of the Night), I didn't let the confluence of my age and budding rock-fandom and their marketing and image sway me.  I gave them a resounding "meh" then and still do.  Oddly, I had bought Creatures when it caem out and around the mid-90s someone turned me on to Ace's solo album which I liked.  But in all my adult years playing in bands they came up so frequently as an influence or favorite of people I was playing with whose opinions really meant something to me, so I gave the older stuff another shot.

An old bandmate had all of their remastered CDs so on a very long road trip I listened to all of them straight through.  Every. Song.  No skipping, even if I had heard it 1,000 times before.

I ended up finding a few crumbs of stuff I liked, and I noticed the length of those albums was short enough that I could burn copies of two albums on one CD, so I did and now as a non-Kiss fan I have everything they did from the first album through Lick It Up, plus the last couple of studio releases.  I was able to put all the stuff I wanted from the non-Ace solo albums on one CD with room left over (sorry, Gene and Peter!).  I rarely every listen to any of it except the VV-era stuff and Ace's solo album, but now when somebody starts talking about a certain song and how cool it is, I have it (before anyone says anything, I made all those CDs prior to the existence of streaming).

Despite my self proclaimed former rabid fan status, I have to sheepishly admit I don't own nearly half of their catalog. Much like you, I lost interest after Unmasked, which. along with Dynasty, was a bitter pill in most regards. I caught a few tunes off of each of their solo albums but was left mostly unimpressed, so I never bought them. I snagged a few tunes off Creatures of the Night (I still Love You and War Machine) but never bought another album (or CD) until Psycho Circus. That was acquired solely on the after-effect giddiness of seeing their reunion tour in  '97, a decision I'm still pleased with. Haven't bought anything since then.

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I loved KISS.  As a kid, I loved the music and the imagery.  As I got older, I appreciated the business acumen.   After being a successful touring act for over 40 years, they're entitled to go out on their terms. I'm sure their fans will lap it up.  But they haven't gotten a dime of my money since I bought Hot in the Shade. 

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I bought their first album when it came out. Had no idea who they were but that album cover hooked me. Was not disappointed either. Back then they really were the hottest band in the land and other bands were intimidated by them if they had to come on after them. The first time I saw them in October of 75 they were on a bill with REO Speedwagon. They got into a pissing contest on who was to be the headliner and at the last minute REO dropped out and a local band called Blacksheep opened for them. I was pissed because I could see Blacksheep any weekend for a buck cover charge. Of course the upside to that was the lead singer was Lou Grahm. He did alright for himself a couple of years later. That concert was a madhouse. I thought for sure people would be crushed when they opened the doors. Same thing when they hit the stage. It was a all out rock show. Loud, hard and flash pods that would hit 15 feet in the air and melt your face if you were upfront. And I was upfront. Definitely had a dangerous edge to it at the time. I liked REO a lot back then but there was no way the were going to complete with that. 

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