Kissology DVD

Gene Simmons may be one of the biggest egomaniacs in the world, but he's one of the few shameless egomaniacs that I'm actually a fan of. My Kiss fan days go back to 1976. I saw them for the first time on the Paul Lynde Halloween Special which aired on ABC. From then on I was hooked. I had 'Alive!' on 8-track and played it until my little portable 8-track player ate the tape. Then I moved on to 'Alive II' which I had on LP. Once Ace & Peter left the band I got disinterested. I never did get to see them live with make-up, but I did see them sometime in the early 80s on I think the 'Lick It Up' tour. At that point Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent were in the band. Believe it or not they couldn't sell out the place and the arena was like half full. They almost cancelled the show because of low attendance.

ANYWAY...this new Kissology DVD is pretty amazing, showcasing the vintage early years 74-77 in recorded concerts and TV appearances. We all get so blown over with the image of Kiss, it's easy to forget how fuckin hard they rocked in the early days. Pure, full-on sleazy rock and roll. They would have been an amazing band musically, at least in the early days, WITHOUT the make-up. So if you're an old school Kiss fan this is a must have, and this is coming from a person that was skeptical about getting this. I just didn't want to see hours of the same Kiss concert video over and over in different variations. Not to say this isn't like that, but there's concert footage and more. Once you turn this thing on it's hard to turn off. Kiss is defintely one of the all time best American rock bands of the last 30 years.

Devo recently got a bunch of little kids to learn Devo songs, and called the band Devo 2.0.

Kiss should do the same thing.

The new kids can have their own new makeup schemes.

One of the characters can be a Maori moko guy.

Just like Gene, he can stick his tongue out!

Imagine a Kiss-style makeup job in black and white, but Maori designs.
That would be cool, I think!

Mrs.Mojo and I faithfully watch Gene's reality TV series.

Lets not forget Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park became one of NBC's highest-rated programs of 1978.

I also still have one of the KISS comics.....with REAL BLOOD for the RED INK from the band members! :P

I was never a fan of KISS music, but their ability to market themselves has always been intrigueing. Their costumes were killer....and then there was Gene's tongue.

I have been able to catch his reality show a few times and it is da bomb. I loved the one when the family made him go on a skiing vacation and he turned it into a business deal with the KISS snowboard. Gheeeez the way that wife of his spends money, she should support his work-aholic ethics.

I loved the Bull sperm one too.....that was hysterical!!!

On 2006-12-09 00:37, tikibars wrote:
Devo recently got a bunch of little kids to learn Devo songs, and called the band Devo 2.0.

Kiss should do the same thing.

I guess it would be hysterical to hear a bunch of little kids doing 'Cold Gin' and 'Ladies Room'.

I like Gene Simmons' reality show as well, and I am not a reality show fan at all. Not sure if this is what they were after, but it seems like they wanted to be the antedote to the Ozzy show and all of the disfunction and drunk-with-money whining they did. Can't stand Sharon or Kelly. Really repulsive people. On the other hand Simmons' kids seem extremely well adjusted, and say what you will about Gene being the self proclaimed 'asshole' that he is, he seems like a really good Dad. He comes across as a pretty real person on that show, and that's surprising for a guy with his kind of track record. I haven't watched it faithfully, but the episodes I've seen are always pretty positive and upbeat.

As far as Kiss and merchandising, I think they have always given their fans a little more than what they pay for. Alot of those early albums they did always had some kinda 'cereal box' style prize in them, like 'Alive II' they included a booklet and removable tatoos. Anybody remember that? They've included one or two surprises like that in this new DVD, but I'm not gonna spoil it for anybody.

Without Sharon, there would be no Ozzy.....as we all witnessed.

Chiming in as another who got hooked on "Alive" (at the tender age of 6) and stayed a dedicated fan until "Unmasked". Once the lineup changed I started migrating towards AC/DC and Iron Maiden. I saw them live in Australia in 1980, but unfortunately the winds were so strong I couldn't hear a thing from where I was sitting (with my Dad), and they had to forego the pyrotechnics for safety reasons. It still rates as perhaps the greatest disappointment of my life :(
Anyway, I've been reliving my misspent youth lately too, and agree that the classic early stuff still rates as some pretty damn good hard rock. Songs like "Parasite" and "Detroit Rock City" still buzz me 30 years on. Those guys sure knew how to write a good hook, and the fact they could all sing (perhaps marginally in Ace's case) certainly helped.
Cheers for the head-up on the DVD, I'll keep an eye out for it as it covers my favourite period of KISStory.