Commander of the KISS Army

by Mike Gange

Kiss and Make Up

by Gene Simmons

Crown Publishers, $38.95, 275 pages

The story of the rock band KISS is really a study in contrasts: the hard rocking band associated with energetic stadium shows and blistering anthems had its first major break-through hit on radio with the sweet, gentle ballad "Beth"; the "sex-drugs-rock-n-roll’’ lifestyle did not really interest lead singer and bass player Gene Simmons, at least not the drugs or booze part, for he claims he has never used either. And behind the flamboyant, vigorous stage shows was a cunning and controlling leader who could give lessons in "branding" to many present day business managers.

When KISS was in its infancy, the band lived and practiced in a dilapidated, roach-infested loft on Canal Street in New York, so run down the locks were easily jimmied and their equipment stolen; much later, the band traveled to concerts in a private jet. Thirty years since pleading with a record company to let them record, the band has sold more than eighty million records and has smashed every concert attendance record set by legends like Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

KISS and Make-Up is the sometimes wild, somewhat shocking, and almost unbelievable tale of how an impoverished immigrant who barely spoke English at age 8 would go on to lead the painted and costumed 1970's glamour band as it formed, stormed, and performed.

Author Gene Simmons, the founder of KISS, is most famous for his super-long tongue, legendary sexual exploits, and wild greasepaint stage makeup. Simmons was that immigrant kid, then named Chaim Witz, whose protective mother moved from Haifa, Israel, to the U.S. when Simmons was only 8. Hardly able to speak English at that time, Simmons spent his adolescent years attending a Jewish theological centre for rabbinical studies in Brooklyn. But quickly he developed a love for all things American, including comic books and super-heroes. After he saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show and how the girls went wild for the mop-haired musicians, Simmons decided it was time to start a rock band.

At the insistence of his mother, Simmons had to have a back up career plan in case being a musician did not pan out. He studied and became a teacher, at one time teaching a grade six class in Spanish Harlem. Another of the oddities Simmons relates in Kiss and Make Up is how he and Paul Stanley, with whom he went on to form Kiss and work with for 30 years, did not hit it off very well the first time they met. Stanley found Simmons to be too abrasive and too pushy.

Simmons is refreshingly candid about his life both within the band and outside. There were the groupies numbering in the thousands. Then there were the difficulties he and Paul Stanley had with guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, as those two soon-to-be-ex-band members struggled to control substance abuse and ego. Simmons also mentions the band’s love for the KISS Army and the ever-loyal KISS fans around the world, the reason the band made tour after exhausting world tour. And to round out this somewhat unbelievable memoir, Simmons relates how he met and wooed Canadian model Shannon Tweed, a Playboy Playmate with a successful career of her own, staying with her now for 18 years.

Since it is Simmons’ story, it centres unabashedly on him, his role in the band and his life. He worked to be the undisputed leader of KISS, sometimes making independent decisions that would help market the band’s image and brand. His actions were not always welcomed by the others in the band. He writes: "In the mid-1970s we were popular enough that teenagers and even younger kids were buying our records. And that meant lots of other KISS products were in demand – Hallowe’en masks, lunch boxes, stickers for school notebooks, pencil erasers. Moving forward with the merchandising changed the complexion of the band. It changed the size of the vision, the shape of our projects, everything. And it wasn’t greeted with universal support from the band. Ace and Peter didn’t like it because they didn’t see the big picture. But even Paul was a little reluctant. Some things he saw as improper in a rock and roll context. "

Simmons has penned a well written and intriguing story that will appeal to ardent KISS fans and casual students of pop culture alike. But this is really the story of a hard-nosed businessman who found his market niche and overcame every adversity from key personnel changes to marketing challenges. Simmons is as much a visionary leader as General Electric’s Jack Welch or the U.S. Army’s Colin Powell. Although Simmons may have dressed outrageously, he conservatively guarded KISS’ brand and marketing in the same way that "Colonel" Harlen Sanders kept the secret of Kentucky Fried Chicken. As a result, Simmons’ story is not just a "Kiss and Tell" biography. It is much more informative and compelling than one might have imagined.

Like the KISS image and costumes, Kiss and Make Up is carefully crafted to ensure audience appeal.

Mike Gange teaches Media Studies and Journalism at Fredericton High.