Gene Simmons documentary

unix-guy

unix-guy

Master of RTFM
I just stumbled across this documentary on Gene Simmons. I've watched about 15 minutes so far and enjoying it.

KISS, and in particular Gene, is the reason I wanted to play guitar to begin with.

Over the years, I've become less enamored of Gene and Paul Stanley on a personal level...

But, damn, every time I hear a classic KISS song I remember why I was such a fan in my youth.

Pretty crazy to see him at 70 with 40+ pounds of costume and 7-inch heels...

I know some people don't like KISS and think they're a gimmick, but a gimmick doesn't last.

Anyway, enjoy it (or not):

 
I've never been a fan of KISS, but I admire and respect their commercial success. I was in high school when they were hitting their peak, but unlike most of my friends, I was more into bands like Yes, Jethro Tull, and ELP back then. That said, I watched most of Part 1 of KISStory on A&E last night, and found the story was fascinating. (I as watching because a buddy of mine wrote the soundtrack for the documentary.) I'll have to check out the doc you posted, too.
 
unix-guy said:
I just stumbled across this documentary on Gene Simmons. I've watched about 15 minutes so far and enjoying it.

KISS, and in particular Gene, is the reason I wanted to play guitar to begin with.

Over the years, I've become less enamored of Gene and Paul Stanley on a personal level...

But, damn, every time I hear a classic KISS song I remember why I was such a fan in my youth.

Pretty crazy to see him at 70 with 40+ pounds of costume and 7-inch heels...

I know some people don't like KISS and think they're a gimmick, but a gimmick doesn't last.

Anyway, enjoy it (or not):

Click to expand...


You'll probably be interested in this new 4 hour documentary...'Kisstory'. Part one was on A&E last night and part two is on tonight.

 
Admin M@ said:
If I want to preserve any of the memories I have of enjoying KISS as a tween year old, I can't go near anything that has anything to do with any of them after the makeup came off.
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I stepped away from them after Dynasty... Although years later I can appreciate it.

I came back for Lick it Up and made it thru Animalize and then I just stopped.

I didn't like what they did with Eric Carr when he died and I didn't like how they treated Ace and Peter in the reunion days.
 
I was born in 1969, so just a little bit too young to get caught up in the KISS frenzy. By the time I was in my early teens and starting to really follow music and musicians, the shred thing was picking up steam and KISS paled in comparison (for me). I did have a KISS lunch box when I was around eight, so I guess it could be said that I outgrew KISS at about the same time I outgrew lunch boxes...

However, I have a shit ton of respect for Gene's business savvy. The guy started with nothing and became a multi-millionaire.
 
Frodebro said:
I was born in 1969, so just a little bit too young to get caught up in the KISS frenzy. By the time I was in my early teens and starting to really follow music and musicians, the shred thing was picking up steam and KISS paled in comparison (for me). I did have a KISS lunch box when I was around eight, so I guess it could be said that I outgrew KISS at about the same time I outgrew lunch boxes...

However, I have a shit ton of respect for Gene's business savvy. The guy started with nothing and became a multi-millionaire.
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I was born in 1968 ;)

But I also somehow convinced my parents to join Columbia House records so I had 3-4 KISS albums before I had anything else!

I think it was KISS, Dressed to Kill, Destroyer and Alive to start with.
 
unix-guy said:
I was born in 1968 ;)

But I also somehow convinced my parents to join Columbia House records so I had 3-4 KISS albums before I had anything else!

I think it was KISS, Dressed to Kill, Destroyer and Alive to start with.
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I have known many people through the years that were diehard KISS fans, and all of them were older than me by just enough that their age put them right into the "KISS kill zone." When I hit that age myself (I guess around thirteen or so), I latched on to Judas Priest.
 
Frodebro said:
I have known many people through the years that were diehard KISS fans, and all of them were older than me by just enough that their age put them right into the "KISS kill zone." When I hit that age myself (I guess around thirteen or so), I latched on to Judas Priest.
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In the early days (up to Destroyer) there was a mystique and a cool factor that appealed to many mid teens (16yo). They were considered strange and menacing to the point where parents would not allow their 13yo kids access (remember there was no internet, video etc so the only visual access was via album sleeve, concert, or Creem magazine). Much later on, it became a circus, literally, with all the old fart kiss fans bringing their kiddies to the show.
 
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Frodebro said:
I was born in 1969, so just a little bit too young to get caught up in the KISS frenzy. By the time I was in my early teens and starting to really follow music and musicians, the shred thing was picking up steam and KISS paled in comparison (for me). I did have a KISS lunch box when I was around eight, so I guess it could be said that I outgrew KISS at about the same time I outgrew lunch boxes...

However, I have a shit ton of respect for Gene's business savvy. The guy started with nothing and became a multi-millionaire.
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I was born in ‘69 too, my older sister was big into the KISS craze and had all of their albums. I remember when KISS came out with the 4 “solo” albums she bought Gene and Paul’s album then talked me into spending my allowance on the Ace and Peter albums so she could hear them.
 
sprint said:
the Ace solo album is alright - I still listen to it every once in a while as well as the 1st Frehley's Comet album.
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I agree, I actually liked both those albums back then, and listened to them quite often. I only had 4 albums including those, but they really were pretty enjoyable
 
I remember someone in elementary school bringing Kiss Alive to school. Us problem children thought it was the coolest thing, and we listened to it in the AV room during lunch. Remember Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park? I never really got that into them other than enjoy the airplay. Music aside, Gene is a dick.
 
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