It would be nearly impossible to say something about Kiss that hasn't been said before either pro or con. Their influence on the industry is nearly unmatched. If you are a rock fan you are a Kiss fan, either directly or indirectly. Meaning, either you are a fan or some band you are a fan of has Kiss fans in it. And if you play rock or metal, and started playing after 1978 or so, either you are influenced by Kiss or one of your influences was influenced by Kiss. You cannot escape the influence of Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter or (INSERT NAME OF HIRED GUN MEMBER HERE). I'm not going to write about any of the classic discs, because I was way too young when they came out. I really didn't become a card carrying fan until the early 1990s. It seems a little strange to write about how a disc that came out in 1975 reminds me of 1992. So, in my life the two biggest Kiss related events were Blazefest(1994)and the official conventions in 1995.
Blazefest was a radio station sponsored show in suburban Chicago in 1994 and it was one of two shows that Kiss played that year. The CD is a bootleg. What is significant about this show is that it proved that Kiss was not just a gimmick. Kiss played a 100% request only show with no light show, no makeup, & no special effects in a small venue. Basically, you got to see Kiss as a "pure" rock band. They had nothing to hide behind and musically it stood up. It also proved that the Gene, Paul, Bruce K., Eric S. lineup was as strong as the original and could make the vintage Kiss music their own. I went with my old college bud Chuck K. It was the second show we had gone to together that year, the first being Rush w.s.g. Primus on the Counterparts tour. One of the opening acts at Blazefest was guitarist Dave Uhrich, who I have been a fan of ever since and I even became friends with him on Facebook.
The Kiss conventions of 1995 are what spurred the reunion tour in 1996, and the rebirth of Kiss as major stars. Kiss conventions gave fans the chance, for the bargain price of $100.00 a ticket, to
*see costumes/instruments up close
*interact with other Kiss superfans
*see never before seen Kiss footage from the 1970s on
*see a tribute band
*see Eric and Bruce give clinics on their respective instruments
*have a candid no B.S. Q&A session with the band
*see/participate in an unplugged Kiss concert, which became the basis of the Kiss Unplugged CD.
*see Paul Stanley's real personallity. a/k/a Stan Eisen
*meet & greet Gene, Paul, Bruce, & Eric, get pictures & autographs.
Compared to what concert tickets cost today, it was a HELL of a bargain. And a once in a lifetime experience. I even had 3 seconds of a conversation with Paul Stanley. It's too bad this happened before the days of cheap digital cameras/recorders. I wish I had more than just a few snapshots and memories of this event. I went with my musical co-conspirator Greg C, who has been a major Kiss fan since the late 1970s. This was also during the early stages of forming our first band together, Primal Faith. In retrospect Primal Faith was almost the perfect storm of "striking while the iron is cold". We lived in Indianapolis, IN which is totally dominated by country and blues music, and it was the mid 1990s, which was totally dominated by corporate alternative, rap and country. Timing is everything in the industry.
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