But their show was a marvel: Simmons breathed fire and dribbled blood as staged explosions punctuated beats. In 1974 Kiss released its self-titled album of rudimentary rock.

The manager maxed out his credit cards on a drum elevator, fog machines and elaborate costumes. The label was soon dubbed Casablanca - a cheeky homage to owner Neil Bogart.Īucoin’s stage-actor boyfriend taught the band choreographed moves.

Paul said that it did not yet have a name. Two weeks later, Philips said, “Paul told me they had a deal. “Everybody thought Bill was crazy,” said Carol Ross, the band’s original publicist. Despite no experience in handling musicians, Aucoin offered to manage Kiss and swore that he would land them a record deal in 30 days. In the audience was Bill Aucoin, the producer of a rock-themed TV show called “Flipside.” “Afterward, my boss looked at me and asked, ‘What the f–k was that?’ ” he told The Post.Īfter the gig in Queens, Kiss played Times Square’s dilapidated Hotel Diplomat on Aug. Tom Werman, an A&R man for Epic, remembers them wearing spandex and whiteface when he brought his boss to a practice. “Gene wanted to call the band F–k,” Doug Brod, author of “ They Just Seem a Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll” (Hachette Books), told The Post. The two decided to try again, but needed a catchier name. ”Stanley (real name: Stanley Eisen) and Simmons (born Chaim Witz) met through a mutual friend and teamed up for the short-lived band Wicked Lester. Peter had a weak chin and Ace had bad skin. “They made a big noise as a group but, individually, there were no stellar musicians in Kiss. “Most musicians thought the kabuki makeup was lame,” Philips told The Post. Instead, Kiss played its first gig, in 1973, to an almost empty Popcorn Club in Sunnyside. Former yeshiva boy Simmons and opera-loving Stanley were nobodies who couldn’t cut it at Manhattan hot spots. The only way they could make it work was to create theatrical characters inspired by comic-book superheroes: a starchild, a demon, a spaceman and a freaky-looking cat.īut success was a long shot. “But Gene saw himself in the mirror and realized he looked like a pro wrestler in drag.” “Kiss originally wore lipstick and eyeliner,” recalled musician Binky Philips, who went to high school with guitarist Paul Stanley. So it was no wonder that a Queens band wanted to try it out, too. In the early 1970s, David Bowie, Lou Reed and the New York Dolls made men in makeup cool.

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Kiss & tell by adib khorram