Picture by Gigi Criss

Mark Voger at 4074Mag.com recently caugfht up with ex-KISS drummer Peter Criss. The following is an excerpt from the story:

KISS’ original and best-remembered lineup – guitarists Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley, bassist Gene Simmons and Criss – released its self-titled debut album in 1974. For a decade, band members kept their faces hidden behind their Kabuki-inspired makeups. Their cartoony personas skyrocketed Kiss’ appeal beyond the turntable and the stage; toys, lunch boxes, comic books, model kits and even Halloween costumes were marketed.

Around 1980, Criss became the first member to leave the band, followed two years later by Frehley. Stanley and Simmons carried on with replacement musicians, eventually dispensing with the makeup.

Following an introduction by the late rapper Tupac Shakur at the 1996 Grammys, the original Kiss – back in makeup – heralded its reunion tours, which played to sold-out arenas. But by 2003 (by which time Frehley was no longer in the band), Criss felt the writing was on the wall.

“That was it for me,’’ he says. “That was like: Ace ain’t here. This ain’t the original band. I said to Gigi, ‘I can’t do this with these guys. I made this band what it is. I’m one of the founding fathers. No matter who they get to put stuff on their face, it ain’t us. You can take the mask off the Lone Ranger and put it on someone else, but it ain’t the Lone Ranger.’

“We ended it on my 58th birthday, which couldn’t have been more apropos.’’

Go to this location for the complete story.