Townspeople of a certain age were queried on their KISS memories. Let’s begin by calling roll.
ROLL CALL!
Randy: I can’t stand KISS. Or their army. In fact, it wouldn’t bother me a bit if all our troops were pulled out of Iraq and replaced by the KISS Army. Kill two birds with one stone.
Chickenfrank: KISS Army deserter.
JimmyMac: I’m not a KISS Army vet per se. However, I was an avid KISS fan and am somewhat versed in their history. I also have a modest repository of memorabilia that surfaced during my recent move. Metaphorically speaking I guess I had musical “flat feet” and never was drafted. (I never dressed up like KISS and didn’t attend a concert until my 30s. By that point, they had already become a lampoon of themselves. Two 50-ish Jewish men lumbering around the stage in fancy dress desperately in need of a schvitz by mid-set.)
Rich: I wanted to join, but I failed the physical. Had to become a Ted Nugent Weekend Warrior instead.
Chris: Officially? No. I was a diehard fan; they were my first concert (AC/DC opened). I have all the vinyl, but I never enlisted. I have painted my face before, actually with two of my brothers and a bandmate for the reunion tour in ’96. I was Ace, if you’re wondering.
Al: I never joined either. I was one of those kids that members of the KISS Army liked to beat up.
General Slocum: The KISS Army, as far as I can remember, first came to us via an insert to the album Rock and Roll Over, which was the album that burst my bubble, and confirmed for me that the direction they were going on Destroyer was only going to continue, and worse. And in the mid-70s, most of us were at least hippie enough to resent anything that so smacked of little-league fascism as to be called an “army.” For their first 4 records (up to Alive) they were one of my fave bands. Those albums still have a simple idiocy which appeals to me. We went last summer to a church fair up here, and there was a kid running one of the toddler rides, and while John was on the ride, we complemented his KISS Army tattoo. He said he had just gotten it. I said they were my first concert, and he said “me, too!” I said, mine was 32 years ago, and I saw them when Dressed to Kill was out. His eyes got big, with a combination reverence, and what may have been fear of diseases to which modern humans may no longer have antibodies. It was a perspective-stretching excercise for us both. But, no, I never joined up.
Dean: I never joined and will confess to never owning or liking KISS. Good for a laugh but nothing more…
A good friend in high school was an uber fan (and almost certainly an Army recruit), but I didn’t join him. He did however introduce me to prog-rock and we both attended my first rock concert – ELP at the Spectrum.
So, my question to you KISS fans – Is Paul Stanley gay? Not that there is anything wrong with that. But I have seriously wondered.
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