“Get off the stage”: The band Gene Simmons thought were boring
During the 1970s, the goalposts for normality weren’t just widened, they were completely removed. Rock and roll was enjoying a period of lucrative success and hedonistic opulence, so it was only fitting the stars who fronted it dressed the part. Between Elton John’s crystal rimmed glasses and Stevie Nicks’ crystal ball were Kiss.
The New York four-piece brought new meaning to the idea of make-up-clad glam rock. With their four stage personas, Starchild, Demon, Spaceman, and Catman, they thrust a theatrical style of rock forward into the mainstream. Naturally, such an aesthetic was divisive, but regardless of your take on them, their success and impact on music are undeniable.
And don’t get their theatrics mixed up for cookie-cutter industry success. Oh no, despite presenting themselves as a four-piece formed inside the walls of an industry think tank, they trod an arduous path to success just like everyone else.
“The early years of Kiss were far from glamorous.” Gene Simmons explained. “We rode in a station wagon hundreds of miles every day. We would take turns driving and sleeping in the back. We ate burgers at roadside taverns. We stopped and peed on the side of long stretches of a highway when we couldn’t find a town anywhere near. We ate beans and franks because we couldn’t afford better food as we were on an $85 a week salary”.
As such, they cultivated a sense of discontent toward bands that showcased a more effortless sense of industry success. While the likes of Carlos Santana beat a similarly uneasy path to success, their more laid-back disposition rubbed the likes of Simmons up the wrong way, for it represented the complete antithesis to Kiss’ well-thought-out performance routine.
“I’m sick and tired of these bands like Carlos Santana looking at his shoes and thinking that’s a rock concert. Get off the stage,” Simmons said in regards to the matter. But Santana wasn’t so free and easy not to take offence. In response to the jibe, Santana said, “Simmons hides his talent beneath costumes and makeup. A musician doesn’t need the mask or the mascara. There’s a difference between an entertainer and a musician.”
Maybe the message sunk in Kiss, who decided that the band needs a directional change at the turn of the decade into the 1980s. After 1982’s Creatures in the Night the band wiped away the pancake make up and waved goodbye to the headbanging soundscape, opting for a more muted brand of rock.
It was during a changing tide decade of music, where new brands of punk and new wave were emerging, that Kiss felt like they needed to adopt a more palatable approach for younger and more innovative fans. Remembering the reason why they changed tact, Simmons said, “So, Paul [Stanley] comes up with the idea of, ‘Maybe it’s time to take the makeup off.’ And I’m going, ‘I’m not sure about that. We have a quote legacy,’ whatever.”
