Until 1977 kiss were the most famous rock’n’roll band in America – and they knew it. In 2012, singer and guitarist Paul Stanley looked back on the year with Love Gun, Alive II, Madison Square Garden and devoted hedonism.
1977: How was it for you?
It was an incredible time for us. Everything was kind of exploding and we were trying to cement Kiss’s place in rock’n’roll. I wanted the band to be as big as it could be. To reach the pinnacle of rock.
This year, two albums by Kiss were released. One was Love Weaponthe Plaster casterHave you ever been “honored” by Cynthia Plastercaster?
The song was more of a faux tribute to the person who led the movement. But no, that was never done to me. It always sounded a little painful. I can think of better things to do with an erection than stick it in a load of toothpaste.
The other Kiss album this year was Alive II.
Sonically, it never seemed to me that the studio albums could keep up with our live performances. They just didn’t have the kick, the balls or the sonic power of our live performances. Alive II captured the experience of being at a Kiss show and what we stand for.
Playing at Madison Square Garden on your 25th birthday must have been quite a thrill.
Oh yeah. At that point, it seemed like I had entered the realm I’d always wanted. It wasn’t long ago that I was a cab driver in New York. One night I was driving a couple to Madison Square Garden to see Elvis Presley, and I remember pulling over and thinking, “One day, people are going to come here to see me.” It was like I was at the top of Mount Everest.
Is it true that you flew girlfriends to performances and back home in your Learjet?
I did that sometimes. And not just on tour. I really didn’t have much of a personal life, so I would come home from tour and think, “OK, what do I do now?” It wasn’t unusual to pick up the phone and fly girlfriends over.
Is it true that you once had an orgy with girls wearing Kiss makeup?
I don’t know if orgies were “thrown.” Such things happened naturally. Whether or not there was Kiss makeup, I can’t say, but such situations were not uncommon.
What kind of people did you associate with?
It was a who is who from politicians to writers. Whenever I met Andy Warhol, he would say, “Come to the Factory and I’ll do your portrait.” I never did, and one of my biggest regrets from that time is not doing a Warhol portrait.
1977 was the year of disco. Have you ever ridden a white horse into Studio 54 like Bianca Jagger once did?
The press photos from Studio 54 always focused more on the anomalies than on what was really going on. Most people weren’t dressed extravagantly. I just went in jeans and a tank top. I went there to dance, for heaven’s sake! I saw what was going on at Studio 54 not as disco, but as hedonism with a beat. It was much more about unbridled physicality and sexuality.
And CBGB?
I went there, but that scene was based more on a desire to express yourself than being able to play an instrument well enough. There were a lot of artsy bands at CBGB that left me cold, like Richard Hell & The Voidoids and all that nonsense.
What place did Kiss occupy in American culture in 1977?
We was American culture. A Gallup poll voted us the number one band in the country. We were a reflection of what people loved. And the fear was gone, at least from my mind. I was a kid from a lower middle class family, so it was incredible to enjoy the good life. Once or twice I prayed, “Dear God, don’t take this away from me. Please have mercy on this poor soul!”
Originally published in Classic Rock Issue 173
