WHAT DOES KISS MEAN TO YOU?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by KISSmaniac on October 13, 2010 at 9:50am

Even though I said I was staying away for a bit I am going to answer this thread, damn good topic and maybe my answer will let people know why it bothers me so badly when people say this group sucks or that I am not a real fan. I was just ten years old the first time I heard KISS, it was their first album and I loved the band right away. I thought they were like comic book heroes come to life! I wore their shirts to school and got made fun of, I didn't care, I just loved the music and seeing them on TV. I would be at the record store on the day of a new release and I have bought every album on the day it came out going back to Rock and Roll Over. One time I was at a mall, proudly wearing my Dynasty t-shirt and some guys made fun of me, I told them to fuck off (bad idea) and I got thrown into a glass door. I wasn't badly hurt but it wasn't much fun. I have been in fights, I have been made fun of, I have taken a lot of shit for being a KISS fan over the years but none of that stopped me! This group is the first place I have ever had arguments with other fans. Even to the point of being told this group sucks or that I am not a real fan. I know the old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones etc...." Well, sometimes words DO hurt and being insulted like that by other KISS fans no less cut me to the quick. I damn near deleted my MFA account over the shit.

I am open about my opinions of the band, I speak what I feel and I see nothing wrong with that. Every KISS fan has the right to say their opinions about the band, good or bad. As I have stated before you can be a fan of something and not like everything about it. For example I am a big time Denver Broncos fan, but I think their new head coach (Josh McDaniels) is a chowder head. Does that make me less of a fan....of course not!

Now I think everyone knows my feelings about Tommy and Eric. I DO NOT like them in the roles of former members and I never will. However, I do acknowledge the fact that Eric and Tommy are both VERY talented guys. I like Sonic Boom, it's not the greatest KISS album ever, but it is good.

Yes I have called Tommy FrankenFrehley, I have called Eric Catclone. But does that make me less of a fan? NO!!

I saw them on the ALIVE 35 tour...I was in the FRONT ROW, singing along, dancing, pumping my fist and having the time of my life! That show was in Sturgis,South Dakota. I live in Colorado. that's right, I drove all that, by myself, stood in line for hours, my ticket was the FIRST one torn when the gates opened! I also posted a review of this show, with pics, here in this group. The entire write up is 100% POSITIVE!!! Did anyone notice that? Or do people just notice the "negative" things I (and others) say? Maybe the people that are saying this group is all negative need to take the time to REALLY read the threads , you will find that the good FAR outweighs the bad!

When the Sonic Boom tour came around I saw the band wasn't coming to Colorado. So I got a ticket for the show in Cheyenne,Wyoming. Drove up there, stood in line for hours, got as close as I could to the stage and had a BLAST! Even when Tommy sang Shock Me or when Eric sang Beth I was singing along and just enjoying the show.

I check in to this group DAILY, I have done my best to try and make this one of the best fan groups on MFA! Since Robbo made me admin of this group the membership has more than doubled. Granted not everyone is active, but that's OK. i post pics, I try to post interesting threads, I do my best to keep this group alive. All to get told the group sucks or that I am not a real fan........OUCH!!!!

I'd like to see this group be number 1. But it's doubtful we will ever catch up to the GnR bunch. But ya know what gets me? The fact that four out of the six bands that have larger fan groups than KISS are bands that at one time or another OPENED for KISS!!!

If I wasn't a real fan why the Hell would I do any of that for the group? I've seen the band live 13 times, I know all their songs word for word, note for note. I eat, sleep, breath, and live KISS every day. They are my favorite band, and have been for over three and half decades. They will ALWAY be my favorite band and nothing, and no one will ever change that.

So while I may be open about expressing my opinions about the band, both good and bad, and while I may say I don't like certain things about KISS I remain a DIE HARD KISS fucking MANIAC! They are my lifestyle, my escape, my heroes, damn near my religion. That's why some things they do and say now bother me, because some of what they say and do just makes me go "WTF" but that DOES NOT mean i am an y less of a fan, matter of fact I think it shows how much a fan I am, because I CARE!!!

So if ANYONE doubts how loyal a fan I am.....well, you can KISS my ass!!!

Thank you for reading, rock on.

Permalink Reply by KISSmaniac on October 13, 2010 at 10:42am

PS
For those who think I am just another stupid KISS/metal fan.

I am in fact a University graduate. I have a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology/Multimedia and Visual Communication

I am also a candidate for a Masters Degree in Information Systems/Project Management at Colorado Technical University

Oh, it might be worth mentioning that after I received my Bachelors Degree this summer I wrote to Gene, thanking him and the band for being one of my biggest influences towards my educational goals, the letter was posted on GeneSimmons.com

But somehow, even with all of that, I am "not a real fan"

Actually that doesn't hurt anymore, when I think of my education, and how much KISS means to me a statement about me not being a real fan, or about this group being all negative, just makes me laugh. As Paul Stanley said "I spit in the face of the doubters"

Permalink Reply by Thomas 1964 on October 14, 2010 at 11:55am

Good one Kissmaniac !

Permalink Reply by KISSFAN on October 13, 2010 at 8:57pm

AWESOME ANSWERS!!!

LAST NITE WHILE TYPING FOR 45 MINUTES, ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PAGE WENT BACK (LIKE THE BACK BUTTON HAD BEEN HIT), SO AFTER BEING REDIRECTED TO THE MAIN PAGE, EVERYTHING I TYPED WAS LOST...
SO I WILL NEED TO START OVER AGAIN...
I WILL POST IT SOON

Permalink Reply by KISSFAN on October 14, 2010 at 12:09pm

WHAT KISS MEANS TO ME HAS CHANGED OVER THE PAST 35 YEARS, I DISCOVERED KISS IN 1975 WHEN I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, I AM 43 NOW...
AFTER HEARING THE NAME KISS, I SET OUT TO FIND OUT WHO THIS GROUP WAS...
WITHIN A FEW WEEKS, I FOUND A NEIGHBOR WHO HAD ALIVE!
NEEDLESS TO SAY AFTER HEARING HER ALBUM, I WAS HOOKED...
I QUICKLY BECAME A HUGE FAN OF THE BANDS LOOK, IMAGE AND MUSIC...
I STARTED BUYING ALL THEIR ALBUMS BEGINNING WITH KISS, AND CONTINUED WITH EACH NEW RELEASE...
WITH THE DEPARTURE OF PETER CRISS IN 1980 AND ACE FREHLEY IN 1982, I WAS DEVASTATED...
WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO MY BAND???
KISS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SPECIAL BAND TO ME, THEY WERE THE FIRST BAND I EVER EMBRACED, AND EACH MEMBER OF KISS MEANT SOMETHING TO ME... THEY EACH HAD THEIR OWN IDENTITY OR ONSTAGE PERSONA, ACE FREHLEY WAS THE SPACEMAN, PETER CRISS THE CATMAN, PAUL STANLEY THE LOVER
AND GENE SIMMONS THE DRAGON...
KISS SET THEMSELVES APART FROM EVERY OTHER BAND IN THE EARLY 70'S, IT WAS THAT UNIQUE DIFFERENCE THAT ATTRACTED ME RIGHT FROM THE START....
ACE FREHLEY HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE MEMBER OF KISS, HIS GUITAR PLAYING, SONG WRITING, HIS SMOKING GUITAR, ACE IS TRULY FROM ANOTHER PLANET...
ACE HAS STAGE MOVES THAT MAKES ONE WONDER IS HE FROM THIS PLANET???
HE IS TRULY ONE OF A KIND...
PETER CRISS WAS ALWAYS MY SECOND FAVORITE, THE CATMAN DUG HIS CLAWS IN DEEP WITH ME, AND I ALWAYS LOOKED UP TO PETER AS A DRUMMER, SINGER AND SONGWRITER, HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO EARLY KISS CANNOT BE DENIED...
THE STARRYEYED LOVER, IS THE ULTIMATE FRONTMAN, PAUL BELTS OUT UNLEASHED POWER IN HIS VOICE, HIS RHYTHM GUITAR STYLE AND THE WAY HE CARRIES AN AUDIENCE IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER FRONTMAN IN ROCK HISTORY
THE BLOOD SPITTING, FIRE BREATHING, BASS POUNDING DRAGON OF KISS, SCARED EVERY PARENT AND ALMOST EVERY GIRL WHO LOVED SHAUN CASSIDY & DONNY OSMOND, GENE HAS A UNIQUE STYLE ALL HIS OWN...
KIS HID THEIR IDENTITIES BEHIND MAKEUP, NO BAND HAD EVER DONE THIS BEFORE, HOW FUCKING KOOL IS THAT?!?!?!? THEY NEVER ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO BE SEEN IN PUBLIC AND NEVER ALLOWED PHOTO'S TO BE TAKEN WITHOUT THEIR TRADEMARK MAKEUP, WOW!!!
THEY DID TEASE US WITH 1 EYE, OR FROM ABOVE THEIR NOSE TO THEIR FOREHEAD, HIDDEN BEHIND 16 MAGAZINE, A SCARF, NAPKIN, BANDANA, KNIGHTS HELMET, SPACE HELMET, WINE GLASS, WHATEVER THEY HAD TO DO, AND THAT WAS KOOL... I NEVER WANTED TO KNOW WHAT, ACE, PETER, PAUL & GENE LOOKED LIKE, I LOVED THE MYSTIQUE...
MAJOR PUBLICATIONS OFFERED UP TO $10,000 REWARD FOR ANY PHOTOGRAPHER THAT LEGITIMATELY CAUGHT KISS WITHOUT MAKEUP, IT NEVER HAPPENED... KISS' CHIEF OF SECURITY JOHN HART WOULD OFTEN BREAK CAMERA'S AND DESTROY THE FILM OF THOSE WHO CROSSED THE LINE, FUCKIN' KOOL!!!
KISS INVENTED AND SET THE STANDARD FOR STAGING IN THE YEARS TO COME, FROM MULTI LEVEL STAGING, DRUM RISERS, RISERS, FOY FLYING SYSTEM, PYRO, KISSCUSSIONS, CONFETTI STORMS ETC, NOW VIRTUALLY EVERY ROCK BAND, BOY BAND, GIRL BAND, COUNTRY BAND ETC HAVE ALL BORROWED STAGING THAT KISS INVENTED OVER 30 YEARS AGO, JON BON JOVI & GARTH BROOKS BOTH SAID KISS IS THE REASON THEY STARTED FLYING IN THEIR SHOWS, IN FACT GARTH BROOKS SAYS KISS IS THE REASON HE BECAME A COUNTRY STAR...
UNLIKE ANY OTHER BAND IN HISTORY, KIDS DRESSED AS THEIR FAVORITE KISSER FOR HALLOWEEN, YOU COULD EASILY SPOT OVER A DOZEN OF EACH ON ANY SCHOOL PLAYGROUND, HOW MANY BEE GEES, LED ZEPS, STYX, BAY CITY ROLLERS DID YOU SEE ON HALLOWEEN??? I'LL TELL YOU, NONE!!! HOW MANY KISS DID YOU SEE??? DOZENS UPON DOZENS, THAT IS THE IMPACT KISS HAD ON AMERICAN KIDS IN THE MID TO LATE 70'S...
WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EVERYONE LOVED KISS, BY JR HIGH KISS WAS BECOMING LESS & LESS COOL, BY HIGH SCHOOL FORGET ABOUT KISS SUCKS, THAT IS WHAT I WAS TOLD DAILY, OR WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GROW UP AND STOP LISTENING TO KISS, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T REALIZE GROWING UP MEANT NO LONGER LISTENING TO KISS...
I STOOD MY GROUND EVERYDAY AT SCHOOL UNTIL I GRADUATED IN 1986, IN HIGH SCHOOL I STILL WORE KISS MAKEUP AND COSTUME FOR HALLOWEEN DRESS UP DAY, 1982-1986... YOU TELL ME WHEN BETWEEN THOSE 4 YEARS, WHEN KISS WAS COOL, THEY WEREN'T... IT WAS ALL ABOUT DURAN DURAN, CULTURE CLUB, THOMPSON TWINS, MADONNA, AND FOR THE ROCKERS LIKE MYSELF IT WAS ALL ABOUT VAN HALEN, LED ZEPPELIN, SCORPIONS, STEELER, RUSH, JUDAS PRIEST ETC, EVEN MY ROCKER FRIENDS GAVE ME SHIT FOR KISS, BUT I TOLD THEM BACK THEN, AND I STAND BEHIND IT NOW, NO BAND IS BETTER THAN KISS, PERIOD, NO GUITARIST IS BETTER THAN ACE FREHLEY, NO DRUMMER BETTER THAN PETER CRISS, NO FRONTMAN, SINGER, RHYTHM GUITAR IS BETTER THAN PAUL STANLEY, AND I WAS LAUGHED AT, BUT I DIDN'T CARE, BECAUSE TO ME KISS WAS AND IS THE BEST, PERIOD... YOU TELL ME HOW MANY PEOPLE DRESSED AS KISS IN THE EARLY TO MID 80'S LIKE IT WAS 1977 AND STILL IN GRADE SCHOOL??? AGAIN I WAS LAUGHED AT... THE FIRST TIME I WORE A KISS SHIRT IN HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS CALLED OVER BY A BUNCH OF GUYS, AND THEY WERE LAUGHING, AND SAID, OK, WE'RE NOT SURE IF YOU'RE MAKING FUN OF KISS OR YOU ACTUALLY STILL LIKE KISS, AND I STOOD MY GROUND AND WAS LAUGHED AT...
I WAS ONCE TOLD THAT WHEN IT COMES TO KISS, I AM LIKE A JUNKIE, I INJECT KISS INTO MY BLOOD, WHAT A GREAT ANALOGY!!! YOU'RE RIGHT I DO INJECT THEM INTO MY BLOOD AND THE RUSH FEELS SO GOOD...
WHEN I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, I TOOK A PICTURE OF PAUL STANLEY FROM 1977 SHOWING OFF HIS ROSE TATTOO, I WALKED INTO A TATTOO SHOP IN ANAHEIM, CA AND SAID THIS IS WHAT I WANT, AND BEING UNDERAGE FOR A TATTOO I WAS SCARED, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, WITHIN AN HOUR I HAD BEEN INKED FOR LIFE REPRESENTING PAUL STANLEY & KISS!!! NOW THE ONLY REASON I DIDN'T GET ACE'S TATTOO IS BCAUSE I AM AGAINST NAMES AS A TATTOO AND THAT IS WHAT ACE HAS "ACE"... HOW MY MOM FOUND OUT I'LL NEVER KNOW, COS I TOLD NO ONE, AND MADE SURE I WAS ALWAYS COVERED UP... WITHIN A WEEK SHE SAID, I WANT TO KNOW WHO TALKED YOU INTO THAT TATTOO, AND YOU'R NOT KEEPING IT... I SAID NO ONE TALKED ME INTO I TALKED MYSELF INTO IT, I KNOW YOU, TATTOO'S ARE NOT YOU, I WALKED AWAY AND GRABBED THE PIC OF PAUL AND SAID, CALL PAUL STANLEY AND COMPLAIN, HE IS THE REASON, SHE LOOKED AT PAUL WITH THE SAME TATTOO AND THREW THE MAGAZINE (IT WAS THE RED OR BLACK JAPANESE MUSIC LIFE KISS SPECIALS THAT CAME OUT IN THE 80'S) I WAS LIKE MY MAGAZINE!!! AND MY MOM SAYS, I AM SO SICK OF THIS KISS SHIT!!!
MY ROOM WAS COVERED IN KISS WITH OVER 1,000 POSTERS & MAGAZINE PICTURES COVERING EVERY SQUARE INCH OF MY ROOM, FLOOR TO CEILING, WALL TO WALL, INCLUDING, CEILING, CLOSET DOORS, BEHIND MY DOOR, WINDOWS, WERE ALL COVERED WITH KISS PICTURES & POSTERS, MY BED WAS IN THE MIDDLE SO I COULD NOT MISS ANY SPOTS... ONCE WORD GOT OUT ON MY ROOM IT BECAME A TOURIST ATTRACTION (NO LIE), IN HIGH SCHOOL PEOPLE WOULD SHOW UP AT MY DOOR WHO I DID NOT KNOW, AND SAID, I HEARD ABOUT YOUR ROOM, CAN I SEE IT??? SURE!!! THEY WOULD SPEND AN HOUR OR MORE LOOKING AT EVERY PICTURE, READING ARTICLES THAT WERE ATTACHED TO THE PIC... IT WAS INSANE...
ONE GUY TOLD ME I SHOULD CHARGE ADMISSION AND GUARANTEED PEOPLE WOULD PAY IT, AND PEOPLE STARTED SAYING I WOULD HAVE PAID TO SEE YOUR ROOM, IT WAS THAT COOL, I NEVER CHARGED ANYONE...
BY HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I WOULD GO TO CLASS, I WOULD OFTEN FIND KISS ALBUMS ON MY DESK, OR PEOPLE WOULD WALK IN FROM OTHER CLASSES AND DROP THEIR ALBUMS ON MY DESK, SAYING, I FIGURED YOU SHOULD USE THESE MORE THAN I COULD, EXTRA KISS ALBUMS, KOOL!!!
SOMEONE GAVE ME THE KISS SONG BOOKS, ALIVE II, ROCK AND ROLL OVER, DESTROYER, LOVE GUN, OTHERS GAVE ME TOUR BOOKS, DRESSD TO KILL, "ON TOUR 1976", LOVE GUN, DYNASTY, UNMAKSED (FROM NEW ZEALAND), I NOW HAVE EVERY TOUR BOOK THAT WAS EVER PUT OUT IN THE U.S.
IN HIGH SCHOOL ON 2 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I WAS BLAMED FOR DEFACING SCHOOL PROPERTY, ON ONE OCCASION SOMEONE DREW A DAMN GOOD PICTURE OF KISS ON A DESK, AND I WAS BLAMED, I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THAT TEACHER OR THAT CLASSROOM!!! ON ANOTHER OCCASION, A TEACHER BROUGHT IN A SPORTS ALMANAC, IT COST HIM $75 FOR THIS BOOK, IT WAS LEFT IN THE CLASS FOR ALL STUDENTS TO LOOK AT AT THEIR LEISURE, SOMEONE DREW THE KISS LOGO IN IT, I HAD NOT YET SEN THE BOOK, AND I WAS STILL BLAMED... WHY WAS I BLAMED??? I WAS THE ONLY KNOWN KISS FAN AMONGST 2,000 STUDENTS...
I HAVE PICTURES OF MY ROOM, ONE DAY I WILL SCAN THEM ALL AND POST THEM FOR EVERYONE TO SEE...
KISS' BOMBASTIC STAGE SHOW WITH LEVATATING DRUM RISER, LIGHTED KISS LOGO, PYRO, AND ENOUGH
SMOKE TO CLOSE OHARE AIRPORT FOR A WEEK WAS INTOXICATING, WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE A KISS SHOW, THOUGH I NEVER SAW KISS LIVE IN THE 70'S, IN 1977 MY MOM WENT TO GET KISS TIX FOR THE AUGUST 1977 KISS SHOW'S AT THE LOS ANGELES FORUM, ALIVE II BABY!!! THE GUY IN FRONT OF HER GOT THE LAST TICKETS, SOLD OUT!!!
KISS HAS MANY CLASSIC SONGS, I LOVE EACH ONE IN A DIFFERENT WAY, MAKING IT HARD TO CHOOSE A FAVORITE...
BUT IF I HAD TO CHOOSE A FEW, GOT TO CHOOSE, SHE, ROCK BOTTOM, STRUTTER, LET ME GO ROCK AND ROLL, PARASITE, FIREHOUSE, 100, 000 YEARS, STRANGE WAYS, WATCHIN' YOU, ROOM SERVICE, COMIN' HOME TO NAME A FEW...
MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF ALL TIME IS ALIVE!, NO BAND HAS EVER RECORDED AN ALBUM BETTER THAN ALIVE! PERIOD...
I LOVE ALL THE ORIGINAL 6 STUDIO ALBUMS, BUT TO NARROW A FEW DOWN, KISS, HOTTER THAN HELL, DRESSED TO KILL, THAT ONLY LEAVES 3 LEFT, AWW HELL, I LOVE ALL OF THEM, HOWEVER EARLY KISS TO ME IS THE BEST, THE BAND WAS YOUNG, HUNGRY AND WANTED IT BAD, AND THE SONG WRITING SHOW'S IT... NOTHING OVER POLISHED TO EXTREME PERFECTION, JUST PURE UNADULTERATED KISS IN THE RAW!!!
OVER THE PAST 35 YEARS, NO BAND HAS DONE TO ME WHAT KISS DID, THEY ARE STILL MY FAVORITE BAND, FROM 1975 - 1994 KISS COULD DO NO WRONG, ONLY 2 SHORT YEARS UNTIL REDEMPTION, BUT STILL, LOOKING BACK, THEY HAD DONE ALOT WRONG, I JUST DIDN'T CARE I LOVED IT ALL... NOW MY HEART IS SET IN STONE ON THE ORIGINAL FEARSOME FOURSOME, TO ME THAT IS KISS, THE BAND THAT STARTED IT ALL, THE BAND THAT CONQUERED THE WORLD, THE BAND THAT BROKE RECORDS PREVIOUSLY SET BY THE BEATLES, THE NEW FAB 4... THIS IS MY BAND, THEY MAKE ME PROUD, THESE ARE MY PEOPLE, SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!!! OK, SO I CHANGED THE LYRICS A BIT!!!
WHETHER YOU'RE AN OLD FAN FROM THE BEGINNING LIKE ME, OR A NEW FAN WITH THE CURRENT LINEUP, WHAT KISS IS TO YOU IS FUCKING AWESOME, AND WHAT KISS IS TO ME IS FUCKING AWESOME, NO ONE IS WRONG, WE'RE ALL FANS OF THE GREATEST BAND TO EVER SET FOOT ON STAGE, KISS!!!
AFTER ALL, KISS IS ACE FREHLEY, PETER CRISS, PAUL STANLEY, GENE SIMMONS, PERIOD...
AT LEAST TO ME IT IS!!!