50 YEARS AGO TODAY!

On this day in KISSTORY - January 30, 1973 - We performed our very first concert at Popcorn (The Coventry) in Queens, NY. We did two sets at the club that night for a crowd of around 10 people.

Gene recalls how that show came about:

1973 was the beginning.

Wicked Lester had just finished its album for EPIC RECORDS. There were five members in the band, including Paul and myself. Though we had a real recording contract with a major label, and though we had finished an entire album, we were depressed. It just wasn't what we had envisioned.

So, we started again. We tried firing the other three guys in Wicked Lester, but some wouldn't leave. So, we quit.

We started again with a vision. 'Let's put together the band we never saw on stage.'

We got a manager named LOU LINET, who managed JF MURPHY AND FREE FLOWING SALT and DIANA MARCOVITZ (or something like that)...and when he heard the newborn baby -- KISS. He thought it was the worst crap he had ever heard. Needless to say, he was gone immediately. So, we were managerless.

I put together a bio kit, while I worked at the Puerto Rican Interagency Council, as assistant to the Director. Peter's friend owned a printing press and printed up our invites.

But, where to play? We didn't have a manager. We didn't have an agent. We never had.

I made a phone call cold to a place called Popcorn in Queens, NY and on the phone convinced the guy to hire a band, who would soon be changing their name from WICKED LESTER to KISS.

We got the gig -- three nights -- Wed, Thurs and Fri for the sum total of $150.

That was the beginning.

By Joe Daly - Classic Rock / Contributions from Fraser Lewry 

The Popcorn Club, Queens, New York, January 30, 1973. It's a bone-chilling Tuesday night in Queens as Kiss roll up to the Popcorn Club for the load-in at their first official show as Kiss. They've previously performed as Wicked Lester, who've been signed (and subsequently dropped) by Epic Records after recording a still-unreleased album.

“Paul and I weren’t happy with the record,” Gene Simmons told Classic Rock. “It had a West Coast American hippie sound. We looked at each other and decided to form a new group, which was Kiss.” 

The name change came at some point between the booking of the Popcorn show and the performance itself. 

“We didn’t have a manager,” Simmons remembered. “So I called the guy. ‘You won’t believe this band, Wicked Lester. They do original material and, if you want, we’ll stick in a Wilson Pickett song or an Otis Redding song.’ Over the phone I sold the band to him for thirty-five dollars. Never mind that getting the truck to move our equipment and all that was going to cost more, we just wanted to flex our muscles.” 

"I remember very clearly when our picture went up on the outside of this club, Ace [Frehley] took a marker and wrote our new name right on the picture," Simmons wrote in his memoir Kiss and Make-Up. "The way he drew it was pretty crude, but it resembled our logo, with the two 'S's like lightning bolts at the end of the word."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story.

On this day in KISSTORY - January 29, 2007 - KISS Rock The Nation Live! DVD was officially certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Pictured is Tommy Thayer's Rock The Nation DVD award plaque. His plaque reads: Presented to Tommy Thayer, To commemorate RIAA certified multi-platinum sales of more than 200,000 copies of the Image Entertainment DVD, KISS Rock The Nation Live!

Friday, February 3rd from 7 pm – 9 pm

Wentworth Gallery – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
The Shoppes at the Guitar Hotel
5804 Seminole Way, Suite 103
Hollywood, FL 33314
954.314.7210
[email protected]

Saturday, February 4th from 6 pm – 8 pm

Wentworth Gallery Boca Raton
Town Center Mall
6000 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
561.338.0804
[email protected]

Call the gallery for details and to reserve your favorite artwork now! 
Ask us how you can join me for dinner after the show!

View Paul Stanley’s Art: www.wentworthgallery.com/stanley.html

On this day in KISSTORY - January 28, 1982 - We were at Studio 54 in New York City to receive the Golden Cat Award for "Most Important International Artist of the Year from the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy. Our appearance was broadcast live across Italian TV.

On this day in KISSTORY -  January 28, 2015 - The single "Yume No Ukiyo Ni Saitemina" with Momoiro Clover Z was released in Japan.

The KISS vs Momoiro Clover Z collaboration single hit  #1 on the Oricon Japanese Singles chart and Amazon's Japanese Pop chart!  It's the highest charting collaboration single by a Japanese artist and international artist ever!

Paul Stanley composed "YUMENO UKIYONI SAITEMINA" and KISS performed the music on the single. KISS and Momoiro Clover Z both sang lead vocals on two versions of the song. Japanese cultural essences, such as Kabuki, Ukiyo-e art, and samurai armor are themes throughout the song. The "Samurai Son" music video also contains unique Japanese anime.

The "Samurai Son" project was broadcasted on NHK, the sole public broadcaster in Japan.  In addition, a huge advertisement was placed at the world's largest Shibuya Scramble intersection. Momoiro Clover Z performed on the popular Japanese program "Music Station," and this project continues to be a hot topic in Japanese media.

 

On this day in KISSTORY- January 27, 1988 - We filmed the "Turn On The Night" music video during a concert at The Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Our fifth authorized Soundboard live release is from the November 28, 1984 Animalize Tour show from the Mid-Hudson Civic Arena in Poughkeepsie, NY featuring the only known soundboard recording with Mark St. John. “Young And Wasted” and “Rock And Roll All Nite” are unfortunately incomplete recordings, but due to the historical importance of this show with Mark we hope you all rock out to this as hard as we have. Lineup: Paul Stanley - Gene Simmons - Eric Carr - Mark St. John. 

Preorder now at https://shopkissonline.com/collections/off-the-soundboard

On this day in KISSTORY - January 26, 1974 - We rocked The Academy of Music in New York City.

On this day in KISSTORY - January 25, 1976 - We rocked Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan for the first of three SOLD OUT shows (25, 26 & 27). Thanks to Alex Menghi for sharing this poster from his KISS collection with us. This one was used in the ticket window to advertise Music Mann bus tours that took Canadians across the border to Cobo Hall Arena for the shows.