Kiss is known for its comprehensive makeup and costumes, but did you know that, in addition to having special costumes, each band member has an on-stage name and character?
The four characters are Gene Simmons – The Demon, Paul Stanley – The Starchild, Ace Frehley – The Spaceman, and Peter Criss – The Catman. The band created these characters, all inspired by comic books, to make sure they stood out. What can we say? They sure did!
No Beatles For Kiss
When Gene Simmons worked on his solo album, he was determined to have at least one song featuring the Beatles. But, after asking each and every member of the four Beatles individually, all Simmons was left with was four negative answers.
Maybe they all refused because they were still hurt by Kiss refusing to take part in their movie that same year; maybe it was just “scheduling conflicts.” Either way, we may never know the truth. Simmons just ended featuring The Cast of Beatlemania instead.
Ace Lies Down To Get His “Kiss” Voice
Remember that we promised you some truly bizarre facts? Well, get ready to read one of them. While most singers have different ways to make sure they sound their best, Frehley's method to get the best out of his voice has to be the weirdest one we have heard about.
Apparently, while recording his vocals, Frehley lies down on his back. This is because, according to him, if he's standing up, he can't really hit each and every note. In order to help Frehley record on his back, Kiss's producers had to build a special microphone. All we have to say is, if it works, it works.
A Total Of Ten Kisses
Kiss had been around since the '70s, which means it makes sense that some band members were replaced by others. But, did you know that the only two original Kiss members that are a part of the band to this day are Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons? Frehley and Criss haven't really been a part of the band since 1996.
Over the years, there were a total of 10 people who at some point were Kiss band members. Eric Carr and Eric Singer, who play drums, were replacements for Peter Criss, while Bruce Kulick and Tommy took over Frehley's solos.
Kiss The Kiss Logo Goodbye
The original Kiss logo was and always will be iconic. It was actually Ace Frehley, the band's guitarist that came up with the idea for the design. One of the logo's special features is that the two final letters create what looks like two lightning bolts. But, when the band toured in Europe, the logo caused some trouble.
The problem was that the logo's last two letters resemble a German symbol from World War II. In order not to offend anyone and to avoid any problems, the logo was altered to look like two Zs in several countries.