All language subtitles for Biography.KISStory.2021.Part.1.720p.WEB.h264-BAE

- Well, we talk about history.

This is kisstory.

[reflective music]

♪ ♪

When I first started
designing the ps10 for ibanez,

I had seen a band
called "slade."

Noddy holder, the lead singer,

Had a top hat
with mirrors all around it.

And when the spotlight hit it,

The lights all just
shot out of his head.

So I went and told them,

"let's do a fractured
mirror guitar."

And this is the original.

It's all these
individual pieces.

And what you find is,
even when you file them down,

There's always gonna be
some sharp pieces.

And you'll learn
where the sharp pieces are

By cutting your fingers.

See, there's blood underneath
some of these cracks.

You could probably clone
a new starchild.

[monitor feedback]

[rock guitar music]

♪ ♪

This guitar has shook the world
since the mid-'70s.

[kiss'
"rock and roll all nite]

- Kiss,
the world-renowned rock group

That exploded out of nowhere.

Kiss has been the gallup poll's
number one rock band

For the last three years.

- The number one rock 'n' roll
band in the world.

- ♪ you show us everything
you've got ♪

♪ you keep on dancin'
and the room gets hot ♪

♪ you drive us wild,
we'll drive you crazy ♪

♪ ♪

- The thing that was obvious
from the very beginning

About kiss, it was a band
that was about chemistry.

It was about these kind of
four equal parts

That made up
this superhero group.

Paul stanley
was the ringleader.

Gene simmons
was scaring the [bleep]

Out of suburban moms
back in the day.

All: ♪ and party every day ♪

- Peter criss
had his jungle rhythms,

His jazz fills,
his cat-like vibe.

And ace frehley,
you were just hoping

He was gonna stand up
through the show.

♪ ♪

There was a time when that
was clearly the most dangerous

And feared band in america.

- Obviously, yeah,
we go for the throat.

- Why the masks?

- We're not wearing
masks at all.

You're the guy
that's wearing a masks.

- Well, there are wild
rock groups; we know that.

- During the 70s
we got bigger and bigger.

- We were
a universal phenomenon.

- But then,
trouble in paradise.

- I'd like to toast
all my fans in holland.

- [inaudible]

[laughter]

- The alcohol and the drug use
and the dysfunctional stuff

Started to hit the band heavy.

- Okay, time to rock 'n' roll.

- We wanted to become rich
and famous,

And we're rich and famous.
So...

- You want it, you got it.
- We got it.

We had always spoken about
"all for one and one for all,"

This idea that kiss
was the four of us

And would always be
the four of us.

But that got tested.

- And all of a sudden
we became multimillionaires.

It was, like,
too much too soon.

- Ace and I love to party.
That's no secret.

- It was clear we couldn't
depend on ace and peter.

It's like going down
a long highway with two tires

That could blow at any time.

We were going forward with
our foot pressed on the gas.

- If you don't read
the signs...

♪ ♪

You can't be surprised
when you go off to cliff.

All: We want kiss!

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- By about '79
the band's differences

Started to come up
to the surface.

Peter just wasn't
the same peter.

- Peter made it very hard
to love him.

He became belligerent
at times,

And his use of drugs

Was getting
pretty out of hand.

- Peter was becoming
self-destructive.

And his drumming
had gone way down,

So much so that by the time
we recorded "unmasked,"

Peter criss didn't appear
on the album at all.

♪ ♪

- And I know "unmasked,"
I could say it.

I didn't play on "unmasked."

At the time I was really
fighting with the band.

I didn't want
to be around them.

They didn't want me
around them.

And I was burnt out, man.

I was tired
of being on the road so long

And putting out
so many albums so fast.

[cheers and applause]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

- We were in louisiana.

- How about it?

Peter criss on the drums.

- We were on stage.

And peter was probably
on a drug binge.

I may have said,
"pick up the tempo,"

Or something,
and he just decided

To take the song up
to a ridiculous speed

And then drop it
to a slow speed

And was just doing this
in front of 11,000 people.

♪ ♪

And it was such a betrayal.

♪ ♪

My jaw dropped.

♪ ♪

When we first started out

I really saw us
being together forever.

I thought if it wasn't
the four of us,

It wouldn't be a band anymore.

But the philosophy of
"all for one and one for all"

Is only good as long
as everybody's all for one.

All: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

- The line began forming for
the kiss concert before dawn,

Hundreds of young people
claiming their place

Despite the cold,
the wind, and the snow.

- Our philosophy
was always whatever

Is going on in the band,

You leave it at the bottom
of the stairs.

When you go up on stage,
you're kiss.

When you sabotage a show,
you're betraying our fans.

- How long have you been
waiting in line?

- For about 13 hours now.

- I've been in line
since about 8:00.

♪ ♪

- That crosses a line.

It was clear
to all three of us.

- Even ace.
You know, we took a vote.

- I said, "well, you know,

If it's gonna happen,
it's gonna happen."

- We had to let peter go.

♪ ♪

- There'll be no more roar
of the grease paint

For peter criss.

The former drummer of kiss

Has taken off his famous makeup
to go it alone.

- ♪ I just can't pretend
no more ♪

♪ I keep runnin' out of lies ♪

- To lose a member was scary,
scary for us.

I always believed
that if somebody is drowning,

I'll do my best to save 'em.

- Now here is ex-kiss drummer
peter criss.

Peter, welcome back.
- Thank you.

- But when you start
drowning me,

I'm gonna cut you loose.

All: ♪ shandi ♪

♪ tonight must last us
forever ♪

- I never imagined
anybody else

Would play drums
in the band.

It's like the beatles.

- The last time the guys
were here, I said,

"these guys are really wacky."

- But you just can't save him
if he's not willing

To save himself.

- Then afterwards,
the makeup comes off.

And here are four fairly
respectable, sober,

Intelligent human beings.

- Well, not all of us
are sober.

- ♪ good night ♪

♪ when we should say
goodbye ♪

All: ♪ say goodbye ♪

- So peter, he was gone.

And that was a huge
turning point for us,

Where we really had to see
that kiss was bigger

Than any of the members.

The band is an attitude and
a way of life and a philosophy.

And that's really
the most important thing,

Not who's in the band.

So we went about
looking for a drummer.

♪ ♪

- There was a huge amount
of pressure on the band.

Kiss fans were militant,
and they love their boys.

So a newcomer was not
necessarily

Going to be popular
right off the bat.

- And we found ourselves
eric carr,

Who was a stove repairman.

- When I went in to audition,
you know,

I just said to myself,
"look, eric, you're gonna do

"the best you can
you know, you're gonna play.

You know you're good.
You know the songs."

The worst that can happen
is that, you know,

You don't make the band,
but you can fix the stoves.

- He literally went from ovens
and stoves with cockroaches

Running out to being
the new drummer in kiss.

- And we were very cognizant
of the fact

That the world was watching.

And if this doesn't work,
we're in deep trouble.

- Eric, it's suggested you're
a more powerful drummer

Than peter and you
blended into the band better.

- The band has never
sounded tighter.

I think I fit in really well
with the guys.

And, you know, if you come
to the show, you'll hear it.

[kiss' "black diamond"]

- He played like thunder.

- ♪ darkness will fall
on the city ♪

- And he sang great.

- ♪ it seems to follow
you too ♪

- We were just awed by him.

- ♪ I know you don't ask
for pity ♪

♪ but there ain't nothin'
you can do ♪

All: ♪ whoo-ooh,
black diamond ♪

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- But it was a transition,
and it was different.

We were not the band
we had been...

♪ ♪

This new makeup,
this new character.

The audiences didn't buy it.

Because we'd spent years
building the band

With those
four iconic characters.

And to forsake that
was a misstep.

And that played out as
the audiences started to wane.

The band was losing ground.

♪ ♪

And doing "the elder"
didn't help.

♪ ♪

- Around 1981,
we decided to bring bob ezrin

Back into the fold
to produce our next record.

♪ ♪

- When I was out in la
we were talking about

Maybe it would be
a film or something.

- But while I was staying
at the beverly hills hotel,

I started doodling
about a life form

Called the elder
that were always here.

And in every age
and every time,

They pick a hero, and he said,
"okay, your next album

Is going to be a concept album
based on gene's idea."

- And thus was born
the saga of "the elder."

- It's not a bad idea

But not necessarily
a good idea for kids.

- ♪ for I am just a boy ♪

♪ too young to be sailing ♪

- It was a difficult project
on many, many levels.

I mean, it's not inaccurate
to say that many times

The captain
was not on the bridge.

I was still doing coke like
during the "destroyer" days,

But in this case,
it did happen again.

And ace didn't like the idea
from the get-go.

- I kept telling bob, paul,
and gene, I go,

"this is the wrong album
for the time."

I think the fans want to hear
a heavy hard rock album.

And they just kept,
you know,

They just had a deaf ear
to me.

- Paul and I were totally awed
by the idea.

"oh, we're doing
something important."

- We really--we drank
the kool aid.

We thought we had
this incredible masterpiece.

♪ ♪

- This is us being very artsy.

This is a beautiful videotape
of a wonderful song.

- And you're gonna
watch it out here.

- Notice at the end,
gene cried.

And nobody has cried
on anything of this sort

Since that indian when
the kids throw the garbage

And the guy sitting--

- Oh, you haven't been
in the audience.

[laughter]

- And honestly, like,
musically,

There are moments on that
that are sheer genius.

Lou reed came and wrote
some lyrics with us.

Ace was amazing on the record
even though he didn't like it.

But when you're in a band that
is so particularly defined,

Stepping out can be
a very dangerous thing to do.

- We don't want to make
any excuses for what we do,

And we don't owe people
explanations.

We still look like kiss,

And we'll play
whatever we want to play.

- ♪ where you don't know
what you're after ♪

♪ or if something's
after you ♪

- I remember being on eighth
street in greenwich village

Walking down the street

And seeing the promotional
poster for the album.

- ♪ world without dreams ♪

And I had a panic attack.

[bleep].

There's my hand
and a door knocker.

That's a kiss album?

What the hell have we done?

- I would have bet
a million dollars

That that album
was gonna fail.

And, of course,
the album bombed.

- We thought, you know
the who can have "tommy."

We can have "the elder."
no, actually, we can't.

[kiss' "I"]

♪ ♪

- We hoped for these great
accolades.

♪ ♪

What we learned is,

In pursuing people
who don't like you,

You forsake the people
who are with you.

And the other people
could care less.

So you lose everything.

[door slams]

- Okay, are you ready?

Okay, I'm gonna shoot another.

Good.

- The tour is gonna last
in the states

At least five months
in at least 100 cities.

So what comes after that
would probably

Be the rest of the world.

- Or the hospital.
- Yeah, or the nuthouse.

- "creatures of the night" was
when ace was clearly unhappy.

- Oh, you know,
I'm just a wild and crazy kid

From the bronx, you know,
that saw a spaceship one day

And went haywire.

♪ ♪

I was abusing chemicals,

And alcohol

I was going through a lot of
personal problems

And you know

I really felt that if I dis not
leave the group,

I was going to kill myself.

♪ ♪

Being in a band

There are moments
where it's difficult, you know.

It will consume your life.

Every single person in
the audience, 20,000 people,

You're responsible
for them tonight.

And you have whiplash
from headbanging

Too hard the night before.

And you've got a hangover
from drinking too much.

You've got--you broke your leg.

You fell off the [bleep] stage
and whatever.

You have to relieve yourself
from any of that [bleep]

And be like, "no, no, no,
I'm here

Because of that kid who worked
at shakey's pizza all weekend

To get enough money
to [bleep] come to the show.

And he's in those places.

And you can kind of
get lost in that.

♪ ♪

You want to run;
you want to hide.

A lot of people cover
that [bleep] up with drugs.

A lot of people
cover it up with booze.

And it's hard.

You have to be able to retain

A piece of yourself
in all of it.

♪ ♪

- When I left kiss,

I really wasn't thinking
about money, you know.

I was just thinking about
being happy and survival.

I knew if I stayed in the band
I would have self-destructed.

Because I was self-destructing.

♪ ♪

- When ace said
he was quitting the band,

I went up to connecticut
and spent a day with him

And pleaded with him
not to go,

Which is kind of like being
in an abusive relationship

But not wanting it to end.

Because what do you have
in its place?

But he did ultimately leave,
and he believed

That it would save his life.

And maybe it did.

Maybe it did save his life.

♪ ♪

- We didn't kick ace and peter
out of the band.

Drugs and alcohol
changed them,

Robbed their souls
and tore 'em out of the band.

- And they weren't alone.

Our manager, bill aucoin,
had disappeared.

He was literally locked
in his apartment freebasing.

So gene and I flew
to new york to see him.

♪ ♪

- Bill aucoin,

There's no question
he was a visionary.

He was more than a manager
certainly at the beginning.

- He really was our mentor.

- But drugs took their toll.

We had to separate.

- We sat down and said to him,

"it's time for us to go."

♪ ♪

I don't know if we had
really recovered fully

From the idea
of one member being gone.

Two members and bill
being gone

Was ground-shaking for me.

It was scary,
and it was different.

And the band would
never be the same.

- Initially,
every guy in the band

Was equally as important.

- Once gene and I were
the only consistent members,

We realized it's our band now.

And okay, it's time for us
to fly the plane.

But first you have to learn
how to pilot it.

- Let's move the camera to get
a close up of that famous...

- Appendage.
- Tongue.

- You want slow motion side,
side motion? Side?

What do you got?

[laughter]
- oh, [bleep].

- So what you went through
with eric now,

You had to go through
it again with the auditions.

- I think it was much worse.
We--we were literally flying

In people every day
from all around the country.

I actually went down there
with a mustache, okay.

The amp, that was very popular
back then for me was a boogie.

It couldn't even compete
with their marshalls

At the rehearsal;
it was pathetic.

I could barely hear myself.
I was so embarrassed in a way.

But I just remember--
and it meant a lot to me--

Gene just said,
"great vibrato."

And I was, of course,
flattered by that.

I didn't get the gig.

They just stuck
with vinnie vincent.

- I think vinnie vincent
made it into kiss pretty much

Because he played some guitar
on "creatures of the night"

And they thought,
"oh, you know what?

This guy will do."

- Vinnie joined the band
basically by default.

We had a tour booked.

We had to go,
and he was the closest person.

- Meantime, the fans didn't if
know we were coming or going.

♪ ♪

There's a new guy.
Is he gonna wear ace's makeup?

No, he's gonna be wearing the
ankh, which paul came up with.

And we knew that the fans
would be very upset.

♪ ♪

- It was like the avengers
lost iron man and thor.

And it was, like, kind of like,

"I'm not sure
I like these new guys

That you brought in
from dc or whatever."

- Every time a member is lost,

It does change
the dynamics of it.

- ♪ hello ♪
- ♪ hello ♪

- ♪ hello ♪
- ♪ hello ♪

All: Hi. We're kiss.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- At first, we were keeping
the fantasy together.

- We went to south america

And played the largest
concerts of our history.

There might have been
200,000 people.

♪ ♪

Enormous.

♪ ♪

On the other hand,
in america...

All: Hi. We're kiss.
Join us on "good morning."

- It was a complete mess.

- Their concerts
have only been selling

At 75% capacity.

Their latest album
is the poorest-selling album

Of their career.

- What we had done leading up
to "creatures"

I think was seen as a betrayal
by the audience.

- All these new members
and everything

Infuriated the fans.

Who's coming?
Who's going?

Who's in the band?
What's in it?

- If you cheat on your husband
or you cheat on your wife,

You don't get to say,
"I'm sorry"

And things go back to normal.

"creatures"
was that wake-up call

That no, everybody's not going
to say, "all is forgiven."

♪ you tell me
that you're leaving ♪

- Kiss was supposed to play
providence this weekend.

But not enough tickets sold,
and the concert was canceled.

- ♪ but now I see
as the smoke clears away ♪

♪ the battle has been lost ♪

- The "creatures of the night"
tour

Was perhaps the most thinly
attended since we began.

- It was a nightmare.

- Did it ever occurred to the
band to call kiss quits?

Like "[bleep],
this is the last night

I'm gonna put this makeup on.

I don't need this anymore."

- As our career and our success
was waning,

Gene and I had to decide
how much it meant to us.

Do we say it's over,

Or does this mean
enough to us to continue it?

- I'm like a shark.

A shark shouldn't
stand still,

Because they will
literally drown.

Forward momentum forces
the water through your lungs

And your gills,
and that's how you get oxygen.

It's the forward momentum
that invigorates me,

And that's why I'm so gorgeous
at 70 years old, bitch.

- You try to think
that when success leaves you

That you'll have a warning.

All of a sudden,
the bottom started to drop out.

And the "creatures
of the night" tour

Was a horror show,
at least for me.

I just remember going on stage,

And the curtain would drop.

And there was nobody out there.
And I'd be like this

And pointing
and there's empty seats.

- We can laugh about it now,
but it was not a fun time.

- I was so depressed
that I would fall asleep

In the dressing room,
and they couldn't wake me up.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[radio chatter]

- After
"creatures of the night,"

Paul called me and said,

"I gotta go get an operation
in upstate new york

In the middle of nowhere."

I didn't quite understand
what it was.

♪ ♪

But I remember hopping
on a puddle jumper

And flying to see him
in the hospital.

It was horrible.

- You were scared of flying
at that point...

- To death.

- But got on a puddle jumper
and came up to see me.

- You know, like, you know,
they're going between mountains

And you're jumping up and down.
This is the end of my life.

And when we landed there,

Paul comes up
in a hospital gown,

And he explains.

- I was born
without a right ear,

A condition called
a microtia,

And there was a doctor
up there

Who had come up with a way
to reconstruct an ear.

After the first surgery

And I was
in the hospital there,

The only people who were up
there were my family and you.

- And I remember paul
saying to me,

"now I know
who my friends are."

- I might have been on drugs
at that point

When I said it,
but it's true.

It was a really lovely,
wonderful thing he did.

♪ ♪

It really was a moment for me
of realizing

That there's nothing to hide.

You can take off the mask.

- Kiss, the band
that's not getting older;

It's--it's getting weirder.

- The band at that time

Just didn't have
that magical quality.

- Music industry experts
are wondering

If the kiss way
may be passé.

However, the group says
they'll keep their makeup.

- We were in the midst
of an identity crisis.

- And I started thinking,
"we have no choice.

- And I started thinking,
"we have no choice.

There's only one way out."

- And so paul comes up
and says...

[dramatic music]

I think we should take the

Make up off.

The

Make up off.

♪ ♪

- By 1983 I had a feeling
that we had lost our way

And probably couldn't find
our way back.

[loud explosion]

- Paul turns around to me
and says,

"I don't think we can continue
with the makeup,

Because we got new guys,
and the makeup is changing,

The fox and the wizard."

- I really had reached a point
where I believed

That our audience
was listening with their eyes

And had grown tired
of what we looked like

And maybe what we represented.

- He goes, "well, what will
happen if we just went out

As the guys and stuff?

And I was completely
uncomfortable.

[loud explosion]

I didn't know what
I was supposed to be

Without the makeup.

♪ ♪

- Who he was so much
was based on this persona,

This larger-than-life demon.

- When I have the makeup on,
and for me being on stage,

Even to this day,
I'm aware I'm stronger.

Adrenaline kicks in;
the chest cavity gets bigger.

My voice gets huskier
and all that.

It just happens naturally.

It's like a boxer
who's kidding around

Watching cartoons backstage.

When you get in that ring,
you're a killer.

♪ ♪

- And to give that up,
it was going to be very,

Very frightening.
I got it. I understood.

But I really felt that
if we can't be a great band

Without makeup, then maybe
we should call it quits.

- The thing that made sense
is, what do we got to lose?

We're down in america.
Let's just try something else.

Okay, let's take some photos
and see what it feels like.

Because the first image is
gonna be the fans looking at,

"here's kiss.
Here's what it looks like."

♪ ♪

- And when we looked
at the photos,

I became convinced
that something about it

Was making a statement, like,
"oh, yeah?

"even without
the makeup, we're still kiss

Outside and inside."

- And this was
the litmus test.

Gene was on board.

Let's take the makeup off.

♪ ♪

- After ten years together,
exclusively here on mtv

This evening we are going
to see kiss

Without their makeup
for the very first time.

- Well, I was tuned in to mtv

The day
that kiss took off the makeup.

The world had no idea
what those guys looked like.

You know, that
and the kennedy assassination

Were the two mysteries
of our times, you know.

And here it was all gonna
be revealed today on mtv.

- Vinnie vincent,
lead guitarist and co-writer

Of many of the songs
on the current kiss album.

Eric carr, drummer, has been
with the band since 1979.

Paul stanley, rhythm guitarist
and lead vocalist.

Gene simmons,
the fire-breathing,

Blood-spitting monster
of kiss.

Welcome, you guys.
This is amazing.

- Hi, j.J.

- They must have been scared.
I can't even imagine.

It's like dropping your pants

And letting your junk
hang out in the wind.

- How does it feel now
without makeup

Appearing for
the very first time?

- It feels very,
very comfortable.

I mean,
I hope it seems that way.

I feel fine about it.
[gasps]

No, I'm fine.

- ♪ don't want to wait
till you know me better ♪

- Paul, do you think
this new look

Will be easy
for you to succeed?

- It felt like it was time
to take the makeup off.

And it doesn't change
who we are.

It doesn't change
what we believe in.

It doesn't change
the stage show.

- We don't, you know,

We don't think about
anything besides the music.

All: ♪ lick it up,
lick it up ♪

♪ oh oh oh ♪

- ♪ it's only right now ♪

- The first show we performed
without makeup was in lisbon.

[cheers and applause]

- And it was a mistake.

All: ♪ lick it up ♪

The show was sold
with a poster of us in makeup.

♪ ♪

- It was a close-up
of my face in makeup.

And the fans I'm sure
were all mixed up.

All: We want kiss!

- They announce us on stage.
- You wanted the best.

You got the best, kiss!

- And come running out,
spinning around

And singing kiss songs.

But we kind of looked like we
did when we were at soundcheck.

It was weird for me
to look across and see gene,

Not the demon, but to see,
"oh, yeah, there's the guy,

You know,
I had breakfast with."

♪ ♪

I think the audience too
was kind of like,

"what the hell's
going on here?"

- I remember feeling naked.

It's like a knight
in shining armor

Who knows full well
that he could be all he is

Because he's protected.

Take off the armor, and all
of a sudden you're vulnerable.

So you're much more
self-conscious and afraid.

It probably took until we were
in the middle of the concert

Where I just gave into it
and just went with the flow.

- But we broke that wall down.

It reaffirmed to me

That people were ready
to see us differently.

And that was the beginning
of a crawl back.

♪ ♪

[upbeat percussive music]

- In 1984 a couple friends
and I went to see kiss

Down at the long beach arena.

And that's when I first met
gene and paul.

They wouldn't remember it,
because it was just

In a meet-and-greet,
but gene,

As inquisitive as he is,
he asked me,

"so what do you do?
Are you in a band?

And, you know, I looked like
I was in a band.

And I said, "yeah,
I'm in a new band

Called black and blue.
We have a record coming out."

And he looked at me
and he goes,

"oh, that's a great band.

I like you guys."

And I thought,
"that's pretty cool.

Gene simmons just acknowledged
something about me."

I--that kind of blew me away
and stuck with me.

That was a good moment.

And the show was great.

- It was a big sold-out arena.

But in the middle
of that show,

Vinnie vincent is doing
a guitar solo.

♪ ♪

But he was playing too long.

And paul rightfully ran out
and grabbed the mic and goes,

"all right, everybody,
vinnie vincent,"

And stuff like that.

- Vinnie vincent
on lead guitar!

- And after the concert,

Vincent walks up to paul
and says,

"don't you ever do that
to me again."

And I thought paul
was gonna take his lights out.

♪ ♪

- Gene and paul, they always
recognized his talent.

I do too. I know
he's a gifted songwriter.

But whatever leverage
vinnie vincent thought

He had over gene and paul

Because of writing
a lot of great songs,

It's foolish.

And you didn't
create that fan base.

- Within an album or so
he was gone.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Girls and guys,
especially girls,

Mark st. John,
our new lead guitar player.

- Yay.
- Hey. There he is.

♪ ♪

- So the new guitar player,
mark st. John,

Not a melody guy
but really fast.

- But then again,
mark st. John out of nowhere

Comes down with a rare
arthritic condition,

Had his hands blowing up
like sausages.

He was gone before
he really could make a mark.

- We were losing
guitar players left and right.

♪ ♪

- When opportunity knocks,
you better be ready.

I played with meatloaf
for the "bat out of hell" tour.

I toured the world, okay?
And I was ready.

♪ ♪

- And bruce kulick was in.

- Bruce kulick on lead guitar.

♪ ♪

Come on!

- But it was clear
by the animalize tour

It wasn't the kiss of old.

When the makeup came off

We were between a rock
and a hard place.

We may not have been followers,
but we were no longer leaders.

♪ ♪

The hair bands were here.

♪ ♪

[rock music]

- Come on, paul,
can we see a kiss video?

- Can we see a video, please?

- Do you promise to be good?

- Swear.
- Promise.

- This one's
"tears are falling."

- Great.

- ♪ I read your mind
like an open book ♪

♪ you lost the fire
in your eyes ♪

♪ ♪

- In the '70s kiss were a band

That was definitely
leading trends

And blazing brand
new paths in rock 'n' roll.

In the '80s they seemed
like they were maybe

Following other band's past.

- A lot of stuff
really changed.

In the '80s, you know,
things just got so shiny.

- ♪ oh no
tears are falling ♪

- When the hair bands
came along, bon jovi,

Motley crue, it was
about what you looked like.

It was the cutesy time.

The guys are looking cuter
than their girlfriends.

It's androgynous.

- Now everyone's, like,
lookin' good.

- And we thought,
"okay, well,

"let's just prove to them
we could go

Toe-to-toe
with any of these bands."

- The hair started looking like
the other bands' hair.

The outfits were sequined
and whatnot.

- Paul had the, you know,

Sort of
semi-androgynous thing.

He could look good.
But I was lost.

I'm 6'2"
and at the time 200 pounds.

It's like a football player
in a tutu.

Probably not a good idea.

- You looked very handsome--
- as a what?

- You looked very handsome
as a woman.

- She says I looked
very handsome as a woman.

Then she went like this.

[silently]

- Oh no
tears are falling ♪

- For me and the rest
of the guys those were

I will say
the most embarrassing years,

What we looked like
and often what we sounded
like.

It wasn't satisfying,

Which is why I wandered.

I want to do something to--ah,

Why can't I finish
that sentence?

Time is slithering by, and I'm
accomplishing nothing, nothing.

I was given an offer
to act in movies.

- Do you see yourself now
as more a movie star?

Have you gone hollywood
do you think?

- I gotta get out of
this picture for this one.

Wait.
- Ahem.

People were asking me
to be in films and,

"do you want to do
a tv series?"

And all this,
"oh, you're so great."

And, of course,
that's my achilles' heel,

That ego, that insatiable--
that is my crack.

- Gene simmons.

[cheers and applause]

- It's like, "wow, I'm not
just a one-trick pony.

I'm not just that guy
who sticks his tongue out.

Maybe I could do other stuff."

You believe that crap?

- We were recording some demos
for our third

"black and blue record.

We thought maybe gene simmons
would be a good producer

For the record.

So we sat down,
and we played these songs

That we had been
writing and demo'ing.

And gene goes,
"you know what? I'll do it."

- Gene was off
producing bands,

Showing up in the studio
having not slept.

It became a joke,
but it wasn't a joke to me.

- There's no question that I
was losing focus on the band.

And all of it
I'm sure had to do with not

Getting my rocks off
with kiss.

I mean, you can have
a relationship

That makes total sense.

But if your schmekel
doesn't get crazy,

You go elsewhere,
and I went knowingly.

I was too involved
with my own selfish self.

♪ ♪

- By the time we got
to "crazy nights,"

It had really reached a point
where I felt

Offended, deserted.

You can fill in the blanks.

I produced the--
the new kiss album.

And I loved doing it.

And I would have wanted
to do it in any case.

But this--I mean, you can't be
in two places at once.

I finally sat him down.

And I said to him,
"you know what?

"you're [bleep] with me.

"this has reached a point
where it's unacceptable.

It can't go on."

♪ ♪

- And he was right, of course.

- And it felt good.
It felt good to say, "no more."

- The one thing we've always
had, honesty with each other.

We've never been shy about
telling each other,

"hey, you know what?
Your breath stinks.

"I don't mean that
as a criticism.

"I mean, just to point that out

"so you'll be able
to be more effective.

Take a mint;
more people will like you."

- We've been through a lot.

And even when things might have
been a little tense between us,

Whenever the chips have been
down--and I hope it goes

Both ways--I've always known
that gene was there.

- And I remember saying,
"you know what?

You're right.

I'll step back slowly."

♪ ♪

- One, two, one.

- This is a tom.
Well, no, this isn't a tom.

This is a microphone.
This is a tom.

- Eric was a terrific drummer.
Funny.

- No, this is a dick.
Wait a minute.

- He cared deeply
about the band.

But I was in my house,
and--and eric

Called me and said,
"I went to the doctor."

♪ ♪

- Eric had started
spitting up blood.

♪ ♪

- "there's a finger-like tumor
going in and out of my heart."

- And the diagnosis came back.

He's got cancer.

♪ ♪

- Well, here I am, folks.

This is rock drummer eric carr

Talking to you three days
after open-heart surgery.

- Eric carr felt just miserable
that he was letting us down,

That he couldn't show up
for rehearsals,

That we might get
another drummer.

- I'll be back to kick
your asses again soon as I can.

And I can't wait to get back
and play drums, man.

Because this sucks.

♪ ♪

- We wanted to keep moving
with the idea

That eric was gonna get better

Because I couldn't
imagine him dying.

I had never dealt
with anything like that.

And what I said to him was,

"the most important thing now
is your health.

"you need to think of yourself
and not about the band.

"the band will be there.

Even if we work,
the band's still there."

♪ ♪

- The hindsight is that the one
thing we've always done is know

How to press
the button that says,

"just keep going forward."

Because when you stop,
you achieve nothing.

- I think eric carr
did feel like,

"I can't go away
and rest and recover,

"because then somebody else
is gonna come in

And take my spot."

- And then there was this call
to do a kiss version

Of the rock standard

"god gave rock
and roll to you."

- It was for the movie "bill
and ted's bogus journey."

And we cut the track
with bob ezrin.

Eric singer played on the song,

But eric carr insisted
on singing on the recording.

He sang during
the quiet interlude.

- ♪ god gave rock and roll
to you ♪

- To everyone he gave the song
to be sung ♪

- ♪ gave rock and roll
to everyone ♪

- And then it was time
to do the video.

We got a phone call from eric,

And he begged us
to do the video

Even though he was terminal.

Both: ♪ saved rock and roll ♪

- And we did.

♪ ♪

It was eric carr
in deep cancer

And playing his heart out
for the last time

♪ ♪

Both: ♪ god gave rock and roll
to you ♪

- He did a stellar job.

Learned the parts;
he played them great

And did take after take
for the video.

Both: ♪ god gave rock and roll
to you ♪

- Shortly after that,
he passed away.

- Anyway, that's it.

So I'll see ya.

Bye-bye.

- ♪ I gotta tell ya ♪

Both: ♪ god gave rock and roll
to you ♪

- And it was
the saddest thing.

'cause, you know,
only the good die young.

Both: ♪ gave rock and roll
to everyone ♪

[gentle guitar music]

- Eric singer did become
the drummer in kiss.

- Well, part of me is, like,
all excited by, you know,

"wow, I'm gonna be
the drummer of kiss.

But then I'm thinking like,
"wow,

Under the [bleep]
circumstances ever."

And I knew it was gonna be
a rough road.

I was gonna take a lot of heat.

♪ ♪

- ♪ I was there
through the ages ♪

♪ chained slaves
to their cages ♪

♪ I have seen you
eat your own ♪

- "revenge" was another
turning point for us.

[loud explosion]

- We survive a tragic loss
of a beloved drummer,

Find a new guy, eric singer,
super talented.

Eric did a fantastic job

Walking into
a terrible situation.

We survived
bob ezrin's ruthless,

"it's gotta be great.
It's gotta be great."

And it was great.

- ♪ that's why
you're feeling so ♪

All: ♪ unholy ♪

- Album's leading up to that
meandered a bit,

But "revenge"
really felt like we nailed it.

♪ ♪

- But "revenge" didn't sell
quite what we hoped.

Times were changing.
Music was changing.

♪ ♪

- I was playing
with alice cooper.

We went to do a summer tour
playing all the outdoor venues.

It was like a bloodbath.

Everywhere we went, the crowds
were, like, non-existent.

That's when I could see,
"wow, it's over."

♪ ♪

[funky bass guitar music]

- The '90s is a death knell
for all the hair-metal bands,

All a sequin bands.

All of a sudden,
bands like tool,

Nine inch nails,
rage against the machine,

Nirvana are playing
uncompromising kick-ass music.

And those hair-metal bands
didn't have a home anymore.

♪ ♪

And it was at that time where
kiss fans globally demanded,

"we want the kiss we want.

Remind us of the greatness and
the uniqueness of this band."

- That kind of fed
into the convention tour.

♪ ♪

- Jessica, do you like kiss?

- Uh-huh.

- I got the whole set of dolls.

I got some posters
and a couple of pins.

- And our latest purchase,
the axe bass

Complete with blood and all.

♪ ♪

- Much like comic-con or
for star trek conventions,

There was this groundswell.

Collectors got together
and started kiss conventions.

So gene thought,

"why don't we have
an official kiss convention?"

- The worldwide
kiss convention '95-'96.

- We would have
all the cool things

That we had in the warehouse,
costumes, vintage guitars,

Plus we would have
kiss tribute bands,

Which were
popping up everywhere.

- Some friends and I decided,

"we're gonna do
a kiss tribute band."

Paul, you've got to come see
our band sometime.

I think you'll like it.

We were called cold gin,
and it was just a lot of fun.

- The whole thing would be
a traveling kiss museum.

- And they said,
"tommy, we need you to go

"to all these cities
and find the hotels,

Book them,
set all this stuff up."

And I ended up running
the kiss conventions.

- The lines were
around the block.

- People wanted to be
a part of this

And make it special,
and they did.

- We had a ball.

- During the convention tour,
a part of it was,

Kiss would come out
and do an unplugged set.

It was just this kind of
loose thing,

But it was a lot of fun,
and it sounded cool.

[kiss' "cold gin"]

- The friends really got us
much more connected

To the legacy of kiss.

♪ ♪

Wait.

Shh, I'll get it.

♪ ♪

It's one thing to play those
songs on electric guitars.

Acoustic guitars are very,
very unforgiving.

♪ ♪

That's the hard part,
this...

♪ ♪

Because the strings
are so tight.

♪ ♪

We had to polish up
on our chops,

But we had a ball.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- And right then,
peter criss reached out to me.

♪ ♪

He was living in los angeles,

And I hadn't spoken
to him in a while.

And he said, "you know, hey,

"you know,
my daughter never got a chance

"to see all this memorabilia.

Can I bring her down
to the kiss convention?"

- My daughter never saw kiss.

She just never knew what
her father really was about.

And I thought the first la

Kiss convention,
what a perfect time.

- I said, "peter, of course."

♪ ♪

- Gene called me up and said,
"eric,

"peter criss
wants to come to the show.

"I just want to make sure that
you're--you're okay with that.

I don't want you
to be uncomfortable."

- Eric singer turned around
and said,

"what are you talking about?
I'm a peter criss fan too."

- I said "no. Why would it be
uncomfortable?

That's cool. You should
have him come up and play."

- Well, we thought it might be
something special.

We thought peter could come out

And sing a couple of song
with us.

All: Peter! Peter! Peter!

- Everybody went berserk.

[cheers and applause]

- And here's the original
kiss member, peter criss,

Coming back and playing
with gene and paul.

And, you know, nobody'd seen
that in a long time.

- ♪ if never I met you ♪

♪ if never I held you tight ♪

♪ if not for our first hello ♪

♪ we'd never have to
say good-bye ♪

- It was cool. It was magical.

The audience was electric.

- ♪ rags ♪

♪ I really love you ♪

♪ I can't forget about you ♪

♪ you'll be a hard luck woman ♪

♪ baby till you find your man ♪

♪ ♪

- Peter criss!

- And I remember
he was glowing.

It was--it was cool.

- I don't know, man.

I got a feeling of, like,
going back home.

Kind of, like,
being safe again

With the guys again;
it was good.

- Everybody was having
such a great time.

Mtv is saying, "you guys
wanna do 'unplugged'"?

Because eric singer
opened the door to peter,

Mtv went nuts and said,

"would ace join you
on stage too?"

- I'd be remiss if I didn't
ask you about the future.

You know, if you read the
trades and you believe rumors,

You guys gonna get together
maybe next year?

- Anything's possible.

- Come on, ace, lay it out.

What's going on?

- We've discussed it.

All we've done is discussed it.

- I mean, you--
you're open to it?

- I'm open to it, and paul
and gene are open to it.

[cheers and applause]

- We've got some members
of the family here tonight.

We're talking about peter criss
and ace frehley.

♪ ♪

- Whatever quality peter
and ace had, charisma,

Whatever, it was undeniable
that it belonged on stage.

- I don't think anybody
expected this, did they?

- ♪ you got nothin' to lose ♪

All: ♪ you got,
got nothing to lose ♪

- ♪ oh nothing ♪

All: ♪ you got,
got nothing to lose ♪

- There's a certain feeling
when the four of us play

Together that I can't explain.

I can't put my finger on it.

But there's just
this chemistry.

- The magic was still there.

I felt when I was sitting
next to the guys.

The crowd knew
it was still there.

- All of the original guys
being together.

All: ♪ you got, you got,
you got nothing to lose ♪

- By the end of the night
we were home.

- ♪ yeah ♪

- Thanks so much.
Good night.

- You'd have to be dead

To not be caught up
in what we were feeling.

It was those rumblings
before the volcano explodes.

- Maybe one day
there will be a reunion

If paul and gene, you know,
get smart and cash in on it.

- If the four of us
can sit in a room

Without the managers
and the lawyers

And all the [bleep]
and really say,

"lookit, man,
whatever went on went on,

And let's just drop
this [bleep].

And we owe it to our fans."

You know. I'm good.
I would do a reunion. Sure.

- And both ace and peter
fly out to los angeles.

And we negotiate
without lawyers, no anything,

Say, "okay, you guys
want to come back

"and do a reunion tour?

"here's the way
it's gonna work.

"you decide nothing.

"you're gonna show up on time
and do it.

"we'll guarantee
you'll be multimillionaires.

"but you're not gonna get
as much as paul and I,

"because we've been here
carrying the flag for 15,

"20 years or whatever.

And without us
kiss would be dead."

And both said,
"great. Let's go do it."

♪ ♪

- Telling eric singer
and bruce kulick

That we were going to do
a reunion tour

Without them
was a--tough--a tough one.

I was over the moon about what
we were about to embark on.

But I was also aware
of the feelings of two people

Who had put their heart
and soul into the band.

- You know, we literally had
just finished recording

"carnival of souls."

I think we only had
a couple more songs to mix.

And then gene and paul
said they wanted

To have a meeting with us,
and I thought they were gonna

Just talk about
preparing for the record.

- And we're told that there's
big offers for a reunion tour.

♪ ♪

- Bruce had been in the band,
I think, about ten years

And really gave it his all.

And bruce is somebody
who's pretty selfless.

He's somebody who is
a real team player.

- When I was told, I remember
going like, "I knew it."

But, you know, fascinating
times, let me tell you.

- Bruce took it more
philosophically or stoically.

But surprisingly, it was eric
who was hurt the most.

- I couldn't have been
more shocked.

Eric made a career initially
of being the go-to drummer

For a lot of bands.

And he would say to me, "oh,
I know this is just a gig."

But when it came down to this,

I know--I know
his feelings were hurt.

- You know, kiss is gene
and paul's band.

They're gonna do what's always
in their best interest,

Not what's in the best interest
of gene and paul and eric.

You know, like people say,
"it's not called music friends.

It's called music business."

♪ ♪

- See what I mean?
[inaudible].

You are slimmer
than you were before.

- Yeah.

Wow.

- Yeah?

- What do you think, gene?
- I think it looks terrific.

♪ ♪

- What a man. What a man.

- [laughs]

- [grunts]
- [laughs]

- To be in a room
at gene's house

With all four original guys
putting on the outfits again,

Putting on makeup again...
- Hey peter.

- For the first time
in 17 years,

It was amazing.

- It's coming back.

- It was like putting on
the makeup that first time...

♪ ♪

Before the money,
before the chicks,

Before the fame,
before any of that.

And it was all four of us
back together again.

- Gene started going
through his metamorphosis.

I could see it happening.

It was like going back
in time.

- It was amazing.
Because I put the makeup on.

And it was almost as if,
you know,

20 years had just flown by.

I felt very comfortable in it.

- Wow! The hair looks great.
Wow.

- The whole thing was--was--

It was intoxicating,
empowering.

It was...Wow.

- Wow!
- We're kiss.

We're that kiss.

- What do you think?

[laughter]

Come on over here.

Come over here, moron.

- There was a real sense
of joy.

- Paul and I looked
at each other and said,

"wow, isn't this amazing?"

- Pshu!

- But then it was like, "uh-oh,
we caught a big one."

We can't do all this
and manage the band.

- For a long time after bill,
we basically managed ourselves.

This was gonna be a juggernaut
beyond our capability.

- At the time
we were manager-less.

So we got a list of them,
put that together.

- I believe there was only
one name on that list.

And that name was doc mcghee.

- This is a license
to print money.

This is gonna be monstrous.

This will take you
to the next level.

- Doc mcghee
is a legendary rock manager

And he had two of
the biggest bands in the world,

Motley crue and bon jovi,

What was bigger than motley
crue and bon jovi in the 1980s?

- He and nathan knew what this
could be and what was possible.

- If it's worth doing,
it's worth overdoing.

And that's kiss.

- Doc mcghee is very peculiar.
He's got his voice

That sounds like
he's been sucking on helium.

I've never seen him take notes.

And yet somehow,
he gets the stuff done.

- He's a visionary.
He really is.

We were originally thinking,
"well, we'll get our feet wet

And maybe do some small shows
or do some theaters."

Doc was like, "no, no, no, no."

And we thought he was
completely out of his mind.

♪ ♪

- Gentleman got into my car,

Said he was going
to the "intrepid."

And I thought I heard something
on the radio today

About something
goin' on over there.

He told--tells me
that the rock band kiss

Is doing a press conference.

- It's all about timing.

Okay, people needed
to have fun.

And it just blew up.

- Last week when they asked me
to introduce kiss,

I had just two questions.

What time and what
aircraft carrier?

All right,
ladies and gentlemen,

Here they are,
peter, paul, gene, kiss.

- Kiss saying there are ready
to rock and roll again

[inaudible]

To announce
their upcoming world tour.

Gene simmons says they want
to give something back

To their loyal fans.

- This tour and the whole event
really is a culmination

Of more than a decade of fans

Being on top of our asses
saying that we have to do it.

- I've always wanted
to time travel, you know.

And it feels like I've gone
back 15 years in time,

And here I am again,
and it's a fantastic feeling.

And I really appreciate
everybody being here.

[cheers and applause]

All: Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace!
Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace!

Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace!
Ace! Ace! Ace! Ace!

- They hadn't sold
a stadium out in a long time.

We'd talked to agents
and everything else.

And they'd say,
"first do ten theaters.

"and we'd look at each
and go,

"ten theaters?

We don't want to play
in theaters.

"what's the alternative?

If we don't make it,
we don't make it."

If you're gonna swing the bat,
swing the bat.

So we put up tiger stadium.

- It was sold out
in 40 minutes.

♪ ♪

- Once we put up tiger stadium
and it sold out,

Gene and I both realized

That if we were going
to do a reunion,

We couldn't let anybody down.
We couldn't disappoint people.

And what we had to give them
in terms of a show

Was the show that they thought
they remembered...

♪ ♪

Not the show
that we actually did.

So we had to create the show
that by today's standards

Was what
they remembered back then.

And equally, we had to make
sure that the band

Sounded enough like the band
did in the beginning.

- Everybody came to la
in the spring of 1996.

And rehearsals started
with the band.

I remember ace saying to me,
"why are we rehearsing?

I know those songs
like the back of my hand."

Obviously, he didn't know
the back of his hand.

- ♪ get up ♪

♪ everybody's gonna move
their feet ♪

- Well, you figure we've done
25 albums.

They average
ten songs an album.

That's ten solos an album,
so you figure 250 solos.

So, you know, there's no way

I could remember
250 guitar solos.

- For all the time that
kiss has been together

We've constantly toured.

Gene and I had spent another
15 years or more playing.

And it was pretty obvious
that they hadn't.

- I don't believe this.

- No, I believe it.
- Sorry. T's impossible.

- It was very clear
it wasn't up to par

And it wasn't what it needed
to be to pull this off.

After the rehearsal, paul and
gene called me, and they said,

"tommy, we need you to help
them get back up to speed

With what they need to do."

And I said, "okay."
so I started with peter,

Him on the drums,
me with a guitar and an amp

Teaching him how to re-learn
certain things

That he needed to do.

After we did that
for a week or two,

I did the same thing with ace.

♪ ♪

We got together, the two of us
sitting on chairs in a room,

A couple guitars,
a couple amps.

And, you know,
believe it or not,

We actually kind of had
a good time

Just jamming back and forth.

You know, he caught on and got
back to the original parts

And the way they're supposed
to be, and it worked out.

♪ ♪

- By the time
we got together again,

It started sounding better.

♪ ♪

- The lead up to tiger stadium
was with some nerves

And some trepidation.

- We had built kiss back,
so we couldn't endanger

What we had done
by bringing back

The two original members
and having it suck.

- I didn't feel completely
confident about it,

And I know that everybody else
felt the same way.

We did--we didn't know
what was gonna happen.

[cheers and applause]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

- Backstage,

Everybody
was pretty uptight.

- Our asses were on the line.

- The fans had been waiting
for this for years.

[cheers and applause]

- You could hear the roar.

And it got bigger and bigger
and bigger.

- It was like
they were all congregating

And marching in line
going to mecca.

- Taking the stage,
all I could think was,

"keep your composure.

Be what these people
are expecting."

- All right, detroit.

- Be kiss.

- You wanted the best.

You've got the best.

The hottest band in the world,
kiss!

[kiss' "deuce"]

♪ ♪

- ♪ get up and get
your grandma outta here ♪

- The energy coming
from this audience

Was like a tidal wave.

You have to contain that.

So the four of us
had to contain that energy.

I would look at peter and make
sure he was playing in time.

We all were very dependent
on each other

To be everything they expected.

- ♪ you know your man
is working hard ♪

Both: ♪ he's worth a deuce ♪

♪ ♪

- And we were.

- I was so happy to be back.

It was such a great thing
to get a second chance

Like that in life.

Because that's what it was
to me,

A great second chance to maybe
fix what was broken

When we first dispersed.

♪ ♪

- Yeah!

[loud explosions]

[cheers and applause]

- The messiahs had returned.

Whoo!

Y'all ready to rock?

- Those shows were
magical to me.

I loved those shows.

- New york, let me hear ya.

- The number of fans
that had waited 15 years

To see the original lineup

Play together
with makeup was mind-blowing.

- All right. Let's go, baby.

- Do you feel all right?

- I saw kiss at the tacoma dome
when I was living in seattle.

- Do you feel all right?

- I was sitting next to
the drummer of soundgarden,

And the two of us were like...

"god of thunder."

Like, we were in it.

♪ ♪

- Ace frehley is up there,

Ace frehley on stage
playing the solo on the record.

Like, it gave me--
it gave me chills.

♪ ♪

That's my man!
You know what I mean?

And I'm here for that journey.

♪ ♪

- ♪ I'm sorry to have taken
so long ♪

- Just seemed like we build
momentum.

- Okay. That show is sold out.

Let's add a second show.

[all speaking japanese]

That's sold out.

Okay, let's move
to the next city.

♪ ♪

- It was good,
but in a way it was bad.

- You know, I would look
at our itinerary,

And all of these days

That were off
just started disappearing.

- The reunion tour became the
number one tour in the world.

Number two is u2.

- The most successful tour
in '96-'97.

Kiss was a big deal again.

- I don't know how many bands
have done that,

Have gone from the white house
to the outhouse

And now back
to the white house.

♪ ♪

- We compete with a past
that is so huge

That it took the reunion tour

To really eclipse
what we had done initially.

We wound up on the cover
of "forbes."

If I had to pick a magazine
I would never be

On the cover of,
it would surely be "forbes."

But there we were.

♪ ♪

- We as--as a band hung tight.
And I think we got through it

And we'll get through
anything else.

Paul and I were going, "wow.

"it's like being
in the 'titanic.'

"let's not hit
the iceberg again, okay?

Let's go around it."

♪ ♪

- Yeah!

But the problem was not
the iceberg out there.

The problem was within.

- [indistinct].

- At one point these guys
were all equal members.

Now they're coming
back together.

But they're gonna be under
the rule of gene and paul.

♪ ♪

- Okay, now turn around.

And this wasn't gonna be
kumbaya.

♪ ♪

- I do remember at the end
of the reunion tour

Peter and ace saying,

"we were really good
and cooperative.

Now we want to have equal say."

♪ ♪

- I was really excited.
I was like, "wow, we're gonna

Finally do a studio album
together as a band."

All of a sudden, they're like,

"you're gonna do
what we tell you to do.

"you know, we're gonna put
our songs on it.

"we'll pay you for the record.

"and we'll say you played
on it.

"but we don't want you
to tell the world

You didn't play on it."

I couldn't live with that.

- You have to remember,
I never left the band.

So are you gonna come back
and be an equal?

Absolutely not.

- I won't have--I won't be
slapped around

I won't be treated that way.
I took enough of it.

- It's the same personalities,

Ace and peter
from the early days.

When they were great,
they were fantastic.

And then it's jekyll and hyde
when the other stuff comes in.

♪ ♪

- Peter started acting the way
he once swore

He would never go back to,
and it was really tough.

- Catman.
- Somebody stop me.

- And this is hard to say,

Because fans hear this
and they say,

"how could you say that
about our beloved catman?"

You're right.

♪ ♪

You're right.

But that was
the beginning of torture.

- One, two...Tongue, please,
gene.

- Three.
- I thought I was...

- Shut up.

Shut the [bleep] up,
[bleep] bastard.

- One, two, three.

- A lot of energy
coming from people

Was just really negative.

- Get out of here, thayer.

- At that point,
tommy was functioning

As our road manager,

Which was incredibly demanding.

Because we had to give hotels

A sheet of the do's
and don'ts for peter.

"windows have to be
covered with foil.

"you can vacuum the floor,

But you can't touch
the kitchen."

You know, just all kinds
of crazy stuff.

- I was really spending
a lot of time

Trying to help these guys
with their daily routine

And trying to
make it work for them.

But I think ace and peter
started resenting me a bit,

Because they felt that
I was part of

The gene and paul team.

- Imbecile with the camera
again.

- Oh, you love it.

You know,
it started getting weird.

- Ready, ace?
- Tommy, why don't you go check

The [bleep] out, huh?

- Peter's biggest thing
was respect.

He wanted to be respected
by gene and paul.

♪ ♪

Unfortunately, you can't
put that in a contract.

You can't buy respect.

You have to earn respect.

- Play good.
Really pay attention tonight

So you don't have
to fix everything. Okay?

- [indistinct].
Don't leave me alone.

- Yeah, play with him
a little bit more.

You know, pay attention.

- The only one that comes--
- pay attention.

- He'll go there,
but he'll--in 30 years

He ain't never coming over
and playing with me.

- And that was peter's hang-up

♪ ♪

- Ace's problem...

- Get ace down here.

- Was different.
- Ace. Ace.

- As the train got faster
and the money got bigger

And the power got bigger,
ace got crazier.

- Ace became undependable,

Probably partially
because he was unhappy

And partially
because that's ace.

- [indistinct] want to,

And next thing you know,
it's, like,

They saw the money rolling in.

It was the biggest
grossing tour.

And all they saw
was dollar signs.

And then there was
the second tour.

And then there was an album,
and there was the third tour.

- We had contractual limits on,
"you have to behave,

"you have to show up on time.

You can't use drugs.
You can't do things."

It was all in contract.

You know the phrase,
"so [bleep] what"?

♪ ♪

- Ace could hardly
stand up by himself.

And that's the truth.

♪ ♪

And he would put drugs
in his wristband on stage.

And he gets so high
he'd fall down.

And here you've got gene
and paul

Who don't do
anything like that.

And it's just--
it's gonna wear on people.

♪ ♪

- The drug use
was out of control.

There were nights
where ace passed out

Putting on his makeup,

So honestly, ace and peter,

A lot of issues
were still there.

♪ ♪

So although we were blessed
to get back together,

It was a sand timer
that had been turned over.

And there was just
a matter of time.

The sand would run out.

- We're playing a big show
in southern california.

- I was leaving
from the east coast.

And the remainder of the band

Was leaving
from the west coast.

And, of course,
when I'm on my own,

Sometimes I'm not as efficient
as we are as a group.

- Whenever ace misses a flight
or doesn't show up

Or the dog ate my homework,

Or, you know,
there's always an excuse.

- My limousine driver
got there late,

And I was
probably late packing.

And by the time
I got to the airport,

I think my flight
had taken off.

But it really wasn't my fault.

And if you believe that,
you know,

I could sell you
the brooklyn bridge.

- So I called doc on the phone.

I said, doc, "I don't think
he's gonna be here on time."

And doc says "tommy," he goes,

"go down to irvine;"
he goes, "get suited up."

♪ ♪

- We had a spare costume
that was made for tommy

Just in case something
like this happened.

- And I got ready.

And I'm thinking,
"wow, this is really it now.

I'm gonna be on stage
with kiss in a couple hours."

And I'm not even sure
how I feel about that.

It's, you know, I'm feeling
a lot of pressure, obviously.

And things are happening fast.

And all sudden, ace walks in.

Somehow that flight
had made it out in new york,

And they had
a helicopter pick him up.

Just kind of looks at me
real casually, and he goes,

"hey, tommy, how you doin'?"

- As soon as anyone
is late for flights and,

You know, just carrying on
like a fool,

It goes beyond drama,
and it becomes, like, madness.

You know what I mean?

Because you know if you were
the executive at coca-cola,

You'd be fired.
You'd be sent home.

But how do you fire
an original guy?

It's got to be really serious.

- What band wouldn't ideally
like to just stay together

And--and have it last
like how they started?

Because they know

That what they created
they created together.

And, you know,
it was lightning in a bottle.

- So I think that gene and paul
wanted to hold on to this,

Because they knew
how special this was.

And they thought that
they could recreate

Or get that lightning
in the bottle again.

And it just
wasn't gonna happen.

♪ ♪

- We were once again
faced with,

"this is miserable.
This is really not fun."

♪ ♪

"I guess we call it quits."

♪ ♪

- We decided to do a farewell
tour with ace and peter,

Because we couldn't depend
on each other.

♪ ♪

It became drudgery and ugly.

♪ ♪

- So it was really bad.

They sounded horrible.

As good as it was
in the beginning

Was as bad
as it was at the end.

- The fact that peter
didn't make it

To the end
of the farewell tour

Is symptomatic
of what was going on.

- One of the biggest hurts
was the betrayal with ace.

I trusted ace, because he did
pull back, and he did say,

"we got to do this together."

But when I was told
to go up his room one night,

And he told me he was making
so much more money

Than I was making on this
whole get-together,

I thought I was gonna
take a heart attack.

I called up peter, and I said,
"we have a few weeks' work

That we can do
in australia and japan

And you can make
a million dollars.

And he said to me,
"I don't want

A million dollars.
I want what you're getting."

I said, "peter, eric's just
waiting to come back."

And peter said,
"oh, the audience

Will never--the fans
won't accept it."

And I was like, "wow, all these
years and nothing's changed.

Nothing's been learned."

And I said,
"well, then that's it.

I guess we're off to australia
and japan without you."

♪ ♪

[kiss' "shout it out loud"]

♪ ♪

- I remember asking
this question,

"so what makeup are
they gonna have me wear?"

Sure enough, cat makeup.

- Someone might say,
"well, it's disingenuous

"to have somebody
wear the cat makeup,

Because
he didn't originate it."

But what was disingenuous
was creating new characters.

- The fox and the ankh,
you know, different personas

Just didn't seem as authentic.

Having somebody don the outfit
of his predecessor

Really isn't that calculated

In the same sense that how
many batman have there been?

And for somebody to say,
"well, you're musicians;

You're not superheroes."
guess what.

We're as much as superheroes
as those guys are.

All: ♪ shout it,
shout it out loud ♪

[indistinct].

Having eric back
was a godsend.

I can't imagine anybody else
I would rather play with.

♪ ♪

- Eric singer
is such a solid drummer.

I mean, it was just a pleasure
playing with eric,

Because, you know, on and off
the stage he's a solid guy.

I mean,
his timing is impeccable.

- ♪ yeah ♪

- I think gene and paul
and doc mcghee could see like,

"oh, okay,
maybe this wasn't a bad idea.

Maybe this was a good move.
We've changed the dynamic."

Ace is being very positive
and engaging.

♪ ♪

- The vibe was great until
the last show in australia.

Ace had a rough time
that night.

But he wasn't the same after.

He disappeared.

When we finally got
in touch with him,

He was as skinny a guy
as I've ever seen.

It was just shocking.

I think as time passed,
ace just had enough.

- I swore I wouldn't tour
anymore with them.

And they said,
"we'll do the farewell tour.

And I swear to you, ace.
That will be it."

Gene swore to me
on his mother.

And he [bleep] calls me up,
and he says,

"we're gonna do another tour."

I go, "you may be doing a tour.

You can put tommy thayer
I makeup.

I don't give a [bleep].

[kiss' "detroit rock city]

♪ ♪

- My first show was the kiss
symphony show in melbourne,

Australia,
in the telstra dome.

When paul shouted out--
"tommy thayer,

Lead guitar" out, you know,
it kind of stunned me.

It took me back.
It was like, wow.

I am up here."
and I looked at my pick,

And it said
"tommy thayer" on it.

And on the other side
it said "kiss."

And that was--
it was a big deal.

- Tommy hit it out of the park.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Every once in a while I think
all this time has gone by.

And there's that piece
that's missing, which is that

Ace and peter can't share
the success of the band

That they helped start.
You know what I mean?

- Yeah, but I really believe
that we couldn't have gotten

Where we did
without ace and peter.

And we couldn't continue to be

Where we are
with ace and peter.

We are blessed that we have
tommy and eric, particularly.

- Oh, there's no question
about that.

- As far as the chemistry,
as far as the joy,

As far as the quality,

This is how I always hoped
kiss would be.

And on top of this,
we like each other.

We have a great time.

♪ ♪

- Let's see, what was I doing
48 years ago?

- You were in your mommy's
belly.

- You were
a 12-year-old in diapers.

[laughter]

- To go out on tour
is to kind of wrap things up,

Celebrate the legacy,

Something that started with
nothing more than a belief,

A belief in ourselves.

I just see it as pride
in what we built

And going out there
to wave the flag one more time

And to put those fists up
and say, "we did it,

And we did it with the fans
from the very beginning."

♪ ♪

- People tend to be
influenced more

By what you do
than what you say.

In the case of kiss,
we've done both.

What we've done is timeless,

Because it is backed up
by who we are.

The fact of the matter is,
here we are 50 years later.

And the truths that
we've always sung about,

Self-empowerment,

Believing in yourself
against all odds, remain true.

But to glorify
that and celebrate it

In a way that makes a spectacle

Makes it all
that much more a celebration.

- At the end of the day,
that's all kiss

Has ever been about.

We don't know what the secret
of youth is

Or the secret of life.

And we're not prophets,
and we're not leaders.

We have nothing.
We're the party masters.

We like to put on
the best parties

And invite everybody in.

And I don't have
any problem with that.

I'm having too much
of a great time

Enjoying myself like
you can't imagine.

♪ ♪

- Clearly there's been a drive
in gene and paul

Throughout their decades-long
career to be great

And to be successful
and to figure it out.

And that's noteworthy.

♪ ♪

I've sometimes wondered,

You know,
as they're getting on in age,

Like, to every day--
to put the armor on

And to put the gear on,
you know,

When they don't need to do it
for financial reasons.

But that's who they are
as people is,

They are the starchild
and the bat lizard demon guy.

And that's their job is to go
out there and entertain you.

♪ ♪

- Taking those boots off
for the last time,

I think it's gonna be a very
bittersweet kind of thing

For them, you know?

What a journey.

What an adventure of life

That those guys have had.

- Yeah, there have been a lot
of sadness and heartbreak.

It hasn't been easy.
But here we are.

- This tour is probably the end
as we know it.

So it's emotional.

Sobering.

You'd never want
to say goodbye.

♪ ♪

- I think when we're done,
I won't be longing

To be back up there as much

As I'll love thinking
about what it was like.

You don't want
to be back there.

But you want to be able
to look back there and say,

"I made a difference.

I affected other people.
I did something."

I think over the years
what we accomplished

Is something we probably
never even knew existed.

What we share together,

This friendship, this bond
built over 50 years now

Is beyond friendship.

It's--it's family.

- All right.
- Good afternoon.

- Hi.
- First show of the last shows.

- We got to go
put our makeup on.

- Because kiss and makeup,
right?

- There you go.

- People think we actually
don't do our own makeup,

But we do.

People think there are
stencils, but they aren't.

We do it freehand.

God help us.

And nobody taught us.

It's a sort of
trial and error.

- That's not true.
You taught me.

Paul showed me, actually.
Well, they all did.

Gotta remember, I didn't know
what the hell I was doing.

So somebody had to teach me.
Like anything.

- You're still kind of slow.

- Yeah, I'm working on you.

Yeah, everyone has to--you
have to learn along the way.

- Actually, I put makeup on
when I was a kid.

Like Halloween or something.

Just because I was a huge
kiss fan back in the old--

You know, when I was, like, 13,
14 years old.

So I went down
and bought the makeup

At the beauty supply place
and tried it.

So this is not
a new thing for me.

Even though I'm the new guy.

- This is about us
letting ourselves out.

So the idea of sitting
in a chair and then, you know,

Opening your eyes
and you've been transformed.

No, we have to do it.
But it's funny.

Sometimes I kind of,
like, anticipate the show

Differently depending upon
how well the star comes out.

You know, it's like "oh, this
is gonna be a good night.

The point is really good."

So I think tonight's
gonna be a good night.

[indistinct chatter]

- Whoo!

- Ohh!

♪ ♪

- I didn't start thinking
very much about the end

On the very last show
until recently.

And I've been thinking
about it more and more.

♪ ♪

- I think gene will miss it

In a way that may hurt.

♪ ♪

- I'm not an emotional guy
too much.

But I'm pretty clear that
when I see that last audience,

I'll probably be tearing up
like a 12-year-old girl.

But the kind of emotion
I think

I'm gonna have
is this just eternal gratitude

To the fans for even
allowing me to be on stage,

Much less to be in--
in my opinion,

The best band
that's ever been around.

Without the fans,
kiss is nothing...

♪ ♪

Which is why
we introduced ourselves

From the very first show
and I hope the very last show

With words
that still ring true for us.

"you wanted the best;
you got the best,

The hottest..."

I'm starting to get choked up.

- You wanted the best,
and you got the best,

The hottest band
in the world, kiss.

[kiss'
"rock and roll all nite"]

♪ ♪

- ♪ you show us
everything you've got ♪

♪ you keep on dancin'
and the room gets hot ♪

♪ and drive us wild,
we'll drive you crazy ♪

♪ and you say you wanna go
for a spin ♪

♪ the party's just begun,
we'll let you in ♪

♪ and you drive us wild,
we'll drive you crazy ♪

♪ ♪

♪ you keep on shoutin',
you keep on shoutin' ♪

- Come on.

All: ♪ I wanna rock and roll
all night ♪

♪ and party every day ♪

♪ I wanna rock and roll
all night ♪

♪ and party every day ♪

♪ ♪

♪ and you show us
everything you've got ♪

♪ baby,
baby that's quite a lot ♪

♪ and you drive us wild ♪

♪ we'll drive you crazy ♪

♪ ♪

♪ and you say you wanna go
for a spin ♪

♪ the party's just begun,
we'll let you in ♪

♪ and you drive us wild,
we'll drive you crazy ♪

♪ ♪

♪ you keep on shoutin',
you keep on shoutin' ♪

- I can't hear you.

All: ♪ I wanna rock and roll
all night ♪

♪ and party every day ♪

♪ I wanna rock and roll
all night ♪

♪ and party every day ♪

♪ ♪