A Matter Of Opinion

Songwriting

“I can't write songs unless I’m playing loud. Once I feel comfortable with something I’m trying to write, I stand up and play it.”—Paul

Shoes

“I have no regular shoes. I have four pairs, all this height. I have a black snakeskin model which I designed. There’s a black leather model with gold dollar signs in front. There’s a sleeked-down version. And there’s your basic silly pink boots which I only put on for effect. I like platforms. I don’t like being six-one, I like being six-eight!”—Gene

High School

“I was a loser in high school. I was the kid who wasn’t invited to the parties, and now I throw the parties.”—Paul

Being Recognized Without Makeup

“It felt really weird at first—like, Hey! They know who I am without my makeup on! Maybe now that we’ve been around on tour so many times, the kids can see right through it and we can’t hide.”—Peter

Old Age

“I’ll always have guitars. But I’m also a painter. In my later years I’ll probably go back to oil painting.”—Ace

Critics

“Oh, I love the press. The thing that really knocked my ego out was that no matter how badly somebody wants to tear us apart they have to print a picture of me. I love that. I think it’s understood that when somebody writes something, it’s an opinion, and a camera usually shows what it rea//y is. Tear us to bits, but' print a picture. Let the people see and decide for themselves.”—Gene

Heroes

“Well, I don’t like politicians at all, and I’m not into sports figures. I like actors—Bogie, Paul Newman, George C. Scott.”—Ace

Hairstyle

“I don’t have much of a hairstyle. I just use an egg-beater on my head.”—Paul

Early Days

“The three of us rehearsed for five to six months. We didn’t want a lead guitarist till the rhythm section was tight. We were rehearsing seven days a week, eight hours a day in this loft. One night Ace walked in to audition, and the three of us knew immediately.”—Peter

Parents

“I get along much better with them now because I used to be a bum without a steady job and I was always getting in trouble in school. I didn’t care ’cause I always felt I was going to be a rock ‘n’ roll star.”—Ace

Other Successful Bands

“I thirhk that anybody that’s successful serves a purpose, and more power to ’em. They fulfill a need. I have nothing bad to say about them, like a lot of silly things that have been said about us. I won’t get involved in that. I wish them all the best—and they know who we are ”—Paul

Favorite Star

“Lon Chaney. And I’ve written a song about him called ‘Man of a Thousand Faces’ that 1 want to put on an album.”—Gene

Travel

“I want to go live on another planet.”—Ace

Influences

“The Beatles influenced me ’cause when they came out 1 was still running around the streets in gangs and they made me say ‘Wow!’ But I didn’t really like them when I first saw them, maybe because they were so clean. I fell in love with the Rolling Stones the first time I saw them because they looked like outlaws, punks with sweatshirts. They weren’t cleancut.”—Peter

Audience Reaction

“I’d say we’re getting a reaction that no other bands are getting, a reaction that goes back to the ’60s when I was going to see the Beatles. And now it’s me! I think it’s so great that there’s a band that gives the audience so much. 1 think it’s great that there’s someone around who can get so much reaction from an audience.”—Paul

At Home

“When I’m home I like to be alone a lot because when you’re on the road you give to so many people that you need time to give to yourself.”—Paul

Female Fans

“Because we’re so uninhibited onstage I think we make girls feel that way too. When they try to come back to the hotel room to meet us and do whatever else they want to do, I think they’ve been uninhibited by that concert. I had to fight with a girl once who tried to force her way into my room.”—Ace

Masquerade Parties

“What would I wear to a masquerade party?...Me, Gene Simmons onstage. That’s what I am...Or, I wouldn’t go, and I’d go as the Invisible Man!”—Gene

Removing Makeup

“We’ll know when the time is right. We don’t want to do it yet. That doesn’t mean that in five years we’ll still be doing it. I don’t look much different with or without makeup—I just look a little paler with makeup on. Why shock our fans? Taking the makeup off would be like changing the instrumentation; it’s a part of Kiss.”—Paul

Stardom

“I always thought I was going to be a musician, and I always felt I was going to be a star.”— Peter

“I was always a star.”—Gene

“I always wanted to be a rock ’n’ roll star.”—

Paul

“I knew I was going to be a star, and everybody said I was crazy.”—Ace