KISS TEAM WITH TOP AUCTIONEERS TO SELL THEIR CLASSIC COSTUMES, INSTRUMENTS AND PHOTOS
IN LOS ANGELES JUNE 24-25
Fans Worldwide Will Participate in this Precedent-Setting Auction via Real-time Online Bidding
1 May, 2000 Los Angeles... As rock events go, this one is nothing short of KISStoric.
Capping off their triumphant sold-out farewell tour, the members of KISS have teamed with Butterfields Auctioneers (an eBay company, NASDAQ: EBAY) and Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAI), to auction many of the legendary band's original costumes, stage-played instruments, memorabilia and personally-owned items used since its 1972 inception. The estimated worth of the goods is in the millions.
As befits the precedent-setting KISS, The Auction--which will take place Saturday and Sunday June 24 and 25 in Los Angeles at Paramount Studios' Theater, with real-time online bidding--marks the first time a rock band has joined forces with major auctioneers to create a huge event and worldwide opportunity for fans to own a piece of rock history. The auction is jointly sponsored by Butterfields Auctioneers, Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. Kiss Catalog, Ltd., and KISS founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
This multi-million dollar sale will comprise nearly 1,000 lots. The illustrated catalog can be viewed online at www.butterfields.com/KISS or at www.gregmanning.com. The full-color catalogs with lot-by-lot descriptions of the property to be offered to the highest bidders can be purchased at any of the Butterfields or Greg Manning galleries as well as online and by telephone. Highlights of the memorabilia will tour for public preview in May: in the NY/NJ area at Manning's in West Caldwell, NJ May 5-7; in Chicago at Butterfields' River North Gallery May 12-14; and at Butterfields San Francisco May 19-21. The entire sale will be previewed in Los Angeles at Butterfields' Sunset Blvd. gallery June 16-18.
The auction is a milestone in the KISS saga, which has survived five presidencies, sold in excess of 80 million records and ranks second only to the Beatles in gold record certifications.
Gene Simmons--singer, songwriter and bassist--views this as a celebration of the band's final days as a touring act, and the dawn of a new phase. "We don't want this stuff--the great outfits and guitars--to be mothballed," Simmons says. "We would rather the world have it. We've always been of the people, for the people, and by the people. We would like as many people as possible to have a piece of KISS."
Paul Stanley--singer, songwriter and guitarist--says, "We have so much to be incredibly thankful for, and there is a tremendous sense of satisfaction and joy in being able to make all these items available to the people who took us from the streets of New York to arenas and stadiums around the world. This has been an incredible trip that wouldn't have happened without them."
The KISS auction consists of stage costumes, signed instruments, microphones, staging equipment, make-up cases and promo material from the classic "KISS Alive!" Worldwide Reunion tour, as well as the "Crazy Nights," "Lick it Up," "Animalize," "Asylum," "Hot in the Shade" and "Creatures of the Night" treks.
Commenting about the variety and quality of the items available for purchase, PAUL says: "It runs the gamut from what was on stage to what happened behind the scenes, including pieces of equipment that made the show work. For us, it really is opening the vault."
Is there was one item special to Gene that will be auctioned off? "Probably the outfits we wore onstage," he says. Any particular period? "That's a tough one. Take your favorite meal in your life. You've had so many good meals. Every outfit, every era has its own memory, so I can't pick one--it's been an amazing journey."
Among the items being auctioned:
The KISS Alive! Tour original costumes worn by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss during their breakthrough 1975-1976 Alive! Tour.
A custom-made mannequin in the likeness Gene Simmons' full KISS stage makeup and Simmons' original costume, featuring a pair of black leather six-inch platform boots, armored codpiece and black leather jacket with armored shoulders. This costume was worn during 1983's Creatures of the Night tour. A Paul Stanley-likeness mannequin and costume from the same tour has black spandex pants with rhinestone accents along the legs, a black cropped jacket with rhinestones, sequins and silver lame striping and a prize-fighter-style belt with a 22-inch foxtail. The face of this mannequin was originally painted by Paul Stanley himself.
The original LOVE GUN album cover, oil on canvas painting by Ken Kelly.
An original Paul Stanley KISS BC Rich "Warlock" guitar finished with a cracked mirror motif is offered with its original hard-shell case.
Gene Simmons' original KISS publicity photo taken in 1973--the first image ever of the band, with the KISS logo stenciled by hand in the upper corner and the band's management information along the bottom.
Six original complete KISS drum kits from the 1970s and 1980s, played onstage by Peter Criss and Eric Carr, including the legendary original Peter Criss mirrored Pearl drum kit from the 1975-1976 Alive tour.
A Paul Stanley personally-owned design proposal for the Paul Stanley action figure features the costume and facial expression as well as a detail drawing of the platform boots for the toy.
50 original vintage KISS guitars played onstage by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley throughout the group's three decade career.
A Gene Simmons-worn costume from the Dynasty/Unmasked tours in 1979 and 1980, which features a molten rock motif with molten rock style shoulder pieces, arm attachments adorned with faux animal horns, a matching codpiece and belt highlighted by molten studding and a pair of eight inch molten rock and animal fanged platform boots.
An Eric Carr lot that's a prototype design--a mannequin originally painted by Paul Stanley, who originally conceptualized the "Hawk" KISS character's makeup and features a complete prototype costume featuring black and gold design unitard bodysuit, a gold feather and rhinestone vest, matching cape and feathered neck adornment. Carr ultimately chose a "Fox" character for his touring with KISS.
Original Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley handwritten lyric sheets from the 1970s, including "Rock and Roll All Nite" (in its original form), "Christine Sixteen," and "Calling Dr. Love."
Highlights of the sale will likely be the custom-made set of four life-size KISS mannequins in full stage makeup and familiar leather, rhinestone, sequined and lamed costumes as worn by Simmons, Stanley, Frehley and Criss on the Love Gun/KISS Alive tour in the late 1970s. The set, offered as one lot includes full outfits for all the band members--four pairs of platform shoes, vests, leather collars, armbands, belts, gloves, codpieces and unitard body suits and much more.
Storming out of New York City in 1974, KISS captivated audiences worldwide with their hard-rocking anthems, theatrical performances, explosive staging and relentless touring. Many of the band's albums--including KISS, Hotter Than Hell, Dressed to Kill, KISS Alive! and Destroyer--are considered hard rock classics and blueprints for modern heavy metal. The band--whose line-up has featured Simmons, Stanley, guitarists Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick, and drummers Peter Criss, Eric Carr and Eric Singer--shattered virtually every music industry record. To this day, the KISS ARMY--"without whom we'd be nobody," concur Simmons and Stanley--is perhaps the most passionate and devoted group of rock fans ever assembled.
"Kiss is not just a hit rock group--they're a phenomenon," says Patrick Meade, president of Butterfields, one of the auction's co-sponsors. "While that alone should make this a great auction, what is unique about KISS is their costumes and stage shows. The group is renowned for the very items that we'll be presenting in our auction."
Greg Manning, Chairman and CEO of Greg Manning Auctions, Inc., the auction's co-sponsor said, "We are pursuing a global Internet strategy and are developing web sites in Asia and Europe in addition to the U.S. This will be a great auction because the KISS offerings will be attractive not only to our U.S. customers, but to our worldwide clientele, and will highlight our advanced e-commerce capabilities."
Asked if KISS expects to be criticized by the cynics with this auction, Simmons responds: "Credibility seems to be the antithesis of what rock Œn' roll is all about. KISS has always spit in the face of credibility and simply done everything it wanted to do, including the comic books and belt buckles, plus putting our name in big lights in back of us onstage. We were crucified for that. We stand guilty as charged with making a complete spectacle out of ourselves--you're damn right we do. Thank God someone is willing to do it."
The response from fans to KISS' farewell tour has been staggering. STANLEY says, "In our shows and in our music, we've tried to put forth a really positive message, which is that by believing in yourself and by working hard, anything is possible. The reason people are coming in droves to see us is because in these times of uncertainty, it's nice to know where you'll get your money's worth. We've always been about giving our fans the ultimate." Continuing, Stanley says: "Rather than just have us going off into the sunset--only to have people realize we're gone in a few years‹we felt it was important to go out one last time and celebrate it all."
Fans Worldwide Will Participate in this Precedent-Setting Auction via Real-time Online Bidding
KISS Museum