“Most people don’t understand what I do for a living, but the role of producer is very similar to the role of director on a film.”

Legendary producer Bob Erzin explained what a producer’s job actually entails, recalling how he transformed “Beth” by KISS from a “screw-you” type of song to a vulnerable ballad.

There have been many cases where albums lived or died by their productions, and most fans will know of at least one case where an otherwise good album got mauled somewhere during the production process. And yet, the technicals are but one part of music production, as Bob Ezrin, legendary producer behind Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, explained during a recent interview on CBC.

Ezrin, whose professional credentials also include “Destroyer” by KISS, Alice Cooper‘s “School’s Out”, Peter Gabriel‘s 1977 solo debut and many more, noted how there’s a lot of people skills involved in being a producer, as it is his job to bring out the best in a group of people who might not be the easiest to deal with (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

“Most people don’t understand what I do for a living, but the role of producer is very similar to the role of director on a film. You’re dealing with extremely talented, often very high-strung or complicated people, and you’re trying to get the best performance out of them you possibly can, on every level, in terms of their writing, playing, singing, whatever.”

“So you have to deal with them as humans, as personalities. So there’s a component of like a psychologist to the role, and a confessor, protector, and all of that had to happen.”

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After an obviously very successful run in the ‘70s, KISS decided that it was time for the fans to get to know their faces a little better. Maybe they were getting a little sick of the gimmick, maybe they were trying to capitalize on the ‘80s hair metal trend, or maybe they just loved getting their fans all up in an anticipatory frenzy. We’re thinking a little of columns A, B, and C.

Whatever the case, they made a massive splash in popular music when they announced the “KISS Unmasked” interview on MTV. Fans tuned in en masse as KISS revealed their faces publicly for the first time on September 18, 1983. This moment helped kick off the release of their album, ”Lick It Up,” & subsequent tour that successfully revitalized their career and introduced the band to a whole new generation of fans.

Don’t you love it when a good plan actually works? In case you weren’t around for that moment, or you’re just feeling nostalgic for it, here are 20 pictures of KISS in the makeup-less ‘80s! (Well, there was still some glam-y makeup for sure, but you know what we mean).

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This week Mark and Michael sound off! Is the KISS Army fan club worth joining? $50 a year for early access to buy merchandise? Come on! Oh and celebrating the anniversary of album releases by doing nothing more than releasing some t-shirts, colored vinyl and a picture disc… that isn’t how you celebrate an anniversary. We open up… it is time for Pophouse to step up to the plate! We are ready to spend money, but you have to give us something worthwhile and of value to purchase.

Over the years, KISS has licensed thousands of products. They’ve slapped their logo on everything from t-shirts to caskets. Their willingness to appear in as many formats as possible, along with their larger-than-life stage personas, led to the band’s appearances in multiple comic books. On this day (June 30) in 1977, Marvel Comics released the first comic books to feature the band as both central characters and superheroes. To make things more appealing for fans, the band mixed their blood into the ink.

KISS first appeared in two back-to-back issues of Howard the Duck in May and June of 1977. Then, on June 30, Marvel released A Marvel Comics Super Special!: KISS. The full-length color comic book featured Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley’s stage personas as superheroes. This was the first of many comics starring Detroit’s most famous rock and roll band. However, that’s not the only thing that made this book special for fans.

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Mint still sealed KISS solo album covers 500 piece puzzle! Model# KS3900. Still sealed! Made by SunsOut.

Order now at KISSArmyWarehouse.com!

Episode 625. Groundbreaking episode… this week Mark Cicchini gets up, walks to another room, finds a collectible, brings it back, sits down and OPENS IT! And Tommy ( who is this Tommy guy? ) isn’t here to see it happen! Mark reads two 1974 reviews of the debut KISS album and both are actually quite good. Though how they describe KISS is interesting. One of them even mentions how KISS used to be Wicked Lester… remember this is a review from 1974. When did you first learn that KISS used to be Wicked Lester?

WYANDOTTE, Okla. (KOAM) – Rock legend and founder of KISS, Gene Simmons made an appearance Thursday at the opening of Indigo Sky Casino & Resort new Rock & Brews Restaurant and Concert Bar.

He spent time signing autographs for fans and taking to the media before cutting the ribbon with Eastern Shawnee Chief Glenna Wallace and Indigo Sky General Manager Melanie Heskett and others.

Simmons tells KOAM, “Rock & Brews now has 24 locations all across America, coast to coast, and this is our new one with the Eastern Shawnee. We also have six Rock & Brews casinos that are fully branded top to bottom.” 

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McFarlane Toys brings to life Kiss action figures. Each figure stands about 6” inches tall and each figure includes accessories, detail and nice articulation. Each figure sold separately. Collect them all. These are straight out of the case and seem to be close to mint condition.

Order now at KISSArmyWarehouse.com!

There have been only a handful of “perfect albums” issued in rock history, meaning that there was not a single stinker song included, the production doesn’t sound dated at all, the artist in question was at the peak of their powers, etc. And many would agree that Guns N’ Roses‘ 1987 full-length debut, “Appetite for Destruction,” was one such album.

While the quality of the material is exceptional, producer Mike Clink wisely rejected the era’s production hallmarks, tops being those awful canon-sounding drums, and kept things more live-sounding and raw, a la an early to mid-’70s Aerosmith LP. And despite such hits as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” and “Paradise City” remaining the album’s best-known tracks, even such lesser-known selections as “It’s So Easy,” “Nightrain,” and “Mr. Brownstone” are just as great.

But a little-known fact is that before G n’ R settled on Clink to produce “Appetite,” they were considering others, including Kiss‘ Paul Stanley, which ultimately did not work out. During an interview with Booked on Rock, Martin Popoff, the author of the book Guns N’ Roses at 40, discussed whether Stanely producing the album would have been a good thing…or a bad thing.

“Who knows,” Popoff admitted. “Number one, Paul is no producer. I mean, Paul would be in there…he’s not an engineer-producer. He hasn’t produced much. New England [an obscure rock band from the late ’70s that he produced], and I don’t think the Kiss albums sound particularly good. I don’t think any of those sound particularly good. But judging how great [‘Appetite’] sounds and how great it sold, you could only go down from there.”

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Stanley Eisen, who you may know as Kiss‘ Paul Stanley, may have wielded a Gibson guitar or two during the band’s game-changing Alive! era, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“I grew up in a time where, on almost any weekend, I would go for three, four, and five dollars, and see Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, the Yardbirds, or Derek and the Dominos. And most of the bands I saw were Gibson players,” he explains in an upcoming tête-à-tête with Guitar World.

However, it seems Stanley had a change of heart in the late ’70s, when he broke with tradition and opted to source his axes from the Japanese guitar behemoth Ibanez – a brand he still endorses to this day.

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Standard weight vinyl with a 4 color splatter: white base + red, blue and yellow splatter. These were limited to 1500.  Still sealed!

Single pocket jacket

Includes a poster 22” x 33”

Order now at KISSArmyWarehouse.com!