CADILLAC, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU)— This October marks 50 years since the iconic rock band KISS made their unforgettable visit to Northern Michigan, and the town of Cadillac is gearing up to celebrate the historic anniversary.

In 1975, the Cadillac High School football team was struggling with a losing streak when the head coach decided to play KISS music in the locker room.

The team turned their season around, and the story reached the band.

Instead of sending a thank you, KISS made a surprise visit to Cadillac, arriving in full makeup and gear.

Haley Callahan from the Wexford County Historical Society Museum said, “So it almost feels like it was more of a promotional campaign in ’75 where City Council was in on it and they were part of the homecoming parade and then later they left via helicopter from the start of the homecoming football game we’re all pretty I guess comfortable aware of their music and everybody just knows about them now so they can actually get into the spirit and really get into what was happening.”

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Only 250 of these were made.

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You can look at the non-make-up era of Kiss from 1983-1995 as managing to keep the band relevant despite many rock sub-genres coming and doing during this period. But also, critics have pointed out that the band was merely following musical trends rather than leading the pack.

During an interview with The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley shared his thoughts on the topic. And to his credit, was critical of some of the band’s decisions during this period.

“I mean, the clothes got ridiculous,” Stanley admitted (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “We looked like we got dressed in the dark in a costume store, y’know? ‘What do you think my feather earrings?’ ‘Oh, good. Goes with your eye makeup!'”

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The Gibson Marauder is back – well, kind of, but not really. The cult classic singlecut electric guitar, played by the likes of KISS’s Paul Stanley and Adam Jones of Tool, has been given a thorough remix to be reborn anew as the Les Paul Music City Special – a limited edition model celebrating 50 years of Gibson in Nashville.

Yeah, that shape is familiar. It’s a single-cut that’s far removed from the Les Paul template, with contouring on the body’s top, a double (or extended) pickguard which, like Fender, mounts the controls on the pickguard. We have the Flying V-style 3-x-3 headstock, too.

But unlike the Marauder, which was something of a ‘70s mayfly, produced between ’74 and ’79, and diverted from the Gibson script to offer players a bolt-on build, the Les Paul Music City Special feels more on-brand, offering players a glued-in SlimTaper neck, and a more familiar dual-humbucker electric guitar pickup configuration.

Mat Koehler, Gibson’s vice president of product, described the Les Paul Music City Special is a love-letter to Nashville, “a tribute to the spirit of creativity and individuality that defines this city”.

“It draws on everything we’ve learned since opening our Gibson USA craftory and channels it into something new and inspiring to play,” says Koehler.

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It seems like quotes from Kiss‘ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons that put Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in a positive light are few and far between nowadays. Perhaps the greatest example of his was when Stanley said during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, “If you saw people on stage who looked like Kiss but sounded like that, maybe we should be called Piss.”

However, there is no denying the significant contributions from Frehley and Criss in the ’70s, which many would agree was Kiss’ peak period. After all, it was the Criss-sung hit “Beth” that was a massive hit, and Frehley’s 1978 solo album is widely considered the best of all four members.

But by the close of 1982, both Frehley and Criss had exited the group, resulting in Simmons and Stanely being the only constant original members spotted in the group from their formation to what was billed as their last-ever performance in 2023.

During an interview with Billy Corgan on The Magnificent Others, Stanley offered rare praise for his former band mates’ early contributions and even admitted being recently impressed by vintage footage.

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Ace Frehley didn’t rock and roll all night on Friday, with the former Kiss guitarist’s show at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale ending shortly before 11 p.m.

But “The Spaceman” showed why countless guitar players derived inspiration from his Kiss heyday, as he and his band took a dive into Kiss classics as well as a few from his solo career.

Frehley played in Kiss from 1973-1982 and rejoined from 1996-2002, with the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

The 74-year-old hit the stage decked out in sunglasses, which stayed on all night, and a black T-shirt and coat — he’d have several wardrobe changes including Hello Kitty shirt and leopard print shirts, while the rest of the band wore matching bedazzled shirts with all four last names on the front.

Frehley opened with the first Kiss song he sang himself, “Shock Me,” as he flicked guitar picks and strummed his Les Paul guitar. The 1974 classic “Deuce” gave Frehley the chance to solo twice before he, bassist Ryan Cook and rhythm guitarist Jeremy Asbrock convened closely at center stage for the conclusion.

For all the shows Frehley’s done in his career, forgive him if he wasn’t 100% sure of where he thought the show was supposed to be.

“I thought we were in Philly. I don’t know,” Frehley said. “Wherever we are, we’re happy to be here. You guys ready to rock?”

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Kiss‘ Gene Simmons has never been ashamed to voice his love for green stuff—no, not marijuana, but cold, hard cash. In a 2017 interview with CNBC, he declared, “Money absolutely buys happiness” and “Money is the fuel of life. Without money, you’re going nowhere.”

However, the other long-time leader of the band, Paul Stanley, does not exactly seem to share his bandmates’ love of money. Or, at the very least, admits it was not what initially fueled his desire to rock and roll all night and party every day.

During an interview with The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Stanley recalled his early musical inspiration. And it was not money-based.

“We learned through mistakes and nobody has to take up a collection for us,” Stanley said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “Our rent is well paid. But you know, the idea of being like, money hungry, or anything like [that], it’s not the case. I’ve always done this, and we’ve always done this, ultimately, truly because of the joy it gives us.”

Kiss’ Starchild then listed several concerts he was lucky to have witnessed first-hand, which inspired him to write music and perform.

“I was so fortunate. I grew up in an era that took us into the next era, but I grew up seeing Jimi Hendrix play for a couple of thousand people, Led Zeppelin, The Who, with Buddy Guy opening in ’69, Humble Pie, Derek and the Dominoes, all these bands. That’s what I love, and that’s what I wanted to be.”

“I never started doing this with the intention, ‘I’m going to be a millionaire,'” Stanley continued. “Back then, a millionaire was like, the Monopoly man. Y’know, ‘Whoa! That’s incredible.’ But it was never about that. It was about — I want to be that guy, I want to be up there. Yeah, I want to be Steve Marriott. I want to preach. I want to be up there preaching rock and roll.”

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A GREAT ITEM FOR YOUNG AND THE YOUNG AT HEART: Nice design and sturdy construction is was you’ll get with this KISS tin storage box. Beefy handle and latches with a fully embossed front cover.

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Another sad loss. Take a look back when KISS met Hulk Hogan at WCW in 1999.

For an era of music that my parents’ friends are keen to tell me was the greatest of all time, I can’t help but wonder why there were so many theatrics. As good as the music was, classic rock in the 1970s and 1980s was littered with the sort of flamboyance that usually compensates for the lack of something. I mean, why else would Kiss feel the need to smear pancake makeup on their faces for every show?

Of course, this is a slightly reductive take that overlooks the simple idea of showmanship, and, during that era, bands and artists were stretching the realms of what was acceptable. So naturally, make-up-fuelled alter egos were a by-product of that.

In fairness to Kiss, while their music didn’t necessarily innovate, their shows did, being the first real band to introduce pyrotechnics to the stage. With music becoming an increasingly lucrative art form and the appetite for live shows at an all-time high, the band realised their budget could alter what was considered normal and deliver something that engaged beyond the music.

Naturally, as innovators in that field, they were the first to realise when it was taken too far. And during one fateful gig, they met their limit. “We had the candelabra on stage,” Gene Simmons tentatively explained, before descending into quite a frightening story.

“Now, somebody thought to get flash paper and fill it with gunpowder and just kind of scrunch it up. I would sort of light it while Paul sang, ‘Do you feel alright’, and throw it over the heads of the audience, and it would explode over their heads and scare them. In those days, fire marshals didn’t know anything. It’s like you could do all kinds of wild and unsafe stuff.”

Rock and roll, eh? Thriving in the days before health and safety had a department and relishing in the mischievous madness of fire. But with all people who play with fire, it’s only a matter of time before something, or someone, gets burned. Luckily, but rather worryingly for Kiss, it wasn’t any of the band.

“I didn’t throw it well. Instead of throwing it above the heads of the audience, this poor guy must’ve been standing on his seat, so he was taller than the other guys standing on the ground. I remember hitting this guy straight in the face. You ever see in those freak houses where you hit the duck and it goes right back down? That’s what it looked like. The thing exploded in front of the guy, and he went down.”

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