a subscriber of mine commented to me last week hey do a story on the KISS interview
with Tom Schneider and it's honestly one of the
most cringe-worthy and awkward Rock interviews I've seen and it perfectly represents a band
falling apart and the deep divisions within the original members of KISS
now in 1979 the original members of KISS were interviewed by tv host Tom Snyder on Halloween
for his show titled The Tomorrow Show which was broadcast nationwide
now Snyder would pass away in 2007 at the age of 71 but he was known for having numerous
talk shows over the years on NBC in the 70s and 80s and on CBS in the early 90s
And KISS guitarist Ace Frehley put it best when discussing the band's appearance on The
Tomorrow Show in his 2011 autobiography no regrets saying it might have been the first
time a single appearance so clearly delineated the diverse personalities of KISS
I enjoyed myself on the show and I wasn't trying to anger anyone
after the interview Tom came back to my dressing room and we shook hands and had another good
laugh he seemed to really enjoy the experience Frehley
would remember so when KISS showed up on The Tomorrow Show the results were well memorable
the interview got off to an awkward start when Syider introduced the members and referred
to Gene Simmons as the bass player and even from the get-go Simmons looks annoyed
on top of that a pretty intoxicated Ace Frehley dominated the interview and laughed over and
over during the segment and frequently interrupted his bandmates
both bassist and rhythm guitar player and co-vocalists Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley
looked visibly annoyed and the only person other than Ace appearing
to have a good time was drummer Peter Criss and the host Tom Snyder
now here are the remarkable members of KISS and first of all
Mr. Gene Simmons who is the bass player who is the bass player Mr. Peter Criss who is
the drummer Mr. Paul Stanley who was the guitarist and Ace Frehley who is the lead guitarist
I'm not I'm the trout player now tell how this started you know because
Gene came in and he said I didn't know I played bass and I saw what I see Aykroyd on Saturday
Night Live with the bass fish and then you say the trout player
You'll have to excuse it's bass bass bass Never a bass player
lots of bands that had half the equipment oh I see there's a live human being over
have you recorded your laugh no we want to use a muskrat
these guys have been talking about recording my laugh
we've done fifteen albums they've never done it
maybe on the sixteenth album they will do it
I think you recorded on your solo album you did
absolutely not Ace has been saving it for a KISS
That wasn't my real laugh just a compilation of them
you were saying something I forgot
oh no I know what is was we when we first started out we had so much
equipment that the other bands Wait a minute
we were broke You remember the Marshall amps
Oh the forty Marshall amps That's right forty Marshall amps
and we use them people just used to get very very angry at
the fact that we could come out put on a terrific we had a levitating drum set it would go up
six feet but there was like guys at ropes You see the audience going crazy
what goes through your minds do you have time to think about audience reaction
while you're performing I feel like i'm in a movie I always get the
feeling that that you know without comparing ourselves to anybody else it's almost like
the mid-city looks like we're in a Beatles-kind of movie and we're not even playing ourselves
because I mean when you realize that a lot of the people at the show have been waiting
three or four months to come see us and this is like the big night for them and when you
see all these people screaming and crying and all that
Crying oh I spent all that money I spent all this money
This is it He goes up in the air (inaudible)
True confession time I'm from Queens New York actually not too
far away from Paul's house we kind of used to wave to each other each
other before (inaudible) Before we knew each other I'd see this guy
waving back I'd wave (inaudible) telescopes Ace loves it
Ace loves anything before you guys came on they gave me a little
sheet on each one of you where you're from and how you grew up and blah blah blah and
the note said now Ace seems to be the most laid-back of the four and he's the one who
probably be the hardest to make talk (inaudible) Paint himself green every once in a while
that's where the makeup comes in (inaudible) but you're kind of like a spaceman
no actually I'm a plumber Well listen I got a little piece of pipe backstage
I'd like to have you work on Tell me about it
You ol sweet talker you we're trying to put a cross and Ace ultimately
(inaudible) Ace ultimately looked into the bylaw and started
laughing at himself (inaudible)
I'm having an awful time It'll get better
I hope so How are you Tom
I'm alright in your off time I mean when you're not performing
in your off time what is the recreational activity that you enjoy
Oh orgies sacrifices human sacrifices I do various things
(inaudible) No you can hold them as long as you like just
make certain them when you leave it stays here
(inaudible) if we're in a hotel across the street from
the halls were playing it really looks like Ringling Brothers because you see parents
you see six years old you see 25 year olds it's really ironic
At a concert in Bombay there would even be (inaudible)
Bet you didn't know that, did you Did you cross the street?
This guy is a good guy (inaudible)
Ironically Snyder at one point notes that his producers had warned him Frehley would
be the hardest to make talk but Snyder seems
to enjoy Frehley's behavior as they cut the typical mold of the standard interviews
and in 2012 guitarist and co-singer Paul Stanley looked back the segment during an interview
where he said it wasn't that big of a fun time because you have to respect your position
you have to respect your job and you have to respect the people that you're trying to
communicate with it may seem funny that someone's drunk but
the fact is the root of it was I believe a contempt and lack of respect for the audience
and the fans so sure you can look at it and chuckle
yeah I can too but I see the deeper and I look at it and say what a shame to take this
lofty position and that somebody gave us and spit in it spit in his face and by showing
up inebriated or unable to connect the sentence it may be funny on the surface but what's
below the surface is a lack of appreciation for a gift that
you've been given now drummer Peter Criss offered a different
take in his 2012 autobiography Make Up to Break Up saying for the first time Ace and
I hijacked an interview from Gene and Paul and the results were hilarious
Now Frehley admitted in his autobiography to be drinking before the interview revealing
I was nervous as hell about going on network TV live in front of millions of people so
I started pounding some Stoli in the back of my limo as soon as I passed through my
gates on the way to the city and Frehley went on to explain in his book
that he arrived in the studio and the band's manager Bill Aucoin met him with a bottle
of champagne with Frehley recalling by the time we took our places opposite Tom the set
in full KISS costume and makeup I was feeling no pain and I was ready for anything
apart from being inebriated Frehley could tell he was agitating Simmons and Stanley
saying if you watch the video you can actually see me turning to Gene and putting my hands
up at one point it's quietly saying what
like a child who's misbehaving at a family function and wants his dad to loosen up a
bit and join in on the fun how seriously can you take yourself when you're
sitting there in superhero costume and a full face of makeup
I love the guy but he never clearly got it recalled Frehley and it's so obvious from
the interview that you can clearly see two camps on television seated on one side was
Gene and Paul and across from them was Ace and Peter
and it was around this time that KISS released their seventh studio album Dynasty which
featured the massive hit I Was Made for Loving You but as the interview showed there was
two divided camps within the band the year prior to Dynasty each of the members
of KISS released their own solo records on the same day
it marked the first time any rock band had its members release solo records on the same
day in fact the solo efforts were an effort by
the group to alleviate some of the growing tensions and allow the members to get out
their creative energy in addition to that KISS' recording contract
did allow for four solo records with each record
counting as half an album which would count towards the group's five-record commitment
to their label and they were actually marketed as KISS records
and in the run-up to the solo albums being released
Frehley and Kriss threatened to quit the group and both expressed a desire to pursue solo
careers each camp of the band blamed the other for
the rising tensions in the group with Stanley and Simmons feeling like Criss and Frehley's
substance abuse issues and their extracurricular activities were having a negative impact on
their contributions to the band with one famous story having Ace skipping a recording session
because he was gambling while in return Criss and Frehley felt that
Stanley and Simmons exerted too much control over the group from a creative standpoint
now the band wouldn't be together much longer The foursome played their final show on the
Dynasty tour six weeks after appearing on the Tom Snyder show and it would be the last
time KISS' original lineup played together until 1996
The Dynasty tour was seen as a commercial failure due to numerous shows being cancelled
due to poor ticket sales and this was likely due to the fact that the
public was inundated by five KISS albums in 1978 alone along with Dynasty being released
in 1979 on top of thousands of pieces of KISS memorabilia
added into the mix too was that KISS seem to be embracing disco with singles like I
Was Made for Loving You which would alienate their original fanbase
So that does it for today's video guys thanks for watching
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like to see me cover in future episodes on my channel
take care