A Lesson In Marketing

The Christmas before last, I received "Nothin' To Lose: The Making Of Kiss 1972 - 1975" as a present. This book was written by Ken Sharp with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. My brother knew I was a Kiss fan and that I didn't have this book. My introduction to Kiss was my purchase of "Alive!," having heard the live version of "Rock And Roll All Nite" on the radio. I also remember seeing various photos of them in Rock Scene, a popular music mag that I picked up while living in New York. Needless to say, I had to pick up the previous three studio albums after falling in love with the live record and its double album format.

I loved the mystique of not knowing what they looked like without their kabuki makeup. The book explained the great lengths they went to in order to keep their actual faces a mystery. This was definitely a fun read. In addition, it was a lesson in marketing. I have always been fascinated by the marketing of a musical act, especially being that I applied the techniques that I witnessed from other masters of band management when I managed a few acts myself. Unfortunately, I didn't have this book as a guide back then.

I sympathized with Kiss because like my own situation, the marketing was done without the use of the internet and other technological advances that have taken place since then. I loved the fact that one of the influences of Kiss was Slade, another one of my favorite Glam bands. Slade was the ultimate party band and it was one of their songs that influenced the writing of "Rock And Roll All Nite." One of my favorite Kiss songs serves as the title to this book: "Nothin' To Lose."

The book is a history of classic rock, New York club bands and Glam Rock all rolled into one big package, with great quotes from many legends of rock and roll. Slade has a party on stage and Kiss wanted their party to be bigger. Alice Cooper is the king of Shock and Theatrical Rock but Kiss wanted their theatrical performance to go farther. My only complaint with the book is the font used on the names of the people leaving the quotes. It was hard to make out some of the letters. I had to see the names mentioned in other parts of the book or in the "Cast Of Characters" section to know who the ones I never heard of were.

I still remember my nephew, when he was five years old, coming up to me and asking if he could play my Kiss CDs. I always thought there was something strange about a young kid jumping up and down with his air guitar singing "Hotter Than Hell." The four years covered in this book were the ones that put Kiss on the map. However, their career lasted many decades after this which included their unmasking and changes in the lineup. They definitely had a strong team of people behind them, including managers, marketers, road crew, photographers and merchandisers. Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were the masterminds from the very beginning and this book shows how they survived!