KISS by Anastasia Pantsios

Kiss were a photographer's dream, because they were even more about the visuals than they were about music. I mean, there have been bands that use masks, use costumes, use makeup, stuff like that, but nobody had ever done it to the degree that KISS did. And so it's no accident when you talk to rock and roll fans of a certain age today, that almost every one of them says that their first concert was KISS, and that their dad took them at the age of 10. They did have this kind of a kiddie appeal, but somehow that didn't diminish them. You know, dad took the 10 year old, but dad loved the band, too.

And the great thing about KISS was that they played to the photographers, and they were not camera shy. If you were in the photo pit and Gene Simmons saw that you were aiming the camera in his direction, he posed for it. That tongue came out, and he struck a pose.

I once spent a day with him when he was doing radio promo during their makeup and costume days. He had the full regalia on. At the beginning of that day, we went around to radio stations, into a comic bookstore, and a record store. He said to me, “When I'm in my costume, I'm working. I’m yours. I'm at your disposal. I will do anything that you ask me, anyone you want me to pose with, anything you want me to pose with, any pose you want me to strike. I'm working now, so I will do that. This is my job.”

KISS was very professional. They always were, but they gave the audience what they came for, and that really explained their longevity.

Printed on acid-free, archival quality photo paper.