If you follow my scribblings, you may think I am a some huge Kiss nerd. I guess it depends on the mood. I never really find myself actually listening to Kiss for recreation. I actually prefer 80's Kiss over any other era. I guess I am hardwired to write about what I know about. Today, for some strange reason, I am back on Kiss.
Recently, Paul stated in an interview that he felt like Gene spends a lot of time trying to be PT Barnam. That is a great analogy of his life partner. I guess in my mind, it's easy to state that about a person, but you 100% benefit from coat tail riding. Maybe not creatively, but absolutely monetarily.
Paul gets residuals on the use of his image, as does Ace and Pete. For the latter, it may be the only actual income generated at this stage of his life.
Paul did have the reigns for a decade or so. The 80's belonged to Paul's vision of the band, which kept them alive (pun intended) way past their kooky shelf life. Kiss became a full fledged hair band, and rightfully so, as they are never given enough credit for being architects of the genre, and also really precursors Thrash and European Disney Metal in a way.
Paul and Gene are very much life partners, different from other rock duos in their solidarity. Paul has said some vanilla things to the negative, but really only in his emotional reaction to circumstances out of his control.
For instance: Paul has opened up about his disapproval of Gene become the dominant voice of Kiss during the Revenge era. However he is smart enough to understand that he was the driver of the 80's Kiss train, but come 1990, styles had changed. His effiminant style was out of character in the 90's, and the fans responded. Gene peaked in the more aggressive world with "Domino" and "Unholy." Paul did take a back seat, but was fortunate to be able to continue in his amazing career due to the diversity of his organization. We should all be so lucky.
Paul also makes no bones about his former bandmates inability to hang. I respect that completely. Even though they could be very negative about much more, typically Paul and Gene take the high road, not deep diving into the mud, rather taking well aimed shots and shutting down the line of questioning. Not in every situation, but they always conduct their business with dignity.
I may take some heat for the above paragraph in regards to session players and behaviors deemed unscrupulous by mega-fans, but aside from some sketchy artistic turns, the moves they made were for the betterment and continuation of the band AND the brand.
Gene and Paul deserve some credit for their commitment to each other. They didn't stray like Joe and Steven, and didn't publicly trash each other like the infamous duo's of Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks, and Oasis. To this day, 40+ years later, they stand united.
In a world where most partnerships are fleeting at best, a mutual understanding of solidarity is refreshing.
Nago
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