[ Thanks to "Is That Me?" on the KISS FAQ forum. ]
Peter Criss interview May 29, 2007
Posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 16:07:34
By Mitch Lafon
Founding member of KISS, PETER CRISS, has been out of the spotlight since his abrupt departure from the hottest band in the land a few years ago, but this cat hasnt gone away. Luckily for KISS fans everywhere, Peter is back with One For All C a pensive and personal collection of ballads, and it was with great pleasure that I sat down with the Catman to discuss his latest album and future projects.
Mitch Lafon: Tell me about One For All. How did the music come about?
Peter Criss: The last run of the Kiss tour with AEROSMITH without Ace (who I miss dearly). I had a hard time getting through that thing, but a contract is a contract. But the reason for this (ballad album) is that I had a huge hit with Beth for my band KISS and for me as a songwriter. Its the 48th most played ballad in the world. Every night, I went out to sing it, I loved it. It was great! It was the thrill of my life and I realized I like singing ballads and Im a hopeless romantic metal brain. Im still metal man and Ive not changed just because Im putting out a ballad album. I just finished my rock album with my guitarist and its kick ass. Itll be out next year with the grace of God. But ballads are my thing and I wanted to do something very autobiographical besides doing a book. I didnt feel by screaming or playing it in a rock/hard rock fashion that it would explain the trip that Im going on on this CD. Its a trip of where my life has been and gone. The ups and downs of these last ten years of being back with the guys, losing friends, making friends, becoming idiots and making the same mistakes again, repeating ourselves in the same stupid ways... just all of it and the fans! Always the fans with me. Faces In The Crowd is a song I dedicate to the fans for the wonderful life theyve given me and if it sounds like Im sticking my nose up their ass... good! Because I have a beautiful house and drive a nice car because of the fans that have bought my music. I grew up poor in Brooklyn, so Im well aware of coming from down there. So, I thought of all of this and I wrote two songs for the fans (the other one is called Memories). I wrote a song called Space Ace. Strictly wrote it for Ace because I felt so near and dear to him. We always were the closest and I started missing Ace a lot. I recorded a song my mother loved to sing as a kid C What A Difference A Day Makes C so old that itll never go over in the world of metal and theyll probably condemn me for it, but my mom dug it, so I sang it.
ML: Youve got Paul Schaffer from David Lettermans band playing on this CD...
PC: Im really jazzed to have him because to me hes a musicians musician. Ive also got Will Lee on bass.
ML: Will (Lee) played on Aces 1978 solo album...
PC: Yeah, we all go back. Paul and I go back to the 70s.
ML: Tell me about the duet, Doesnt Get Better Than This, with Jennifer Johnson.
PC: Shes another ARETHA FRANKLIN. I thought about the song one night on the Lear Jet, staying at the Ritz-Carlton, were playing a huge arena and were sold out for a couple of years... it just Doesnt Get Any Better Than This. So, that started that song. One For All is the major classic for me because its about 9/11 and Im a Brooklyn boy. Im a New York boy. I happened to be at church and when I came home my wife said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. So, I thought it was a little plane and somebody had made a mistake. Then, Im watching as the second plane hit and it was so surreal. I couldnt believe what I was watching. So, this is my way as an artist to say what I thought of it and war sucks. Whether I get condemned for it...
ML: I hope not.
PC: (Laughs) Look Im old school. I come from the heart and I dont come from any other place and I sure know who I am and where Ive been. Im just really enjoying writing music at my convenience, going down at five in the morning and playing drums... its a great freedom in my life right now. This is the first album Ive ever produced and it was a nightmare. It was so many decisions and I hope I made the right ones. We had George Marino master it. We got the best of the best and I didnt cut any corners.
ML: You covered Heart Behind The Hands from a Broadway musical...
PC: It stayed with me because I auditioned for a play called Brooklyn. I had just finished a two year acting school and had just done Oz and I was really excited. It was a musical and I got hung up on the music and realized you had to act too. I passed the audition as far as the singing, but when it came to the acting well... and I lost it. I wanted to impress them so much with my voice that I disregarded the acting.
ML: Are you hoping to get into a Broadway show?
PC: Id love it.
ML: Kiss lends itself to that kind of theatrical presentation...
PC: Look it C I went for it. It was about a vet from Vietnam that comes back strung out... it was a really cool play.
ML: Before you mentioned your rock album...
PC: We finished all the tracks. They really sound great and by the end of the summer, the vocals should be done and we can start mixing come fall.
ML: Is it important to do a rock album?
PC: I want it, Mitch. I have the time now. The band is dispersed - as far as Im concerned C when Ace and I left there was no more band. I feel I have this time and Im not that old yet. I look at the STONES, Aerosmith and ROD STEWART and I have this studio that I built so Im using it. I have all this time to write songs and make music cause thats really what I want to do. For me, this is what I do.
ML: Will you tour with the new album?
PC: I may, but I have to decide how long would I do it. How many would I do? Where would I do it? Theres some thought to put into it, but were talking about it. I miss playing C trust me.
ML: Songs like Dirty Livin and Hooligan C those are great rock songs...
PC: It got to where I was allowed to sing one song per album. I actually stole Black Diamond from Paul because he was going to sing it, but when Eddie Kramer heard me sing it C he went, No way. Peters got to sing this. So Eddie, thank his soul, got me Black Diamond. Ace got to write a song and I got to sing it. That was the deal and believe me I wanted to sing a lot more than one, but thats what I got C so I took it. When Beth came along I played it for Gene and he liked it, but when Bob Ezrin heard it - he loved it and he went in with the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC and the rest is Kisstory.
ML: How was it working with Ezrin? He really cracks a whip in there, but his genius cant be denied. The ALICE COOPER stuff. PINK FLOYDs The Wall. Destroyer...
PC: I was just telling somebody that when I did this (the new album) and I took on the producing its because I sat next to Bob Ezrin and Vini Poncia and Eddie Kramer. I watched them album after album and Id have to be the biggest idiot to not have picked something up from them.
ML: Why did you decide to produce this album? It is a lot of work and its sometimes nice to have fresh ears in there.
PC: Because I wrote these and they were too close to me. I dont think I could find a guy to understand it and I had a great crew around me. I dont know if Id want to do it again, but I just knew this was my baby. This was about my life. It was about the fans and the band. I re-did the song Send In The Clowns and I sung it about the band. I came home after the big thing we did in Melbourne with the 60 piece orchestra and I was a mess because Ace wasnt there to do it. We did it and recorded it without him and that was a drag. It killed me. I had such blues and pain that when I got home I said, you know what? I wanna re-do Send In The Clowns, and so I re-did it.
ML: You mentioned the rock album is coming out next year. Is that the game plan C an album a year?
PC: Yeah and I have a swing album that I finished that will come out eventually. I love swing music. Separately is this jazz thing I did. Its got Sing Sing Sing, Stompin At The Savoy, Bugle Boy Stomp. We did it and finished it this year. All it needs is to be mixed. Its all instrumental C big band, man.
ML: How was it working on that?
PC: It was great. It was the best time of my life. It was amazing doing that. Its something Ive always wanted to do.
ML: Well, youve always done it. Youve always brought swing to your drumming. If you listen to early KISS C theres always been a jazzy swing to it.
PC: Youre absolutely right. But never could I play 18 bars of it or go through a whole number. So, this time... even Stardust we did. I love that song. So, I got a chance to pick my favourite big band stuff and really show my shit. Im really proud of this as a musician.
ML: How about on a personal level? This would be like me doing a KISS tribute album.
PC: (laughs) Thats funny, Mitch. It was a dream come true and its very fulfilling as an artist and as a kid whos here today because of GENE KRUPA. It was like being Gene Krupa. Im hoping it gets out there and people find it interesting coming from a metal drummer or hard rock drummer C whatever Im labeled.
ML: Its hard to label you either a metal or hard rock drummer because, like I said, youve always had that swing in your drumming much like CHEAP TRICKs Bun E. Carlos.
PC: I agree with you and thats what made our sound. And Ace playing. I was a jazz drummer first and its what I grew up on. Then I went through the Motown era and I was very into (hums) and you hear that on a lot of our songs from Flaming Youth down to a few other things. Ezrin loved it and it worked in a rock situation. You usually dont hear a jazz fill in a rock song and that was KISS sound and it was very unique. When youve got four guys that play like nobody else, its wonderful. Its magic. Its charisma; call it what you want its chemistry.
ML: I agree fully and thats what I think made KISS stand out. There was a different sound C Ace wasnt classically trained so the way he bent the notes had to be different than everybody else.
PC: Right and his attack was very vicious. There was nothing nice about it. There never was and never will be and that was the greatness of him. There was no finesse. It was pure raw... and thats what made the Frehley sound.
ML: And thats why you cant copy him.
PC: Thats right.
ML: You mentioned Motown. Is that a sound youd like to tackle?
PC: On the new album theres a couple that show my roots in Motown. I love it and its nice to do that. On my first solo album, I did a couple like the Motown stuff.
ML: Speaking of solo albums, Out Of Control was a great album and I love the song By Myself.
PC: Thank you. I wish it had got its due and Let Me Rock You didnt get its due. I understand now why those two albums didnt, but things have changed. Im in a better place and Im happy.
ML: Back to Motown C your voice does lend itself to that sound.
PC: Absolutely and on this ballad album I really had to work at keeping my voice smooth rather than raspy. I had to concentrate more on the singing and I think its really going to shock people.
ML: Did you do all the drumming on this album?
PC: Yes, YES!
ML: Do you see yourself exploring all kinds of different musical genres now that youre on your own?
PC: I have no idea, but Ill never stop drumming. Ill never stop playing. Ill never stop doing what I do and if all of that comes with it C thats cool, but my heart is in rock n roll.
ML: Can we talk about Psycho Circus?
PC: Thats a really touchy place, but you can read about it in my autobiography.
ML: When is that coming out?
PC: Well, theres a lot of things I want to do in my life. I want to do some traveling C look, this ballad thing is probably a one shot deal. This is about my life so Im not going to do it again. This is it. The rock thing C I dont know and the swing thing C I dont know, but I do know I want to do my book. Im told it takes two years and Im talking to a house now. Its going to take that long and Im going to do it once Im done with these three musical projects. Im sure some things will make the hair on your neck stand if your a KISS fan. Theres only one book about us and thats Genes book and its not all true. The biggest mouth said something, but the other three have said nothing.
ML: Are you allowed to do a tell-all book?
PC: Im sure my lawyer will keep me in the guidelines (laughs).
ML: And you have to assume Gene and Pauls lawyers will keep you busy as well.
PC: Im shocked that he got away with a few things Gene, but Im sure when he did it... you have to sit with an attorney.
ML: Is that a story youre eager to tell?
PC: My life? Sure I am because theres so much bullshit in stories about me that Im fed up reading them. Theyre lies or theyre wrong or they got it wrong and my wife gets so frustrated. She says Babe, youve got to set this straight. Ive got a lot of things to talk about besides KISS. My own life of going on Decca Records in my youth, growing up in gangs and gang wars and fighting... just my whole life has been amazing. So, yes I do want to do my book.
ML: Especially growing up in the tough streets of Brooklyn. You might not even be alive right now had you not joined KISS.
PC: You got it right, brother. It got scary around the early 60s. I got drafted for Vietnam, but thank God I didnt go. But the neighborhood was tough and thank God I got to music. So, I want to write about that.
ML: Do you think your book will be out by 2009?
PC: Oh, absolutely. Im definitely shooting for it.
ML: Back to the album for a second C the Space Ace song. Why did you find it important to write a song about Ace?
PC: Its my outlook about him. Its me looking at him. Its kind of a guy thats been with him since he was a kid C since we were kids. Then watching him through the ten year tour and we locked in this thing and I watched his behavior and my own and all of us going through space and it magnified my brain and I had to write about it. Its this out of sight space song and theres no other space jockey than Ace. I hope he digs it, but I wont know until I get a call.
ML: To wrap up, the album comes out July 24th and theres www.petercriss.net to plug...
PC: I love my site, but I have to get a little more involved on my drum page. I have so much love come back on that thing. It blows your mind what some people tell me.
ML: Last words?
PC: I put all my dollars, all my time, all my effort and all my heart into this. I really believe every artist no matter what you do leaves a little bit of yourself on every stage and every record. I do. Theres a part of me on every fucking KISS album youll ever listen to or any show I ever did. Theres a part of me on every stage.
Source :
www.bravewords.com/features/1000450
Peter Criss interview May 29, 2007
Posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 16:07:34
By Mitch Lafon
Founding member of KISS, PETER CRISS, has been out of the spotlight since his abrupt departure from the hottest band in the land a few years ago, but this cat hasnt gone away. Luckily for KISS fans everywhere, Peter is back with One For All C a pensive and personal collection of ballads, and it was with great pleasure that I sat down with the Catman to discuss his latest album and future projects.
Mitch Lafon: Tell me about One For All. How did the music come about?
Peter Criss: The last run of the Kiss tour with AEROSMITH without Ace (who I miss dearly). I had a hard time getting through that thing, but a contract is a contract. But the reason for this (ballad album) is that I had a huge hit with Beth for my band KISS and for me as a songwriter. Its the 48th most played ballad in the world. Every night, I went out to sing it, I loved it. It was great! It was the thrill of my life and I realized I like singing ballads and Im a hopeless romantic metal brain. Im still metal man and Ive not changed just because Im putting out a ballad album. I just finished my rock album with my guitarist and its kick ass. Itll be out next year with the grace of God. But ballads are my thing and I wanted to do something very autobiographical besides doing a book. I didnt feel by screaming or playing it in a rock/hard rock fashion that it would explain the trip that Im going on on this CD. Its a trip of where my life has been and gone. The ups and downs of these last ten years of being back with the guys, losing friends, making friends, becoming idiots and making the same mistakes again, repeating ourselves in the same stupid ways... just all of it and the fans! Always the fans with me. Faces In The Crowd is a song I dedicate to the fans for the wonderful life theyve given me and if it sounds like Im sticking my nose up their ass... good! Because I have a beautiful house and drive a nice car because of the fans that have bought my music. I grew up poor in Brooklyn, so Im well aware of coming from down there. So, I thought of all of this and I wrote two songs for the fans (the other one is called Memories). I wrote a song called Space Ace. Strictly wrote it for Ace because I felt so near and dear to him. We always were the closest and I started missing Ace a lot. I recorded a song my mother loved to sing as a kid C What A Difference A Day Makes C so old that itll never go over in the world of metal and theyll probably condemn me for it, but my mom dug it, so I sang it.
ML: Youve got Paul Schaffer from David Lettermans band playing on this CD...
PC: Im really jazzed to have him because to me hes a musicians musician. Ive also got Will Lee on bass.
ML: Will (Lee) played on Aces 1978 solo album...
PC: Yeah, we all go back. Paul and I go back to the 70s.
ML: Tell me about the duet, Doesnt Get Better Than This, with Jennifer Johnson.
PC: Shes another ARETHA FRANKLIN. I thought about the song one night on the Lear Jet, staying at the Ritz-Carlton, were playing a huge arena and were sold out for a couple of years... it just Doesnt Get Any Better Than This. So, that started that song. One For All is the major classic for me because its about 9/11 and Im a Brooklyn boy. Im a New York boy. I happened to be at church and when I came home my wife said a plane had hit the World Trade Center. So, I thought it was a little plane and somebody had made a mistake. Then, Im watching as the second plane hit and it was so surreal. I couldnt believe what I was watching. So, this is my way as an artist to say what I thought of it and war sucks. Whether I get condemned for it...
ML: I hope not.
PC: (Laughs) Look Im old school. I come from the heart and I dont come from any other place and I sure know who I am and where Ive been. Im just really enjoying writing music at my convenience, going down at five in the morning and playing drums... its a great freedom in my life right now. This is the first album Ive ever produced and it was a nightmare. It was so many decisions and I hope I made the right ones. We had George Marino master it. We got the best of the best and I didnt cut any corners.
ML: You covered Heart Behind The Hands from a Broadway musical...
PC: It stayed with me because I auditioned for a play called Brooklyn. I had just finished a two year acting school and had just done Oz and I was really excited. It was a musical and I got hung up on the music and realized you had to act too. I passed the audition as far as the singing, but when it came to the acting well... and I lost it. I wanted to impress them so much with my voice that I disregarded the acting.
ML: Are you hoping to get into a Broadway show?
PC: Id love it.
ML: Kiss lends itself to that kind of theatrical presentation...
PC: Look it C I went for it. It was about a vet from Vietnam that comes back strung out... it was a really cool play.
ML: Before you mentioned your rock album...
PC: We finished all the tracks. They really sound great and by the end of the summer, the vocals should be done and we can start mixing come fall.
ML: Is it important to do a rock album?
PC: I want it, Mitch. I have the time now. The band is dispersed - as far as Im concerned C when Ace and I left there was no more band. I feel I have this time and Im not that old yet. I look at the STONES, Aerosmith and ROD STEWART and I have this studio that I built so Im using it. I have all this time to write songs and make music cause thats really what I want to do. For me, this is what I do.
ML: Will you tour with the new album?
PC: I may, but I have to decide how long would I do it. How many would I do? Where would I do it? Theres some thought to put into it, but were talking about it. I miss playing C trust me.
ML: Songs like Dirty Livin and Hooligan C those are great rock songs...
PC: It got to where I was allowed to sing one song per album. I actually stole Black Diamond from Paul because he was going to sing it, but when Eddie Kramer heard me sing it C he went, No way. Peters got to sing this. So Eddie, thank his soul, got me Black Diamond. Ace got to write a song and I got to sing it. That was the deal and believe me I wanted to sing a lot more than one, but thats what I got C so I took it. When Beth came along I played it for Gene and he liked it, but when Bob Ezrin heard it - he loved it and he went in with the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC and the rest is Kisstory.
ML: How was it working with Ezrin? He really cracks a whip in there, but his genius cant be denied. The ALICE COOPER stuff. PINK FLOYDs The Wall. Destroyer...
PC: I was just telling somebody that when I did this (the new album) and I took on the producing its because I sat next to Bob Ezrin and Vini Poncia and Eddie Kramer. I watched them album after album and Id have to be the biggest idiot to not have picked something up from them.
ML: Why did you decide to produce this album? It is a lot of work and its sometimes nice to have fresh ears in there.
PC: Because I wrote these and they were too close to me. I dont think I could find a guy to understand it and I had a great crew around me. I dont know if Id want to do it again, but I just knew this was my baby. This was about my life. It was about the fans and the band. I re-did the song Send In The Clowns and I sung it about the band. I came home after the big thing we did in Melbourne with the 60 piece orchestra and I was a mess because Ace wasnt there to do it. We did it and recorded it without him and that was a drag. It killed me. I had such blues and pain that when I got home I said, you know what? I wanna re-do Send In The Clowns, and so I re-did it.
ML: You mentioned the rock album is coming out next year. Is that the game plan C an album a year?
PC: Yeah and I have a swing album that I finished that will come out eventually. I love swing music. Separately is this jazz thing I did. Its got Sing Sing Sing, Stompin At The Savoy, Bugle Boy Stomp. We did it and finished it this year. All it needs is to be mixed. Its all instrumental C big band, man.
ML: How was it working on that?
PC: It was great. It was the best time of my life. It was amazing doing that. Its something Ive always wanted to do.
ML: Well, youve always done it. Youve always brought swing to your drumming. If you listen to early KISS C theres always been a jazzy swing to it.
PC: Youre absolutely right. But never could I play 18 bars of it or go through a whole number. So, this time... even Stardust we did. I love that song. So, I got a chance to pick my favourite big band stuff and really show my shit. Im really proud of this as a musician.
ML: How about on a personal level? This would be like me doing a KISS tribute album.
PC: (laughs) Thats funny, Mitch. It was a dream come true and its very fulfilling as an artist and as a kid whos here today because of GENE KRUPA. It was like being Gene Krupa. Im hoping it gets out there and people find it interesting coming from a metal drummer or hard rock drummer C whatever Im labeled.
ML: Its hard to label you either a metal or hard rock drummer because, like I said, youve always had that swing in your drumming much like CHEAP TRICKs Bun E. Carlos.
PC: I agree with you and thats what made our sound. And Ace playing. I was a jazz drummer first and its what I grew up on. Then I went through the Motown era and I was very into (hums) and you hear that on a lot of our songs from Flaming Youth down to a few other things. Ezrin loved it and it worked in a rock situation. You usually dont hear a jazz fill in a rock song and that was KISS sound and it was very unique. When youve got four guys that play like nobody else, its wonderful. Its magic. Its charisma; call it what you want its chemistry.
ML: I agree fully and thats what I think made KISS stand out. There was a different sound C Ace wasnt classically trained so the way he bent the notes had to be different than everybody else.
PC: Right and his attack was very vicious. There was nothing nice about it. There never was and never will be and that was the greatness of him. There was no finesse. It was pure raw... and thats what made the Frehley sound.
ML: And thats why you cant copy him.
PC: Thats right.
ML: You mentioned Motown. Is that a sound youd like to tackle?
PC: On the new album theres a couple that show my roots in Motown. I love it and its nice to do that. On my first solo album, I did a couple like the Motown stuff.
ML: Speaking of solo albums, Out Of Control was a great album and I love the song By Myself.
PC: Thank you. I wish it had got its due and Let Me Rock You didnt get its due. I understand now why those two albums didnt, but things have changed. Im in a better place and Im happy.
ML: Back to Motown C your voice does lend itself to that sound.
PC: Absolutely and on this ballad album I really had to work at keeping my voice smooth rather than raspy. I had to concentrate more on the singing and I think its really going to shock people.
ML: Did you do all the drumming on this album?
PC: Yes, YES!
ML: Do you see yourself exploring all kinds of different musical genres now that youre on your own?
PC: I have no idea, but Ill never stop drumming. Ill never stop playing. Ill never stop doing what I do and if all of that comes with it C thats cool, but my heart is in rock n roll.
ML: Can we talk about Psycho Circus?
PC: Thats a really touchy place, but you can read about it in my autobiography.
ML: When is that coming out?
PC: Well, theres a lot of things I want to do in my life. I want to do some traveling C look, this ballad thing is probably a one shot deal. This is about my life so Im not going to do it again. This is it. The rock thing C I dont know and the swing thing C I dont know, but I do know I want to do my book. Im told it takes two years and Im talking to a house now. Its going to take that long and Im going to do it once Im done with these three musical projects. Im sure some things will make the hair on your neck stand if your a KISS fan. Theres only one book about us and thats Genes book and its not all true. The biggest mouth said something, but the other three have said nothing.
ML: Are you allowed to do a tell-all book?
PC: Im sure my lawyer will keep me in the guidelines (laughs).
ML: And you have to assume Gene and Pauls lawyers will keep you busy as well.
PC: Im shocked that he got away with a few things Gene, but Im sure when he did it... you have to sit with an attorney.
ML: Is that a story youre eager to tell?
PC: My life? Sure I am because theres so much bullshit in stories about me that Im fed up reading them. Theyre lies or theyre wrong or they got it wrong and my wife gets so frustrated. She says Babe, youve got to set this straight. Ive got a lot of things to talk about besides KISS. My own life of going on Decca Records in my youth, growing up in gangs and gang wars and fighting... just my whole life has been amazing. So, yes I do want to do my book.
ML: Especially growing up in the tough streets of Brooklyn. You might not even be alive right now had you not joined KISS.
PC: You got it right, brother. It got scary around the early 60s. I got drafted for Vietnam, but thank God I didnt go. But the neighborhood was tough and thank God I got to music. So, I want to write about that.
ML: Do you think your book will be out by 2009?
PC: Oh, absolutely. Im definitely shooting for it.
ML: Back to the album for a second C the Space Ace song. Why did you find it important to write a song about Ace?
PC: Its my outlook about him. Its me looking at him. Its kind of a guy thats been with him since he was a kid C since we were kids. Then watching him through the ten year tour and we locked in this thing and I watched his behavior and my own and all of us going through space and it magnified my brain and I had to write about it. Its this out of sight space song and theres no other space jockey than Ace. I hope he digs it, but I wont know until I get a call.
ML: To wrap up, the album comes out July 24th and theres www.petercriss.net to plug...
PC: I love my site, but I have to get a little more involved on my drum page. I have so much love come back on that thing. It blows your mind what some people tell me.
ML: Last words?
PC: I put all my dollars, all my time, all my effort and all my heart into this. I really believe every artist no matter what you do leaves a little bit of yourself on every stage and every record. I do. Theres a part of me on every fucking KISS album youll ever listen to or any show I ever did. Theres a part of me on every stage.
Source :
www.bravewords.com/features/1000450

