Always love it when Chris comes on the show. Such a pool of quality knowledge, clear and concise. KISS & SELL is by far the best KISS related book out there. And he's a dam nice guy to boot. Perfect guest.

Can't wait to hear this. Chris Lendt always has awesome stories to tell. Kiss and Sell was the best KISS book I have ever read.

@iainholmes2735

2 жыл бұрын

I read it a few years ago. It was really interesting to get some insight into the economic side of such a big band.

I have to tell 3 SIDES OF THE COIN, My hat goes off to you for having Chris Lendt on your show again the facts about the KISS MACHINE during the biggest time of just how huge KISS was in 1977-78 and even 1979 was so great for a fan since 1976, I love the 78-79 era with KISS and listen to Chris Lendt speak brought goosebumps to me talking about a very at least at the time facts that as KISS being my heroes. My love for the band is stronger knowing that the band and management team protect us fans from not hearing the problems that was goings-on. Chris Lendt is a class act the way he tells how the KISS BUSINESS went and how he keeps you on the edge of your set especially the up's and downs plus Chris tells just how hard KISS worked thru the 70s, 80s,90s tell present. It makes me proud to be a KISS FAN. CHRIS LENDT gave Brad O'Connor and myself the help to get the KISS ALIVE FAN CLUB started in the beginning of 1988 thru 1993 with having over 5,000 members. Chris Lenit made my dreams come true. I look forward to hearing CHRIS LENIT many more times on 3 SIDES OF COIN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK FOR YOUR CONTINUING DEDICATION TO YOUR PODCAST!

Fantastic show gents - just to echo what's already been said, Mr. Lendt is a great guest and I could listen to him for hours, no question. As for the downturn in the band's fortunes as the 70s ended, I've always thought that it was a combination of two things: 1) A segment of the fanbase was comprised of fickle non-diehards who simply moved on to other things. The trajectory of a band's popularity cannot continue to go straight up ad infinitum, and by Dynasty they had to settle for a single sold-out night in most venues rather than two. 2) The mindset of both the band and Bill seemed to be that Kiss had outgrown being a simple rock band and were more interested in competing with Mickey Mouse, Marvel and McDonalds than Van Halen, Judas Priest or AC/DC. They'd bought into this whole thing of being an American "institution" where their image and line of products took precedence over their music. It took a few fails (esp The Elder, as Mr. Lendt noted) to remind them that all of the other things were a by product of their being a successful rock band, not the other way around.

Something I didn't take into account when I was a kid-the insane pace KISS cut from their beginning to the early 80s. Being a musician myself, that blows my mind. Looking back, if they took a break, I wouldn't have blamed them at all.

I read this book every day at Borders before finally buying it. It is a very interesting book regarding the music industry from a business perspective.

@dvg4104

4 ай бұрын

What's your favorite J-frame?

Great episode! You guys should get Dale Sherman on, to discuss his Black Diamond books

Judging by the musical quality of Dynasty and the solo albums they should have been much bigger. Dynasty is one of the most perfect produced KISS records in my opinion.

@CrazyLG72

2 жыл бұрын

Being a young Kiss fan back then nobody was happy with each member doing solo albums. Here you have Kiss Alive 2 side 4 full of cool heavy tracks. Fans were ready for a new heavy studio album. I feel the studio albums lost lots of fans especially Ace and Peter releasing disco poprock singles. Dynasty sold well because it brought in a new dimension of fans along with the current fans. Dynasty is a good album and the so called NEW Kiss fans didnt listen to the rest of the album because most of it was a solid rock album. We got our heavy rock album a few years later with Creatures. But Kiss went into too many directions from 78 to 81 and made it confusing for fans.

@captainkirk70

Жыл бұрын

@@CrazyLG72 , funny. I asked my Dad to buy me the solo albums. He went to the store and came back with Peter and Paul's (which I dont like either) on 8 track. That's all they had and we were going on a family trip so it had to be 8 track. Ugh.

How about a second edition of 'KISS & Sell' Chris Lendt. PLEASE. I'm sure there are thousands of others like myself who don't own it & would luv to buy it. I reckon it would be bought across the world. Just re-release it with no changes.

Spooky 👻 I literally just finished Chris Lendts book the day before this show was aired. Guys are right. Best Kiss book I've ever read.👍🤘

oh man that was a great deep dive!! Bravo!!! love the eloquence Chris brings to KISStory every time he's been on!!

Just for context, 1979 saw the biggest recession in music sales across the board worldwide. The US drop from 1978 to 1979 was over 10%. All tours were effected and some of the biggest bands cancelled their touring plans completely. Dynasty tour average attendance was still over 10,500 per night (which was higher than the Love Gun tour) over 79 shows, but they were touring an expensive production so it was considered unsuccessful more for the lack of profit at the end of the tour (band members made $70k each) than for the numbers of people that bought tickets.

@83marceloa

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. There was the same in Brazil, but the sales drop was more.

Elise, now Chris Lendt returns! More early years minutia, way to go guys! Soon as I saw this I put some Orville Redenbacher’s in the pot for this show! Lol. I need a used copy of KISS and Sell!!

Two great episodes in a row!?! Three Sides is on a rockin’ ROLL this month!

I like to hear you guys reaction to the possible sales of KISS Alive USA sales, and why they have never given credited through RIAA? When Neil Bogart, owner of Casablanca Records died in 1982. An audit of the books was made and discovered that Alive sold over 2.1 million by the end of 1977 and sold almost 3.2 million by June 1979. With the soundscan tallied since 1991- 274,000 copies. So, 4 million in sales would not be out of the question (assuming the numbers are fairly accurate). So why wasn't the album never credited at platinum status since 1976?

@tp3922

Жыл бұрын

@@Prof_Tickles92 Thank you for your comment. As far as I know, it's up to the record label to get an album certification level updated, instead of the artist.

Really dig this episode! I’ve read Chris book so many times! Hopefully he will do another book!

Portobello Mushroom in his comment had a perfect summation, the band lost site of what the fans desired.- More food for thought....by the Time Creatures LP came out and the spectacular, gritty, Tour was happening many of the the fans had already given up. Because as everyone that attended a Creatures Tour concert can attest- IF those 'defectors/detractors' would have attended a show, they would have re-enlisted in the Kiss Army right then and there! Guaranteed!

@zippymufo9765

Жыл бұрын

More a case of them needing more than one album to turn things around. CREATURES was the first step, then LICK IT UP was the next that returned them to popularity.

It seems many bands and entertainers do not earn as much one would imagine while touring. I enjoy listening to shows and documentaries like this that reveal the business aspect. Chris is very interesting. Great work guys.

Beth and I Want You from Alive II were recorded at Budakon

Agreed, the production quality is superb. Lots of fantastic percussion overdubs and wonderful harmonies!

Kiss and Sell is a great book, still have it after all these years

Chris Lendt starts @6:00

Thanks for the show! As much as I like Lendts book and return to it now and then, I must say concerning The case of The Elder... and beeing one representor of Europe here with its medieval past..; ) "Since the dawn of time, the Elder have watched silently over a virgin world and all its Creatures.." I just love the imagery that both the story, the music and the sleeve of the record builds up. Wouldn't the Kisstory be just a bit more shallow Without that record which seemes to have been made with a lot of passion and conviction. But what do you do when the digits dont match the expectations...

The Australian Tour Mark was referring to was being negotiated by Promoters Paradine Patterson at the time of the trade magazine going to press . After weeks of negotiating the promoters and the booking agents weren't able to get a contract written up. PP just couldn't come close to the guarantee Kiss wanted. It was meant to take place the week after the japan dates.

Great show guys.

I believe "I Want You" on KISS ALIVE II is from Budokan

@romelovesdan

2 жыл бұрын

Yes Dr. I was screaming that too out loud as I was listening!!!!

Great episode!

Thumbs up from me and I haven't even watched it yet!!!! Hold on to your jockstraps, this is going to be great!!!! Blue Kool-Aid Drinker. Peace out from the Southern Tip of Vancouver Island, B.C. CANADA

I don't think I ever realized there are no Love Gun tracks on Double Platinum. Great show fellas The Dallas Stars play this odd song called "The Darkness Music" when the opposition scores.

@chrisrosati8264

2 жыл бұрын

Love Gun is on there

@tommybergholm4622

2 жыл бұрын

"The darkness music" what was that? :)

Agree on the new Off The Soundboard. I'll put it to you this way, if this lineup/era/tour is special to you, just capture the audio from the Rock The Nation DVD and make that your live album. But I will say I would be over the moon to have a new Eric Carr era live album even if it were of this or lesser quality. The rarity makes it more special.

do you think we'll ever get an 80's Off The Soundboard? Seems like Paul wants to distance the band from that era but I think it would be better than the current version of the band. Thoughts?

@83marceloa

2 жыл бұрын

Hope so. Creatures and Lick it up deserve one.

👍 great guest. I have always wondered why at the top of KISS powers a stadium tour was not done to max out money. Thoughts?

@chrisrosati8264

2 жыл бұрын

Like Chris said in his book " they thought the money would always be there...it didn't turn out that way..." Paul Gene Ace Peter and Bill Aucoin thought they could always recoup their losses to bring the greatest show for us, the fans

@zippymufo9765

Жыл бұрын

I doubt they could have sold out stadiums. They only did it once----Tiger Stadium in 1996, because there was an entire generation of Gen Xers who remembered them from childhood but never got to see them. Ticket sales then declined for the Psycho Circus tour. But KISS fans have always exaggerated their popularity in the 70's. They were never a "mega" band on the level of Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones.

Lol.. This was a great episode/video, but I have to say my favorite part was you guys picking on each other towards the end. Well, Mike & Tommy against Mark.. 😂

Around 20:00- Regardless of context, in a certain way, Aucoin wasn’t wrong. IMO Kiss was done after Alive 2. The rest was a few hit and miss tunes, and milking the past for every last drop. As for the solo albums: they were budgeted by late 1976 (is my understanding)

“Kiss and Sell”- 2nd best Kiss Book. Behind - “Out On the Streets”

@romelovesdan

2 жыл бұрын

Ha Ha! Only "Magic" could be better.

@zippymufo9765

Жыл бұрын

OUT ON THE STREETS was hot garbage

Elder was the beginning of the end of the last few fans and Ace but jeez. This thought process is what tore them up. Someone smart and respectable should have taken over this mess after the release of Alive 2. That was the last point that the ship could have turned. Breaks, reality check of the solo albums and someone paying attention to the roar of rock coming back in 79-80. Everyone turned to VH, Aerosmith and AC/DC and NWOBHM. Those bands would go on to sell more records and tickets easily as KISS stuck their head up their asses. Imagine being on top of the world and being so stupid that you could blow it. I dont know about Peter but I think Ace with a break and real rock to play with and they could have stayed together.

@dvg4104

4 ай бұрын

Van Halen, Rush, Judas Priest and the NWOBHM bands inherited many of KISS' erstwhile fans who wanted KISS to be a credible rock band.

My personal subjectiv opinion is, that KISS were finished in 79/80. They became a kiddie band. They lost all their credibility within the Hard Rock scene. Their decadence brought them straight into the mainstream media and they got the attention by regular, normal people. There was no danger around them anymore. When you are dating Cher you have made it. 🙈

So he didn't see the cracks until the '79 tour? The solo albums, movie, and recording of Dynasty weren't cracks? '79 tour was just the dam bursting.

@captainkirk70

Жыл бұрын

Not having the foresight to see before Dynasty makes this guy worth minimum wage. Even at 9 I could see the implosion coming. And Dynasty is in my top 3. But when you have a member not playing on more than a track or two, you gotta big problem. Hell, I really wish they'd have had Anton join so Ace could have his buddy and a great drummer. The very best KISS ever had. You put some handlers on them and let them do what they want. Pretty sure Keith Richards is still in The Rolling Stones. Lol. And the shows were still great.

brandvold. Calm it down with the KZread ads holy shit every 3 seconds

@MichaelBrandvold

2 жыл бұрын

I don’t control the ads KZread runs.

@grahamorbell2557

2 жыл бұрын

Yes not their fault , I usually wait a week or so , then the adds cut down , new releases get hammered

How can a dynasty Tour bomb when you have a no. 1 hit song with I was made?

@MichaelBrandvold

2 жыл бұрын

It wasn’t a number 1 song and one can have nothing to do with the other.

@highlighted_reply

2 жыл бұрын

Because they didn't tour the countries where the track was no 1.

@MichaelBrandvold

2 жыл бұрын

@@highlighted_reply read Chris Lendt’s book and you will understand why the tour was not as successful as they hoped. Hell, just listen to Chris in this interview… he would know, he was there.

@fmor4133

2 жыл бұрын

I guess my surprise is that I have seen one hit wonder sell out tours so going pop or Disney may shift the audience but still I would expect to fill the venue... I'm obviously wrong but still surprised. I'm also biased as I like the album.

@thedesertdweller

2 жыл бұрын

Was it actually a bomb in reality or just so below what the expectations were that it's considered a bomb? The expectations were on par with the crowds we'd expect if an alien ship landed on Earth. I was at the SF Cow Palace show @14, lol, and it was a huge event, big crowd. But just one night in SF whereas I think they were expecting multiples. Something else as I understand it, KISS 1979 built a duplicate stage to leapfrog tour dates due to the difficulty of a massive setup with expectations of multiple nights in major markets on a tight tour schedule. Problem was the cost of running 2 stages, 2 crews, etc was a financial drain cutting into what most bands would otherwise consider a successful tour.

The Brazilian gigs were very disorganized by the local promotor. He barely made money. The band got asked to play 2 more gigs ( another in São Paulo and one in Porto Alegre), but we know Kiss refused. Therefore the promotor confiscated the band's equipment to blackmail them.

Maybe my own actions in '79 were indicative of the band's issues. I, one day, decided KISS was for children- and tore up all my covers & broke my albums; literally snapped 'em in half. Why ? I decided that The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, The Doors, ect. were REAL bands.... Funny enough, though ? I came back around... Why ? Stuff like Cold Gin & 100,000 Years ain't shit after all !! 🚬😎👍

“Kiss and Sell”. Great book. Almost as good as “Magic”. 😆 Lol jk

Polygram should have shelved the album. At least for awhile. Sent KISS back into the studio to make a rock album. The material was there. Could have released the Elder as an oddity. But Polygram lost a lot of money by releasing that and completely destroying KISS for years. Albums do get rejected more often than was said. It's rare but it happens.

@captainkirk70

Жыл бұрын

Taking the rock songs off Elder and combining the Killers stuff and youre almost there for a great rock album.

@captainkirk70

Жыл бұрын

Maybe a cover song and you got one of their best records.

@captainkirk70

Жыл бұрын

They had just put out unmasked in 80. A bit more time, really a few months and you got it.