Jawbone Press will release Greg Prato’s new book about KISS, “Take It Off: KISS Truly Unmasked” on November 19th. As the title reveals the context is about the band’s non make up era from 1983 to 1996. The writer spoke exclusively with Rockpages.gr about his book: “Whether one loves that era or not, there is no denying that KISS simply HAD TO take off their make-up at that point, because their popularity was at an all-time low in the States. Even releasing one of their best-ever and hardest rocking studio albums in 1982 (‘Creatures of the Night’) was not enough to rekindle fan interest. So they had to do something drastic…and taking off their trademark make-up was their only option. That said, I am a diehard fan of the original KISS line-up in the ‘70s, but I can certainly appreciate that ‘80s era, as it helped re-establish KISS as one of the top rock/metal bands”. The entire interview will be available pretty soon.
PRESS RELEASE: There is a common misconception about KISS, one of the greatest hard-rock/heavy metal-bands of all-time: that their “non-makeup” era of 1983-1996 is not as enduring as the period when they stalked stages as the Starchild, the Demon, the Spaceman, and the Cat.
This is untrue. In fact, this period helped resuscitate KISS’s career, as they reestablished themselves in arenas, on the charts, and via MTV, and yielded some of their most popular songs — including “Lick It Up”, “Heaven’s On Fire”, “Tears Are Falling”, “Crazy Crazy Nights”, “Hide Your Heart”, “Forever”, “Unholy” and more — many of which consistently found their way into the band’s set lists.
While the majority of KISS books are focused on the glitz and glamour of the iconic makeup era, the non-makeup years are ripe to be explored in book form, and “Take It Off” does just that, zeroing in on the eleven albums KISS issued during this period — including such gold- and platinum-certified hits as “Lick It Up”, “Animalize”, “Crazy Nights”, “Revenge” and “Alive III” — as well the resulting tours, videos, and other escapades.
“Take It Off” draws on all-new interviews with KISS experts and associates, including the band’s lead guitarist throughout most of this period, Bruce Kulick, plus “Crazy Nights” producer Ron Nevison and video director Paul Rachman (“Unholy”, “I Just Wanna”, “Domino”). Among the other contributors are Charlie Benante (Anthrax), K.K. Downing (ex-Judas Priest), Derek Sherinan (ex-Dream Theater), and rock music experts Eddie Trunk, Katherine Turman and Lonn Friend. The book also includes a foreword by Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho and an afterword by acclaimed producer Andreas Carlsson, as well as rare photographs and memorabilia from the period.
