kiss

REVIEW: KISS – Unmasked (1980)

Part 16 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

KISS – Unmasked (1980)

As a kid I remember loving this album cover. I loved any album cover that was different, and you could stare at trying to make out the details. It didn’t occur to me that this cover represented a newer, cartoonish Kiss far removed from the one on the Destroyer cover.

Indeed, if Kiss were falling apart at the seams on Dynasty, now they had truly run out of steam. Peter Criss was effectively gone, and Anton Fig played the drums on all tracks once again. The band were increasingly separated. Ace Frehley played all the basses on his own songs, and even Paul played bass on a couple of his. “Shandi”, the top 10 single in Australia, featured no Kiss members at all, except Paul Stanley.

The public never knew this at the time. Unmasked, on the surface of it, was a newer brighter poppier Kiss, but underneath there was nothing new about the fragmenting that had set in years earlier. Vini Poncia (Dynasty) was brought in to produce once again, hot on the heels of “I Was Made For Loving You”. Kiss had never sounded so pop, with keyboards in the forefront and compression on the drums. The soft production removed the normally thunderous lifeblood from the songs. This all went hand in hand with their increasingly colourful image.  Indeed, the demo and live versions available elsewhere reveal a heavier Kiss, almost punk-like in delivery.

There are some good songs here, most notably Ace’s. Heavy on melody, “Talk To Me” and “Two Side Of The Coin” feature some great soloing by the Spaceman. “Torpedo Girl” is campy but fun; imagine Kiss doing a summer beach song. It’s odd but, I like it. Paul’s “Shandi” is a great song, and continues to be a great song when it is performed on special occasions by the band.  Gene Simmons once again is underreprensented here, with only three songs: “Naked City” (OK), “She’s So European” (better) and “You’re All That I Want” (best).

It is arguable that Unmasked wasn’t even the nadir, that Kiss sank even lower of the next album, Music From The Elder. I don’t agree with that. The Elder may have failed as an album, but it did succeed in bringing some seriousness back to the table and some rock values back into the production. To me, Unmasked represents the nadir, maybe not the worst album Kiss ever made but probably the least Kiss-like. Even so, many of the songs are well crafted and memorable. It won’t be something you want to listen to in the car with the windows down, or anywhere that someone might overhear you!

2.5/5 stars.

NON-REVIEW – KISS: The Originals I & II

Part 15.5  leading up to the release of Monster:  I had to mention these two albums, rare as they are.  My sister Kathryn bought me The Originals.  It is missing the booklet and Kiss cards.  The Originals II, I’ve never even seen that one.  Here’s what I can tell you.

KISS – The Originals & The Originals II (1976 & 1978)

These are both three record sets, containing a set of three studio albums.  The Originals contained a booklet and 6 Kiss cards.  The Originals II was released only in Japan, and I’ve never seen a copy.

The Originals was a repackage of  Kiss, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed To Kill.  It was released on the heels of Kiss Alive!, which of course was a massive hit for the band.  Why not repack the studio albums that everybody had missed?

Japan released The Originals II in 1978 to promote Kiss’ Japanese tour.  In the pre-internet days, its very existance was considered rumour.  Many thought it was a bootleg at best, myth at worst.  This set contained 4 cardboard masks to wear.  To find one mint, complete?  Yeah right, as if the wife gives me that much in my allowance!

REVIEW: KISS – Dynasty (1979, 1997 Japanese import)

Part 15 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

DYNASTY FRONT

KISS – Dynasty (1979, 1997 Japanese import)

Ahh, the disco years! Alice Cooper did it, so did the Rolling Stones. Kiss were bound to follow. Paul Stanley admitted that he used to go to disco clubs. He found the music simple but interesting enough to try to write. The result was the now-classic “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, a song which was a bit despised for a while.   Even though it was one of Kiss’ all time biggest hits, it dropped out of setlists in the glam-metal mid-80’s.

Dynasty was designed to be the biggest Kiss album yes, and indeed it did spawn their second biggest hit. Unfortunately, on the inside, the band were coming apart at the seams. In order to placate Peter Criss, his solo album’s producer Vini Poncia was chosen to helm the next album. Poncia then kicked Criss out of the proceedings, as his chops were judged to be not up to snuff anymore.  He appears on only one song, “Dirty Livin'”, a song he co-wrote.

Anton Fig, of Ace Frehley’s solo album (and David Letterman, and later Frehley’s Comet) was chosen to replace him in the studio. It would not be Fig’s last album with Kiss. This was all kept secret at the time.

On the bright side, Frehley had a bunch of lead vocals: the Stones’ “2000 Man”, “Save Your Love”, and the story of his childhood, “Hard Times”. All three are great songs, and probably better than Gene’s two on Dynasty. I find Gene’s songs to be dull and plodding: “X-Ray Eyes” and “Charisma”.

Paul, on the other hand, had nothing but great songs: the previously mentioned “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, the majestic “Magic Touch”, and the excellent, underrated single “Sure Know Something”. All three are examples of his increasingly skilled songwriting and singing.

“Dirty Livin'” would be Criss’ last songwriting credit on a Kiss album, and his last appearance on one for a long long time. It is not a great song by any stretch, and it is one of the most disco sounding tracks on the album. Still, it has a street vibe that Criss was known for, and his fans love it.

Despite the flaws, Dynasty holds together remarkably well. Even the filler fits in the groove for a seemlessly enjoyable listening experience. After all, all four Kiss members sing lead on it, which was a rare thing that only happened on only a handful of Kiss studio albums.*Ace had more vocals than ever before, and then had lots more on the next album too. The band was tighter than ever with Fig on ghost-drums, and they actually make the best of the overly compressed production sounds.

Dynasty might not be as great as the first six legendary albums, but although cracks were beginning to show, it was still a continuation of the mighty Kiss legacy. What should have happened next was the band getting back to a solid rocker of an album and restoring the faith of the fans who were secretly and openly questioning the integrity of the band. That didn’t happen, and the original Kiss as we knew it was destroyed forever, never to be the same again. The phoenix that rose from the ashes was a different, albeit still powerful, beast.

A word about the Japanese version pictured here:  When Kiss began remastering their albums in the late 90’s, the Japanese got to hear them first, packaged in mini replica record sleeves.  Unfortunately, it does not include a replica of the LP Dynasty poster.  It was the first Kiss remaster I bought simply because I found it here on import before the others came out.

Don’t pick it up Dynasty as your first, but do pick it up.

4/5 stars.

*(Love Gun, Psycho-Circus, and Sonic Boom.)

REVIEW: KISS – Paul Stanley (1978)

Part 14 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at the final of the four solo albums (and my favourite) released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Paul Stanley.

KISS – Paul Stanley (1978)

Paul Stanley’s contribution to the Kiss solo album quadrilogy was very much like what Paul was doingin within Kiss itself.  As such it was warmly received by fans turned off by Peter Criss’ and Gene Simmons’ records.  From Paul Stanley, it seemed clear that he was not creatively confined at all within Kiss.  Recruiting old friend Bob Kulick on guitar, Paul laid down an album of hot rockers and a few tender ballads.

“Tonight You Belong To Me” starts off with some lush acoustic guitars (maybe a 6 and a 12 string? I can’t tell), and Paul singing in his classic falsetto. It doesn’t take long though for this to stop however, before a killer angular riff kicks in. (The Hellacopters ripped off the riff for the intro of their song called “Paul Stanley”, actually.) The riff is pure Paul Stanley, and is augmented by loads of juicy feedback.  Bob Kulick just tears through the guitar solo.

This is followed by fan favourite “Move On”, which was played live on the 1979 Kiss tour. It’s another rocker that would have felt at home on Rock and Roll Over or Love Gun.  “Ain’t Quite Right” is Paul’s first ballad of the album, and the first song I’d consider skipping. However Paul comes roaring back next, with the best song on the album.  “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me?” is fast paced and it rocks hard, and I think if Green Day did it today it would be classified as pop-punk, a genre which didn’t exist in 1978.  Side 1 closes with “”Take Me Away (Together As One)” which might be called Zeppelinesque. It starts off slow and acoustic, turns dark and electric in the very catchy chorus, and goes back to acoustic. Dramatic is a good word.  And Paul’s voice has never been stronger.  I believe he was singing at his absolute peak at this point, personally.

Side 2 starts off with another rocker, “It’s Alright”, which is very Kiss circa Love Gun. The guitar riff and chorus melody are the main selling features of this song. “Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart)” is a title that can only belong to a ballad. As sappy as it is, I like this song. It’s a piano and strings ballad that might have suited the Peter Criss album, if not for the melodic and memorable guitar solo courtesy of Paul himself. “Love In Chains” follows this, a guitar oriented rocker with great singable verses. The album ends appropriately with “Goodbye”, a song which Paul used to close his 2006 solo shows. It is another stellar song, extremely catchy and well written.

Songwriting is the main selling point of Paul’s solo album. It is Paul’s song craft that makes this album special, that and Bob Kulick’s great guitar tones and talents. Paul had a lot to be proud, it is a gem of an album and one that no Kiss fan should be without.

It’s only a shame that the 2006 followup, Live To Win, didn’t even come close to reaching this level of quality.

5/5 stars


Paul performing “Wouldn’t You Live To Know Me” in 1989 with Bob Kulick and Eric Singer

REVIEW: KISS – Gene Simmons (1978)

Lucky part 13 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at one of the four solo albums released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Gene Simmons.

KISS – Gene Simmons (1978)

I’ll admit it: I love much of Gene’s solo album. I didn’t always! I used to think it was too weird, too flaky, not rock enough. Too much annoying funky bass. Now with a few years behind me, I like it a lot more, due to some of the mellow, acoustic songs. When I was a kid I would have given it 1 star just because it’s not rock. There’s very little here that rocks.

The bass (by Neil Jason) is way too funky for my tastes and I never liked it, and I still don’t. But it was the late 70’s, and disco was happening, and we all know how Kiss responded to disco. There’s not enough guitar and too many backing vocals by assorted guests.

But this is kind of the point of Gene Simmons’ solo album. He crammed in as many people as possible to make a cast-of-thousands record suitable to his ego. Cher, Joe Perry, Rick Neilson, Katy Sagal…you can google the credits yourself (or just click the album cover pic above). Interestingly, Gene also wanted Lassie the dog, and the Beatles. He couldn’t get the Beatles, so he got Beatlemania instead.  No kidding.

There’s some truly excellent material on this album. Those songs are:

3. See You Tonite
7. Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide
8. Man of 1, 000 Faces
9. Mr. Make Believe

None are rock songs. “See You Tonite” and “Mr. Make Believe” are Beatles-like acoustic tracks, gorgeous in arrangement and performance.  “Man of 1,000 Faces” is epic, with big orchestra and a point of view more suitable to the Demon’s. (“I can put on any face/You won’t see me but it’s no disgrace/The king of night, he understands.”) It was inspired by Lon Chaney so obviously there’s a little bit of the Demon in it. “Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide” starts off very quietly and then goes into the big “Nowhere to Hide” section, with orchestra and Gene’s falsetto, which I actually like a lot. A lot of this stuff was written pre-Kiss, pre-Wicked Lester.

“See You In Your Dreams” is a remake of the Kiss song. I don’t like it as much as Kiss’ version, and I find the backing vocals distracting and obtrusive. Most of side 1, I find to be too funky and not nearly as interesting as the acoustic stuff. “Radioactive” has some spark, but sounded better performed live by Kiss, with a little more reckless groove.

The final track, “When You Wish Upon A Star”, is exactly what you think it is – Walt Disney and Gene Simmons, together (at last?). Regardless of Gene’s intentions, it’s only there as a novelty. Something to play for your friends if you want to say, “Wanna hear something really funny? You gotta hear Gene Simmons meets Pinochio.”  Maybe something to throw on the end of a mix CD, when you only have 2 minutes left to fill on the disc and you want to end it with a laugh.

3/5 stars for the great material. Beware the rest!

 

Part 78: GUEST SHOT! Meat on LeBrain

Normally I wouldn’t post something so self-glorifying, but I won’t edit a word out of any of my guest shots.  This one comes from the infamous Sausagefester, ex-record store alumnus, and music connoisseur, Meat.  He sent this to me by surprise this afternoon, so I had to post it.   Enjoy.

RECORD STORE TALES PART 78:  Meat on LeBrain

Today is Lebrain’s 40th birthday.  Today seems like a good day to give you all my thoughts  on the man…the myth…the legend…Michael Ladano.

I would have first met Mr. Ladano in I believe late 1998 or early 1999.  I was working at a record store and really didn’t know anyone at other locations.  Since there was a fair amount of phone activity between different stores, it was inevitable that our paths would cross.  I kept hearing about the manager of another store that was something of a music aficionado, and the biggest Kiss fan in town.  Considering myself of the same ilk, and a long-time Kiss fan myself, I was looking forward to the inevitable.  I don’t remember the first conversation we had honestly,  it was probably some sort of inquiry about an Anita Baker stock transfer , but anyways,  I do remember the first time we talked about Kiss.  I remember his genuine enthusiasm hearing that I had seen Kiss on the last tour with makeup (Creatures of the Night) and the first tour without makeup (Lick it Up).  He proceeded to tell me that Ace Frehley was not actually in the makeup on the first aforementioned tour (something I already knew) and a bunch of other obscure Kiss facts.  Needless to say we immediately hit it off.  We worked together only once at his location.  He actually has a better memory of that one shift (Meat’s memory is randomly hazy…gee I wonder why) but I do remember that the shift literally seemed to go faster than any shift I had worked previously.

[LeBRAIN’S NOTE:  I do remember that night very well.  I remember driving Meat home, talking about Metallica’s medley of Mercyful Fate tunes.  As it happens, I had that tape in the car, so we rocked it!] 

I am lucky to know many guys who are self-proclaimed and ordained-by-others as music experts.  The mighty Tom has been mentioned in this blog before.  Others include Scottie Geffros…Scott Hunter and more.  Michael Ladano trumps them all in both knowledge and actual music collection.  No one loves music more than LeBrain.  I certainly disagree with a lot of music that Ladano loves, and have been very vocal to him about that, but I guess that’s just part and parcel with being “LeBrain”.  But most importantly, Michael Ladano’s greatest trait is simply being himself.  If there is someone who is more truly sincere and kind, I have not met them.  No one treated complete strangers better during his record store days than Mike Ladano.  No one loves his wife or significant other more than Mike Ladano.  The truth is  everyone likes Ladano.  As a matter of fact, there are only a very, very select few that I know that don’t like him.  Literally a few select people that all hang together and work together. Not-coincidentally these people are sincerely some of the worst people I have ever encountered in my life.  Truly lacking character, substance and kindness of any sort, they should be ashamed of themselves.  It says something that only the worst people in the Tri-Cities are the select few that don’t like him.

I really enjoy this blog Mike and try to read every entry.  Even old Meatdogs can learn new tricks, and I appreciate reading and learning about musical artists, bands and albums that I thought I already knew everything about.  Your love of music is infectious and impressive,  but not as impressive as Mike the friend, the person and the husband.  Is this blog-entry just alot of over-blown Maudlin? Of course it is. If anyone I know deserves Maudlin, its Sir Michael Ladano.  Remember, when the rest of you are sleeping comfortably at night…LeBrain is rolling in his sleep anticipating the upcoming Kiss and Darkness albums.  You gotta love the guy.

Meat

REVIEW: KISS – Ace Frehley (1978)

Part 12 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at one of the four solo albums released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Ace Frehley.

KISS – Ace Frehley (1978)

The general consensus is that Ace Frehley’s solo album was the best solo album because it was the most rocking and Kiss-like. While I agree that it is a great achievement (and it sold the best, too) I prefer Paul’s.  Hey, just a personal preference.  Ace’s is still great.

Ace’s album was 9 tracks, which breaks down to 8 vocals and 1 instrumental. All but the instrumental were rockers. Anton Fig on drums! The standout songs include “Rip It Out” which would have made a great Kiss song.  Here, it is a strong opener:  a statement of intent, musically, from Ace.  It boasts catchy verses and choruses with a blazing guitar solo.  “Speedin’ Back To My Baby” and “What’s On Your Mind?” are a bit more pop and melodic but with Ace’s guitar they’re never too pop. They’re just rock enough. “Fractured Mirror” is the instrumental I menbtioned, and the first of a series of instrumental “Fractured” tracks for Ace. It’s great. It shows off some intricate fingering that Ace is capable of (think back to “Rock Bottom”) but less known for.

“New York Groove” was the hit single of course, but not a song I’m partial to. To me it sounded the like disco-Kiss that would emerge on Dynasty. I prefer the live versions that Kiss did later on, they had more thunder in the drums and more distortion in the guitars.

“Ozone” was a song that aurally sounds very “spaced” and you can guess what the subject matter is. Foo Fighters, incidentally, did a great cover of “Ozone” back in ’95. “Snow Blind” covers the same lyrical ground. Finally, “Wiped Out” spoofs “Wipeout” by its intro.  It again seems to be about being, well, wiped out. It has some challenging time changes and crunchy chords.

By and large this is a great album. I think some of the songs could have used more hooks. I still enjoy listening to it, and it does stand up as probably the best Ace solo album to date.  Ace’s guitar playing is heavily showcased, without it being a “guitar” album. Anyone who thinks Ace can’t play needs to listen to a song like “Wiped Out”.  It’ll blow their minds.

4/5 stars

Part 77: Psycho-Circus

RECORD STORE TALES Part 77:  Psycho-Circus

If you think back to the late 90’s, the hype surrounding Kiss was enormous.  They’d just completed their successful reunion tour to rave reviews, what was left but an album?

I was excited too, but not as excited as “Kiss Man”….

I don’t remember his name and I never heard from him again, so heartbroken was he.  My staff had a habit of telling annoying customers, “Hey, if you really want to talk about Kiss (or insert-band-name-here) then you should call back and talk to this guy Mike.  He loves Kiss.”

One time, they told a lady I was interested in buying her original Whitesnake cover art painting.  Which I wasn’t.  Anyway, back to Kiss.

This guy had come in talking about Kiss with somebody, and they told him to call me.  So he did.  With two of my bosses standing in front of me, I blindly anwered the phone.  To the best of my recollection, this was the conversation.  Imagine two of my bosses standing in front me alternating between glances and glares.

Kiss Man:  Hi, is this Mike?

Mike:  Yes, speaking.

Kiss Man:  Oh hi, I was speaking with (insert whoever’s name it was) a couple days ago, and they told me you were a massive Kiss fan?

Mike:  Yes, yes I am…

Kiss Man:  Like really big Kiss fan?  Like they said you have the dolls.

Mike:  Yes…I do have some action figures… (the bosses both looking at me now)

Kiss Man:  Are they the vintage ones?

Mike:  Uh, pardon?

Kiss Man:  Are they the vintage ones from the 1970’s.

Mike:  Oh, no.  They’re just the MacFarlanes.

Kiss Man:  Cool, still.  So do you know anything about the new Kiss album coming out called Psycho-Circus?

Mike:  (thinking he was now asking when it was out, how much we’ll be selling it for, etc)  Well, it’s out in a couple weeks, and there’s some kind of special edition cover, and we’ll be trying to get that one in. 

Kiss Man:  So how many times did you see them live?

Mike:  Uhh, just once…I don’t really go to a lot of concerts…

Kiss Man:  Just once?  Like on this tour?

Mike:  No…just once.  I wanted to see them on the Revenge tour though.

Kiss Man:  Have you heard the new single, “Psycho Circus”?

Mike:  No, I haven’t yet.

Kiss Man:  On Q107?  No?

Mike:  No, I…

Kiss Man:  Wow, and they said you were a big Kiss fan.

That one hurt, admittedly.

I eventually brought the conversation to a close, got shit for taking a “personal” call, explained to my bosses that I really didn’t have a clue who that was, and then later interrogated the staff to find up who set me up with the Space Ace.

When I found out, they were disappointed that the conversation didn’t go well, as if they were trying to set with up with a new buddy.  “He’s probably really sad now,” they said.

“Yeah.  He’s probably never going to come back into the store again, because of you,” they helpfully added.

Yeah, well.  It was a lose-lose situation and I definitely lost that time!

REVIEW: KISS – Peter Criss (1978)

Part 11 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at one of the four solo albums released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Peter Criss.

KISS – Peter Criss (1978)

On September 18, 1978, Kiss became the first band in history to simultaneously release four solo albums.  Each was vastly different from one another.

Peter Criss is not a jazz album, it’s not a country album, it’s not an R&B album and it’s not a rock album. If it’s a failure in the eyes of Kiss fans, it’s only because it’s not a rock album. It falls under that dreaded catagory of “easy listening”: just enough of each genre to make it classified as (in the parlance of our times) “lite rock”.

In all honesty Peter Criss is not a bad album, there are some older folk out there who would love it.  When I was a kid I used to play it to my mom (not sayin’ my mom is “older”, just sayin’), saying “See, you’d like Kiss music too.” That’s what it is: music you can play for your mom.

Peter himself plays drums on most of the album, Allan Schwartzberg plays on the rest. The rest of the instruments are handled by studio musicians with Steve Lukather taking a solo. You can hear quite clearly that Peter loves playing this kind of music, and it suits his voice too. Peter has co-writing credits with his Lips bandmate Stan Pendridge on most songs.

The album kicks off with “I’m Gonna Love You”, a R&B flavoured rock number with a nice horn section and lush backing vocals. This is about as uptempo as it gets. “You Matter To Me” is rendered hard to listen to due to its big fat synthesizer riff. Very outdated and distracting. “Tossin’ and Turnin'” is the old rock and roll standard and similar in tempo and arrangement to “I’m Gonna Love You”. Peter does a great job vocally. “Don’t You Let Me Down” is the first ballad of the album, very 70’s, with more outdated keyboard sounds. Side 1 ends with “That’s The Kind Of Sugar Papa Likes”, a nondescript underwhelming uptempo album filler.

Side 2 begins with one of the best tune on the album, the acoustic ballad “Easy Thing” which goes into a strong string-laden chorus. It’s quiet yet epic at the same time. “Rock Me, Baby” is another R&B song, uptempo with lots of female backing vocals but otherwise filler. “Kiss The Girl Goodbye” is another acoustic ballad, a little too quiet and laid back, very folk sounding, and there are no drums on this track at all. “Hooked On Rock N’ Roll” brings the tempo back up before we go to the last and very best song on the album, Sean Delaney’s “I Can’t Stop The Rain”. It’s a piano and strings ballad, similar in scope to “Easy Thing”.

It’s a shame in a way that Peter was so out of touch with Kiss’ core audience, and had such an inflated ego, that he thought making this album was a good idea at the time. The record turned off Kiss fans in droves, although many have rediscovered it in the warm light of nostalgia.

I think the bottom line is this is a nostalgia CD. I can’t imagine new young Kiss fans getting into this at all, but they may want to play it for mom.

2/5 stars

Part 76: Free Sh*t

You shall not pass, nor get anything for free

Record store employees get a lot of free shit.  From shirts to discs to posters to the oddest promotional merchandise you can think of, they get a lot.

Used record store employees, like myself, do not!

Reason being?  The word “used”.  The record distributors automatically assumed we would sell everything that we got for free.  Which we didn’t, because we didn’t want to hurt our already tenuous relationship.  This is where my personal experience differs from the average record store guy.  I got very, very little free stuff over the years.   

Sometimes you’d see the odd promo disc arrive, but it was either something completely unknown that nobody wanted, or something like Much Dance 2002, that nobody wanted.

I did get a few things.  Most of this stuff isn’t around anymore, either given away or wrecked.  Here’s a complete list of everything that I personally ever got for free from a record label during my 12 year tenure at the store, and it ain’t much!  This stuff would just show up in boxes of discs that we ordered.

  • A Jon Bon Jovi golf ball, to promote his solo album Destination Anywhere.  Ended up selling it at a garage sale for 25 cents.
  • A very nice Green Day Nimrod sweatshirt.  It too was green.  Don’t know what happened to it.
  • I had to fight for this one:  A nice black Kiss sweat shirt.  The higher-ups didn’t want me to get it.  (Don’t know what they wanted it for!)
  • A Jann Arden “Insensitive” baseball hat. 
  • A Vince Gill blue denim hat.
  • Two rolls of Star Wars stickers to promote the DVD release of the Original Trilogy.  These have lasted a long time and I still have a partial roll.  You’d be amazed how many things look better with Star Wars stickers on them
  • A bunch of Yoda buttons to promote Attack of the Clones.  Gave these away to kids.
  • A bunch of Lord of the Rings buttons, to promote Fellowship.  Also gave these away to kids.

Of these things, all I have left are the stickers and the Kiss sweatshirt, slowly fading from many washes.  Not a lot to show for 12 years of the record store grind, but as I said, the record companies really hated giving us anything for free.  The funny thing is, other people (DJ’s, employees at other record stores) would come in and sell us dozens and dozens of promotional discs that they got for free.  So the irony is, even though we played by the rules, we got stiffed.  The other people who broke the rules got free shit all the time!  Ain’t it the way?