gene simmns Archives - Knucklebonz, Inc.

47 years ago on May 16th – KISS headlined Detroit’s Cobo Hall for the 1st time. A sellout crowd of 12,000 future KISStorians were treated to one of 72 dates on the Dressed To Kill tour. It was also the first of (5) shows that KISS recorded for what would become one of the greatest live albums ever, KISS ALIVE!

Rock photographer Fin Costello’s famous photo shoot also happened during this period that would be the source of the front cover and back covers of KISS Alive! Fin was a major contributor to Circus Magazine and other rock monthly mags if you recall.

Paul Stanley comments on the Cobo show and Detroit:

“This concert and the release of “Alive!” marked a pivotal giant step towards achieving domination in the 70’s. “Detroit Rock City” was written as a salute to the people who championed us as a headliner when others still saw us as an opening act. We can never forget them. We decided, that was the only place we would start the Reunion Tour.”

KnuckleBonz Created a statue set to capture this era of the band that has been SOLD OUT for some time. You can check out what you missed here.

If you are in the KISS Army, out latest statue set for Gene Simmon The Demon, Paul Stanley The Starchild, Ace Frehley The Spaceman and Peter Criss The Catman is from the Dynasty era and has just landed in our US warehouse to begin shipping. Order Here…No FoMO.

Rock Hard!

Heard a recent interview with KISS Paul Stanley on Sirius/XM Radio and he was talking about the pressure on KISS to follow up on the massive success of KISS “Alive.” Another live record was not on the table. KISS Alive was basically a “best of” record with no new material. KISS Alive featured tracks from the first 3 studio albums, KISS “Debut” , KISS “Dressed to Kill” and KISS “Hotter Than Hell.” None had these had achieved any radio foothold. KISS had built their loyal following strictly thru 1975 on their amazing live performances. Speaking with Sirius/XM, Paul Stanley talked about the need for follow up success in the studio. Without it, it was easy to imagine Alive being the high water mark for the band. An unsuccessful follow up, could have damaged the bands rep beyond repair. It was at the suggestion of KISS manger Bill Aucoin, that they bring in Bob Ezrin to produce the new album which we now know as KISS “Destroyer.” Aucoin was not simply goin on a hunch. Bob Ezrin can be closely tied to the success of the original Alice Cooper band and albums like “Billion Dollar Banaies and “Schools Out.” Also throw in the Aerosmith’s classic “Get Your Wings”. All done prior to 1976. Ezrin pushed the Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to new studio heights. 45 years later, we celebrate was is arguably the best studio effort from KISS…drop the needle on this rock classic today…

KnuckleBonz® celebrates the great album art of the last 50 years in a limited edition collector series called 3D Vinyl®. Our favoaite albums are brough to life in stunning 3D statues. All are officially licensed in limited editions of never more than 3000 per design. You can order KISS Destroyer 3D Vinyl here:

Rock Hard! Kbonz

Tag: gene simmns

The Making of KISS Alive ! – 47 Years Ago

Celebrating KISS Destroyer 45 Years – Paul Stanley “Bob Ezrin was the Key”