Bret's KISS Page
UCLA Gene Book Signing
Narrative by: Bret
The line had only a few people in it when we arrived just before 9am. Gene arrived just before 11am, and was signing his new book until 1pm. He signed as many items as you bought, plus some extras. I had 8 things signed- his new book, his new cd set (of the book), his new lunchbox, a broken guitar, etc.. He was very friendly and in a good mood (didn't call anyone professionals today)...The crowd was not that big (compared to other KISS events) but very enthusiastic. The weather was great, and it was a lot of fun. They sold Gene books, shirts, lunch boxes (which sold out fast), cd sets (spoken word by him), etc.
Detroit Rock City
Bret at the Detroit Rock City Filming 1998
Narrative by: Bret (San Jose)
DRC was originally going to be filmed in LA, CA- but was moved to Hamilton, Ontario. My friend and I decided to go- how can you pass up being in a KISS movie?
I flew out to Newark from the SF Bay Area on 12-2-98, meeting my friend from LA. We were both flying free, thanks to Continental Airlines freq. flyer program. We then flew together to Toronto. We caught a cab to our hotel, which was the Four Seasons (not because we are rich- but we figured out KISS would be staying there). After a long day of flying, we still made it to Skydome just in time to see the KISS curtain drop, and hear the opening notes of Psycho Circus. The show was good- but we were exhausted, and had just been front row at Dodger Stadium so it was hard to be 25 rows back or so.
The next morning, I woke up early to go to the hotel gym- figuring I had lots of time since the filming wasn't to start until 6:30 p.m. But lo and behold, Tommy Thayer is in the elevator with me. I ask what they are doing. He says they are going to the arena right now, and staying at the hotel 1 more night. I run back to the room and grab my friend, and we head back to the lobby. As the elevator opens, no one is in the lobby except Gene, Ace, Paul, Peter, Tommy, and maybe Doc. No fans, no workers. We say hi to all and Gene is impressed/scared (?) that we are here from California. He asks if we need help getting into the movie filming. Like a dummy, I tell him that we are already signed up (who knows what may have happened)... We get autographs from all (see KISS cards and old KISS pic). Ace looked at the old KISS picture and said- "If I still looked like that I wouldn't have so many problems." (This was when he was a little overweight during the latter part of 1998). Peter looked at us and told us we were "bootleggers." He seemed grumpy, and said he could spot us a mile away, etc. I tried to explain how we just flew across the nation for them, but he would have none of it. They all left for the filming.
We got to the Copps Coliseum, in industrial (but friendly) Hamilton. As we were let in, I could see the Love Gun stage set-up. Seeing 2 different stages in 2 nights was awesome. We grabbed seats to the right of the stage. The extras were down on the floor. Thanks to handy "passes (see scan)," we moved to the floor also. We quickly moved to the front row.
KISS soon came out, and lip-synced DRC over and over. The stage had great effects- picture all the KISS effects piled into one song- fire/ lights/ confetti...In between takes KISS signed autographs and threw guitar pics at people. I caught a Paul pic, plus a roadie gave us a whole handful. We got more items signed, even from Peter who was not grumpy anymore. They provided food for the extras, which we helped ourselves to. Barry Levine was screaming at people because some book of his was missing/stolen. A guy in a Dynasty suit was moved because of his wrong-era costume (duh).
The filming went into the early morning hours, and we had had enough- if you can believe that. Gene was onstage doing his blood bit, and we left (I later learned Paul was in streetclothes in the crowd- oh well). We drove back to the hotel- and we couldn't believe it but KISS was walking in at the same time as us!
We ordered room service, and our server said he had just brought food to Ace- showing us a receipt signed Johnny B Goode or something similar. Our flight back home was in a few hours, so we just stayed up until then, barely making it to the airport in time. It was a great trip- and here are some of the pictures I took with a disposable camera I smuggled in.
