The year is 1974 and the band KISS is half way through their first ever tour of North America. They are ruling the world with their over the top theatrics, fire breathing bass player, and makeup clad faces.
Kathleen Black is a 22 year old journalist...
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She'll let you walk the street beside her, but when she wants she'll pass you by.
7:00pm
We arrived to The Aragon Ballroom 3 hours before the show was to begin and we had to start working right away. The guys once again wore scarves and sunglasses on their faces to conceal their identity. The idea that they had to conceal their true faces simply so people wouldn't be able to recognize them without their makeup was fascinating to me.
"Welcome Kiss and entourage!" a young man said to us at the door among all the screaming fans who were smart enough to make their way to the back door. "I'm Ronny and I'll be showing you to your dressing rooms."
We followed him in while Rick wrangled a few crazy fans who had their own versions of Kiss makeup on. "I love you Paul!" one of them yelled. "Space Ace, you rock dude!" another shouted. I looked back to see the wild faces of several teenagers, many of them throwing their devil horns up. One comment in particular caught my attention. "Gene, have sex with me!" a girl no older than 16 yelled desperately.
The door squeaked as it shut behind us, but I still felt shaken by the experience. Groupies were something I had no experience with obviously and felt shocked at the boldness of these young women.
Ronny, the stocky gentlemen with a puffy haircut, showed us to the dressing rooms like he promised while he kept the conversation going. It was clear that he was a huge Kiss fan himself and was pretty excited to be talking to the guys.
"What are the odds you'd take off your disguises in front of me?" he asked, chuckling lightly. He tried to make it seem like a joke but I knew he meant it. Ace was saying something to Ronny that I couldn't quite hear but both of them laughed.
The dressing room felt like one big long hallway with four vanity mirrors set up side by side. For the most part, the room was dimly lit except for the fluorescent bulbs attached to the mirror.
"Let me know if you guys need anything at all, I will be happy to assist you." Ronny kindly let us know. I smiled at him and extended my hand towards him. He took my hand willingly in a firm grasp.
Ronny left us all and the boys immediately began setting up all their supplies for their 2 hour long process of getting ready. I watched in absolute awe; amazed at the amount of makeup they had acquired.
"Here, I meant to give this to you earlier." Carol said while throwing me a slightly wrinkled t-shirt. I grabbed the shirt by the shoulder hem and held it in front of my face. The band logo "KISS" was printed across it in a blazing red color, outlined by yellow, but the t-shirt itself was all black. Nodding at Carol, I thanked her for my first piece of band merchandise.
A short minute later we found ourselves in front of the stage, surveying the area in which they would be playing.
"We are expecting close to 5,000 people here tonight," Rick said while looking at a piece of paper in his hands, "At least, that's what Willy said."
