Kevin Valentine Talks About the Three KISS Albums He Played Drums On In The Studio
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Visit www.ThreeSidesO... and join the conversation. Three Sides of the Coin is a KISS podcast featuring Michael Brandvold, Mitch Lafon and Tommy Sommers.
In episode #9 we talk with special guest Kevin Valentine. Kevin talks about the three KISS albums he played drums on in the studio; Hot In The Shade, Revenge and Psycho Circus. He talks about recording demos with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. Working with Bob Ezrin and Bruce Fairbairn. How he had to audition for the Psycho Circus album. And MUCH MORE!
Michael Brandvold launched the 5th website on the internet devoted to KISS, KISS Otaku. He went on the build, launch and maintain Kissonline.com KISS' official website. Mitch Lafon first interviewed Gene Simmons in 1980 and has since interviewed nearly all members of KISS, many more than once. He produced and released a Ace Frehley tribute CD. Tommy Sommers has been a fan since 1976 and has seen them in concert dozens of times. He spent many years on the record show circuit selling memorabilia and meeting many KISS fans.
This is only our opinion... it is neither right nor wrong.
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I get sick of people always knocking Peters drumming...at this point its a hell of a lot better than Pauls voice. I just can't fathom how they are still performing. Paul sounds awful...it is so bad I don't see how he can justify his performance.
Mitch needs to lay back on the smug, self-satisfied sneering and do his homework. Mr Simmons has ALWAYS been obsessed with The Beatles. I'm can only presume he has never heard Gene's 1978 solo album.
Psycho Circus was a sad excuse to tour behind new material. Psycho Circus was a shitty cd but the tour was good.
Actually, drummers like Kevin Valentine aren't as good as they think they are (remember Cinderella kicked him to the curb in favor of a REAL drummer like Cozy Powell). Valentine knocks Peter Criss for not being a heavy hitter (and so did one of the hosts), but that has nothing to do with being a good or bad drummer, it's just a style, and Peter could do it live on songs like "Within" or "Psycho Circus". However no other drummer in KISS could match Peter's groove on "Rock and Roll All Nite".
Donnie Iris had a...er...unique image...but "Ah Leah" and "Love is Like a Rock" are awesome songs.
On Oct.17,1979,KISS played in my town Norman, OK. I was 17 & my friends and I had a crazy idea to go to the Holiday Inn to see if KISS might be staying there! Shortly after pulling up in the parking lot,we saw 2 guys with long hair walking out of the hotel lobby. They looked like rockers so we approached them to see if they were part of the KISS Cree and low & behold, out was Paul Chaveria and another guy who said they were KISS touring managers! Soon after, some other guys came out who were members of the opening band Breathless. They asked if we could give them a ride to a store to get toiletries then to the arena. We ended up giving them a ride to Target, shopped in the store with them, then took them to the arena. One of the guys sitting behind me in the car said he was the drummer of Breathless! So I met Kevin Valentine! They let us go backstage that afternoon & we saw the costume room & the guitar room. We didn't get passes for after the show & never met KISS. I got a piece of Peter's towel that was wrapped around his neck during BETH & still have it to this day! I'm 55 now, still live in Norman and love telling this story! I'm still a KISS freak too!
That's awesome that you remember the exact date of that show! I'm the same age as you, and all I remember is that the Dynasty tour came to Phoenix, Arizona some time in November, I THINK (but I'm not 100%), and the opening band was called Breathless. Never heard of them again. I was a 14-year old H.S. Freshman and it was my first KISS concert, as well as the first concert I ever went to by myself. Concert tickets back then were all General Admission, with no floor seats. Being somewhat short at 5'5.5", I was afraid that if I wasn't one of the first people in the door, I wouldn't be able to get to the front, which would mean that I wouldn't be able to see anything (because there were always bigger people in front of me completely blocking my view). For this reason, I decided to go the night before and camp out. I rode a unicycle to the venue, the Phoenix Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where my dad happened to be attending a Phoenix Suns basketball game (Dad was a season ticket holder and I knew where he always parked), so I was able to meet him as he was leaving so he could take my unicycle home for me. Pretty interesting to watch the work that had to be done. First, after the Suns game ended and people were leaving, they had to put away the court and hoops and the seats and risers behind the baskets, etc. before the road crew could start unloading their trucks and assembling the stage. I think I counted 18 semis of equipment for the show, and they basically had barely more than 12 hours to put the stage up and get it ready for sound checks. Fast forward to the evening of the show. I picked the wrong door to camp in front of, because it was not the first door to be opened up. When I got in, the floor was already full of tall mofos. So, I decided to go up to a seat on the side of the stage where I could look down onto the drums (Peter Criss fan here)! When the concert began, the smoke began to rise (from smokers and tokers), and I got high from it (first time in my life). When Unmasked was released about six months later, I thought that it was the ultimate expression of "Peter Criss's Jungle Drumming performance," just simply his masterpiece... because I didn't know it was actually Anton Figg, and Gene and Paul wanted me to believe it was Peter Criss, didn't they? I went to summer camp in the summer of 1980 with a tape of that album and tricked everyone into giving it a listen (KISS had actually lost respectability by that time, so that's why I had to trick people into giving the album a listen by saying it was my friend's band, and then when they said they liked it, I'd spring the KISS surprise on them). But when I got home from camp, I discovered that Criss was gone from the band. I was really a Peter Criss fan more than a KISS fan, per se, and I hated the new character. The next time I even thought about KISS was when they took off the makeup. I just happened to see the reveal on MTV by coincidence. I had no idea it was coming up. That was the first time I even saw Vinnie Vincent's stupid character, or even heard his name. There were some songs they had along the way that I liked, but my second ever KISS concert was after Eric Carr had died, when they played the State Fair with Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer. I actually saw that version of KISS three or four times. They played the State Fair a few times and then played at a nightclub in Tempe. And then, in 1994, Peter Criss played a club in Phoenix, and I went. That show convinced me that Gene and Paul had sent Peter out on the road to get in condition for a reunion which I was positive would be happening soon. As you all know, the original reunion occurred in 1995, so I had been telling people for a year that the reunion was going to happen. Turns out that even though I was right, apparently I was wrong about it having been in the works in 1994. Apparently, Gene and Paul had nothing to do with Criss's 1994 tour. Maybe I was psychic, then? All I know is that the reunion tour was an awesome show and I was a HUGE KISS fan from then until the first time I saw Eric Singer dressed as the catman.
But yeah, I remember Breathless opening for KISS in 1979, lol.
You guys could use me on your show. You need a voice of reason, instead of just fanboy banter.
Peter did play on the Dynasty tour, so the accident didn't prevent that.
As a drummer, when I hear Kevin play, he is more straight forward and complements a lot of the guitar parts. Definitely more in the Cozy Powell, Ginger Baker, and Ian Paice vein of style. Peter as Kevin said swings more like a big band feel and he brought that to Kiss. Gene Krupa, Max Roach, Buddy Rich. Listen to 100,000 years and you can hear some jazz chops in there with the ghost notes. Kevin, Eric, and Eric definitely bring a more Bonham feel to the Kiss sound. That is what I heard on Psycho Circus so I knew right away that Peter did not play on the record. Into the Void had fingerprints of Dirty Living so I could hear Peter on it.
Good stuff here! Met Kevin at a Donnie Iris show - quite the nice guy
Good job getting this guy on! Seems like a really nice guy, too. With that said, I thought the there were way too many questions about his work with Kiss. Yes, I know this is a KISS podcast, I get it. I was kinda hoping you'd ask in him about his experiences with Donnie Iris and Cinderella, as well. The guy on the far right asks very good detail oriented questions. Overall, a job well done!
Really interesting interview guys! Would love to see an episode with Jean Beauvoir as well.
Peter Criss has really good swing (remember Gene Krupa mentored him). His faults as a drummer are his timing and the fact that he doesn't play the same pattern. If Valentine would have criticized one of those things, I would respect him, but just because Pete doesn't hit hard doesn't make him a bad drummer. Tell Ginger Baker, Carl Palmer, or Ian Paice that you have to hit hard to be a good drummer, and they would laugh in your face.
I like a lot of the songs on the Phyco Circus CD... except Gene's songs don't seem like they belong... one sounds like it's from Carnival of souls and a few others sound like they could have been on his first solo CD. (and a song on Gene's solo CD{as****e) that he also recycled has Paul on it and isn't credited!)
It was great to see Kevin interviewed. I've known about him for a long time, since I was also a big Donnie Iris fan, whom I consider an influence as well as KISS on my own musical career, though he is underated. I love this podcast. In a perfect world, I'd be on it myself. Cheers!
Kiss evolved musically in the 80s and early 90s and now they put out sonic boom and monster . Why does kiss feel like they have to sound like kiss of the 70s? Revenge Was kiss at there best
Mitch's comment about Ezrin - garbage. After Destroyer Kiss still made Love Gun & RnR Over. Also Deep Purple are still together and played the albums themselves.
Peter's faults at drumming is that he is not the drummer he used to be. Watch old KISS footage from 76 and then 96. He is not the same.
Check out Kevin’s playing on Shadow King with Lou Gramm. Excellent!
Great interview. Loved it. I am not a huge Ezrin fan, but he didn't destroy the bands he worked with. Sorry.
hi guys!! just wanted to tell you that klassik 78's new music has just been released. it's called side 2. another home run from what I've heard of it. go to www.klassik78.com and it can be purchased for $4.99 at cdbaby site. im buying it tomorrow (wed Nov.1
What a compliment from Kevin to say his favorite song on Psycho Circus is the Peter Crisis drummed song !
This was cool. I've always wanted to know more about Kevin.
and he wasn't that good on the Dynasty tour. Could have been the accident.
I'm just curious how do you guys feel if Mutt Lange would produce a kiss album ?
bullshit, and this REAL KISS fan has been following them since 1975
Peter did the big sound on larger than life
Bside Kiss AliveII..still love and miss Eric
Kevin was a great guest and you three did a great job balancing the questions.
Peter actually let the cat outta the bag in drummer magazine
this is nothing like fanboy banter.....
Great episode and very interesting.
Real kiss fans embrace the 80s kiss.
Thanks! We actually chatted with Jean in our other show Dropping The Needle. Just search Dropping The Needle Jean Beauvoir and you will find it. He even did a exclusive acoustic performance for us.
1975 1995 so what's your point?
That was 1975 and he is now 60... that is the problem. Not comparing him to Eric. Peter has lost his chops as a drummer.
What's Kevin drinking, vodka?
There is NO definition of a real KISS fan. Whatever you personally like is all the matter for you.
Thanks, but as you said it is a KISS podcast that is the subject we and the viewers are interested in.
I think anyone who says you have to be a certain age to be a kiss fan is foolish.. I mean how limiting for you and the band.. for one, without fresh fans the band will surely die.. any band... not only that but new fans bring new passions.. I mean its not about you age its about your love... my father has been listening to kiss since 75 but I'd consider myself a bigger fan then him.. so its just crazy to me to think that I mean I was like five or six when i discovered this band..
Peter also had a car accident around the time he was recording his 1978 solo album, and badly injured his wrists. After the accident he wasn't able to play drums on the rest of his solo album or dynasty, and he was out of the band by the time of Unmasked. So we haven't heard a pre-injury Peter Criss play with KISS since the Love Gun/AliveII tour when he was in his early thirties. Can an old man with damaged wrists play like he did when he was young? Probably not.
I agree. Naturally, Peter isn't going to be the same drummer at age 50 as he was at age 30. However I've always suspected it was more than just age catching up with him. Peter has had problems with his arms and wrists. We all know he had to miss a show on the reunion tour due to a carpel tunnel scare (turns out he didn't have carpel tunnel, but had to deal with soreness and soaking his wrists). I believe part of the reason this happened is because he plays drums crosshand
Thank you
Cool idea
Thanks
I would love to hear that, I think it would be a much more polished sound... ala Crazy Nights.
I was comparing Peter in 76 to Peter in 96. If Peter still had the chops that in he did in '75, it would be awesome, but he doesn't. End of story. And, by the way, Eric Singer is now 55 years old and can play rings around Peter when Peter was 55 (which was in 2000).
You haven't made a case to rest. You just stated your personal opinion.
Hey Michael,Tommy,Mitch and Kevin.Thank you once more.I have a ? or possible show idea.If you could design your very own KISS show what stage,costumes,set list and opening band would you like to see? I would be interested by each of your ideas.
I rest my case.
So much great info from this guest. I learned a lot, not only the anecdotal stories on KISS history & Reunion Tour, but technical info regarding recording processes of Psycho Circus and the discussion of drumming styles using the Bonham analogy, and more. Also I could appreciate Mr. Valentine's professional and respectful demeanor toward Peter Criss and his understanding of his drumming techniques and influences -- something that really just goes over the heads of many "fans" who disparage him.
Michael,do you know any inside stuff during the Love Gun album? Got Love for Sale sounds a little fishy to me.To me it sounds like Bob Kulick on the guitar solo,it's just too clean and more of Bob's style.The drums are alot stronger and perfect on Love Gun compared tp RARO.I was wondering what you think about this. GREAT SHOWS GUYS! KEEP THEM COMIN!"
I noticed you guys mentioned the Motley Crue album Generation Swine,you may or may not already know but according to Vince Neil the album was originally recorded with Jon Corabi on vocals,Vince went in and redid all the vocals,maybe why it didn't sound like a Crue album. Great interview with Kevin Valentine
It was me :)
These days most drummers move the hi-hat further beyond the snare, so they can reach for it without having to cross over the left hand. Eric Singer and many others do it, it's a pre-caution to avoid tendonitis, arthritis, carpel tunnel, etc.
Oke done with this episode... Great info on PS album.. How great would it be if you guys could have Vinnie in the show!! He keeps popping up. Don`t you think this would make a great show?? Other than that thanks for this week..
Crosshand? You mean right hand over the left for the high-hat? Like 95% of all drummers? Either way, his problems just prove that he can't handle it.
Um.. Kiss was a mock idea of the Beatles. hello
So?
Great Video guys Learn some new stuff about KISS each time I watch but I gotta say this Mitch u need ur big headphones man ur just not the same without them lol
Is just because I'm a die hard fan or it really bothers all the times Kevin says "I think blabla" like when Tommy asks him about list of songs that Paul and Gene gave to him for rehearse with Peter, come on, I would remember even the font on paper, imagine the name of the songs and their versions
I was lucky enough to see the reunion which had a lot of my favorites (set list ,stage,pyro return of makeup). I wish the set list, show length had been extended to include a few songs from each member that we hadn't heard in a while.I guess that's what I'd like to see with the current tour. Longer set list,tracks from all eras, bring back the hydraulic lifts. It's really hard to pick an opening band, How about "The Offspring". I'd keep thecurrent line-up, free"T" shirt with ticket. Ha!
And what does all that mean and where is that done in iMovie?
Awesome interview guys.
It was great hearing some of the stuff Kevin talked about in the studio.
I didn't know he was from Euclid, Ohio too. ( I live there too.)
I was going to comment on Micheal's mic level, too, but it sounds like it can't be adjusted higher.
Thanks for the comment. We appreciate you taking the time to watch.
Nope, guess you will have to listen to us geeks. Enjoy.
I think your comment applies more to the comment I was responding to, especially since we are essentially making the same point.
Great job on all the episodes so far Mitch, Michael and Tommy. I would say that I was not aware that Kevin was on HITS or Revenge and I have been a fan for over 30+ years. It has been refreshing to get Ed Kannon and Kevin Valentine perspectives from inside the Kiss camp. Hopefully you can land Bruce Kulick on a future edition or dare I say Mitch's favourite "VV". Keep up the great work from Canada.
Wish we could, there aren't separate levels for each mic.
What a great interview with a nice person. His stories were great! I never the knew the name of the drummer who really played on 90 percent of "Psycho Circus". I always assumed it was Eric Singer on drums. Cool...
Jason Bonham doesn't swing at all?!!!
I'm guessing he didn't really mean that, just a difference in feel from his dad? Anyway, that phrase is easy to misunderstand or is he really saying Jason is not one hell of a groovin' drummer?!!!
One more episode that began great and ends so freaking good... with all that great stories you can make a cool book...
Did micheal ray from Wendy o Williams band make any musical contributions to
Creatures of the night???
Kevin's catalog speaks for itself. And didn't Kevin teach Peter how to play those tracks?
Hi Tommy! in reference to Eric Carr's drum sound on creatures of the night, there are a lot of different effects applied to the drum tracks also to give it the BIG sound they probably recorded it in an empty room with hard wood floors too and compressed the hell out of it too. I am a drummer too and have been recording my drums since I was 8 years old, I am 47 now. great album and Eric's awesome drumming! R.I.P Eric Carr. you Michael and Mark at 3 sides of the coin keep up the great work!! love the podcast. you guys ROCK!!
There is no definition of a real KISS fan, period.
Didn't Kenny Aronoff play on Cinderella's Still Climbing (according to the liner notes)
Continued from below.. I'm twenty seven now so you saying after twenty two years I'm not a kiss fan.. crazy..
I would love to see what Rick could do with KISS.
First time I came to be aware of this guy was on here in the "Love is Like a Rock" live video and was totally impressed and awed with his playing. Then I watched the other live vids from the same concert, incredible! You've made it when musicians seek you out to record with them.
The other song Kevin played on the album Hot In The Shade was Boomerang, I believe... Great interview!
I'm really diggin' the special guests so far. It's great to get stories from the source and personable to see them telling the stories. Thanks for another cool ass show.
The Clarences love & support Three Sides Of The Coin KISS & Kevin!
Just discovered this show with Kevin. The studio players and stories are the most unknown and cool things to learn about. Thanks 3SOTC for a great show!
Agreed. I remember him for his solo on Alive II.
Come on Mitch...Peter not able to copy the drum parts on PC at all?? Give him a little credit. yeah he had went down hill but that is really sad on your part.
Within feels like a leftover COS tune.
I love these guys! Long live Kiss and wtg for putting Mr Dr fukk in his place!
Grat
Thanks for watching.
Thanks for watching!
Lots of great background information. Very cool. Thanks!
Sorry, nothing.
Thanks!
Thanks!
What reason?
Thanks so much.
Thank you!
Thank you.
Thank you!
Thanks Donny!
Thanks I thought he was a great guest