Growing up as a pre-teen and teenager I of course knew of KISS. No one that was alive during the 70's didnt. Whether you liked their music and stage antics or not, you knew about the group that perfomed in kabuki - like face paint and really brought spectacle and a stage show to rock and roll that made going to a concert an event. I will admit now to just knowing their larger hits, "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Beth", "I Was Made For Lovin You" and "Detroit Rock City". I never owned a KISS recording growing up because I thought they were too 'heavy' for my tastes, but was intrigued by them none the less. I can remember even one night sitting at home with my parents and watching "KISS meets the Phantom of the Park" on television and getting a kick out of it. As I grew up, they remained just on the edge of what I thought was acceptable music for me. Even thought I never attended a concert or owned an album as a kid, I knew about Gene - The Demon, Paul - The Lover, Ace - The Spaceman and Peter - The Cat. Part of me believed that the somewhat out of control stage personas that they projected were their personalities off stage as well which helped my justify not really owning any of their recordings.
Flash forward twenty odd years now. I've been divorced and remarried to a woman who is a KISS fan and has seen them in concert. The band was coming to town for a concert which unfortunately we were unable to get time off to attend. While driving to work one day, I heard that Gene was going to be at a local bookstore the day after the concert to sign copies of a book that he just had coming out. I thought that I might not have been able to get Michelle to the concert, but maybe I can manage to get her to see and meet Gene at the book signing, so I called her to let her know and she made the arrangements at work to be able to be off that day.
The day came and we went to the bookstore two hours before the signing was supposed to begin and were given numbers for the signing, 257 and 258 out of a possible 800. The rules were that Gene would only sign two items per person and they would only be his books or cds of the band and each signature would limited to roughly 15 seconds. We shopped a bit and picked up his book and a few cds for the house since we really had none to listen to, then we sat down and waited for Gene to arrive. He arrived about 15 minutes late, but promptly took his place up on the dias erected for him. I was curious to watch this person that I have seen and heard over close to the last three decades of my life to see if he actually was just his stage persona without the makeup. The first thing that I noticed about Gene was that he didnt sit behind the table setup for him. Instead, he elected to sit on the edge of the table where the people would be filing through to be more accessible to them which struck me as a nice gesture. I watched how he treated and acted towards everyone that came up to him. He was softspoken and looked everyone in the eye when he spoke to them. He wasnt beyond hugging everyone, shaking hands and even clowning around for pictures when the fans requested it. He signed pretty much whatever anyone brought for him, ranging from concert tee shirts to a few selected female body parts. He obviously wasnt sticking to the "only book and cd" rule that was posted. To him, what the people there wanted to be happy, he gladly obliged. He did however, adhere to the two item at most limit. The fifteen second limit went out the window almost immediately as well. He took as much time with each person when they were before him to make them feel a part of his world for just those few moments in time. He never rushed anyone through while I was there or appeared to anything but genuine with anyone that approached him. I was actually impressed. He was nothing like the 'Demon' he portrays on stage. While we waited for out turn to be called in line, I read through his book that we were going to get signed.
I cant say that I agree with everything that he wrote, because I do have a strong faith in my religion, but he was right on one thing. Anyone here in this country can be successful and wealthy if they want to put in the hours and the hard work. Yes its basically the same thing that we have all been told from the time we are all little kids, but how many of us actually listen to our parents when they told us that? It's a somewhat sad indictment of our society when many kids dont listen to the wisdom that their parents try to impart to them. Instead we look to our 'idols' whether they're musicians, actors or sports fans as role models. In my 38 years, I dont know of one instance when my mom or dad ever acted poorly or without respect to others. Neither have so much as a moving violation against them while driving let alone anything more serious. I never really elevated those celebrities that are in the spotlight to role model status. After all, how could so many of these people actually relate to what a teenager was going through at that time in their life. Those that seemed to be decent people from all accounts I admired for mantaining a fairly level head, but I never really found myself striving to be like them in any way.
If I turn out like my dad I'd be more then happy in my life. He was always there to lend a hand when needed (and often times when it wasnt). I learned to catch in the back yard with him. I never worried about being provided for because he was as solid as a rock with his work ethic. I learned that from his as well. If you want money then you better be willing to put in a honest day's work. I can only remember my dad really losing his temper once and swearing in his life. It was directed at me and at the time I did deserve it. He was the perfect blend of guardian, disciplinarian, teacher and friend growing up. Those are things that the celebrities we put on a pedestal in society can never be to us. You have to be there day in and day out to really get the job done. THANKS DAD!!!
Our turn finally came in line after close to three hours. My wife went up first and had her brief time with Gene. She shared a few laughs with him and got our book signed while getting her picture taken with him. Then was my turn with my son. We walked over and shook his hand. I told him is was nice to meet him and I noticed him looking at me rather then past me for those few seconds. Even after three hours of what ended up being over five hours for him, he didnt shortchange any of the people that helped to allow him to make the living that he has done all of these years. Those few seconds he honed in on just me and my son which was really nice to see. He came across as being genuine and a little quiet. He may not be my idea of a total role model, but I dont think he's one of the bad guys out there in the world today.