Peter Criss - Makeup To Breakup

Warrior · Post by **Warrior** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:26 pm

I am looking forward to reading this book. Does anyone else have this on order ?.

Post by **Genebaby** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:19 pm

I have it on order, I hope it's better than Ace's!

It is out this week isn't it?

Warrior · Post by **Warrior** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:45 pm

Genebaby wrote:I have it on order, I hope it's better than Ace's!

It is out this week isn't it?

Yes it is so can't be far away.
I was a little disappointed with Ace's too, drugs and alcohol have a lot to answer for.
Fact is he didn't remember a lot and relied on Joe Layden to research his past.
I have always loved Ace but he lost a bit of his credibility with me after I read his book.

jesternjeff · Post by **jesternjeff** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:37 am

Ace's book was a stinker, cant see Peters being as bad, I know he still has a chip on his shoulder. Hopefully he will unleash some dirt from the past and present of his former band mates ... something Ace's lacked in.

ankh · Post by **ankh** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:52 pm

judging on first comments, Peter 's book is interesting,way more than gene's or ace's.And,yes, there's some wacky stuff as well.

I've read an extract from the book,about the Destroyer session and it was in depth andd very interesting..

Post by **Genebaby** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:56 pm

Excellent, can't wait to read it!

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:51 am

I meant to jump on Amazon and order it today!

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:44 pm

http://www.rockmusicstar.com/cd-reviews ... -book.html

By John Jeffrey

Attention KISS fans!! Brace yourselves, because original drummer Peter Criss has been issued the launch codes, and on October 23, 2012, Criss will be dropping the bomb, which will cause an upheaval in the ranks of the KISS Army for sure! Peter's projectile will come in the form of his autography, "Makeup To Breakup - My Life in and out of KISS" (co-authored by Larry "Ratso" Sloman), which is by far the most scathing and dirt dishing book put out in reference to any member of KISS, past or present. "Makeup To Breakup" makes the dirt rags ("KISS & Tell" by Gordon Gebert and "Into the Void" by Wendy Moore) written about former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley come off looking tame by comparison. Being so volatile, it makes Gene Simmons' "KISS and Makeup" read like a school text book and it's so raw and racy, it makes Ace Frehley's "No Regrets" seem like an after-school special.

"Makeup to Breakup" does start out rather slow, as the first couple of chapters deal with Peter's childhood, which is the oh so typical, 'poor kid, growing up in a poor neighborhood, gets picked on by the neighborhood bad boys, fights back, eventually becomes one himself, until finding an outlet to escape his surroundings and begins the path on the road to his journey of fame and stardom.'

The beginning of Peter's musical life also coincides with beginning of his relationship with his childhood sweetheart and first wife Lydia Criss. Interestingly enough, the chapters surrounding their relationship and the early days of KISS, closely parallels Lydia's own story she published in her book, "Sealed with a KISS." Getting further into the book, I began recognizing stories that I had read in other KISS related books, like Sean Delaney's "Hellbox" and certain factual data which I recalled reading in "KISS Alive Forever" (Jeff Suhs & Curt Gooch). It's good to know that Criss and Sloman did their homework when compiling the stories and the dates of when things occurred, but unfortunately, I can only give them a B or a C for their efforts, as there are quite a few factual and grammatical errors in the book. While I won't nitpick every mistake, big ones in there are the dates of the last show he claims he performed with KISS (in the picture section of the book it states it was December 20, 2004, when it was actually 2003) and the year that his father passed away (the book states 1995, when it was in December of 1994).

When Peter begins recounting details from the early days of KISS, the readers jaw will undoubtedly drop. While some fans would suspect that Peter would touch on Paul Stanley's long rumored bi-sexual tendencies (which Peter does touch on briefly), it was shocking to read Criss' claims of Ace Frehley's sexual duality. Not only does Peter allude to receiving oral sex from Frehley during a threesome, but stated that he questioned the true nature of Ace's "friendship" with one of his (Ace's) longtime friends.

Peter Criss provides a descriptive and detailed account of his first, second and third run with KISS, in addition to his personal relationships with various girlfriends and his first, second and third wives (Lydia, Debra and currently Gigi). He also provides his account of the beginning and end of his various solo projects, his run in with the mafia, his stint in rehab, his (almost) attempted suicide, and most recently, his diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

When describing his various 'reunions' with KISS from 1996 on, you get a clear picture that instead of time healing wounds between Criss and his former bandmates, instead, it created a brand new hatred for Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and manager Doc McGhee. His distain of the KISS Co. trio became so extreme that he needed to seek professional counseling in order to prevent himself from following through with his ever increasing fantasy of "packing a gun and taking a plane to L.A. and shooting the three cocksuckers." Keeping with co-author Larry Sloman's self-deprecating writing style, Peter did not hesitate to throw himself under the bus throughout the tales in his memoir, however it seems no one else in Peter's circle was safe from that fate as well. While constantly citing his history of repeated drug use, he claims he and Ace were not the only ones to partake in the festivities. He claims that Gene and Paul were "contact high" throughout the recording sessions of "Dressed To Kill," due to all of the marijuana being smoked by producer Neil Bogart. Peter proclaimed, "Gene would order four dozen donuts and chow on them constantly." Later on, Criss alluded to Paul Stanley being a doctor shopping, prescription drug addict, stating that he carried a Louis Vuitton bag filled with everything from pain killers, tranquilizers to sexual stimulants, along with a "phone book of over 50 doctors' names."

The thing I found most surprising in the book is Criss' apparent bitterness towards Ace Frehley. Most KISS fans always viewed the band as a divided group, with Gene and Paul on one side and Peter and Ace on the other. However, in "Makeup to Breakup" Peter makes it clear that he certainly doesn't reside with team Frehley. While it seems that he feels a kinship to Ace, from the very early days of the band, Peter comments on how lazy Ace was, and states that while he felt that he (Peter) was the best singer in the band (even a better vocalist than Paul), that Ace should have never been allowed to sing in KISS. It seems that because Peter was the third member to join the band, he disagreed with the idea that Ace was more valuable to KISS than he was. Peter always fought to make as much money as Ace did during the 'Reunion' era, and was devastated when he found out that Ace was making more money than he was on the Farewell tour. Between that and Ace going along with Criss' termination in 1979, it seems that Peter still holds a grudge somewhat, as he even noted that the song he wrote called "Space Ace" (from his 2007 "One for All" CD), was not a tribute to Ace like most people thought (including Ace), but actually a slam for "Ace's betrayal."

As scandalous and sensationalized "Makeup to Breakup" is, the storytelling and attention to detail (although at times flawed) is really top notch. It's an entertaining read for any music or KISS fan and it will be up to the reader to determine what may be fact or fiction. Like part of the old William Cooper quote goes, "Listen to everyone, read everything, (and) believe nothing."

Post by **Genebaby** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:32 pm

Excellent!! Can't wait!!!!!

shramiac · Post by **shramiac** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:38 pm

Well the bi angle seems to be confirmed after all!!! "Not that there's anything wrong with that"!

Warrior · Post by **Warrior** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:15 pm

It's going to be an interesting read.... Bring on the Hornet's Nest !.
Didn't Peter start writing this in 1980 ? It's been a longtime cumming and Ace will be pleased ?.

Post by **Genebaby** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:34 pm

People seem to be dissing it as untrue? Well, you have to reason it has to be true, or there would be hell to pay. Seems there will be hell to pay anyhow, but not in court over lies. Hopefully anyhow.

Warrior · Post by **Warrior** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:37 pm

Genebaby wrote:People seem to be dissing it as untrue? Well, you have to reason it has to be true, or there would be hell to pay. Seems there will be hell to pay anyhow, but not in court over lies. Hopefully anyhow.

I had know idea how close they got.
I wish I had never known !.

BigEd · Post by **BigEd** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 9:37 am

I've seen Ace 1/2 naked and I can tell you this...it ain't pretty !!!

Post by **Genebaby** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:51 am

Eeewww!!!

ankh · Post by **ankh** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:30 pm

Vinnie is mentioned in the "thank you" section of the book

Warrior · Post by **Warrior** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:56 pm

ankh wrote:Vinnie is mentioned in the "thank you" section of the book

I would love to know his contribution ?

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:54 am

yes peter thanx all the other kiss members in the book except tommy and eric singer.

Post by **Genebaby** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:02 am

My copy just arrived!!!

metatron · Post by **metatron** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:41 am

So Vic, is the Chocolate Star(fish)Child a Giver or a Taker

Or does he like to bat & bowl

Paul Stanley isn't gay, but his Boy Friend is.

Paul Stanley takes it up the ass
Doo Dah, Doo Dah

Paul Stanley takes it up the ass
All the Doo Dah Day

All the Doo Dah Day
All the Doo Dah Night
Paul Stanley takes it up the ass
All the Doo Dah HEY!

shramiac wrote:Not that there's anything wrong with that!

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:19 am

For Dannii :
[youtube][/youtube]

Post by **Genebaby** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:22 am

Ha ha, I haven't read the book yet Dannii, but I am keen to get into it!

metatron · Post by **metatron** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:43 am

Ah, Rick that works on so many levels.

Vic, quick, read it. I want the hear the hot, wet, dripping with sweat gossip.

[youtube][/youtube]

Genebaby wrote:Ha ha, I haven't read the book yet Dannii, but I am keen to get into it!

Sounds like Paul is 'more' than keen to 'get into it'.

wolfgang161272 · Post by **wolfgang161272** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:28 am

Interesting fact: he thanks Vinnie Vincent !!!
Side 3, or 4 you can read it.
Wolfi

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 4:43 am

I'm about halfway through the book and it's really enjoyable so far. It's a good read. He doesn't pull any punches about himself or anyone else. He really seems to tell the stories from his heart. He gives a lot of really great details. And by details I don't mean "dirt", although there is certainly a great amount of dirt so far. I'm right at the part where he's really getting into talking about touring and all the groupie sex. He also talks about how Paul DID do drugs...not a lot. Not often. But that he DID in the beginning is pretty interesting. I love how Peter keeps pointing out all the hypocrisies of Gene & Paul. These 2 guys that have all these issues and problems, that do these immoral things, but judge Ace & Peter for drinking and drugging while allowing Aucoin, Bogart and Ezrin to do immense amounts of drugs in front of everyone. The stories of what the road crew would do to drugged up and drunk women is horrifying.

As far as Ace's book? It leaves it in the dust.
Gene's books? As good so far or possibly better because it seems more honest and less of an agenda to make himself look good and everyone else look bad.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:28 am

I love peter but come on... pete aint no saint and to be honest I would trust paul and gene with my life over peter. Mark st john said a lot about peter that wasnt pretty... but got to love the guy.

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:22 am

According to Peter, Mark loved kiddie porn... but I can't put too much stock into what Peter says cause alot of it comes from bitterness.

ankh · Post by **ankh** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:59 am

peter said something along the line of having seen a german porn mag in Mark basement,what mark did say about peter was that he was very moody and that Criss has slept in his basement a few times,after reahrsing there, since peter had problem with the wife.Mark also stated that peter wasn't a good rock drummer but could play great congas and latin stuff,better than rock and roll.Bitterness from peter came when mark left the band because of finacial reasons,meaning tha t their demo was turned down by the labels and Mark had to move on since he had to earn something so he could sustain himself.

from Kiss asylum website :

"KA: Well, at some point after you got out of the band you and Peter hooked up and did some writing, and now some of that stuff has made it on to the new Mark St. John Project EP.

MSJ: Yeah, we hooked up. I don't remember the year, but it was long time ago. For about a year we hung out and were best of friends, we were buddy-buddy. Peter was going through hard times with his wife Debbie, I think they were going through a separation or whatever. He spent a lot of time over at my place, we rehearsed at my place, he ate at my place, he slept at my place and you know, we recorded at my place. We didn't go to Peter's place as Debbie wouldn't allow that stuff, no way, forget it. Peter wasn't working a job, he was just getting his little kicks over here and Debbie was working at Nordstroms bringing home the bacon, so it was one of those situations. And Peter was being Peter, you know. I will take this pill and smoke this pot and snort this, and the mood swings would be bad. I mean, he either likes you or he wants to kill you. Ok, straight up. So it was like everyday it was a little drama. But at the end we were bouncing these songs, some from his past some from my past, and we did some new ones and we recorded about 10 of them. I think we spent like $13,000 - $14,000 at Sound City recording doing a demo. The demo was going to be our chance to send to the record companies to try and get a record deal and do this little thing we were doing, and this was before he did all these other Peter Criss projects. This was the first one and it wasn't called Peter Criss, it was essentially my band and his band. I had my brother playing bass and I think Michael McDonald was singing, we auditioned a lot of people.

We finally did the big recording and all that stuff and we sent the tapes to all these companies, and all the companies would send us this little letter back and every letter would be the same: "We really like what you are doing, but at this time we are looking for something different." It would be a turn down, every one of them. But it would be like a patronizing thing. And I am thinking, oh my god. I had to tell Peter, you know, I passed up a lot of offers to play in other bands and make money and quite frankly the whole situation has put me way back and I gotta go out and work. And he took that so wrong. He though that I was like saying, "Fuck you Peter. I'm quitting the band." He took it like I was stabbing him in the back. It was just a reality check, realism. But he took it like I fucked him around or something and he and I had bad terms on that. I don't know what the hell he was thinking about. After all, if it wasn't for me he wouldn't have done all that stuff and he was doing, drum seminars and stuff because he didn't have any music. Or he didn't have a format. I went out and did all that for him, 'cause he can't play rock and roll that well. He is a better Latin player, like bosanova, rhumba, sambas, and all that stuff. He is really good at that stuff. I was surprised! I said, "Peter, what the fuck?! You can play that good. You play that better than rock and roll!" He plays like surf beat rock and roll from the old school.

But now he is playing polyrhythms and stuff and playing all this Latin jazz that I know and put together for seminars like guitar shows and stuff. And he's making money from this stuff and I got no credit from him for my part and that really hurt me, you know? It's about that time the demos came out and everyone turned us down and I said, "You know what, let's see how things are going here.... it's me, myself and I." Then and I felt like it was another Paul and Gene angle, you know? In a way it was, 'cause he was the same thing. So I said I gotta make a dollar. I don't care if it is working at McDonalds, or playing in a guitar band or teaching again, you know? I just gotta go out and hustle. I just can't wait for that big check in the mail or that big opportunity -- no one's gonna come knock at my door, I gotta go knock on theirs! Peter took that wrong. He did his thing for about 4 or 5 different versions of the band for about 4 or 5 years. My brother stayed with him for about a year and then he finally quit. He couldn't handle it. But three of the songs from during that time are on the CD. Two I did with Peter, and one the singer that we used here, Phil Naro, did with Peter. I also did two instrumentals, that I wrote -- five songs total on the CD. That's how that all happened. "

PinkWiz · Post by **PinkWiz** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:51 pm

After reading its hard to feel sorry for him when hes just 1% of the rest of us. Oh Im gonna dump my band and cut the Criss tour short because I m offered a chance to be a millionaire again? Fuck off u whiney ungrateful fuck. Stanley and Simmons were just as lucky as u at a young age but they suffred thru Kiss in the "lean years" and u expect to come back in as an equal member?

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:57 am

PinkWiz wrote:After reading its hard to feel sorry for him when hes just 1% of the rest of us. Oh Im gonna dump my band and cut the Criss tour short because I m offered a chance to be a millionaire again? Fuck off u whiney ungrateful fuck. Stanley and Simmons were just as lucky as u at a young age but they suffred thru Kiss in the "lean years" and u expect to come back in as an equal member?

I get what you're saying. It's hard reading and to feel sorry for him because he did SO much of it to himself. But also keep in mind that he was also "damaged goods" and the other guys and the other branches took advantage of that whenever possible. He could've risen above it all, but he didn't. He wasn't mentally strong enough and all the drugs and drinking really didn't help...but I'm betting Gene and Paul used that to their advantage as well.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:12 pm

I think peter should not have sold his stake in kiss then he may have had a say. Also if he wrote better songs he may have had a tune on psycho circus. I love him but he sold up and he has to ecpect to be under paul and gene in regard to kiss.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:15 pm

I do have an 87 interview where peter was saying shit about ace. He was pissed his ex wife got a photo credit on live plus one and was pissed ace didnt ask him into frehleys comet. He also said he and ace were not on speaking terms. What I didnt get is peter explained in detail in modern drummer about playing on the tune psycho circus when he didnt.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:10 am

doublev2 wrote:I do have an 87 interview where peter was saying shit about ace. He was pissed his ex wife got a photo credit on live plus one and was pissed ace didnt ask him into frehleys comet. He also said he and ace were not on speaking terms. What I didnt get is peter explained in detail in modern drummer about playing on the tune psycho circus when he didnt.

I think I have that 87 article too.

I'm to the point in the book in his life where he is hooking up with Mark St John (which I think was around 1987) and then forming Criss a little after that. He doesn't go into a ton of detail on either, but he claims that he wasn't snorting anything at that point. Which is a lot different from what Mark says in all his interviews. Now Peter isn't claiming he wasn't drinking and smoking pot, but claims he wasn't doing any coke.

Think of this. He claims he was worth more than $10-Million in 1980 when he was leaving KISS. A decade later he was putting the Criss band together because he had burned through all his money and signed over his rights to KISS so there was no new money coming in.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 6:14 am

Yeah the 87 interview was in december hit parader. He said then he had a book coming out called a face without a kiss.

Post by **Genebaby** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 7:44 am

A face without a Kiss, the book that took forever!

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 4:39 am

I finished the book while I was in Florida over the weekend. (I took my boy ERG3 to visit the grandparents in Florida.)

The one thing about Peter's book that differs from the really differs from the others and addresses PinkWiz and DoubleV points is that Peter admits that he screwed up royally and that he did really bad things. He goes into great detail about how he did a lousy job of taking care of his business affairs and treated people poorly. Admitting that mistakes were made is something Ace skates around and Gene wouldn't do at all.

I don't know if it's revisionist history, but Peter claims that Criss was going downhill and would've broken up after that last tour regardless of the KISS reunion. As I read it, it felt like a cop-out to make himself feel better about cutting the guys loose. But he was also honest with the guys telling them that it was his last opportunity to make retirement money and he had to do it.

The reunion and what happened after is really interesting. Gene and Paul really screwed him over and for no real reason. It's really Peter's own fault. He used Ace's lawyer for the reunion and got screwed over. Then he hired a newb lawyer with no experience after the reunion and got screwed over worse.

What I don't understand is how much will be enough for Gene and Paul? They could've been doing so much more with the original band members while still paying them handsomely, but they screwed over Ace and especially Peter just to keep maybe another half-million dollars in their pockets. How does a half-million matter when they each already had over 100-million each?

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 4:49 am

Damn so peter didnt do well out of the reunion. What is with lawyers? Peter and ace were most likely desperate and didnt get a great deal. To be honest I bet paul and gene were a little desperate by that time too.

Gene comes from the world where business is more of a sport. If you dont tie up all the loop holes you are screwed.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 4:51 am

Then again what would pete have done if the reunion never happened. I guess very low on cash.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 4:54 am

I hate to say it but maybe a pattern here. Pete highs a cheap newbie lawyer who screws up.. he also does this with producers and song writers. If he highered the best in the business he may sell records. I always thought the guys behind faith no more or even the chilli peppers would have worked for peter. Being cheap has not worked for pete.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:07 am

After reading the book, I don't think it had to do with Peter being cheap. I think it had to do with him not knowing what he was doing and taking everyone at their word.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:04 am

So pete is broke again?

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:05 am

Its seems like the past repeated its self with ace and peter if they are both again broke.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 5:48 am

He claims he isn't broke, but during the last few tours he was only (ha...I say "only"...) making $10,000 per show. Ace was making $25,000 per show and getting a cut of the merch. During the Aerosmith tour it was rumored that Tommy Thayer was making $25,000 per show. How does an original member make less than a stand in?!?!

The problem is that he hired shitty representation. Don't get me wrong. I think it's absolutely reprehensible that Gene & Paul would do something like that to a bandmate and supposed friend. Ultimately it's Peter's own fault. He should've never agreed to do the first reunion tour using Ace's lawyer. That's when the trouble started. He got screwed over from the get-go. He made much less than Ace and lost control of his make-up. If he had hired a strong lawyer he could've cleaned up, kept control of the make-up and things would be a LOT different today.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:46 am

i think tommy gets paid a lot because he is basically the tour manager and band manager. To be honest I think he runs the whole band.

But I agree it should have been simple. Everyone gets the same. Without all 4 of them there was not tour and I think Kiss would have been in financial ruin.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:53 am

I honestly DO think G&P deserve more because they stuck it out and kept it going while the other two went crazy. But let's face it, G&P were probably making 100K per show during the reunion...or more...and paying Peter only 10K per show was just plain greedy and shitty. THAT was the only time he was in any position to negotiate. Once he signed that deal, the band re-established themselves and he gave up control of the make-up then it was all over for him.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:59 am

yeah i agree they should get more but only a little more and pete and ace on the same. to be honest its hard to know what the hell was going on.

10k per show isnt bad though but maybe he only made a millon after tax for the whole tour which doesnt last long if you can not sell records on your on like Peter.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:01 am

someone like Peter is really screwed because he can not really get a job or sell records. I suppose he could host a radio show or something but he doesnt have lots of options to make cash. Vinnie is similar but i think he can still write music.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:03 pm

In the book he claims he has enough to retire on and live comfortably, just not lavishly like Gene or Paul. But at least Peter is still sorta trying. He has written his book and it's selling OK, so that's bringing in some money. In the book he claims that his rock record is recorded and just needs lead vocals...so I don't know why he doesn't do that. Right now with the book to bolster marketing efforts would have been a perfect time.

But hey...if he's got enough money to get by and enjoy life. Good for him. He's had a pretty good run.

PelagicJoe · Post by **PelagicJoe** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:00 pm

metatron wrote:Ah, Rick that works on so many levels. Vic, quick, read it. I want the hear the hot, wet, dripping with sweat gossip.
[youtube][/youtube]

Genebaby wrote:Ha ha, I haven't read the book yet Dannii, but I am keen to get into it!
Sounds like Paul is 'more' than keen to 'get into it'.

I love The Jerky Boys, ya fuckin' milky licker.