A BRIEF HISTORY...

When I was 15 years old, my friend from down the street, Dan Thompson came to my house on a snowy evening with a cassette tape and a video cassette.  As he knocked the snow from his snow boots at my front door he exclaimed,
    “I’ve got something, you’ve got to see”.  Little did I know, on that snowy night in 1988, magic was about to happen.  It was the first night I discovered the rock group KISS, and it forever changed my life.  Dan had been a fan of the group when he was younger (in the late 70’s) but had re-discovered them as the television movie they starred in KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK (1978) had been released to the public.  He told me stories of how when he was younger, no one knew what KISS looked like without their makeup on, rumors of Satan-worship, if Gene Simmons’s tongue was actually real or was it a cows tongue sewn on to make his larger and more theatrical.  Every story tickled me right where I needed it.  This was not just a music group, these musicians were also superheroes. 
    After the movie finished, Dan began playing the GENE SIMMONS LP (1978), again reminiscing on stories of his youth and what the songs meant to him some 10 years prior.  The album’s cover drew me in with its menacing red glow.  The stark portrait of who I only knew as “the demon” stared straight into my soul.  The crisp lettering of the KISS logo, called to me, as if this was the outlet I was looking for.  The album ended with a moving rendition of Gene Simmons singing, “When You Wish Upon A Star”.  It was an odd choice for a song to end a ’rock-n-roll’ album with, but I feel it was placed there for a reason.
At the time, I needed something.  An outlet, an escape, a friend.  I was a 15 year old kid, not comfortable in my own skin.  I wasn’t involved in sports, I wasn’t able to talk to girls, and high school was the last place I wanted to devote 8 hours a day to.  As the music poured from those speakers, something inside of me ignited.  I finally felt as if I ‘belonged‘.  My imagination burned as if it had been dormant for years and was finally clawing its way out.  I had no idea what an impact a goofy rock and roll band would have on me that night, but it’s safe to say every day since has been a little sweeter.

Melissa:
Unreal!  I’ve heard about your talisman, but I didn’t think they really existed.  What’s that humming noise?
Space Ace:
Beethoven’s Fifth!
The Demon:
It’s a cosmic force field, which protects our talisman.
Melissa:
Pretty mystical, and, if you didn’t have them?
Starchild:
Without them…no powers.
Catman:
We’re just ordinary human beings.
The Demon:
(Closing the talisman box) Not quite ordinary…
Melissa:
Too bad everybody doesn’t have a talisman.
Starchild:
But they do, they just haven’t realized it yet.

*Excerpt taken from Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park 1978 Hanna-Barbara Production in association with Kiss/Aucoin