Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup

This book is legendary among KISS fans, for good reason. It’s a deep dive into the music, the business, the debauchery, and the longevity of one of rock’s greatest bands, from an Aucoin insider. It’s worth the read for any rock fan.

I enjoyed the book, very enlightening!! I don't know how this author does it, but he remembers every person's suit, tie, shoes, their whole wardrobe. He remembers the exact type of brandy they drank and the decor of the restaurant back in the 70s and 80s. I learned a lot about the music business from him. I am surprised the author did not represent many other top rock bands. The firm had the knowledge of how to keep these bands solvent and most importantly how to make sure they hold on to their cash. Well Done!The only down side was that he was so close with the band during all their tours, it's hard to be buddy buddy with these guys on the road and then try and give them financial advice in a boardroom.

C. K. Lendt worked for KISS' business managers in the period 1976 to 1988, and is thus uniquely positioned to give an insider's account of the band's rise to superstardom, as well as their subsequent fall to obscurity in the early 1980s and the battle to regain lost ground throughout that decade. And Lendt keeps a cool head and a sober perspective on all things KISS, presumably based on extensive and detailed notes or diaries about his life as KISS' on-tour financial officer.The personalities, the chemistry, the egos... It's all here, under the unforgiving spotlight of someone who saw way back then how wrong things would go, and who tried to intervene. Indeed, some of the most revealing stories in the book are about those instances when the business managers tried to stop KISS' rampant spending. Lendt and his bosses tried to convince KISS and their manager Bill Aucoin that the costs of their 1979 tour were completely irresponsible. Could they scale back and cut down and make things more manageable and economical for the long term? No way, that's not KISS enough. When shown that the numbers were not adding up, Paul would say "Well, it's cheaper than not touring."Indeed, Ace and Peter's drug-fueled madness is recounted here, but also Paul and Gene's out-of-control egos and uncompromising dedication to the KISS spectacle, way beyond the rational. And in the end, the money was gone. By 1982, KISS was an artistic and commercial non-entity. And in many ways, the most interesting and revealing part of the book concerns Paul and Gene's battle to get back on their feet in the 1980s while presenting to the world an image of a successful non-makeup KISS that was almost a complete fabrication.From Lendt's account, it seems that KISS were never as big in the 1970s as they wanted people to believe (a notion which is supported by several first-hand accounts in "Behind the Mask" as well), and the 1980s saw them all but disintegrate. Actually, it could be that only in the post-reunion era has Paul and Gene achieved the kind of financial position they always projected.This is the true behind the scenes story of KISS' rise and fall.

This is the best rock book written in years. It unveils the truth behind Kiss and the tremendous amounts of money blown by the members and manager, Bill Aucoin. Gene Simmons tends to gloss over the reality that he too participated in the financial fiasco that was their 79 tour. However, in a fair and even handed way, CK Lendt tells how the Kiss members and manager foolishly spent money that could have been better invested.In fact, the reunion tours of 96 and thereafter really gave the members the financial stability that they'd lost in the late 70's.The irony of Kiss is that without Ace and Peter they were nothing but a sinking nostalagia act. With the reunion tour and make-up back on and Ace and Peter in the band the group suddenly became interesting.In the end, the great success of Kiss is not the bluster of Gene Simmons or posturings of Paul Stanley but the dynamic of all four members--Ace, Peter, Gene and Paul.This book is honest and brilliant in it's review of the story of Kiss and of the music business. Buy it and enjoy the behind the scenes look at a fascinating world.

Written by one of KISS's key business managers, this is a very interesting look at the KISS organization from 1976 to 1989. One of the components that makes it so interesting is that despite working for the band, the author was hardly a hard rock fan and avoids the trappings of star worship as well as refraining from doing an intentional hatchet-job on the group. Sort of a Rock n' Roll Economics 101 textbook at times, but even these parts are written in an easy-to-understand style. An engaging tale of a band who rose to stratospheric heights, then came crashing down, mostly due to their own hubris. A lot of the myths behind the band are exposed, but the truth is even more interesting.

As others have said, this book will help you make sense out of some of the aggravating career decisions that KISS has made over the years. For example, why so many "greatest hits" collections? Because they were tapped out financially, and needed an infusion of cash to keep them from going bankrupt. Partly, the members of KISS overspent their personal fortunes, but mostly the band overspent their corporate fortunes by insisting on appearing "larger than life" every time they went on tour.So I thought it was a very insightful read. And, it doesn't really contradict the image Gene and Paul have projected over the years. In other words, all their talk about who was "in" and who was "out" of the group, and why. And so on. We always suspected there was more to it than Gene and Paul let on, and we were right. But none of this really invalidates the bits and pieces they've told us in recent years.Worth the money if you're interested in KISS or the rock 'n' roll business in general.