Lydia Criss, former wife of original
KISS drummer
Peter Criss, talks about her upcoming book,
"Sealed with a Kiss", in a new interview that appears in the August issue of
KISS Kollector magazine. Here are some snippets from the chat:
Kiss Kollector: From the "old
KISS gang," you’re still in touch with
Ace and
Jeanette Frehley and
Bill Aucoin. Did you ever ask them any advice in regards to putting together the book, or did you run certains things with them first before getting a final version of specific chapters?
Lydia: "No, I just went for it. I put everything down on paper that I could remember, and then my editors decided what to leave in and what to take out. I also did a five-plus-hour interview with them where they tried to help me remember things that I might have accidentally (or sometimes conveniently) forgotten. As far as Bill Aucoin was concerned, he put me in touch with a literary agent, though they were ultimately unsuccessful in finding a suitable publisher. At that point, I decided to publish it myself.
Bill's only advice to me was, 'If you are going to do a book on
KISS, you have to do it as good as
KISS would do it.' That alone scared the shit out of me, but I agreed with him. I hope I have lived up to his expectations."
Kiss Kollector: What was
Peter like in the early days?
Lydia: "
Peter was a very fun-loving person. He was very determined and self-confident. He had a personality that everyone fell in love with."
Kiss Kollector: From the mindblowing heydays in the '70s, is there one thing that you could pick out for yourself? Something that really sums up how amazing a time it was, or something that was a huge highlight for you personally?
Lydia: "There were many memorable highlights, including
Peter and I first moving to Manhattan and later to Greenwich, Connecticut;
KISS playing Nassau Coliseum, The Forum in L.A., and Madison Square Garden; and going to Japan twice. But as for the biggest highlight? That's an easy one: accepting the
People's Choice award for
'Beth' as the 'Favorite New Song' for 1976."
