Jump to content

Peter Criss: Hugely influential mediocrity


akaiser77

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Don't get me wrong--Peter Criss is one of the guys who first made me want to play the drums, and I have a lot of respect for him. Many drummers hold him in contempt, but he was a reasonably competent drummer who had the good fortune to play with a very influential band, and he thus became an inspiration to many rock drummers.

 

I know he's not particularly gifted (he plays conventional beats with very little creativity or technical skill), but he is quite solid (at least before 1977) and he lays down a good groove. And everyone from Chad Smith to Vinnie Paul cites him as a significant factor in their decision to pursue the drums.

 

So what does Peter Criss mean to you, and why?

 

AK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I remember years ago he was on the cover of Modern Drummer, no show makeup, behind a big green set of Pearls. When I was a young pup I had an early KISS album and at that age just hearing someone roll around the toms seemed so incredible :eek: I do not consider him an influence on my playing and was never a big fan of the band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Not much....

 

I like some of Kiss's stuff but the talent level in that band over all is not good. They were always gimmick first music second.

 

I went to see them there first tour with the makeup back on and original lineup. Me my guitarist and some non musician buddies. At one point Criss does a drum solo that obviously impressed one of the buddies...he leans over and says "So do you think you can do that?" (implying I probably couldn't) My guitarist and I look at each other and at the same time say..."Yes...".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I was 15 back in 1974 and I happen to go to a concert at the Circus Center building in Peru, IN to see a band called Stonewall and KISS. I had no idea what I was in for. The lights go down and you see the guys walking out with their faces painted and they hit the first note of Deuce and the lights go up with the flash pots and it about split my brain, it was so loud. Then the tongue and the blood and the fire spitting were all highly entertaining especially stoned out of my mind and when the sirens went off during Firehouse, I thought we were busted and the whole crowd was going to jail. Then when the drum riser elevated during Black Diamond, it was just unbelievable and I was screaming my lungs out. I was rocked like never before. It was a pro rock show. I've seen a lot of bands, but not many could keep up with KISS live. So, yes Peter Criss was an influence. Who gives a {censored} if he was mediocre, it wasn't so much about the music, but about entertaining people. Some musicians never learn that lesson.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think they were a fine rock and roll band, and played just fine, the songs were well written, and the playing was plenty good enough.. They didn't suck as musicians, and I don't understand where that school of thought comes from..

Not every drummer can be a monster, not every guitar player can be a shredder... The bar is set so high anymore, that only athletes it seems are acceptable to play music for a living..

KISS deserves respect for the legendary rock and roll they provided over the years..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well, I was 15 back in 1974 and I happen to go to a concert at the Circus Center building in Peru, IN to see a band called Stonewall and KISS. I had no idea what I was in for. The lights go down and you see the guys walking out with their faces painted and they hit the first note of Deuce and the lights go up with the flash pots and it about split my brain, it was so loud. Then the tongue and the blood and the fire spitting were all highly entertaining especially stoned out of your mind and when the sirens went off during Firehouse I thought we were busted and all of us were going to jail. Then when the drum riser elevated during Black Diamond, it was just unbelievable and I was screaming my lungs out. I was rocked like never before. It was a pro rock show. I've seen a lot of bands, but not many could keep up with KISS live. So, yes Peter Criss was an influence. Who gives a {censored} if he was mediocre, it wasn't so much about the music, but about entertaining people. Some musicians never learn that lesson.

 

Similar story with me. Late 70's early 80's cruising around in summer with my mates, in our Ford Cortina, windows down...Kiss on the tape deck....magic. And then seeing them in concert, fantastic entertainment.:thu:

 

Saw them live last year with Eric Singer behind the kit, the band on a whole wasn't so entertaining. Alice Cooper blew them off the stage as far as I was concerned as they were on the same bill.

JMO, but Kiss haven't aged well.:idk:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yeah but KISS's material is anything but first rate. I mean just listen to their songs...very simple arrangements and simple production...there song writing is average at best...catchy no doubt and that's a great thing...but basic.

 

I don't think anyone denies what kiss did in the 70's and how that spectacle never existed before that. And how influential that was. Of course Criss was a huge influence for kids of that age..and rightly so. But strip away all of it and what your left with musically is a group of guys that were below average compared to any of their contemporaries and music that was the same. Some decent hooks and not much else. At least until Kulick and Carr came along.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Similar story with me. Late 70's early 80's cruising around in summer with my mates, in our Ford Cortina, windows down...Kiss on the tape deck....magic. And then seeing them in concert, fantastic entertainment.
:thu:

Saw them live last year with Eric Singer behind the kit, the band on a whole wasn't so entertaining. Alice Cooper blew them off the stage as far as I was concerned as they were on the same bill.

JMO, but Kiss haven't aged well.
:idk:

 

I hear ya, Jimmy. For many hard rockers of the '80s, Kiss was a real inspiration. There was something about them that different and compelling for people who love hard rock.

 

I'm not saying they were virtuosos or first-rate songwriters, but there was special chemistry in that band back in the mid-70s.

 

AK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Yeah but KISS's material is anything but first rate. I mean just listen to their songs...very simple arrangements and simple production...there song writing is average at best...catchy no doubt and that's a great thing...but basic.


I don't think anyone denies what kiss did in the 70's and how that spectacle never existed before that. And how influential that was. Of course Criss was a huge influence for kids of that age..and rightly so. But strip away all of it and what your left with musically is a group of guys that were below average compared to any of their contemporaries and music that was the same. Some decent hooks and not much else. At least until Kulick and Carr came along.

 

 

I won't argue with any of this.

 

AK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Yeah but KISS's material is anything but first rate.

 

That is arguable..

First rate to whom... A musician.. Or a normal person...

KISS was first rate at everything they ever touched.. Proof...

Who doesn't know who KISS is, who doesn't know the words to at least one KISS tune..

That IS first rate song writing, performance, delivery, and marketing, in every way..

My wife can sing along to KISS tunes, and tap her foot.. She has no clue who Dream Theater is..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

That is arguable..

First rate to whom... A musician.. Or a normal person...

KISS was first rate at everything they ever touched.. Proof...

Who doesn't know who KISS is, who doesn't know the words to at least one KISS tune..

That IS first rate song writing, performance, delivery, and marketing, in every way..

My wife can sing along to KISS tunes, and tap her foot.. She has no clue who Dream Theater is..

 

 

not logical. I could say the same thing about britney spears. And there are plenty of people who don't know any KISS. (ie..britney spears fans)

 

Just because they were popular doesn't mean they were great song writers. And one good hook per song and marketing doesn't make good song writing either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

another brittney reference,some people like it,get over it! brittneys fans are young girls who enjoy the beat and her whoreish ways.there is a huge difference.

 

kiss gave the average person what they wanted to hear.im not a fan but dont knock them for making millions of dollars on somthing you think is not worthy.they have sold more albums than just about any rock band.isnt that what making it big is about?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...