KISS (SUOSIKKI MAGAZINE, 1982) > TRANSLATED

Suosikki (Favorite) was a popular monthly youth magazine from Finland, issued from August 1961 until December 2012. It was written in Finnish, but here’s a translated article with Kiss for you!

 I DON'T LOOK BEHIND THE MASK… 

KISS BEHIND THE MASKS

° Ten years of shocking makeup, monster shoes and rhinestone-decorated butts.

° 18 LPs, heaps of gold records from different countries and the world's loudest volume at concerts.

° Kiss is the most hard-working rock band on our planet, which doesn't change its style and doesn't let anyone see themselves without a mask.

° Here in Finland, we still miss Kiss. ​​Kiss, Kiss, Kiss - come

Kiss, aka Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Eric Carr are on a quick visit to Stockholm.

- When we finished our new album Creatures of the Night, we wanted to inform our fans about it through the press in different countries. We definitely didn't have time for a concert tour right now, and that's why we did this.

This is what Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley tells Suosikki.

- After Christmas we are going on a long American tour. We will visit a hundred cities and be on the road for five months. Since we also want to greet our European audience, we will now visit London in addition to Stockholm, Munich. Amsterdam, Rome and Madrid. It is a pity that we did not make it to Finland, but it is all the more nice that Suosikki has come here to greet us. Paul says happily.

Kiss's PR tour includes hundreds of interviews and photo shoots. The band never allows themselves to be photographed without their shocking make-up. In scary black and white make-up and costumes decorated with rhinestones and metal, the four members of the band stretch themselves. mock and mime in front of the photographers.

The little drummer Eric Carr looks miniature next to Gene, Paul and Ace.

I meet Paul Stanley without make-up.

- Look, this is what I look like, he says.

He is a handsome black-haired big man wearing green jeans and a white T-shirt. He has a small rose tattooed on his shoulder. He straightens his legs, shod in black boots, between the teacups and ham sandwiches on the table.

I am quite a receipt. I still live in New York time and I am not used to your Scandinavian time system.

WHY MASKS?

Paul, why are you always masked? Don't you think that after ten years of Kiss, the fans would like to see you in the wild?

- I don't think so. An American youth magazine did a survey, and the result was that the fans want pictures of us and us on stage with makeup, not without. Makeup and clothes are part of Kiss.

Gene has six-inch high monster boots on his feet and armor metal on his arms. Isn't it difficult for you to move around on stage in this gear?

- It might be difficult for someone who is not used to it. For us, it's the nature of our show. We would be naked without this stage gear.

Isn't it safe to walk around the city when no one knows you without makeup? You're all famous rock stars and no one knows who you are when you're out in the wild.

- The truth is, we don't look like we're anyone. I know I don't look like a regular guy. The fact that no one can place us in the right band is a kind of guessing game, Paul grins.

Paul is sociable. He mostly hangs out with Gene.

Gene and I are best friends because we created this band together. I don't like to go out alone when I'm in a new city. I always hang out with Gene or someone else.

A CROSS-ART KISS 

Before joining Kiss, Paul went to art school. He has also taken acting lessons.

- Rock music is not just about music art. For example, David Bowie and Pink Floyd have come a long way with their art education. That's the same with us.

Kiss is a band that works to entertain its audience. Just doing their makeup takes them an hour. Doesn't the constant application of heavy layers of paint strain the skin?

- Look at our faces, Paul asks, there's not a trace of wrinkles or allergies on us. We use pretty gentle substances.

Kiss advertises itself as the world's toughest rock band. "If you think we're playing too loud, you're too old for us," their brochure reads. But Kiss is getting older too. Ten years is a long time in the rock business? What happens when the guys' hearing deteriorates and the guys can't climb as nimbly in their monster shoes anymore?

- We've just gotten better over the years. We don't really know what we'd do without Kiss. ​​It's part of our identity. When we can't play anymore, it's time to reevaluate. It won't be for a long time, all the band members assure us.

- I still want to be an actor one day, Paul points out. Performing is acting, but when I get older I want to try all kinds of roles.

TIRED ACE

Ace Frehley is the member of Kiss who combines intelligence and humor the most perfectly. Today, however, Ace is tired. He has a hard time adjusting to the changing times of day and all he wants to do is sleep. He can't even answer the interviewers' questions. Instead, Gene, Paul and Eric are talkative.

A reporter from Swedish Rockradio asks Kiss for Christmas greetings.

- Merry Christmas, everybody here, Paul shouts into the microphone and throws an audible loud slap at the reporter.

There is a rumor going around the world that Ace has left Kiss. ​​This is absolutely not true.

- The rumor is because Ace was in a car accident while Kiss was recording their new album. He badly injured his back and hasn't been able to party like he used to.

- My back still hurts every now and then when we're on stage and I have to slow down - and it gets in the way.

The sound of an ambulance can be heard from the window.

They're coming to take me away, hahaa (they're coming to take me away). Gene scoffs.

NOT IDYING

Kiss is one of the hardest-working bands in the world, they don't rest and enjoy the money they have received. In ten years, Kiss has released 18 LPs and the band plays as many gigs as they can.

Kiss prefers to play in large venues for around 3,000 listeners.

- If the number of listeners is too large, you can't get in touch with the audience and if it's smaller, the same electric atmosphere doesn't arise, Paul explains.

Most of Kiss's fans are between 8 and 20 years old and Paul claims that the band has a whole army of fan clubs and more are being created all the time.

And when will we get Kiss to Finland?

- We are planning a new tour in about ten months. Where it will go is still hard to say at this stage, Paul says. We would love to come to Finland, if you are interested enough in us.

And that is enough - so WELCOME!

TEXT FROM THE PHOTOS:

1. Favorite magazine from Finland - we will come to Finland whenever we can. It would be an interesting country to see, we have never been there.

2. Ace Frehley has been rumored to have left Kiss. ​​Sometimes Ace gets tired of the constant touring, and it doesn't help that his back hurts constantly after a serious car accident.

3. Who let this nosy one in? asks Paul Stanley. The favorite Heidi Kärkkäinen was the only Finnish journalist who followed Kiss's visit to Stockholm.

4. KISS, KISS, KISS, come on - the attractive but dangerous Paul Stanley.
- Is a mask a disguise for me? I don't look ordinary anyway, he says.

5. Eric Carr is the newest member of Kiss. Eric even beat Rainbow's Bob Rondinelli off the board when Kiss was looking for a new drummer.

OTHERS:

First page:
Under the photo in large blue text: IF WE ARE TOO STRONG (HEAVY) FOR YOU, FORGET US
Bottom: ONLY IN FAVORITES

Second & third page:

Large blue text that goes across both pages: YOUR FAVORITE SAHU WITH A CAT (?!?!?!)