Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Your Guy Doesn't Spit Fire

Lee: Kiss is cool, “as long as you don’t make too much money.”
Lee: Kiss is cool, “as long as you don’t make too much money.”

Jason Lee of Oceanside started doing Kiss tributes 36 years ago.

“I remember being six years old and putting the pillows in a semicircle around the couch like a stage. I would air drum with chop sticks to [live album] Kiss Alive. My older brother was really into Kiss.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Since then, Lee has sung and played drums in several bands, including Loss of Control (for 12 years) and various tribute acts emulating Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, and the Black Crowes.

Now Lee’s immersed in his role of “Catman,” the character of original Kiss drummer Peter Criss. He plays in the local Kiss tribute band Kissed Alive, which has a dream gig on Halloween. “Up at Lake Arrowhead the kids really can’t trick-or-treat at houses, so all the businesses downtown hand out candy. Then at about 6:30 they have a big free outdoor concert. They hired us this year.”

Lee says the tribute racket has its drawbacks.

“You really have to be a fan of the band, otherwise you can get tired of it really quick. And people can get really picky over the details. Like, one Kiss tribute guy might say to another, ‘Your guy doesn’t spit fire, so he’s a big pussy.’”

But doesn’t the original Kiss ever get upset over the use of their intellectual property? “I heard that as long as you don’t make too much money, as long as you fly under the radar, they are cool with it.”

Isn’t Gene Simmons one of the most detested figures in rock? “I have no comment. I respect his business skills. I never met Gene, but I like his music.”

Kissed Alive appears November 2 with Ratts at Brick by Brick.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A cool year in a warming Pacific

Pelagic species have comfort zones
Next Article

Three poems by Oso Guardiola

Conversation in the Cathedral, Schism, Runoff
Lee: Kiss is cool, “as long as you don’t make too much money.”
Lee: Kiss is cool, “as long as you don’t make too much money.”

Jason Lee of Oceanside started doing Kiss tributes 36 years ago.

“I remember being six years old and putting the pillows in a semicircle around the couch like a stage. I would air drum with chop sticks to [live album] Kiss Alive. My older brother was really into Kiss.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Since then, Lee has sung and played drums in several bands, including Loss of Control (for 12 years) and various tribute acts emulating Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, and the Black Crowes.

Now Lee’s immersed in his role of “Catman,” the character of original Kiss drummer Peter Criss. He plays in the local Kiss tribute band Kissed Alive, which has a dream gig on Halloween. “Up at Lake Arrowhead the kids really can’t trick-or-treat at houses, so all the businesses downtown hand out candy. Then at about 6:30 they have a big free outdoor concert. They hired us this year.”

Lee says the tribute racket has its drawbacks.

“You really have to be a fan of the band, otherwise you can get tired of it really quick. And people can get really picky over the details. Like, one Kiss tribute guy might say to another, ‘Your guy doesn’t spit fire, so he’s a big pussy.’”

But doesn’t the original Kiss ever get upset over the use of their intellectual property? “I heard that as long as you don’t make too much money, as long as you fly under the radar, they are cool with it.”

Isn’t Gene Simmons one of the most detested figures in rock? “I have no comment. I respect his business skills. I never met Gene, but I like his music.”

Kissed Alive appears November 2 with Ratts at Brick by Brick.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

More on San Diego inventions – Spike Bite and disappearing ink

The scandal of county supervisors at the library
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Ben Folds takes requests via paper airplane at UCSD

A bunch of folks brought theirs from home
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader