There are so many, maybe too many to list. The first year was great because it was the start of something that I had no idea would grow in to the little legacy it became. 1978 was amazing because we became something we never thought we would, with the two concerts and becoming local celebrities on Halloween. The moment we walked in to Patterson's (Elementary School) Halloween Carnival, we were an instant hit. Everyone wanted pictures, autographs, and they were asking a million questions. We had finally arrived. In 1979 we made a movie. In 1980 we reached our peak and it was amazing. Waking up the morning after Halloween of 1980 to find our picture on the front page of the paper was the greatest. I had stayed at my Aunts house in Fremont (I was living in Vacaville by then) and she had left the paper on the kitchen table for me to see when I woke up. Driving around Fremont that day and seeing our faces looking out from every newspaper machine in town was a bit of a rush. 1983 we hung up our studs (or so we though) and went out in style. 1986 was fun because it was the last hoorah. All of those moments were some of my best memories of the group.

What other memories, stories, or comments do you want to share or make about the group or members?

Again, there is so much. Creating and being a part of this group for a total of nine Halloween's, and all that came in between, was so much fun. It started with friends in my neighborhood and grew from there. Out of it all, I made some new friends that have become life long friends. All the guys that were part of the group are great and all have a special place in my heart as friends and for the memories we created not just dressing up, but all through the years in every day life.

As for stories, on Halloween in 1983 we sort of toured Fremont. We hit a lot of elementary school carnivals along with several other stops that night. When we stopped at Maloney Elementary, someone asked us to take a picture for the school. They had this booth where they charged a dollar to take a Polaroid of people. So we went to let them take our picture and next thing we knew, there was a mile long line of people that wanted to have their picture taken with us. While we were taking all these pictures, a woman asked us to come home with her. I think she wanted to take on the whole bunch of us in make-up. All the guys were saying "Let's go!, Come on, let's go!" and I was actually thinking with the right head, telling them we had a schedule to stick to and I didn't want to have some pissed off husband coming home and finding us there with his wife. She had a kid so I assumed she had a husband. That would probably be the wildest story I have. Also that same afternoon we were driving down Cabrillo Drive in the limo and I rolled my window down enough for some people to see me and I yelled something like "Ooooh Yeah!" out to them and the look on their faces was like they thought they really saw Gene Simmons cruising down the street. It was great.

Walking in to Patterson on Halloween of 1978 was amazing. The rush I got from all that attention was great. I loved it and that was a driving force behind the group for me, the sort of celebrity status we had achieved.

Building the stage for our second concert in Jack's backyard was fun. It became our hangout for a few months. We had a room under the stage that was our little place to hang out. I have to give Jack's parents the biggest thanks for letting us build a full size stage in their backyard and hold a concert for 80 people.

Making the movie in 1979 ended up being more than I expected when I took it on. Once filming was completed I had the job of editing it. I had over 400 pieces of Super 8 movie film. I had them pinned to a big sheet of cardboard in my bedroom. Each shot was numbered and I spent a couple weeks just splicing them together. I wish I had the technology back then that we have today. I could have made the movie so much more professional looking. All in all it was an experience and a lot of fun.

You played Peter Criss and Gene Simmons. Who was your favorite member of the two to play?

I think it's pretty obvious that Gene was my favorite, although in 1976 I didn't know much about KISS and chose to be Peter because I thought he had the coolest make-up. I actually thought his character was a dog. Less than a year later I was a major KISS fan and Gene's character and stage persona drew me in and I decided to make the switch to him.

Did you ever want to play someone else in the group?

After switching to Gene in 1977, I never had any desire to play any other member. I did dress up as Ace for a friend's birthday party on October 29, 1977 because I didn't want anyone to see my Gene costume before Halloween. I always wondered what I would have looked like as Paul too.

How did you feel about dressing up at the time (and doing concerts, photo shoots, a movie)?

Again, I think it's obvious. I loved doing the whole thing. I think my parents got a little tired of it. My dad wasn't crazy about it back then. I loved the creativity of it all, the designing costume patterns, making the costumes, doing the make-up and just everything that came with it. To this day, the smell of silver spray paint takes me back in time - and yes, silver has a distinctive smell. Working on everything kept me out of trouble, kept me busy, allowed me to use my creativity, and it allowed me to have a lot of fun. I will say that at times it was like work, but I loved it. Once we started making the great looking costumes, it was pretty much something that would start around early June in order to be ready for Halloween.

What was your favorite year of dressing up?

That's a tough one. Again, most years had some great points and great guys in the group. Not taking anything away from the other years, but if I had to pick one, I think Halloween 1980 would be it for Halloween's. We had great costumes. We got what I feel is the best group picture ever and we made the front page of the news paper. That beats out 1978 and 1983 by a hair. 1978 was an amazing year because we reached a point of success for what we were doing. It was the first year we had really good costumes. We were an instant hit at the Patterson School Halloween Carnival, we won two of the three costume contests that night, and we had a producer that was interested in working with us. 1983 we had a limo, we did a mini tour of Fremont, elementary schools, the hospital, friends and family, and we got another couple group pictures that were some of the best in the groups history. We won $50 in a costume contest at a bar and I was the only one in the group that was 21, but they had no idea. We also made the news paper again. Another great year!

Would you change anything about your time/experience in the group?

There might be a few things. I wish 1981 and 1982 would have been better years. We went from riding the top of the wave to falling way off. It really felt like we were back in 1976 starting all over, but in 1976 we were doing it without a clue of what lie ahead so it was all carefree and the fact that we were nobody's was fine. In 1981 and 1982 we had sort or a benchmark to keep up with and falling so far off that mark was tough for me. It would have been nice for those years to have turned out better even if they were not up to the years prior, but just not so far off. I think they could have been better had there been places for us to go. For those two years none of the elementary schools had their Halloween carnivals and there wasn't much going on at the places where we did go. I also think that the fact that KISS had failed miserably with their album, The Elder, and their toned down look, that that also played a part in our not receiving the attention we had in prior years.

A few things I wish I could change is that I wish Jack would put out the 50¢ for the make-up for Halloween of 1976 and been a part of the group from the start, but then the group may have had a different dynamic because he would have been Ace rather than Paul that year. I also wish he would have done the movie in 1979 and Halloween of 1980. No disrespect to Jeff who came in and filled Jacks shoes for the movie, or should I say "boots". At the time there were some tensions between Jack and myself. It sucks because we were best friends and to this day we still are. We patched things up and he came back for Halloween that year and things have been great ever since. Also, no disrespect to Tim who stepped in the night before Halloween 1980 and took Jack's place after he quit that day for unknown reasons (I still have no idea why he backed out the day before). The movie was sort of a little land mark for us and Halloween 1980 was a high point. Jack was part of what I would consider some of our best years and we had a solid core group with Jack, and Joey, and myself. It really would have been nice for him to have been a part of those things.

Finally, I wish we would have taken more pictures early on. It's not like today where you have digital photos instantly at no cost. Back then we were kids busting our ass to raise the money we needed for costumes and make-up. The cost of film and developing was expensive just to get a roll of 12 photos developed, so at first we didn't take many photos. We also didn't know what this would become. Once we had great costumes and had been doing it a couple years, everyone was taking a lot of pictures. To have digital video or even VHS back when we started would have been so much nicer then the small amount of silent Super 8 movie footage we have. All in all, what we have is better than nothing.

Is there anything else you wish the group could have done (more concerts, television, appearances for Walt's Productions, etc.)?

At the time, another concert would have been a lot of fun especially if it would have been Jack, Joey, Greg, and myself. I think we could have taken it one more step above the second one we did. It would have been nice if we could have been booked for at least one gig with Walt just to see what it would have been like and how much of the $100 he was charging for us, that we would have received.

I wrote letters to Evening Magazine on KPIX channel 5 in San Francisco and to the TV show, Real People. It would have been great to be featured on one of those shows, but they were not interested in doing a story on us. We had also talked about doing the Vacaville Fiesta Days Parade in May of 1983 or 1984. That would have been cool too.

How did you manage to go on for so long?

I was able to go on for so long because it was a total creative outlet for me and I loved the attention I got from it. Since I was eight years old I wanted to be a rock star or actor. Dressing up gave me a taste of that and I had a lot of fun doing it. To see the end result of my work, and that of the guys in the group, then to see the reactions we would get was priceless.

How did you deal with having to look for new members almost every year?

For the first few years it wasn't much work. When one person quit, it seemed that someone was waiting in the wings to step in. It was very tough though trying to find a replacement for Jack the day before Halloween of 1980. Joey and I were hitting up a few friends we thought would fit the part (and the costume). No one wanted to do it. At about 7:30 that night Joey said his friend Tim wanted to do it. I had not met Tim and had no idea how he would look as Paul. I was trying to get a good match because I knew we had the local news paper coming to interview us on Halloween. Luckily Tim worked out great for us. After that year it seemed to take a bit more work to get guys to become part of the group or remain in it.

Was it a challenge making the costumes?

There never really was much of a challenge in making the costumes beyond finding the materials we needed. That was the biggest challenge. Trying to find studs, silver material and even black T-shirts was almost impossible until in to the 1980's. Even then, it wasn't like it is today. Fabric and hobby shops didn't carry the varieties of material and accessories like silver material and studs, even around Halloween. As for going to a local department store and picking up a black T-shirt wasn't an option because no one carried them without some sort of logo or design. That's why in 1977 we had gray T-shirts. We had to take white ones and use black die which turned out gray.

After 1978 and those great costumes, we would make what ever costumes KISS had each year. When they would come out with new costumes, I would show my mom and say "These are the costumes were going to have this year". She would ask how in the world I was going to make them and I would just say "I'll do it" and I would. By that time we were using leotards and bodysuits as the main part of our costumes.

Do you have any of your old costumes?

I have my old Love Gun costume from 1978. I have my Elder costume from 1981 & 1982. I have my Creatures costume from 1983, which is my favorite, and I have my Destroyer costume from 1986. Some years ago I sold my 1979-1980 Dynasty costume because it wasn't built as well as I would have liked. It was too bulky and the boots weighed over ten pounds each.

I had part of the Vinnie Vincent costume and I sent that off to Jimmie as a surprise in 2015. I had the 1978 Peter Criss upper chest pieces and wrist bands and I recently sent them off (2019) to Paul who was Peter Criss that year. A few years ago I sent the Ace Destroyer costume to Tim to give to his brother Mark since that was his from 1986. I still have Jack's costumes from 1979 and 1980 (which Tim wore) that I need to get to him.

Looking at these pictures after all these years, what are your thoughts?

They bring back a lot of great memories, thoughts of times past when life was much more relaxed and easy. I've looked at them so many times through the years, but in putting this all together, so many things came rushing back. There are so many great memories. It's something I'm very proud of and hope the other guys that were part of this will enjoy seeing. I'm also curious as to what the reaction will be from people outside family and friends when they can see everything we did back then.

Have you ever dressed up as a member of KISS since ending the group?

I've dressed up several times as Gene in my Creatures costume. I've gone to many Halloween events and walked away with first place in costume contests most of the time. I took second once to a guy dressed as a Cyborg. He was good! A couple others I walked away empty handed, but I would still have a blast.

In 1986 I was going to College studying Photography. One of my classmates saw some pictures I was printing of the group and we talked about doing a photo shoot of me dressed up. One day in March 1986, I dressed up for what would be the best photos of me as Gene. I got a few nice looking girls to come in and pose for some photos with me. The shoot turned out great and set the ball rolling for a 10 Year Reunion.

In 1991 I put together a group for a Halloween party I had. For that we actually played a set of KISS songs. I don't consider that part of this group, but it was a lot of fun to actually play as a band in full costume and make-up.

The 40th Anniversary is coming up in a few years. Any chance of a 40 Year Reunion?

My God, 40 years. I was just thinking about how long ago it was and was thinking it was going on 35 years then realized it was 40 and it totally tripped me out. It would be a lot of fun to do a reunion with a full group featuring Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, Eric, and Vinnie. I just watched some old video footage of us getting ready from Halloween 1986. To see how we would goof around, talk, listen to music, the whole vibe we created was so much fun and made for great times. It would be a lot of fun to do that again.

In all honesty though, I don't see ever doing any sort of a reunion. What we did was very special because of when it was done and how old we were. Back when we were doing this, you didn't have a thousand KISS tribute bands out there that actually play and have very cool costumes, most professionally made. I think the novelty of it has worn off. The last time I dressed up in 2006, I went to the Freakers Ball at MontBleu in South Lake Tahoe and I didn't get near the attention I did back in the 70's through the 90's even though there were over a thousand people in attendance.

I think the best reunion would be to get as many of the past members together and hang out for a day, visiting, sharing stories and memories about the group and just about when we were growing up in Fremont. That to me would be so great. These guys are like family to me and to just have time with them would be better then dressing up again. I think at this time in my life, that would be much more rewarding then trying to recapture our past.

Would you ever dress up like Gene again?

If I ever can find time to make a new costume and I had a place to go with lots of people in attendance, then I would seriously think about it. Even though I do feel that uniqueness has worn off at big costume parties and such, I still enjoy the attention and comments I do get and I always love seeing what creative costumes other people come up with.

Does KISS know about the group?

Gene and Paul might be aware of the group a little. Back in February of 1984, I made some little KISS creatures out of baby food jars for KISS and along with those, I enclosed a letter and a handful of photos of us. I gave it to a person at the venue to give to the band. The following night Paul Stanley called me at home and thanked me for the little creatures and said he liked the photos I enclosed. In February of 1985, I put together a photo album with some of the best pictures of us through the years along with a bio/story on the group. I gave it to one of their roadies I had met and got to know. He said he would give it to the band. I have no idea if they did get it and/or what they thought. In 1990, I met Gene Simmons and showed him a photo of me from my 1986 photo session. He was impressed with it which made me feel really good. Hopefully once the website is up and people know it's out there, members of KISS will become aware of the group and hopefully we'll get some sort of positive feedback from them.

Here & Now

Do you still listen to KISS?

After all these years, KISS is still my favorite band. I do listen to them, but not like I did as a kid.


Top 3 Favorite KISS Albums

1. Alive!
2. Destroyer
3. Revenge


Top 10 Favorite KISS Songs

1. Black Diamond
2. I Just Wanna
3. It's My Life
4. 100,000 Years
5. Love Gun
6. We Are One
7. I Stole Your Love
8. Shandi
9. Thrills In The Night
10. Creatures Of The Night

How many times have you seen KISS in concert?

33 - The first time in 1979 and the last time in 2022.