An interview with Paul Stanley, Kiss' hirsute party-starting frontman, doesn't go in any way, shape or form as a longtime fan might expect. This is, after all, Starchild, who back in the day in his rocktastic onstage falsetto-tinged banter would ask such trenchant questions as, "How many of you girls like to get licked?" or more famously on 1975's Alive! "How many people here like to take a taste of alcohol!?"
But with age (he's now 65), road miles (43 years) and family life (four kids between the ages of 5-22) comes wisdom. The Kiss frontman is thoughtful, articulate and touches upon such philosophical topics as human fallibility, finding your path and the value of altruism and self-empowerment and not so much partying every day. Stanley, these days, seems more Star Wars' Yoda than Starchild.
The irony is as uninterested in the material world as he now seems, we're discussing the band's latest merchandising milestone: Over the last year, with the help of longtime merch partner Epic Rights, Kiss hit the 125 global licensing deal benchmark. The band throughout it's career has sold some half a billion dollars retail value at stores and concerts which helps backs Kiss' claim to being the most merchandised band of all time. For context, in 2015 the group made the Top 150 Licensors List published in License Global whic, based on 2014 revenues, reported their merch at $100 million.
"Sometimes people who will watch the band from the periphery and talk to me about the band's 'golden years,'" Stanley says. "And I go, 'These are the golden years, these here now.' This has been a steam roller that has only picked up steam in terms of monetary compensation -- nothing compares to today."
Indeed while Kiss trailblazed new merch and fan club territory in the mid-1970s with a torrent of t-shirts, patches, posters, lunch boxes and the formation of the Kiss Army, its vast merch arsenal today continues breaking new ground. It's millennial-friendly wares now include Kiss emojis, mobile video games, moisturizing face masks, carbon fiber bikes and credit/debit cards (see Billboard's Gallery of New Kiss merch).
Billboard caught up with Stanley to discuss the band's licensing juggernaut, its origins, the odds of another reunion and how from Kiss condoms to Kiss coffins the band "get you coming and going…"
Billboard: Congratulations on Kiss' latest merch milestone, 125 global licenses.
Paul Stanley: We've had thousands of licensing partners over the years but my objective has never been to have bragging rights by accumulating volumes of licensing partners; rather, it's been about using decades of successes as a spring board to elevate our position in terms of gaining higher stature affiliations.
How did Kiss' merchandising begin?
Organically. We came at a time when fan clubs were frowned upon. Fan clubs harkened back to an age of Fabian and Frankie Avalon and seen as a ploy by management and record companies to sell the flavor of the week. But when we came into being people wanted to align themselves with us. They were the ones who said, 'We want a t-shirt, a belt buckle.' It's very easy to tag us as marketing geniuses, but I would rather say we have very acute hearing.
Who was the main force behind it all?
Bill Aucoin, our original manager, was a visionary and the fifth Kiss member and more than just some token title. It was his vision to merchandise the band. In the beginning we all scratched our heads, but it was his idea for the fan club and creating belt buckles, t-shirts and initially partnered Ron Boutwell . That spawned everything that came afterward.
Who came up with the face paint?
We did.
Was Starboy was your invention?
Yeah, it certainly came from me, but there was a syncronicity to it. Something''s going on when four people are on a journey together, so in some way we all certainly impacted each other.
Who made the Kiss logo?
The initial design was done by Ace [Frehley] but the one that to this day appears on everything was actually drafted by me. I did it on my parents coffee table with a ruler and a piece of white oak tag--a kind of poster board. The two S's are not actually parallel to each other because I did it by eye. When we got our record deal we were asked if we wanted to have the logo straightened and I said, "It got us this far, leave it alone."
How did the cardboard Love Gun come about?
The love gun came in the album of the same name. What we tried to do even with the albums, for lack of a better comparison, was create a Cracker Jacks box. We wanted people to get something special inside knowing that anything we did was unique and a signature of who we are. We wanted our albums to be an event
Did you ever get criticized for the merchandising?
We were snickered at by other bands until they saw the checks we were getting and all of a sudden they joined the parade. I tend to think we live by a law of commonality. In other words, no one is that different from anyone else and when i can provide something that I want and satisfy a need in myself I satisfy a need in someone else.
How does that apply to say the Kiss condoms and caskets?
I just believe we can get you coming and going [laughs].
What's your favorite piece of merch?
I love all Kiss merch - if I didn't we wouldn't sell it. But my favorite items are shirts, shirts and more shirts. Our concerts are a sea of 40 years of Kiss shirts. We've done a 1,000 designs and sold close to $5 million in shirts. Also, my family loves playing the Stern Kiss pinball game. It's an incredible piece of technology and a very worthy successor to the original 1970's Bally model. I also love my Kiss credit card.
The diversity of mercch is amazing
We are just so malleable in terms of what we can be whether it's stuffed animals or Kiss Monopoly,
I was surprised by the craftsmanship of the Japanese merch with kabuki masks, calligraphy and handmade prints.
There is a ancient Japanese art form, Ukiyo-e, and you have these artisans who spends months creating these traditional images incorporating Kiss. They're spectacular. Its mind-boggling.
Do you ever turn down merchandising deals?
Sure. There is nothing that's worth doing that is immoral or unethical -- i think if you stick with that you're in good shape. There were times we were offered significants amounts of money for either playing some place we thought was not holding up their end in terms of social, political or humanitarian activity and we also said no to tobacco companies. Over the years, and more so now than ever, I realize I have to answer to my children. They can't see their father as a fraud.
What is it that makes Kiss endure?
There's a tremendous sense of validation for fans who have stood by us over the years, whether it's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction or the endurance of the band over the years I almost see us at this point somewhere between the largest cult in the world and a tribe.
In terms of your career and these global licensing deals are your revenues as much as it's ever been?
More, more. What people perceive as the pinnacle of the band tends to be the mid-1970s when we first came on the scene. In terms of our impact and in terms of monetary compensation, nothing compares today.
How did you get involved with Epic Rights?
The history of Epic Rights is Dell Furano. Dell was with Bill Graham and literally sold Grateful Dead t-shirts in the Bay Area. Dell has been our partner for as long as I can remember. Dell's proven himself with other acts too and dare I say other acts have gone to him too because of his relationship with Kiss.
