The 500 - #159 - Alive - KISS

 I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #159

Album Title: Alive

Artist: KISS

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Recorded: 4 concert venues - Detroit, Cleveland, Davenport and Wildwood

Released: September, 1975

My age at release: 10, my guest blogger was 8

How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #305, dropping 146 spots

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Nothing To Lose

I am delighted to welcome back Glen “Archie” Gamble as a guest writer for this album. “Arch”, as he is affectionately known in his wide circle of London, Ontario friends, is a drummer, writer, world traveler and vlogger (The Gamble Ramble). He helped me out with a guest post for the first Van Halen album (#415 on The 500) way back in July, 2020. Although he is best known for his tenure with Canadian rock band Helix, he has also played with Buffalo Brothers and The Joys. However, salient to this week’s guest writing duties, he spent several years as the drummer with the KISS tribute band Alive. In that capacity, he has met and played with the original members of KISS and I knew he would have a fantastic, insider's perspective on this record. Here’s Arch!!

It was Christmas season, 1976. I know this because I was with my mother, Xmas shopping in the department store K-mart. And even though I was only eight years old, I saw something that changed my life…The Alive record from the New York rock band KISS.

KISS (l-r) Ace Frehley (guitar), Gene Simmons (bass/vocals), Peter Criss
(drums/vocals) and Paul Stanley (guitar/vocals)

Trust me, I know how silly that sounds coming from an eight-year-old. But it was legit. And very, very real. In fact, I would venture a guess, and say that the impact of the KISS Alive album had just as much to do with changing the course of my life, as it did with changing the lives of the Kiss band members themselves.

Pretty big statement, right? But it’s one I stand by. The reason being that, on my end, this album started my pilgrimage toward a love of rock ‘n’ roll. But foremost, it was the album that saved KISS’ career; it got them out of debt with the record company, saved their record deal and boosted the earnings they made from live shows. As a matter of fact the proceeds from the sales of Alive also kept their record label Casablanca Records, from going under. This album came along at exactly when it was needed. Not just for the band, but for the music industry. In a tepid pool of luke warm ‘soft rock’, including Eagles, Carly Simon and James Taylor, during the mid-seventies, KISS Alive was like a sonic shotgun blast to the face. It also helped start a trend of double live album releases that continues to this day.

KISS were known for their elaborate stage shows.

There were no soft ballads about sleeping with a girl in the desert; instead there were anthems about taking a girl backstage to C’Mon And Love Me. And this is THE album that set me on the path of becoming a musician. So not only did it incredibly alter the lives of KISS themselves, it heavily affected mine as well. I couldn’t believe the incredible energy that was pouring from the vinyl when my big brother put it on. While he enjoyed it, I was absolutely captivated. I used to come into his room and ask to listen to it. until eventually, it became mine.

A young Glen "Archie" Gamble, flanked by his brothers
 John (left) & Jim

I can recall, listening to the vinyl, sitting across like it on the floor with my headphones on, curly cable and all. And a great thing about the album was the booklet that came with it. I remember reading through the book while listening to the music and staring at these four crazy characters. Were they even human? Hey, I was eight, but it seemed to me that they had captured everything that would be exciting to a kid; hard driving, loud rock ‘n’ roll, with over-the-top theatrics and an amazing show. I was hooked.

Centerfold from the KISS Alive booklet.

From that moment on, KISS became MY thing. My brother, as I said, liked them but wasn’t a huge fan. But by the time I came to pick up the newest album, Destroyer, I was in-hook line and sinker. And God bless my parents, it was an obsession that they got behind. This was actually before I even started drumming. My mom would take me to the record store in the mall, and buy me copies of older KISS albums, and even allow me to hang posters in my room. In fact, around this time, we moved into our first brand new home in the suburbs. I got my very own bedroom for the first time, and went absolutely insane, covering the walls, and I mean every inch, with KISS posters, magazine spreads, newspaper articles, etc., etc., etc. My poor mother; she had just decorated this entire house; wallpaper, wood paneling, new carpet, and more. And I turned it into a rock ‘n’ roll den of sin. Well, as much as an eight-year-old can.

A young Glen Gamble in his KISS shirt.

And of course, seeing this insane cat like character on the drums, something called Peter Criss, also changed my life. Although I would later have questionable interactions with the human man himself, the God like character that was pictured on the album covers blew me away. And it was a perfect persona for him: his rhythm’s fit perfectly; primal, jungle, and just plain ferocious. And once again, I was hooked.

Peter Criss behind the drums (1975).

“Mom, can I have a drum set?”

My parents were very supportive, but cautious, about this new out of the blue hobby. Being a bit of a strange child with no interest in sports or academia. I think they were just happy to see me interested in something. Not to mention, their marriage started to go bad around this time and there was a lot of fighting. And I mean a lot. I think indulging me with Kiss and drums was a way to placate me and sort of apologize for the violence at home.

At any rate, my parents picked me up a toy drum kit from the Sears catalog. You know the type, paper drum heads, and tin cymbals. It didn’t matter, I was in heaven! My very own drum set. It’s not for me to say, as my memory is not THAT good, but people tell me that I took to it straight away. I could actually play something that resembled ACTUAL rhythms. Very quickly, I went through this drum kit, both figuratively and literally; the drum heads were actual thick paper. And you know that didn’t last long with a young rock ‘n’ roll roller, full of energy, right?

1975 Sears Catalogue Instruments.

So my parents took the next step up and got me another drum kit, from Sears again, but this one with plastic heads. By plastic, I don’t mean the plastic used in a real drumhead (which is mylar) I mean, just a thick sort of sheet plastic. Regardless, it was a step up, and I was once again immeasurably excited. And for toys they actually sounded good. They helped me learn my way around a kit, create muscle memory, and learn how to function with my hands and feet at the same time. The next step was courtesy of my big brother Jim, One day, we visited a young rock roller in our new neighborhood who played guitar, bass and drums and loved Kiss as fanatically as I did. His name was Doug Rouse -and we are friends to this day. He’s one of the people who helped chart the course of my life. And he had a real drum set; far from fancy, but real. It was manufactured by Silvertone and it was a blue sparkle kit with old, beaten cymbals. Regardless, I was spellbound.

The blue sparkle Silvertone kit from Doug Rouse.

My brother Jim, and I watched him play for a little while and then Jim asked “can Glen give them a try? He plays, too? While I was definitely appreciative of my big brother's support, I was also scared.-this would be the first time I’ve ever played outside of the home, and certainly never in front of anyone other than my family! Well, as family legend tells it, I sat down and began to play a steady four-four rock ‘n’ roll beat, amazing both my brother and Doug . Apparently I had picked up how to play from records, television and magazines: how to use the high hat, which my drum set at home didn’t have. I can’t honestly recall what happened, but Doug saw how much it meant to me and sold the drums to my brother Jim for $25.

Glen (left) and his brother Jim (2016).

That was it, I was in. And I mean for life. A progression of neighbourhood bands followed, and on a steady basis, better drum kits. Next thing you know, I was a 15 year-old playing in nightclubs. And by 17 I was playing full-time weekends. By 18, I took off to start touring full-time, the path of my destiny. There were cover bands in Canada that could work 52 weeks a year across the country. And that’s what I did for the next 4 or 5 years. Eventually, one of those cover bands, Nasty Klass, settled in London, Ontario. We eventually came off the road from full time work, as we decided to get serious about writing music and getting a record deal. We were just young musicians, scrambling for the next meal and rent. But we MEANT it.

Glen (left) with the other members of Nasty Klass (late 80s).

And along comes Alive … this time, the band. You see, there were rumours of an amazing, world class KISS tribute band that existed in our town of London Ontario. At this point, I hadn’t met these guys yet, but would see them at our shows. They were hard to miss, trust me. Dressed in black, leather, like a hand, they stood out. And all young musicians, they would go out and check out the “competition“. I can clearly recall the first time they came to see us at the local bar, Mingle’s; there were four giant halos of curly black hair back by the soundboard. The lighting was such that their faces were washed out, and it was very mysterious. In fact, it was like being visited by the real KISS….

Alive promotional poster, prior to Glen joining.

After that show that night, I talked to my good friend Tom Kouzinous (R.I.P.) who was friends with that band, and also the cousin of Alive’s “Gene Simmons” -- Spiro Papadatos. After the show, he explained to me that it was his cousin’s band we saw standing by the soundboard and that they were very impressed. Tom later explained to me that their drummer was leaving, and that they were looking for someone new. Initially, I didn’t even entertain the idea of joining, as we were so full-time in our pursuit of rock ‘n’ roll glory, I had no time. However, I did tell Tom that I knew the entire Alive album if they ever wanted to jam while searching for a drummer, just to keep from getting rusty.

Alive - Kiss Tribute Band - in full regalia.

And then one day, the call came -asking me if I wanted to jam sometime. I said yes if we set a date. When I arrived at the house of brothers Steve and Dean Georgakopoulos, I was floored; in their basement rec room, they had set up two Marshall full stacks, two Ampeg bass cabinets and a full-size Peter Criss drum set. The classic vintage equipment Kiss set up. And as I was soon to learn, they also played at 70’s vintage Kiss volume! In fact, I had to stop them as we set up and balanced sounds, and ask them to turn it down. I said ‘guys, no one rehearses this volume’ to which they replied “Kiss does!” And while I couldn’t really argue with that, I did have to let them know that being able to hear each other was paramount, otherwise we would never get better as a band… and I confess, having seen this amazing set up, I was already thinking of myself as part of it. I was IN.

Alive, with Glen in the Peter Criss regalia.

We started with the first song on Alive, Deuce, and the chainsaw guitars roared to life. I kicked in with that famous drum film, and ‘it’ was there right from the start; we locked in and gelled from the get-go. In fact, that afternoon we played the entire KISS Alive album. From side one to side four. Afterwards, we were all buzzing with adrenaline, and the guys asked me the obvious question: “would you like to play some shows with us?” I, of course, said yes, barring any complaints from my present band members. Thankfully, once I explained to my band that they would come first, they gave me their blessing. They saw how excited I was, and they were all KISS fans, themselves. Not to mention, they knew that we all needed to make money anyway we could.

A promotional flyer for Montreal bar, La Brique 
where Alive played frequently.

And off it went … several years of travel and adventure, with three of the best friends I ever had. Not only were they an amazing live KISS tribute band, they were also really great people. All three members were from immigrant Greek families, who took me in, fed me and treated me as one of their own. And after joining them, I found out about the real fanatical KISS Army world. I mean, I was considered a ‘super fan’ by most people I knew, but the circles they travelled in were full of diehard fans that knew excruciating KISS minutia and history. This really WAS a whole new ball game.

The members of Alive, out of make-up, posing with 
Ace Frehley of KISS.

Part of playing with Alive meant that we played fan KISS conventions, and fan gatherings. Which were always amazing. You could walk around and look at rare videos, as well as purchase them. You could also buy bootleg recordings, and fans were trading/selling rare KISS merchandise, and actual KISS owned costume pieces, guitars and more. It was like being in KISS heaven. We played a lot of theatres and clubs, college campuses, and outdoor shows. It was definitely a step up from what I was used to playing club-wise. Alive played a lot of the A Circuit rooms (top theatres) across Canada and America.

And then the call came …

We were officially invited to join the real KISS on their 1995 worldwide convention tour. Yes, THE real KISS. It was unbelievable; they had constructed a day for the fans that travelled around North America and Australia. They contacted the best vendors to appear as well as a few tribute bands. And Alive was asked to do more shows than any of the other tribute bands, something I’m proud of to this day. And at all these conventions, KISS brought out the big guns; they dug into their warehouse and pulled out rare costume pieces, vintage guitars, and drums, and stage pieces as well, for the fan to look at in person. The tickets were, an unheard of (at that time), $100 but more than worth it. It was an all day multimedia, immersive KISS Experience. It was also one of the best tours I’ve ever been on. We got to hang out and travel with KISS, as well as spend a lot of after-show social hours with them. It was truly an incredible experience. A super-fans dream came true-and true value for money for the punters that attended.

Looking back, I have to say that it’s funny: with the amazing buzz and response to the look back to their history, I predicted that KISS were going to get back together with the original lineup and put the makeup back on. Everyone scoffed at my suggestion, saying “they hate each other“ etc., but I could see it. By 1995 their non-make up career had hit, pardon the pun, “rock-bottom”. It was all over but the shouting and they had nowhere else to go. So they reunited with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, put the makeup back on and started selling out stadiums…again.

Glen with KISS guitarits/singer Paul Stanley.

All I can say is that I was so happy to be there and take part in living my fan dream. And of course, our close proximity to KISS and their management ended up working out great for us, especially for Spiro. He ended up working for KISS for more than 10 years. And we, of course, got backstage passes and great tickets for future KISS reunion shows. And just think, all this started in 1976 when I picked up a four sided album called Alive at Kmart… what a ride it’s been. And what an adventure, one that still continues to this day. I am still a diehard, classic KISS fan and always will be (even if we did find out years later that much of Alive was re-recorded in the studio😂).

Glen performing with Alive (1990s).

And to quote the masters themselves, from the very last words of the classic Alive album…


Kiss Loves You…ROCK AND ROLLLLLL!!!

The 500 - #160 - Electric Warrior - T. Rex

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #160
Album Title: Electric Warrior

Artist: T-Rex

Genre: Glam Rock, Hard Rock, Boogie Rock

Recorded: 4 studios. London, U.K., Los Angeles & New York U.S.A.

Released: September, 1971

My age at release: 6
How familiar was I with it before this week: Several songs

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #188, dropping 18 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Jeepster

Like many of my vintage, my first exposure to the music of T. Rex came in 1985 when supergroup The Power Station recorded their version of (Bang A Gong) Get It On. In all honesty, when I first heard The Power Station version, I thought it was an original track from the band. The initial single from their self-titled album had been the original composition, Some Like It Hot. So, logically, I assumed that (Bang A Gong) Get It On was also written by the quartet. My pal Roderick, who was several years older than I, quickly disabused me of this fiction and, shortly afterwards, he played Electric Warrior while we sipped tea and talked about the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. (I shared my brief history with Roderick in my July, 2022, post about Frank Sinatra's Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! In many ways, Roderick served as a de facto "older brother" and he was instrumental in building my music knowledge in a time before the Internet.

The Power Station were a supergroup comprising singer Robert
Palmer, Chic drummer Tony Thompson and Duran Duran
bassist and guitarist John and Andy Taylor (no relation).

T. Rex (originally Tyrannosaurus Rex) were formed in London in 1968 by singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld). There are several conflicting stories about how Feld chose his stage name. My favourite is that he cleverly cobbled it together by taking the front two letters and last three letters from his musical idol, Bob Dylan. Following two years playing with the proto-punk, beat band John's Children, Bolan founded T. Rex as a psychedelic folk duo. His first record had the cumbersome title My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair...But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows. It features all the trappings of the psychedelic hippie scene of the time when Hare Krishna chants, bongos, new age mysticism and fantasy--inspired lyrics were prominent.

Electric Warrior marked a drastic shift from Bolan's hippie roots. He replaced his acoustic guitar with an electric one and embraced a more flamboyant pop-rock sound that was influenced by rock and roll artists, including Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, as well as American blues performers such as Howlin' Wolf. The lyrics still had some fantasy elements, but Bolan also began to write songs with familiar rock imagery that included cars, women and celebration. Many critics consider Electric Warrior to be the first record in the glam rock genre. When Bolan appeared on Top Of The Pops in March, 1971, to promote the single Hot Love, he was decked out in a silver satin suit with glitter under his eyes.  The video can be seen here.

A Glam Rock idol is born. Bolan on Top Of The Pops performing
Hot Love in 1971.

T. Rex released six additional records in the glam rock genre, with the final release, Dandy In The Underworld, hitting shelves in 1977. It was lauded by critics for the strength of the songwriting and Bolan's vocal performance. During a touring hiatus in the fall of that year, Bolan was a passenger in a Mini 1275GT being driven by his romantic partner Gloria Jones. Both had been drinking and, after crossing a small, humpback bridge in Southwest London ,Jones lost control and hit a fence post and a tree. Bolan died at the scene and Jones was critically injured, but survived.

The wrecked Mini in which Bolan died (Photo by Maurice Wallace).

Although I didn't purchase any of the band’s records when I collected vinyl, I have become a fan of  T. Rex’s music, particularly the tracks that have appeared in some of my favourite movies. Bolan's tracks are infectiously catchy and I've always been of the opinion that they elevate a film brilliantly. Some songs immediately transport me to a specific scene from the film in which it is featured. Two examples that immediately come to mind are Cosmic Dancer from the opening credits to Billy Elliot and Jeepster from the Tarantino flick Death Proof. There are also T. Rex tracks used excellently in the movies Lords Of Dogtown, The Break-Up, School Of Rock, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and, most recently, the horror Longlegs.

Bolan, like many artists I've discussed in this blog series, was lost far too soon. He would only be in his late-seventies if still alive today. I am confident he would have entertained the world with many more terrific songs and albums like Electric Warrior -- a delightful listen that will blast many more times through my speakers. Now I need to watch Billy Elliot and Deathproof again.

The 500 - #161 - The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #161
Album Title: The Dock Of The Bay

Artist: Otis Redding

Genre: Memphis Soul, Southern Soul

Recorded: Between July 11, 1965 - December 8, 1967

Released: February, 1968

My age at release: 2
How familiar was I with it before this week: A couple songs

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Tramp

Recently, I participated in a task force organized by my school's oversight body (Thames Valley District School Board) and my Local Association (Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario) to discuss the safe and effective use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the classroom. In "Initialism-Speak", The TVDSB & ETFO invited me to “talk AI. No wonder teachers befuddle parents when rambling on about education -- we sure love our acronyms and initialisms.

AI generated representation of our task force meeting about A.I.

The invitation was flattering. At nearly 60, it is nice to be considered among the "tech-savvy" educators. I was also chuffed to be assisting with the policy making that will guide the instruction of AI by my colleagues for the next few years. The applications for this technology are growing exponentially and, with students aged 3-18 in our charge, we can't ignore its ubiquity.

AI generated representation of a tech-savvy teacher in an elementary
school classroom.

Unlike my high school math teachers, who incorrectly predicted that we "wouldn't have a calculator in our pockets when shopping at the supermarket", it is gratifying to be part of an organization that recognizes the eventual omnipresence of AI and who is embracing the technology while recognizing the need for safety and transparency in its use.

AI generated representation as a teacher from the 80s warning
a student about the limitations of a calculator in the real world.

Encouraged by the school board’s deliberations, I introduced my Grade 7 students to the subsequently approved AI platform, Microsoft Copilot. I began by discussing plagiarism and used some of their favourite music as my attention grabber. Collectively, my class has curated an extensive playlist of music and, although my charges don't realize it, some of the songs they enjoy feature musical hooks, or samples, of other  artists’ work.

For example, many are fans of the song Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (born Jared Anthony Higgins). The hit song, which plays in the classroom several times a week, features a guitar riff that was sampled  from Shape Of My Heart -- a 1993 single by English musician Sting (born Gordon Sumner). Lucid Dreams was a massive hit for the fledgling emo-rapper, WRLD, with 2.8 billion streams on Spotify. However, 85 percent of the Lucid Dreams royalties are funneled directly to the bank account of Sting, who brazenly quipped that the money would "put my grandkids through college". Copyright royalties are a tricky business and Sting's team of lawyers easily leveraged the system to ensure he profited handsomely from a naive WRLD’s decision to allow the use of this sample without a pre-negotiated contract.

The students were incensed. Why would this massively wealthy old musician feel entitled to take so much from a fledgling artist, especially when the guitar part in question comprises only part of the entire song Lucid Dream? Most of it was original material; however, it was built around that initial melody. This proved a good lesson in the rules of intellectual property and ownership. It was also an engaging way for me to introduce the importance of crediting one's sources when borrowing the words or ideas of others.

AI generated representation of Sting taking a bag of
money from a sad Juice Wrld.

To my surprise, while listening to this week's record, The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding, I stumbled on another example. The album's fifth track, Don't Mess With Cupid, features a guitar lick at the start which is replicated on Party In The U.S.A., a massive hit in 2009 for contemporary pop star Miley Cyrus.

However, on closer examination, I realized that the Cyrus song features an interpolation, not a sample, from Don't Mess With Cupid. It is clearly inspired by the Redding track, but is not a note-for- note copy. The two can be heard side-by-side at this website.

Interestingly, Party In The U.S.A. does not give credit to Don't Mess With Cupid for this clear inspiration. So, I suppose you can sometimes get away with some plagiarism, but I'll leave that out of my future lesson.

Cartoon by Fritz Pirillo.

The Dock Of The Bay was the seventh studio record, and the first  posthumous release, by Otis Redding following his death in a December, 1967, plane crash -- an event I covered in my July, 2023, blog about Redding's record, Complete & Unbelievable Dictionary Of Soul.  The lead single, (Sittin' on) The Dock Of The Bay, was a monster hit which Redding completed recording just two days before his death. The rest of the album contains a number of singles, B-sides and previously released tracks.

Tragically, but saliently to this post, Redding earned no money from this legendary soul song and record. His untimely passing ensured his co-writer, Steve Cropper, and Redding’s estate would be the benefactors from this intellectual property. They would also benefit when it was recorded by more than 100 artists and sampled 23 times by contemporary hip-hop artists. (Source: Who Sampled Website)

ADDENDUM

As a side note, my students have won me over with many tracks and, I'll admit, Party In The U.S.A. gets stuck in my head pretty easily now. I have also become a fan of Juice WRLD, who struggled with mental health issues and died of a prescription overdose in 2019 at the age of 21.

Much like my students, I am aggrieved that the massively wealthy Sting would take so much from a young, naive artist who created something beautiful, unaware of  how recording rights and publishing work. Juice WRLD was a talent that, like Otis Redding, was lost far too soon.