I must admit that even though KISS is my favorite band, I was apprehensive about another book being released about the band. I asked myself, “what is different about this book from the others that were released prior?” Sure, KISS fans would probably gobble this up as they do with most of the things that KISS releases. With that I add, what about the avid music book reader or just a casual fan in general that would want to learn about the early days of KISS? Well, I can say that they do appease all the above with “Nothin’ to Lose.”
Rock biographer and true KISS fan Ken Sharp along with KISS founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley give you the story behind the story of what took place before the band achieved monumental success. This is still when the band members were babies and had the hunger to become the biggest band in the world. This was before drugs and alcohol seeped into the collective effort, eventually dividing the band. So there were no agendas and no animosity to tell in this book.
The best thing about it was told by the outsiders who had a bird’s eye view of the KISS ascent from a bar band in New York City to headlining and selling out Cobo Hall in Detroit. Former managers, roadies, friends of the band and concert participants all got their say as they were interviewed by Sharp. How Sharp found some of the early concertgoers and got their recall of events was a treat, as was how unbiased the former staffers around KISS were in their recollections of past transgressions.
Yes, Gene and Paul also tell their stories, but the book is dominated by the people who surrounded KISS in the beginning. Without giving too much of the book away here, I will tell you a few of the stories told. Gene kept a all of the band’s reviews in the beginning stuffed in his wallet. What were the reactions of Gene and Paul when they first heard themselves on the radio? It’s in here. Joe Perry wasn’t the first and only person to share the stage with KISS. See who else did. It’s in the book. How did Paul almost die while the band was performing in Hawaii? Yes, stories like this are in here as well.
There are all sorts of tidbits for the fans who think they know everything about KISS. There’s more to learn! Picking up this book is not only a must for the KISS fan, but for fans who want to know what it was like to make it in the music business back when there really was a music business.
