timeline: 1975 - 30 year anniversary...
...playboy roof session images, (color: © edward przydzial - ecpi) hollywood, ca. 1975* on january 16, 1975 a struggling new york band that wore garish face paint and black leather costumes ascended atop the playboy building in west hollywood, ca. just a couple months after releasing their sophomore album hotter than hell, kiss was still trying to break big in record sales but were quickly gaining a reputation as one of rock's best concert acts.
the hotter than hell album did not receive the promotional push that it deserved due to kiss' distribution deal with warner brothers expiring. also of note is the murky production value of the tracks with the guitars especially sounding overdriven to the point of distraction. over the years i've come to appreciate the charm of its sound but it obviously could have sounded much better at the time. on a rare day off, the band poses for these photos with the hollywood hills as a backdrop.
the playboy building, an offshoot of its main office in chicago, opened in the 1960's and now occupied by different tenants. between the band members. this was still, mostly, a time of innocence for kiss. i say "mostly" due to recalling the story of peter criss threatening to quit the band over not having a drum solo in the middle of the song 'strange ways'. aside from that, they still seemed to be in an all-for-one situation and these photos provide a great snapshot of a band that was getting its first taste of fame while on the precipice of fortune.
after playing a show 2 nights prior in eugene, the band arrives in los angeles for a two week run of shows that will begin the following night at long beach arena. anyone who knows photography can tell you... i had no clue how to properly shoot this session. these images are far from professional quality.
anyway i was a mere 13 years old when these were taken. richard and i went to shoot this session set up by allen miller @ aucoin/rock steady. i was staying at richard's mothers house in los angeles when he stopped by to ask me if i wanted to go assist/shoot a session with him. i grabbed my nikon and off we went. he didn't tell me we were gonna be shooting kiss...
so you can imagine my surprise when we ended up at the playboy club in hollywood. i was too young to actually be in the club but richard covered that and when kiss arrived i thought i was gonna have a heart attack. my favorite band in the whole world was getting out of their limosines and i was on the inner sanctum to shoot candid pictures of them. it was an amazing moment for me and i was pretty nervous and didn't know what to say...
i told the guys i loved their new album and i mentioned i saw them in new york (academy of music) before moving to michigan... new years eve show. they were very cool and asked me what i thought of kiss and why i liked the band. gene was the most interested in finding out why i liked their music and gimmick. a bit of small talk and light food and to the roof to take the pix... i shot kodak color slides that day and richard shot black and white...
here are the result: edward przydzial~
black & white images below, all: © richard creamer - ecpi
special thanks to: the kiss museum news, michael ochs agency for supplying these photos. credit also due to: richard creamer and edward przydzial. we hope you enjoy them as much as we have putting this presentation together. - chris czynszac
...playboy roof session images, (color: © edward przydzial - ecpi) hollywood, ca. 1975* on january 16, 1975 a struggling new york band that wore garish face paint and black leather costumes ascended atop the playboy building in west hollywood, ca. just a couple months after releasing their sophomore album hotter than hell, kiss was still trying to break big in record sales but were quickly gaining a reputation as one of rock's best concert acts.
the hotter than hell album did not receive the promotional push that it deserved due to kiss' distribution deal with warner brothers expiring. also of note is the murky production value of the tracks with the guitars especially sounding overdriven to the point of distraction. over the years i've come to appreciate the charm of its sound but it obviously could have sounded much better at the time. on a rare day off, the band poses for these photos with the hollywood hills as a backdrop.
the playboy building, an offshoot of its main office in chicago, opened in the 1960's and now occupied by different tenants. between the band members. this was still, mostly, a time of innocence for kiss. i say "mostly" due to recalling the story of peter criss threatening to quit the band over not having a drum solo in the middle of the song 'strange ways'. aside from that, they still seemed to be in an all-for-one situation and these photos provide a great snapshot of a band that was getting its first taste of fame while on the precipice of fortune.
after playing a show 2 nights prior in eugene, the band arrives in los angeles for a two week run of shows that will begin the following night at long beach arena. anyone who knows photography can tell you... i had no clue how to properly shoot this session. these images are far from professional quality.
anyway i was a mere 13 years old when these were taken. richard and i went to shoot this session set up by allen miller @ aucoin/rock steady. i was staying at richard's mothers house in los angeles when he stopped by to ask me if i wanted to go assist/shoot a session with him. i grabbed my nikon and off we went. he didn't tell me we were gonna be shooting kiss...
so you can imagine my surprise when we ended up at the playboy club in hollywood. i was too young to actually be in the club but richard covered that and when kiss arrived i thought i was gonna have a heart attack. my favorite band in the whole world was getting out of their limosines and i was on the inner sanctum to shoot candid pictures of them. it was an amazing moment for me and i was pretty nervous and didn't know what to say...
i told the guys i loved their new album and i mentioned i saw them in new york (academy of music) before moving to michigan... new years eve show. they were very cool and asked me what i thought of kiss and why i liked the band. gene was the most interested in finding out why i liked their music and gimmick. a bit of small talk and light food and to the roof to take the pix... i shot kodak color slides that day and richard shot black and white...
here are the result: edward przydzial~
black & white images below, all: © richard creamer - ecpi
special thanks to: the kiss museum news, michael ochs agency for supplying these photos. credit also due to: richard creamer and edward przydzial. we hope you enjoy them as much as we have putting this presentation together. - chris czynszac
