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Peter
Criss Interview
16/07/2007
Part 2
 This
is part 2 of the interview, click here to read
part 1.
PF I was really hoping to listen
to the album before I spoke to you, but it's been a nightmare trying to
get a review copy.
PC Yeah it's not so easy, it's kinda a shame 'cause this
downloading crap is really killing us as artists. I don't know if you
know that, but it's really wrong to steal my songs - I don't steal
nothin' from anybody. It's so wrong to steal my music, I wrote this for
my fans not to be stolen. That's a big problem we have right now and I
was told Paul got really screwed up before his album came out 'cause
some dick-head got it and bootlegged it and it went all over the friggin'
place.
PF It only takes one asshole to get hold
of it and that's it all round the world.
PC That's right mate, so you know I
published it and the people I'm with are really really holding on tight
to it because they know some people are just waiting for it. It's
terrible to be like this 'cause usually we'd send everything out for
people to hear but we can't do that now.
PF I totally agree, if someone came along
and took the money I make at work I'd be pissed off, it's the same
difference.
PC It's not only for the music, but for
movies too, its endless. I think technology is very cool, I've got all
Macintosh equipment in my studio, all pro-tools and that stuff. So it's
like a double-edge sword I find in this new world of technology, there's
the greatness of being able to record and go online and find some very
cool things and learn new things, and then there's the other side, the
crooks and the nasty's as I call them, the evil people who steal and rip
you off and steal peoples accounts, it's not cool. I was not raised like
that I don't believe that shit.
PF You mentioned Macs and downloads, do
you think the new album will appear on iTunes?
PC I hope to because you know I made it
through a b-board (?), so it's major, it's analogue not digital, so I
made sure that's not gonna happen. But that's as far as I know, I'm sure
it will get there, I'm positive. I hope to god (laughs).
PF You mentioned about the Space Ace
track, has Ace heard it yet?
PC Well he couldn't of heard it cause
no-ones got this stuff! I mean, there is a four song sampler out but I
don't even know who has that, it's only a real few select people who
have it. I know I'm on the Ed Trunk show tomorrow, he may have one or
two songs but I don't know. I just decided Ace and I when we got back
together, we are the closest in the whole family. You know there always
seems to be 2 guys closer than the other 2, we were those. We had a
great time together me & Ace and when I did the tour without him I
really missed him. A lot. And I wouldn't do it again, if I ever did,
without him. Four guys started the band and that's the only way I look
at the band. I wrote that as we were trapped as we were in a spaceship
on the reunion tour, it was a nice vibe but we were. He fascinated me
and I had to write some stuff about him and his pain and his blues as I
felt the same thing. It goes out into this wild space song and it goes
into this really crazy latin jazz solo and it's really cool (laughs).
And yeah, I'm hoping when he hears it I do get a call and he does like
it.
PF Cool, I hope you do hear from him!
PC I think the fans would dig that, I
think it's a cool thing to do.
PF Back onto the swing & rock albums
- are you planning any cover versions on those?
PC Well the swing thing is done and it's
all kinda Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, those type of guys, Glenn
Miller. I did it with my guitarist and it's turned out great, really
great, but I don't know when I'm gonna let it out, probably in a year or
so. And the rock thing it's just the music and hard track, the drum
tracks are all done, the rhythm tracks are done and the solo tracks are
done. So I'll work on it during the summer right after this one is out.
You know I'll go down and try to finish it by the winter and maybe get
it out next year.
PF Would you have considered re-recording
any of your KISS tracks like you did with Beth on Cat #1?
PC You know what, I have thought about it
but I haven't, and I do keep still thinking about it so it's kinda
become a ping-pong ball in my head. Back and forth, back and forth
(laughs).
PF Dirty Livin' or Hooligan maybe? I've
read something about a film called 'Frame Of Mind', is that something
you've worked on recently?
PC It's a movie, as I mentioned Charles
Kipps, the gentleman that wrote lyrics with me on 'It Doesn't Get Better
Than This' is the director. He's really like I said, if you worked with
Bill Cosby for 30 years you gotta be somebody! He did a movie about the assassination
of Kennedy and I play a cop, a retired lieutenant cop who's on the case.
In fact I done it last year and they're editing it now, they'll be
releasing it soon.
PF Cool, look forward to seeing it.
PC It wasn't a big role, it was actually
more a favour for him. I said I'd love to do it, it wasn't a big role
but was kinda cool doing it. As far as I know KISS fans will dig it
'cause I'm doing something in it! That's the beautiful fact of KISS fans
- there's nothing like them, they're so frigging die-hard! So
affectionate and I love it!
PF I've been a fan since '91..
PC (interrupts) Man, late in life!!
PF It didn't take me long to get into all
the old stuff, and it was just like wow...
 PC
I get that from a lot of people, they heard the 80's kinda KISS then
they came to see the original band and they were for it and left there
with their mouths open! It really dawned on them that this was the real
deal, this is really what they do, the real stuff. A lot of those people
have now turned over to be fans of the original band, not just 80's
fans. I get a lot of email on that, you know, "I loved the band
when they had Eric and Bruce but when I saw you guys live that was it, I
couldn't take it anymore"!
PF You know the last time they were over
here was with you and Ace in 1999 at Wembley. Unbelievably they haven't
been back since.
PC Right, I remember, right, we were
there only once, it was with Ace. Great show, great audience.
PF It was a great show, but Donigton was
my favourite show, fantastic.
PC Ohhh Donington was fantastic! [Peter
gets very enthusiastic about Donington, it clearly has some great
memories for him]. Coming down in a helicopter in true rock star style!
It was like real rock star shit, I felt like we were the Beatles!
PF I was unbelievable, they even had to
re-route some airplanes from the local airport!
PC It was very cool man, believe me that
was one of my highlights of my career I remember it all the time, I
think of that fondly. Actually there's a guy here, I go to the gym and
he's a trainer, he was there in a band, he's a bass player of one of the
acts that opened for us. And so he freaks out when I go over, he goes
"man I ain't never played anything like Donington, 78'000
people", he still freaks out about it. So it vas very cool!
PF Have you got any plans to come back
over to the UK?
PC I don't know man, you know it seems
with my life lately I'm really taking my time with my decisions and the
things I do. If I do something I wanna do it right and I don't wanna
make a fool of myself, cause I feel if I can't have the best and be the
best then I don't wanna take a chance. When I walked off the stage when
we toured with Aerosmith, you couldn't leave with a better band, they're
one of my favourite bands in the world and when we played with them that
was a great tour. Just missing Ace was the hard part. So I don't know,
see what happens if it feels good and people want it enough. I know my
guitar player wants to do it, he's constantly calling me and I don't
think it would be hard to find a keyboardist and a bass player and play
out for a little bit. We were actually thinking about incorporating all
that into a Peter Criss day, but we're still working on that.
PF That would be good, what about a KISS
expo, would you consider that again? Last time I seen you face to face
was about '94 I think at the London expo.
PC Yeah, something like that, I get
offers all the time. But we were thinking more along these lines, 'cause
we tried a Peter Criss day and it was really successful and it was
really a great day and we had a great time, so I would do more Peter
Criss days as I call it, than a KISS expo day. Maybe on my day I would
bring along some of those people that do the KISS things and let them
sell their stuff at my thing.
PF That would be good, maybe inject
something new into the KISS expo.
PC Well, everyone would be happy then,
nobody gets ripped off or looses money. Everyone goes home and they got
what they got - I'd sign everyone's things and play music, it would be
very cool.
PF Something like that would go down
really well over here.
PC I think so and I think it would go
down great over there, absolutely. My wife loves London, my wife would
move to England tonight if I wanted to!
PF She was ever so cool to me, she rang
me up last week to tell me you couldn't speak to me but she was really
helpful.
PC Oh, she's a babe man, she's beautiful,
inside and out. But when we went to England she fell in love with it,
she was like I could live here tomorrow, maybe would should buy a house
here. She really loves England big time.
PF You've gotta let me know if you do
decide to come back over here!
PC Definitely!
PF I get the impressions you are really
enjoying yourself now?
PC I was always taught by my dad when it
stops being fun walk away. It hasn't stopped yet! I'm not really to
start playing golf and sit in my wheel chair, I'm not ready for that. I
got the heart of a 15 year old. I may have the body of a 60 year old but
I go the gym and work out, I don't get high and I have a really good
life these days. I god bless every day, and I bless my fans for giving
me such a wonderful life.
PF Do you have any final message for the
British fans who are missing you and haven't seen you since '99?
PC I hope I come back, cause my wife
wants to live there! You know I just love the UK and I hope to go there
to do one thing or another, maybe next year... Who knows. This is a
crazy business we're in man.
PF Well, there's a shit load of fans over
here who email me asking when your albums coming out, so I'm sure you're
gonna get a good response from UK fans.
PC Oh, I hope so cause like I said in 2
weeks mate it's out so neither one of us will be able to do anything
about that! And I expect to get really hit in the face with pie and I
expect to get some good stuff too, I'm used to "either/or"
because of Gene and KISS - if I can be in that thing then I can be in anything,
so I'm hoping I get better "yays" than "nays" when
the UK gets my stuff.
PF I don't think you've got anything to
worry about there, just about any KISS album or KISS related album gets
a bad review over here, you've just got to ignore that crap. Listen to
the album yourself and make your own decisions.
PC Absolutely!
PF Well, thank you very much for calling
peter.
PC It was very cool, thank you man. I'm
glad my wife got this, it's a very cool thing she did. I've only done
you and I think I'm doing one other like this but that's it. All the
other stuff I'm doing is like satellite like I said, TV satellite shows.
I'm doing loads of phone-ins though, I got phone-ins all day.
PF Any TV shows lined up?
PC I don't know yet, that's another thing
that will just trickle in. Maybe Letterman or something - half the bands
on my album, it would be hard not to back me (laughs)! Anyway, it was a
pleasure to talk to you man.
PF Anything we can do to help just let me
know.
PC I truly appreciate that, god bless you
man.
PF No problem man, good luck with the
album.
PC Bye, and cheers!
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Like I said at the start, Peter was a
true gent and was very very entusistic about him new album and life in
general. He's a great guy and I hope his album (and the 2 to come) do
very well for him. Thanks Peter.
Huge "Thanks Yous" to :-
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