Revolution Magazine recently received tickets from Get A Life Inc., to attend the 2010 KISS Expo to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the release of the Asylum album. The Expo was held in King of Prussia, PA on May 16th at the Radisson Hotel.
Now for those of you who have never attended a KISS Expo, it’s like walking into a the middle of a freak show where the highlight is non other than the 4 most famous members of the worlds most famous rock band ever, Paul, Gene, Peter and Ace! Everywhere you turn there are people dressed in their KISS costumes, complete with make up. For those not brave enough to try and pull off the full costume, you find them with just make up or just the famed platform boots!
The Expo itself features every form of memorabilia known to man. From old school KISS merchandise like the classic lunch boxes and posters to new merchandise like perfume, yes I said it perfume… you can find it all here. It’s very unlikey not to find that one thing you have wanted to add to your collection now for years however with that want comes a hefty price. Having taken my husband to this Expo we personally walked away with an original copy of the first comic book from the 1970’s that Kiss put out on Marvel Comics. The ink contains each member of the bands blood. I won’t say what we paid for it but the two most cool aspects of it are A) it was something my husband had wanted for a long time and B) we bought it directly from Lydia Criss.
Which leads to the cool people you meet at these Expo’s. I just mentioned Lydia Criss. Lydia is non other than “Beth”. That’s right, the famous Kiss song was written about Lydia, Peter Criss’ ex wife. She and I struck up a conversation about my camera of all things, I bought her book, Sealed With A Kiss, and we are planning an interview in the near future.
Another person I met at the Expo, again by talking camera talk, was Bill Baker. Now a lot of you might not know his name but you should. So here is the scoop: Bill Baker is a longtime friend/guitar tech of Ace Frehley. Bill also fronted the Ace Frehley tribute band Fractured Mirror. Bill has also written a book, Ace Frehley, The Ultimate Fan Scrapbook. Bill and I hit it off immediately and we too are planning an interview very soon.
Ex KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick was also on hand signing autographs and as guest speaker answering questions. Bruce and I had already met before which led to my interviewing him, so it was just like seeing an old friend.
KISSNation performed. They are a KISS tribute band hailing from none other than New York City!
So from memorabilia to tribute bands to guest celebrities, any KISS Expo you attend will be one worth talking about! I look forward to the next one in my area… now will someone tell me when it will be please?
