Ever since their inception, Kiss have always been a band rooted in ridiculousness.
Whether it’s their overly theatrical brand of heavy metal that they opted to make throughout their career, the grandiose displays of pyrotechnics at their live shows, their insistence on wearing black and white face paints and adopting personas to go along with them, or Gene Simmons’ ludicrously long tongue, there are plenty of things that make Kiss easy to laugh at – but don’t let that take away from the fact that they were also incredible entertainers.
However, it’s not just their image, their music, or their personalities that made the band seem like a caricature of other rock groups. Throughout their existence, they’ve been met with inter-band drama and strained dynamics that led to bust-ups and departures, and while the original lineup of Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss is often what people think of when they imagine Kiss, there were plenty of personnel changes later on in their existence.
Stanley and Simmons have been ever-present, but there have been three different drummers over the years, and five different guitarists as well. While they may have initially been happy with the people they had recruited to replace the outgoing members, many of them were short-lived, and it turns out, had they not been so picky, there could’ve been another big name in their ranks.
During one of their lineup changes, they were allegedly in pursuit of Marty Friedman, who would eventually go on to become the guitarist with Megadeth between 1990 and 2000, and had the band not been so particular about their requirements for joining the band, they may have had his brilliance all to themselves rather than letting him join a rival band.
In an interview with YouTuber Sam Ash Music, Friedman revealed how he was contacted by the band and would have jumped at the chance to be a part of the band, considering how he had originally picked up the guitar after attending a Kiss concert during his teens. His playing with Megadeth is demonstrative that, in a musical sense, he would have been a perfect candidate to slot right into the fold with Kiss, but there were a number of factors at play that prevented the band from ever pursuing him further.
“When they were changing guitar players a long time ago, I got a call from Kiss’ people,” Friedman told the interviewer. “They say, like, ‘Do you think you’d be interested in auditioning for Kiss?’ I’m like, ‘Tell me when and where.’ They came back and were like ‘We’ve got a couple of questions for you.’”
While it wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary to ask further questions about someone’s suitability for a role, the demands that the band made of Friedman were simply laughable, and even though he was rejected from the position, he couldn’t help but see the funny side. According to Friedman, his interaction with their management went something like the following: “‘You don’t have any facial hair, do you?’ No. ‘You got long hair, right?’ Right. ‘You’re skinny, right?’ Right. ‘And you’re over 6 feet tall?’ and I’m like ‘What? I’m 5’7” but I’ll have an operation, I’ll do something.’ And they were like ‘I’m sorry, it’s not going to work out.’ I was so bummed.”
He may not have fit with the specific requirements of the band’s image, but it’s perhaps also worth noting that original drummer Peter Criss was, in fact, 5’9”. He may have been sitting down most of the time, but that may also have been the reason why he was ousted from the group, because standing alongside the giants in the band in press photos, he looked fucking ridiculous, and that’s so out of character for a band like Kiss, right?
