Pastor Brad's 80s Christian Metal Guitar World!
Back stage with KISS and a very cool story about Eric Carr!


As a kid, I was a HUGE KISS FAN!  I bought my first KISS album in 1977--LOVE GUN.  I was instantly hooked... I bought up everything they ever recorded.  I plastered my walls with KISS posters.  I took great pride in being a "TRUE KISS FAN" during very end of the 70s and early 80s when their popularity was down.  I even loved THE ELDER!  I never got to see Ace Frehley  or Peter Criss in concert--I did see KISS on the CREATURES tour--with make-up and at the time we all expected to see Ace--but it turned out to be Vinnie Vincent--he was a great player--but he was no Ace.  Anyway--to cut down on the rambling--between 82 and 87 I saw KISS 6 times in concert (Creatures, Lick it up, Animalize and 3x on Asylum). 

It's kind of funny--actually I see God's hand in it BIG TIME--when I look back at how things worked out.  Of course, as a kid and a teen I had dreamed and fantaized about "meeting KISS" and what it would be like.  Well--it finally happened--but it wasn't exactly like I had dreamed.

A friend of mine--Michelle Lakey--and I drove 5 hours from Anderson IN to Evansville to see KISS.  When we got in--front row of course (seats were always general admission back then and we camped out at the doors so we could get great seats)... this roadie who went by "Romeo" spotted Michelle (she was a very pretty girl)... and he basically hit on her... offered her backstage passes and BOOM--she was gone... so I was hanging out by the barricade in front of the stage... and Romeo reappeared with a back stage pass for me--MY FRIEND MICHELLE HAD NOT FORGOTTEN ME!!!!.  Romeo really wasn't interested in "hanging out" with me... he was too busy hitting on Michelle--so I found myself all alone--back stage.  I just pulled up a box and sat down and watched.  There were lots of people walking around... I saw Bruce Kulick walk up some stairs... he had his hair all pulled back in in pony tail... I don't remember ever seeing Gene...  Paul came out in this off-white paisley sport suit and was immediately surrounded by fans--I remember him saying in a very Paulish tone, "Hey, hey... what is this a !#*!#ing ambush"  (i.e. "chill... I'll hang with you--but give me some space)... when I saw that, I just backed off and decided to not approach him... I didn't want to be seen as another "bothersom fan."  So I went back to my box... some time passed... King Cobra was the warm-up band... they came out... all "glitzed out" in their stage attire... they were hitting each other and yelling--sort of like a football team trying to "pump each other up" before the BIG GAME.  I saw the house lights go out and the intro music/sound affect stuff started to play--a roadie with a flash light came over and lead King Cobra up onto the stage and they began to play... that was sort of a cool "behind the scenes moment"...

Anyway... back to my box...  At some point in looking around, I saw Eric Carr, sitting on another box--talking to some dude.  I gathered all the courage a totally star-struck 18 year old--life long KISS worshipping fan could muster... and I walked over to Eric (shaking).  He paused and looked up at me... I held out a piece of paper and a pen and awkwardly blurtted out, "c c c could  y y y you  s s s sign  th th this?"  He sort of chuckled (at all of my trembling) and said, "Sure..."  He signed it and gave it back to me... I don't rememer if I even said "Thanks"... I just know I didn't hang around... I went back to my box and hung out and watched a little more...

Then this guy came out and started clearing everybody out.  He said KISS had to get ready for the show and we had to leave.  So I went back out front and watched the show.  I felt weird as I watched the show.  It  was the third time I'd seen KISS on that tour ( I had seen them in Terra Haute IN 2 days prior!!!)  so I started noticing things..."Dude, this is all one big rehearsed act.  They play the same set, say the exact same things at the exact same times, etc."  That might sound funny... you might be saying--"Dude--of course... what else did you expect?"  I don't know... I guess I just sort of had this fantasy thing in my mind that every KISS show was a totally unique event--where the Band and the Fans connecting... I thought, "Dude, if I can ever get back stage I'll hook-up with Paul, Gene, Bruce and Eric and we'll share and become friends... and maybe even jam a little together back stage--and have a good time."  It's sort of hard to put into words the kind of fantasies a kid can come up with. I had dreamed about this from the time I was 10!  Anyway--that night all of that image was shattered.  I saw KISS for the first time as a BUSINESS... period.

I've heard that other people who've gotten back stage to KISS (and other bands) have had awesome times--meeting and getting to talk to the band members, etc.  I really think God orchestrated things that night in Evansville so that I would see  "the other side of things"... the REAL SIDE.  Today I'm glad things went the way they did.  I kind of wish I would have been less petrified when I spoke to Eric... but God used that night to open my eyes. 

I can't really put the whole experience into words, all I know is that from that night on--I viewed KISS, and Rock Bands in general, differently... they were no longer "metal gods"... they were simple people... musicians... who recorded rock music and marketed it.  Wow... talk about a reality check.

I still very much respected their talents... but the "glam" was gone... and shortly after that I surrendered to Jesus.  That of course changed a LOT of things for me.  I got rid of all my KISS albums/stuff... and got into Christian rock bands.  And occasionally, I'd say to one of my friends, wouldn't it be cool if Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons became a Christian?!" 

So, when I came across this little blurb about Eric Carr and his possibly trusting Christ as his Savior before he died I was so pumped... Here's the piece.  IF YOU COME ACROSS ANY OTHER INFO ON THIS... or any rocker who's trusted Jesus... EMAIL ME!   pastorbrad@aol.com

The following is a quote from Stryken's drummer, Joey Knight--
during an interview with Ian Keith Hafner of Christian Metal Mayhem, April 2003


Joey:  "Not too many people know about this. Eric Carr was a huge, absolutely freaked out fan of King’s X.  He got Gene and Paul hooked up on King’s X, and they became fans of King’s X.  Well, Eric began to call Ty Tabor a lot during the time that he was going through all this stuff.  And Ty was able to witness to him, and tell him about God.  One of the biggest biggest obstacles that Eric had was, "How can God forgive me now, after all the things that I’ve done?"  And that was just a beautiful opportunity with Ty just to be able to open up and share grace to him, and the love of God, that God has for him.  And I’m gonna tell you right now, I believe I’m gonna get to hang out with Eric up in heaven."


Some addtional thoughts that a friend of mine, Ian Keith Hafner,
from the Christian Metal Realm Forum sent me...  This is so great!


I wrote Keith a note, saying...

"You blessed me... you sounded so sure about Eric's Faith in Christ... Dude... where'd you hear/read about it?"

Keith's reply...

"Hey,

Yeah, pretty wild about Eric, huh? Ok, here's how I'm certain. Do you know the band Stryken? Their drummer, Joey Knight, is a personal friend of mine, who I know very well.

He is also close friends with Doug Pinnick of King's X. Doug told Joey that King's X guitarist Ty Tabor, who was close with Eric, witnessed to him while he was dying of cancer - and that Eric got saved before he died.

I know it sounds like a game of telephone, but I know without a doubt it's true. Doug and Ty were friends of Eric (and Eric was a huge King's X fan!), and Doug himself told Joey.

Also, here's a little bit of info: Eric's biggest obstacle in recieving Christ was that he had a hard time understanding how God could love him after all the things he'd done in his life.

From what I'm told, Eric was just a really gentle-hearted guy, and I'm really not surprised that he got saved. I was really happy to hear it, too, as Eric is a big hero of mine (although I no longer listen to Kiss).

Anyway, I hope this helps!"