Peter Criss "The cat is back".
Fra 'Kiss Army Norway Magazine' #1 - 1995

Last August we were lucky enough to get a interview with Peter Criss. The Cat himself. We meet up with him in Copenhagen when he was doing the Kiss Convention tour last year. We did a interview for the Norwegian Hardrock magazine "Scream". As our time with Peter was quite long, couldn't we fit the whole story in that issue, so here is your chance to read the whole interview totally uncensored.

Kiss Army Norway: How is the convention tour going so far?
Peter Criss: Things are going very good, its a lot of work, more work than touring. When you're on tour you got your bus and bed.

you do some interviews, you do a concert and then you go to bed. This is not like that at all. This is constantly. Every day its Kiss or Criss. The People over here haven't seen me in 17 years, so
they all want a part of me. Everybody wants to talk to me or hug me. It makes me feel real good cause here I am without Kiss, with a new album out.

K.A.N.: Tell us more about the new album!
P.C.: I have worked real hard this time, and its a very private emotional album. My mother died, so I wrote "Blue Moon Over Brooklyn" for her. "Bad Attitude" is a song about the tabloids that made up a story about me being a broke, drunk living on the street. I recently had a divorce and that's when I wrote the song "Good Times". "The Truth" is about the civil war which we had in America and "Strike" is about the youth.

K.A.N.: It took you a long time to finish the CD?
P.C: Yes!! It took a long time. My mama past away in '90 and then my uncle and my best friend from "New York Dolls" died. That was real hard for me. Then I had the divorce, and then I had a bad accident. I also used a long time to find the right guys for the band. You got to have chemistry, if you don't have that it ain't going work.

K.A.N.: Tell us about the band!
P.C.: My bass player Mark Montague have been with me for about 3 years, and he and I wrote most of the songs together. Mike Mclaughlin is just an excellent guitar player. He's going to be real big someday. Mike Stone is just another great musician. So I feel that I have the right guys now.

K.A.N.: You have also worked with Mark St. John!
P.C.: Yes! It was a nightmare. Now I know why Gene and Paul fired him. He is a real hard guy to work with. He played too much. I like to groove a little more. I like R & B, black music and soul music. I have a very soulful voice, so it didn't work out with Mark.

K.A.N.: Any plans for a tour coming up?
P.C.: If I could have my dream come through. I would play Europe first, then Japan, Australia, Canada, and then USA. I don't know right now. As I speak the record company is setting up a whole lot of stuff for me at home. I'm going to do a lots of TV shows and interviews.

K.A.N.: So you are promoting your album well?
P.C.: Yes, and its doing great on its own. The people don't just buy it because I was a member of Kiss. They buy it because they dig it. It seems that they miss my voice and my song and this stuff is the best I have ever written.

K.A.N.: You and Ace are working together again!
P.C.: Yeah!! We made a deal when Ace was recording Trouble Walkin'. He wanted me to play on it. So when I did that I said to him that he didn't had to pay me, but when I'm doing my next record I want you to play on mine. So we had this deal.

K.A.N.: Which songs did Ace play on?
P.C.: He played on "Bad Attitude", "Blue Moon Over Brooklyn" and he's on another song, but I can't remember which song that is. It's either "Strike" or "Go Down With The Sun".

K.A.N.: How come you record "Beth" all over again?
P.C.: It was the record company's idea. They said let's do it. It's been 17 years. Let's do it with the acoustic guitars. That's a new thing you know...Unplugged. When we did the tour we played half of the show acoustic. The song were so big when we played it live, so we thought about recording it for the mini-CD which was just for the die hard fans. Putting "Beth" on again was a way of saying thanks to our fans. "Beth" is still a great song so we decided to put it on the long form CD The Cat # 1 as well.

K.A.N.: You did record that song with acoustic guitars back in 1978 for the movie "Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park"?
P.C.: Yes! We did record it back then. But it was with a different arrangement and with a hired studio guitarist named Johnson. He was a great guitar player, so it came out very good. I never thought we would do that. And now many years later I'm doing it again. God have strange ways of doing things.

K.A.N.: The song "By Myself as I see as a big competition to "Beth", is that a song about your departure from Kiss.
P.C.: Yes! It's a song about myself trying to make it on my own without Kiss, and I can do it on my own!

K.A.N.: Will you play any songs from your first solo album on your next tour?
P.C.: Yes! I will play "I Can't Stop The Rain" and "Hooked On Rock'n Roll".

K.A.N.: You have played a lots of clubs in America over the last years. Tell us a little about that.
P.C.: In 1992 I did fifty city's right next to Kiss. It was great! I was playing a club, and the week after Kiss would play there. At that point I didn't have a record company or a management. But it went very well. So I thought if I could do that with a record company and a management it would be even more successful. So when the record company signed me up for the mini-CD It sold over 100.000 copies. The record company was so impressed by that so they signed me up for another 3 albums.

K.A.N.: What's the difference between being in the studio in the 70's with Kiss and now in the 90's?
P.C.: It's better, its more fun. Its easier, its all computerized and digital. The sound is better and the drums are made better. Fm with DW-drums now, and they make great drums. They made me a new kit witch I haven't even played yet. It cost me 5000 dollars.

K.A.N.: Why did you choose to paint half of your face in make-up on the album cover for The Cat #1?
P.C.: It was just to tell the people that, that was then and this is now. That was Kiss and this is Peter Criss.

K.A.N.: You have always used the number 3. as a symbol. Why?
P.C.: It's nothing deep. Its just my lucky number. You know I was the third member to join Kiss.

K.A.N.: Do you have any connections with Gene and Paul now?
P.C.: I just saw them two weeks ago in Detroit. We got along great! And its the first time that we have talk in over 5 years. We talked about the old times. We were laughin'. It was very nice! It was cool to see them again. For some time it was like a bad divorce. I guess we have grown up now.

K.A.N.: What is your private life like today?
P.C.: I just got engaged with a Danish girl before I left. I have bought me a new sportscar which I have just had a chance to drive for 3 days. My daughter is growing up and see has finally found out that Fm famous. It was about time because I have 52 gold records on my walls. I have went through a lot of tragedy but things are really good for me again. So I wanted to come over to Europe to meet you guys. I wanted to show the people that I'm drug free and healthy. I have my beer now and then but I take good care of myself. I eat healthy food, I work-out and I live a clean life. I've got another chance now!

K.A.N.: Thanks a lot for your time Peter. Make sure you visit Norway next time you're coming to Europe?
P.C.: Are you kidding.... I would love to come. Say Hi from me to the Norwegian fans! God bless you all!!