Greg Prato for Ultimate-Guitar.com spoke with guitarist John 5 (Rob Zombie, Mötley Crüe) about his KISS memorabilia collection. The interview appears in its entirety below
Ultimate-guitar.com: How did you get involved in collecting KISS items?
John 5: It was June of ’77, and how I know that is because that’s when Love Gun came out, and I loved monsters when I was a little kid, and I loved music. I was obsessed with music.
So, I was walking through Sears with my mom, and I saw this display. There’s all these records and, like, this big display, and they were all made up. And I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ And I asked my mom if I could get the record. She got it for me, and it changed my life.
It really was such an epiphany for me, because it had the two things that I loved most in life: monsters and music. And I was just obsessed. It was just such a life-changing experience for me, along with millions of other kids. And adults, as well.
And so I just tried to get everything KISS: the magazines, and at that time, the merch was coming out like crazy, around ’77, ’78, ’79. So, I just got so much stuff. That’s what started it. And it’s just a really fun hobby. It’s just a nice, fun, easy hobby that I really love.
Ultimate-guitar.com: Most cherished items of your KISS collection?
John 5: Well, I would probably say I have their outfits from their first tour. I have things like that, things there’s only ‘one of one.’ So a lot of like, costume pieces, concert posters, and there’s this thing called the KISS Army.
I don’t know if you’re familiar with the KISS Army, but you see it around. Back in 1975, these kids wanted to hear KISS on the radio. So, they stood outside of this radio station and held this big banner, and it said ‘The KISS Army.'”
And then the band got word of this and invited these kids [to a show] because they were outside this radio station demanding they play KISS.
Anyways, long story longer, I got that banner, so it’s kind of like the birth of the KISS Army, and that’s where KISS got the name the KISS Army: from this banner. I have things like that. It’s real history, if you will.
Ultimate-guitar.com: What can fans expect at your museum tour?
John 5: “So, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a museum. I’ve been to many. I really enjoy them. But I wanted to make this experience… You get a guide, or you get the little headphones and things like that. So what I wanted to do, was make it a little bit more special, come to the site, and then I’m going to walk you through and talk about everything, because people will be like, ‘What’s this? What’s that?’ And they won’t know.”
And so I’m going to walk you through everything and answer questions. We get to hang out, and you get to hang out for up to two hours. So, it’s a really great experience.”
And then at the end… When you were a kid, the one thing you wanted to do is find a KISS pinball machine back in the ’70s. Maybe your arcade had it, or a drugstore, or a pizza parlor, or something like that. So, I have two machines, each person will play me in KISS pinball, and it’s just gonna be a wonderful, wonderful afternoon.
You know, it’s something that probably won’t ever happen again. It’s just a one-time thing. So, it’s gonna be a special time.
[And if] there any things that you would like to acquire in your KISS collection? And also, how can people get in contact if they have something that maybe they’d like to offer you to either check out or purchase from them?
I have my Instagram, Knights in Satan’s Service, because that’s what the parents used to think ‘KISS‘ stood for, and people can get a hold of me. It’s the magnitude: KISS was worldwide, super, super, super popular.
Think of anything, like Taylor Swift. They were as big and had so much merchandise all over the world. And I just collect up until from ’73 to ’83, and it’s just endless. I mean, it is endless merchandise. But that’s what makes it fun. It’s like shoveling sand. It ain’t gonna end.”
To find out more details, about John 5’s KISS museum tour, and how to purchase tickets, please click here.
