KISS is a band that has been around for decades. It doesn't just have fans, it has fanatics! To even the casual KISS listener, they have iconic songs that everyone knows.
Our family knows these iconic songs. My boys can sing along to "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Shout it Out Loud." "Detroit Rock City" is of course a classic. My twins also love "God Gave Rock and Roll to You"...but that one stems more from its connection to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.
However, we've had another KISS connection for years. One of my twins has a super long tongue. It is so long, that when he was a toddler, we had to ask him not to pick his nose with his tongue! It doesn't just TOUCH his nose. No. It goes IN his nose.
Naturally, we've always made comparisons to Gene Simmons. (Don't worry, Gene, I'm sure he's mine.)
This past Halloween, we decided to do a family costume. There's four of us. Coincidentally, there's four of KISS! So, that sealed it. Based on the kid's tongue, we decided to go full-on KISS.
I found a kid's costume for the Demon (Gene Simmons) for the kid with the tongue. Naturally, my other son wanted a level of distinction, so he chose to be the lead singer, Paul Stanley. For him, we got a Starchild costume.
The grown up costumes were not as reasonably priced...so were a bit cost-prohibitive. Luckily, I found enough black clothing and added enough accessories (some out of aluminum foil) to pass.
Since I was figuring out the costumes AND doing the paint jobs, I figured I deserved to be Ace Frehley aka Spaceman, the lead guitarist. My wife then, of course, claimed the drummer, Peter Criss because she likes cats. He is Catman.
On the big night, everyone got suited up. I painted everyone's faces per their stage character and fitted them with wigs. Some wigs we had to style to look right, some we even had to cut. Then, I painted my own face, and we were off.
Never before have I received so much feedback for a costume!
People asked for pictures of us. People asked for pictures with us. People broke out into spontaneous air guitar!
It was such a cool night, and I have the bigger than life guys who lived on a poster in my older brother's room when I was a kid to thank for it.
I was a fan. However, with this awesome and special family moment to cherish forever, I may now be leaning to fanatic.