gruno a kiss fan- boy that explains a lot. How is Chip?
gruno a kiss fan- boy that explains a lot. How is Chip?
Thanks!Originally Posted by KerryKompost
My collection is insanely far from being a complete collection of marketed KISS merchandise. I only collect(ed) items that were of interest to me. I know KISS collectors who have doubles of the entire U.S. merchandise market since KISS started releasing the stuff in the mid '70s. My main thing is autographs, so with KISS I incorporated the two; I collect certain items and decide if I want those autographed.
I don't know why I gravitated towards autographs. I enjoy seeing items & memorabilia uniquely marked with a signature.
As to what one KISS item I would love to have if money was irrelevant? I had to think a while on this one before resuming this post. I would love to have Gene's original Gibson Grabber. That was auctioned off about 10 years ago and if I recall correctly, that went for over $22,000. I did put in a bid for Peter Criss' gong used on the '77 Love Gun tour. I didn't get that one. Also would like to get some original '70s costumes. As for official merchandise goes, I have pretty much everything I ever wanted to get. If money wasn't an issue I would grab the recent guitar lines from Ace, Gene and Paul. Of course, then I would want them autographedto add to the collection here -- I might be getting that "V" guitar signed within the next 2 weeks:
This good friend knows you're not nuts, Greg
Your therapist told me.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
I've got autographs of Freud, Jung, and Adler!
Thank you for the response, Gruno. I looked up the Gibson Grabber (I wasn't familiar with what it was) and it looks like it sold last year for just under $30K on eBay. I say we take up a collection to get it for Gruno's birthday.
I realize this is probably a stupid question, but do you (or anyone else) ever play the Kissinstruments(tm) you own? Or are they strictly on display? Just curious.
Years ago I took my boss's young (13) son to a Lakers game; the kid knew Wanda Cooper and was getting into the post-game locker room all season and had an autographed basketball to prove it (this was during Kareem's final season).
So I'm walking thru the Forum parking lot with the boss's kid and I'm holding his 75% autographed basketball (he had all the sigs by the end of the season); I did a quick dribble and fake lay-up and the kid almost lost it LOL. "What the fuck are you doing, that's my prized basketball, dummy!"
Obviously I don't have the 'graph-hound mindset.
Well yeah, but even if I could afford it I wouldn't do it. Has nothing to do with the price. I have a problem with exclusivity in rock n' roll to the point where only the wealthy can afford to attend a concert, much less being able to hangout after for a photo op and some cheap swag. I'm just old school like that. Fortunately for me, I've seen most of the legends before they were legends for less than the price of a pizza, so I don't need to pay hundreds to see and hear them in their advanced state. Not that I haven't, because I recently saw the Who for more than the avg monthly car payment, but the fact remains that I don't need to. I know that it is what it is, but to me it's a shame that live music is becoming less accessible due to prohibitive pricing. But that's another argument for another day.
maybe you are just broke? What is prohibitive to you might be just run-of-the-mill to others.
Hah! Yeah, I know it has been re-auctioned since the original release. I attended the official KISS auction in 2000 on the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood. Some crazy prices for things. A lot of the items have since been re-sold.Thank you for the response, Gruno. I looked up the Gibson Grabber (I wasn't familiar with what it was) and it looks like it sold last year for just under $30K on eBay. I say we take up a collection to get it for Gruno's birthday.
Not a stupid q. I never play my collector guitars. Some people do, some don't. Within my circle of friends who are major memorabilia collectors, none of them play their guitars. I have about a dozen guitars and basses that never get played. When Spock's Beard appeared on my radio show in 2006, Al Morse used one of my Paul Stanley guitars (pictured above) on every song they performed that evening. He was the only one to play that guitar. Roughly three months later, Paul signed the guitar and it went on the hook for display.
If that was my ball, you wouldn't have made it to your car that day. I assume you were fired after that?Years ago I took my boss's young (13) son to a Lakers game; the kid knew Wanda Cooper and was getting into the post-game locker room all season and had an autographed basketball to prove it (this was during Kareem's final season).
So I'm walking thru the Forum parking lot with the boss's kid and I'm holding his 75% autographed basketball (he had all the sigs by the end of the season); I did a quick dribble and fake lay-up and the kid almost lost it LOL. "What the fuck are you doing, that's my prized basketball, dummy!"
Obviously I don't have the 'graph-hound mindset.
Funny that you mentioned Wanda Cooper; My first autograph was from Michael Cooper when I was very young. Coop is what started it all. He is my all-time favorite NBA player.
Maybe you're just a troll?
Well, I usually get paid to go to shows and stand around on the stage all afternoon. Paying to yak with the band is the biggest scam ever. I also remembered a 1980 joke -"how do you know if yo're sitting next to Fripp. If you ask for an autograph and he says no, it's Fripp.
Exactly... I always try to refrain the people with me, once we (usually not me) spot a celebrity and they want to get up and annoy them... in 90% of the cases, I can spot that he/she (celeb) thanks me for it in his/her stare
somehow, it does...
This good friend knows you're not nuts, Greg
Your therapist told me.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
I never get autographs from anyone ever.
One time, about 10 years ago, I happened to get the chance to hang with Geddy, Alex & their entourage at an Atl. hotel bar. We were sitting at the table next to them & several folks were coming up & asking to have pix taken, autographs, etc. Next thing I knew people were handing me their cameras & asking me to snap their photos, which I did. Well that was my "IN" to hang with their group. I got to talking with a guy, who I think was Allen Weinrib & he introduced me to the guys. Never talked about Rush or music, or anything of that sort. Baseball was the big topic & they essentially were more interested with my life & why I was in Atl. Never asked for a pic or autograph & I think they appreciated that.
LOL but no, I kept the job. I didn't do any damage to the ball or the signatures -- luckily. Lesson learned.I assume you were fired after that?
Coop-a-loop! I loved those years, man, those were some good times. Sweet to see the signed ball and the Coop figure.
Probably one of the most satisfying autograph hound experience I've had was chatting with Annie Haslem and Micheal Dunford after Renaissance played NF last summer. No, I'm not the biggest Renaissance fan, but Annie was extremely sweet. She asked me where I was from and I told her that I'd wanted to see them when they played Greensburg with Hackett, but I couldn't make it. Micheal then proceeded to tell me that it was a terrible gig (no surprise, its a historical venue and the owners are crazy about regulations ... I've been there a few times). It was nice to have that moment of human contact, beyond the autograph (which I, of course, treasure).
Another time that I didn't bother with an autograph was Gary Green. I'd already had it and felt no need to bother him, so instead asked him about Three Friends. He, too, was very welcoming and told us all about it. It wasn't an interview ... it was just like talking with another fan. Same with Phideaux (who am I huge fan of, musicially speaking), he was absolutely wonderful with us and we ran into him several times over the course of the festival and have kept in contact. I could tell you a lot more stories about members of Anglagard, Gosta Berlings Saga (who asked us if we thought people liked them ... can you imagine? I also unknowingly helped the drummer make waffles...), 12th Night, UK, Aranis, etc, and the two visual artists. The quote from my sig comes from my discussion with Roger Dean, who sought to make us more comfortable, I think.
So, the point is, the signatures are empty without a good story behind them and the only way to get a good story is to interact with these folks as people.
Ian Beabout
Mixing and mastering engineer. See ya at ProgDay !
https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.co...m/bakers-dozen
https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.co...-and-holland-3
colouratura.bandcamp.com
Nice stories.
I challenge your theory above. I have tons upon tons of good stories behind 'graphs. My signatures are definitely not empty. Sometimes the thrill of the chase is the better story than the interaction with the celeb.
Makes me think of the scene in "This Is Spinal Tap" when Nigel is showing off his guitar collection and says, "It's never been played. Don't touch it... in fact, don't even look at it!"
Being a guitar player and not a memorabilia collector, it's kind of hard for me to accept owning, but not playing a decent guitar, regardless of where it's been. After all, that's what they were built for! No disrespect intended, Gruno; it's just an asthetic that I have trouble wrapping my mind around.
I understand where you are coming from. Completely valid, from your point of view. One should look at a guitar on the wall as a form of art, in a way.
I guess thats the catch with collectors vs. non-collectors; some will not understand the fascination. Some people buy CDs/albums and keep them sealed and never to be played. Why isn't the original Batmobile from the '60s series driven on L.A. freeways every day? It's a car and was made to be used. Should coin collectors use the coins they collect? How about stamp collectors? The list goes on and on.
When I went to the 1994 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, the famous people I said "hi" to & smiled at acknowledging respect but not disturbing by continuing to walk instead of making them stop (Kareem A-J & James Worthy & their ladies, Richard Gere, Richard Dreyfuss and Dan Rather) all smiled back (probably from being grateful).
Jeff Goldblum & Laura Dern (then a couple), otoh, engaged me in conversation and we talked for several minutes. Because I saw her face to face with little or no make-up back then, ever since that day I have thought she was not only words like "sexy", "hot" etc., but also simply beautiful.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Steve, one of my favourite movies is Blue Velvet and Laura is absolutely stunning.
Cool story Steve! Back in the late '80s I worked in Brentwood which is a pretty swanky neighborhood; I was walking down San Vicente Boulevard and saw Laker AC Green coming my way. As we passed on the sidewalk I said "AC, you rock!" or something equally idiotic and he reached down and gave me a low-five (it was a high-five for me). It was pretty cool.
Saw The Magic Man hanging out in front Sports Club LA one morning as I was driving by; I always wanted to smoke a joint with Magic and shoot some hoops.
Edited for one more pro basketball star sighting: I was in a local hardware store and I could see the top of some dude's head up over the tops of the aisles; I figured it was some dude on a ladder (someone, get me a ladder!) stocking shelves. I turn the corner and it's fucking Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt the Stilt.
He left the store with some weird looking white guy and crunched himself into a junky-looking mid-80s Camaro.
I'm still waiting for Ernie to sign my Bad Dog U CD!
Autographs don't matter for me at all, especially on records or CDs because they ruin the cover. I never asked for one...
Ha! If you send it to me, I'll sign it and send it back, Rick!
The funny thing is that when I had the artwork done, the thought that anybody would want their copy signed never entered my mind. When it turned out that there were people who did, I had to by a silver Sharpie, because nothing else would show up on that dark brown backround.
I sat behind Alan White in a Seattle restaurant a couple months ago, I wouldn't have recognized him if he wasn't talking (rather loudly) about who he was and why he was famous. I elected not to interrupt his self worship by agreeing with him.
A few years back on another forum there was a discussion about an EBayer selling autographed drum heads. Someone noticed that the drumhead logos were a recent vintage and I then counted at least 20 musicians who had died before those drumheads were available. Myself, I only have GG autographs on tPatG lp and a concert poster from years ago. The most recent thing I did was have a photo taken with Jay Semko because we both had unruly beards going..
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