Be sure to check out the Live Images section of KISS Freaks for some great new fan taken photos by Frank Whitelaw and Jason Kuehnhol. Thanks guys for sharing the great shots! I have also update the Fan Images and Artwork Images with a few new images. So stop by and check those out also.

[Click here to go to Live Images at KISS Freaks]

Toronto the 22nd of November 2003 - Mark St. John talked exclusively in an Interview about working with Eric Carr during the turbulent Animalize era.

On November 9, 2003, Mark shared his insights of working with Eric, working with KISS, the entire band dynamics as well as speculated on Eric's cause of death.

Mark tells us about his first meeting with Eric and then goes on to reveal the inner workings of the one of the most influential bands of our time.

All questions were based on Mark's personal experiences with Eric Carr during his short tenure with KISS and up to Eric's tragic death on the 24th November 1991.

Mark was a guest at this year's Toronto KISS Expo and after signing tons of autographs, we sat down with Mark to discuss Eric Carr...

Q: When was the first time you met Eric Carr?
MSJ: I guess the first time I rehearsed with him. I flew to New York and auditioned, and I stayed at the Plaza [Hotel] and the next day I was at S.I.R., that studio, instrumental rental, I’m not sure. And the first person I met at the door was Gene. And Gene looked at me and said, “You’re perfect.” He hadn’t heard me play. “You’re perfect for us. Stand up!” And I go, OK. And there’s something in the headlines, something about Queen. It was Radio Ga Ga. And he goes, “What do you think of this?” I knew it was a trick question. Did I like it, or didn’t I like it? Well KISS is a theatrical rock band and Queen’s a theatrical rock band, I just said, “I think that’s great.” He goes, “Yeah, we like you.” [Laughter] Paul was the second to come up. Paul was friendly, but I think Eric was the mostly friendly of the three. Bubbly. Smiling. Bouncing his hair up and down. You know how he is. [Laughter.] He extended his friendship out more than the other two ever did.

Eric was a bouncy ball of joy. He wasn’t as serious as the other two. He was in the same position I was in at one time, you know, the new guy. The only difference was that he got a signing bonus of a Porsche and I didn’t. I hung out with Eric a lot. Eric was a great guy. A great drummer. He had some problems, some evils in him, but he showed me the ropes a lot. He helped me a lot. I liked the guy a lot. Great guy.

Q: Was he more outgoing …
MSJ: Yeah, because he was in the position I was in a long time ago. He replaced Peter, so he had the experience of going through what I was going through. He tried to help me out. He gave me little insights. Which is cool. That was the first time I met him. That was the audition. The audition went good, from bad to good. So I got the gig. The next time I saw Eric would be … I came back to New York to live. And we all had dinner together with the management. That was the next time I saw him. After that, we would hang out together every time.

Q: So what was your first impression of him when you met him?
MSJ: Eric? I thought he was cool. I thought he was cool. I thought a little more down to earth than the other two. A little more connected to earth. The other two are more hard to connect with them as far as reality because they’re in their own little space. I saw the thing with Gene and Paul where they do things separately. They don’t like doing things together. Eat at different times. Record at different studios. Sleep on different floors in hotels. Drive in different limousines. They never do anything together.

Q: Were they not getting along then?
MSJ: No, that’s what they do all the time. That’s how they are.

Q: Do you think that Paul and Gene held Eric’s contributions back in the studio at all?
MSJ: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Q: How did that work out? Was he contributing and they said no?
MSJ: Yeah, all the time. All the time. Eric would bring them demos of songs he wanted. Paul and Gene would say, “Bring your music in.” And he’d bring something in and it was just sad, like it wasn’t important. He’d get all bummed out about it. It really pissed me off a lot. He’d give me demos of songs. Like, one time we were all out for dinner and he’d give everybody a demo of the songs he did for the Animalize album. They wouldn’t even listen to it or consider it. I kinda pissed me off because I’d see that if they were doing it to him, they were going to do it to me. I signed a contract with KISS that said I would not get any publishing.

Q: Eric had the same contract. I’ve seen the contract.
MSJ: I’m writing the songs and none of my music was on the album. But I played bass, sang background, played lead guitar, but I still got paid the same. It was fucked up. Eric had the same contract? Interesting. I didn’t know that.

Q: Yeah. His first one was five years.
MSJ: I had the same one.

Q: How much was Eric involved with arranging the songs if he wasn’t contributing musically with writing? Did he do any of the arrangements?
MSJ: I did most of the arrangements only because, um …

Q: You’re a music teacher. You know the theory.
MSJ: Yeah, yeah. But the arrangements were pretty well established. The parts were there. Just as far as making them better, to good to a great arrangement takes a lot. Eric had no problems with arrangements. He was an excellent drummer. It wasn’t hard for him to do that. I think that he felt … He wanted to sing and he wanted a song on the album. They just kept him back and back. Frustrating, I think.

Q: Why do you think he was held back?
MSJ: I have no idea. I don’t know. I didn’t know Gene and Paul that well. They would tell you better than I would. I don’t know.

Q: What was the process like of brining songs into the band for Animalize?
MSJ: They didn’t let me bring anything in or Eric bring anything in. So it’s more Gene and Paul and they had a couple of other writers just write some junk songs. Eric and my songs were way better. But Gene and Paul wanted control of the publishing money. They wanted to make more.

Q: Did you ever write a song with Eric that never made it?
MSJ: Oh, no. We never got that far. No. I didn’t write a song with anybody in the band. The basis of the songs were already done. I just had to come in and arrange them a little bit.

Q: Going back to the Heaven’s on Fire video, I remember seeing the video and you had was swollen. So you were already in trouble at that point?
MSJ: Yeah. They were going to do the video in New York, and I was in L.A. in a hospital. So they decided to do the whole video shoot in Los Angeles. They hired new crew, or brought them out, or what ever they did. We did it in Paisley Park in Princess Studio. I can’t remember who directed or produced it. I really don’t care. But, they pulled me out of the hospital. They sent a limo to the hospital. They took the IVs out of my arms. I wasn’t ready to do a video, but they had to have me for TV and all that shit. With promotion, it has to all go out at the same time. I’m there, dancing around. I had arthritis in my Achilles heal, knee and in my hand. When you do a video, you do hundreds of takes. I was there of about six hours, and it really made my arthritis worse. But they couldn’t care less. I went back to the hospital and get all plugged back in and try to get better. And the second day we did a thing in a hotel with all the girls were. That was about what happened there. They went back to New York; they got a video.

Q: I know you didn’t do very many shows with Eric, maybe a handful, but do you have any memories of being on the road with him?
MSJ: Yeah, yeah, I don’t even remember playing with him, I felt so terrible. But Eric and I used to hang out. Gene had his wigs, right? They were Warren Beatty type wigs … Warren Beatty Shampoo wigs. Eric and I one time took his wig and were playing catch with it. And Gene’s getting all freaked out. “Don’t drop it. It costs so much money.” And then we dropped it on the floor. I can’t remember what we called the thing. But we were throwing it back and forth over Gene’s head and he’s trying to catch it. It drops and gets all dirty on the floor and then we stopped it. It was Eric’s idea and I thought it was cool so I played along. It was all in good taste, but Gene got all freaked out about it. That was one thing I remember about the tour, especially Eric. What else? The band was the only people that went on the airplane. Everybody else had to take the tour truck. When we landed, we would go either right to the hotel or right to the area. We’d do a sound check or hotel just to check in. They didn’t even tune their own instruments as far as I know. In fact, when I went to audition, they had somebody else tune their instruments. They didn’t even bring their own instruments. They just rented the instruments. Crazy stuff. That’s alright.

Q: What, if anything, did Eric dislike about being in KISS? Did he ever mention anything to you?
MSJ: No. Not really. Not that I can remember. It was a long time ago. Twenty years ago.

Q: When and how did you find out that Eric was sick?
MSJ: Through the news, I think. Nobody called me about it. I just heard through the grapevine. It kind of freaked me out. I think it happened so fast, what happened. I remember … it was a brain tumour, right?

Q: Yes, and cancer of the heart.
MSJ: Yeah, brain tumour. He drank more than anybody in the band. But that had nothing to do with it. I still think that one of the causes from it was … this is just my opinion from being around him everyday … he’d always have a bottle this big [Mark hold his hands about a foot and a half apart] of extra, super hold hairspray. [Laughter] Every day he’d spray that whole can, the whole can on his head. He was always concerned about his hair. Always. Sprayed it on his hair every day. He’d play and nothing would move on his head. If he had a chance with a mirror, he was always spraying more on it. And then he’d have to wash it off in the morning. But that stuff is really bad. I think that that had to have something to do with it. I was with him almost a year and he must have gone through hundreds of cans of the extra, super hold hairspray. He always had one in his purse. He always had one on him. The biggest thing in his purse. Everywhere he went … eating or playing or whatever. He used a lot. I don’t know about that stuff. I could be wrong.

Q: Were you in contact with Eric during this time at all? Did you keep in contact?
MSJ: No. I saw him at a couple of bars once in a while. The last time I saw him was in a bar in Orange County. This was a couple of years before his death. Probably a year before his death. He was by himself. I don’t know what he was doing by himself. He was sitting at a table drinking. He looked really depressed. I thought KISS was there rehearsing or getting ready to do an album. We were both at the bar. I talked to him and he seemed like he was outside of himself. Sure, like the things, “Hi, how you doing, what’s going on.” But I could tell that something was bothering him. I don’t know what it was, but I just left him alone over there. I don’t know what happened to him. He seemed like a really loner. He seemed like he was searching for something. I don’t know what it was. Tripping out.

Q: Looking back on your experience with KISS, with your hand and everything, do you think that Eric felt that his position in KISS was in jeopardy once he got sick?
MSJ: Probably, Probably, yeah. Knowing how Gene and Paul are, yeah, he probably did.

Q: What type of person do you remember Eric Carr as?
MSJ: He was always the one to come up with the jokes first. He’s a jokester. I don’t know how well you knew him, but he was always the one who has the first joke anything that came about. Everybody else joining [in]. He was like the lead man for the jokes. He always had a joke. He was outgoing, very outgoing. He was smallest one in the band, but he was always the funniest one in the band. In some way, I always thought he was the most talented one in the band.

Q: What do you think Eric would like to be remembered for?
MSJ: His drumming. His drumming. I think I met his family. We all got together for the album. I can’t remember what function it was. I met some of Paul’s family. I don’t think I met Gene’ mom. Just Paul’s family and some of Eric’s and my family was back in L.A. I think it was something to do the album. An album party or something. Yeah, that’s what it was. I know that Eric wanted to do a lot more than what he was doing. He was being contained. He had more talent than what people heard. A lot of it was really good. Maybe Gene and Paul were afraid of that the focus would be on Eric more than those two. I was only in the band for a short time. He had a lot more to give but he was contained. He always drank more than anybody. When I left the band, I saw him at clubs, and he’d drink a lot more. Maybe he knew about his health. I don’t know. Or maybe he was unhappy. I know he was unhappy with the band at the end. Very unhappy. I don’t know what was happening with the band. They’re still together. Bruce could tell you a lot more that I. He was in the band ten times longer. From the time that I was there, I could tell a lot. Something was going on. He’s happy to do it, but he’s very unhappy that he didn’t push that much further ever time. Same thing I would have gone through. Same thing Bruce went through. But we’re still here. Luckily I got out of the band. I’m still alive. I’m serious about that. I’d be dead before I was 40, being with those two guys.

Q: Well, it’s stressful.
MSJ: Oh, very stressful. Very. Oh yeah. You’re fired if you didn’t drink a Diet Coke or some stupid stuff. I could tell you stories. I’m already hated by them for the stuff I say about them. Just stuff that only an ass would tell you to do. Go bowling or something. And if you say no, it’s like another nail in your coffin type thing, you know? You had to go along with the program. I’m sure that Eric felt like … How long was he in the band before he passed away?

Q: Eleven years.
MSJ: [Silence]

Q: So it was like walk this way, talk this way?
MSJ: Oh, yeah. Exactly. Exactly. It was like being in the army. Oh, yeah. They’d make you do something you didn’t want to do. You had to. At the same time, you had to or his position was in jeopardy, I think. That’s my opinion.

Q: Do you have anything you’d like to add? Did I not cover something, anything?
MSJ: About Eric? Shit, I wish he was still with us. I know he’s in a better place. His times was short lived. I wish he could have done some drum albums, that featured his drumming more and his songs. He never had an opportunity to do that. Short lived. It just came and ate him up really fast. I hear he was sick and then all of a sudden he just passed away. Just like that. It tripped me out.

Q: It was quick.
MSJ: Yeah. I remember seeing the video God Gave Rock and Roll to You. I could see the pain. He wanted to do it, I heard. That whole thing just made me sick. I heard other stories, but I don’t know if they’re true about what happened. I saw the video and I could just tell that he didn’t have much longer. It felt like he had weights on his hands when he was playing. He just looked like he’d taken his last breath almost. I think about him all the time. Every time I do a KISS convention. I comes up all the time. He was the drummer of the band I was in.

Q: He was a well-loved member of the band.
MSJ: That’s right, that’s right. Very talented. I think he was a lot more talented than people thought he was. He played guitar and bass. He played other instruments. He sang. He played drums. He was a rounded musician. They didn’t use his talents that much. They just used him drums, unlike Peter. There’s no comparison. Peter’s more of a Latin drummer. He can’t play rock worth a shit. Eric was a total Led Zeppelin, Bonham, great drummer. A big drummer. They put a cap on him They didn’t want him to go as far as this. Because he was growing all the time as a musician, the other two weren’t. Just like I was. They picked me out of all those guitar players because I was on top of what was going on with all the guitar greats. I could play all their stuff, plus all my own. All the other people couldn’t have. I had some flair or something. Had a style. And that’s what Eric did. They contained me a lot. They didn’t have my best stuff on the record either. Because they didn’t want to sound too good because … I remember all the interviews from that album. About half of it was all about this guitar player. And I’m going to myself, “Gene and Paul hated that.” That was another reason they didn’t want me in the band. Eric’s probably looking at that going … take a couple of more drinks, you know? I’m assuming. [Pause] Is this for a fan magazine or something?

Q: No, I’m going to put this on my Web site.
MSJ: Web site, yeah. That’s good. Maybe the fans will understand a little bit more Eric during this interview here. I think I’ve given an interview to maybe his sister. I’m not sure or not. I talked to her before and she’s very nice. That was a long time ago. Maybe I could do something with her too.

Q: Well, maybe there’s still some demos kicking around that you could help finish up.
MSJ: I’ve got a demo of his that he gave me. I still have at home, I think. I should find it. Yeah, send it to Loretta. But I’m sure you guys got all the stuff. You guys got all the songs. You probably know more about it than I do. But that’s cool. That’s cool. Yeah, I remember Eric. He had his high healed boots on and his hair flopping up and down, bouncing around. Always laughing and bubbling joy. Always wanted to know where the bar was. He’s a good guy, good guy.

Q: Thank you, Mark, for you time. It was fun talking with you

In a deal with Canada's Nelvana, Nickelodeon has secured the series to air on its channels in the UK, Australia, Asia, Scandinavia, Spain and Holland.

The project is still in production, with the first episodes currently airing in Canada on animation cable net Teletoon. It has also been sold to M6 in France, where it will begin to air in April 2004.

The series will premiere on Nickelodeon UK and Asia beginning in January 2004, and will roll out on Nick in Australia and Scandinavia in April 2004.

A 2D cartoon aimed at kids aged 6-12 years, the series is a co-production between Nelvana and French production company The Carrere Group. Pasi Studios in the Philippines also worked on the animation.

The tween comedy follows the misadventures of Willy Zilla, a 12-year-old kid with a billionaire rock star father - loosely based on Simmons, the frontman of glam rock legends KISS.

"Mime Is Money: Jack Black's School Of Rock hit Number One in the USA movie charts and The Darkness album has gone triple platinum over here. Tongue-in-cheek soft rock has moved out of Houston and into money-making territory. And here is the logical conclusion of the gag: PISS, a band of air instrumentalists. Formed at the UK air guitar championships, they have signed to Brighton's Red Records to release a virtually silent EP. They've already "played" at the big festivals, are penciled in for a Peel Session, and are filming "PISS-umentary" Urinal Tap. Piss-take they may be, but their gigs are debauched, theatrical fun and major labels are beginning to circle around them. So raise the horns of rock and "give Piss a chance".

Hello KISS Army are you ready for the grand daddy of all KISS Expos? Indianapolis is back and better than ever! Besides New York this is the one to be at every year! Don't miss it as we take KISS Expos to another level during this unforgetable weekend!

Guests just announced, Bruce Kulick, Bob Kulick and Mike Brandvold from KISS Online. More surprises coming soon!

Ex-KISS Lead Guitarist Bruce Kulick will be there all day signing, taking photos, performing live, promoting his newest solo CD "Transformer".

Bob Kulick, who almost became KISS' first guitarist. Bob auditioned for KISS on Jan. 3, 1973, though was overlooked in favour of Ace Frehley. He also stepped in to assist in the recording of Alive II's studio side, when Ace became "unavailable". He also played on Paul's solo album and performed on tour with Paul Stanley in 1989. He was also the one to suggest to Gene and Paul that they should hire his brother Bruce. The rest is KISStory!

Bruce and Bob will be performing together for a very rare live performance.

KISS Online's Mike Brandvold, the fan who ended up working for the band's official site. Mike will be answering questions and talking with fans about his experiences with the greatest band ever. Mike will also have some fantastic deals on merchandise courtesy of KISS & Sony Signatures.

MC for the event will be Steve Stierwalt, Jr. of KISSFreaks.com.

Keep checking in for more details as we add more BIG surprises in the coming weeks!

Costume Contest & Trivia Contests

NEW LOCATION!
To book rooms call Tel: 1-317-359-5341, ask for the special KISS Expo rate.
150 VIP Laminates on sale now - $25.00 each. These are going quick so get yours soon!
VIP includes collectors laminate, 1 hour advance entrance and a FREE 24"x36" KISS black light poster (poster will be given at door)

To order VIP Laminates call 317-595-1108 or order online at www.kissshop.com Regular tickets are on sale now for $16.00 in advance at www.kissshop.com and $20.00 at the door.

If interested in dealer tables contact soon they are going quick, call 317-595-1108 or email kissexpos@aol.com

For more information continue to check, www.kissshop.com & www.kissfreaks.com

Holiday Inn
INDIANAPOLIS-EAST
6990 E. 21st Street (I-70 & Shadeland Avenue Exit)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46219  

Playing through January 31, 2004
On select local cable systems Video On Demand

Title: KISS Symphony, Alive IV in Concert

Description: You wanted the best you got the best….KISS Symphony, Alive IV in Concert! KISS, the legendary hard rock band that brought you the #1 music Pay Per View of 2000 and has sold more than 80 million albums, rocked the road this summer with sold-out venues on tour with Aerosmith and will “rock and roll” your house this December/January. This special concert presentation features KISS performing classics including “Rock And Roll All Nite,” “Deuce,” “Love Gun,” and “Detroit Rock City” accompanied by the 60-member Melbourne Symphony Orchestra all sporting full KISS makeup. Joining founding KISS members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss for the concert is new lead guitarist Tommy Thayer.

Also check out:

http://www.kissppvcontest.com/
http://www.kissonline.com/

The "Bruce Kulick Turns Fifty" union is an open forum housed by Yahoo! groups. All Kulick fans can access the club by using their FREE Yahoo! email address. Once joined, members can post birthday messages, as well as their reflections of Bruce's music career.

Fans may participate in celebrating this very special occasion simply by CLICKING HERE! Bruce's 50th birthday is on Friday, December 12th, but all posted comments will be shared with him by the end of December, 2003.

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY, BRUCE!

Alice and Calico Cooper, Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne, Steven and Liv
Tyler and Ace and Monique Frehley are among the famous musicians and their offspring being spotlighted on "Rock Star Daughters: The E! True Hollywood Story", which is set to premiere on E! Entertainment on Sunday, December 7 at 8:00 p.m. Encore presentations are scheduled for Dec. 7 (11:00 p.m.), Dec. 13 (3:00 p.m.) and Dec. 14 (1:00 p.m.).

For More Information click here

I have added quite a few new items to the store for the Christmas season. Stop by and check out some of the newest items at Christmas season pricing! Remember if you would like to order mulitple items let me know and I can cut the rate on shipping! Keep checking in as I continue to add new items.

Here are some of the new items that have been added:

Symphony Release Pass $2.99
Paul Stanley Washburn Promotional Guitar Pick with Makeup $4.99
New Years Eve Millenium Poster $12.99
Ace Frehley Birthday Bash Poster $9.99
Last Show Cup $9.99
Ace Frehley Birthday Bash Cup $6.99
Clown White Magazines Set of 5 $9.99
Transformer 10 Pick Set $49.99
Dragonfly Womens White & Rainbow Rhinestone Shirt $14.99
Vintage Photo Tour Jersey $14.99($35 on tour currently)

[Click here to view these items and order!]

December's giveaway is for a set of KISS This Stickers. You just have to be a member of the KISS Freaks Email List, doesn't matter when you joined.

What do you have to do to win? Just sign up for the KISS Freaks Email List below. I will pick one fan at random at the end of the month, email that fan to notify them and get address info, then ship the cd.