Kenny Murdo's Kiss pictures

[OldManC]

Must have been Paul, he's the one who does the smashing act at the end of every performance, but the guitars he smashes are props, prepped to snap on impact.
http://www.kissfanclub.de/muuu1om.jpg
The Body of a Gibson Sonex (No big loss here), smashed and autographed by Paul Stanley

Gee, and I thought I'd heard Paul actually playing those guitars during Rock and Roll All Night when I've seen them those multiple times over the last 25 years.

The guitars Paul breaks are cheaper models and he may have decided to be even more phony about it in his old age (by having them 'prepped'), but there was a time when that wasn't the case.

[Dave W]

(sigh)

Let's keep online pics out of this thread, please. I thought this was clear.

User taken pics, OK. That's what this thread is about.

[gearHed289]

Nope, Ace's destroyer came with a white pickguard, the one with the Black guard was a custom order Gibson with a flamed maple top.
http://www.acefrehleylespaul.com/AceWithoutALesPaul.html
Read more about that here.

No kidding, I thought the opposite. Cool Ace web site!

[uwe]

Since we're talking: It was Herr Blackmore who invented smashing cheapies and (real) no-goodies during Purple when those jewish kids from Queens were still touring NYC clubs and being sold as third rate New York Dolls.

With Kiss, I never saw the guitar smashing as more than a hasty afterthought gimmick, part of their whole show concept, I saw none of that intense love/hate relationship Hendrix, Townshend and Blackmore had with their guitars. Paul really isn't a person that likes to smash things (or is frustrated by his guitar playing during shows or elated by it). I was more impressed by the blood spitting and fire breathing I must say. No other band did that.

[lowend1]

I was more impressed by the blood spitting and fire breathing I must say. No other band did that.

[lowend1]

Gee, and I thought I'd heard Paul actually playing those guitars during Rock and Roll All Night when I've seen them those multiple times over the last 25 years.

The guitars Paul breaks are cheaper models and he may have decided to be even more phony about it in his old age (by having them 'prepped'), but there was a time when that wasn't the case.

I have a pic from a magazine around somewhere that shows a backstage shot of a stack of Gibson boxes and a Marauder leaning up against it (Paul's choice in the 70s for destruction). As I recall, he would play the song with his regular guitar, and then disappear offstage during the ending - reappearing shortly thereafter with "prop" instrument. If you watch videos of this, he will swing the guitar over his head and hit the floor with the edge of the body several times before flipping the instrument into position to impact the face of the guitar when he brought it down. It would usually break on the first try in that position.

[gweimer]

"Must have been Paul, he's the one who does the smashing act at the end of every performance, but the guitars he smashes are props, prepped to snap on impact."

At least Pete Townshend used real Coral guitars for his destruction, and Black Oak Arkansas bought Ventura guitars by the case for the grand finale of each show.

[Highlander]

Gary... I still have my "One Square Inch Of Heaven On Earth" deed, and a quad copy of the LP, but I never got to see them...  

Lowend... I guess you were a lucky fan, because you got some nice shots (including the Foghat's) ... I have some like that, but one artist at a time...  

Uwe... You mentioned "Martin Bins"... for around 8 weeks of my life (in the summer of '82 - a nasty song with the words "get down on it" was constantly blaring through some saddo's megablaster - one of the assemblers used to be a gardener for George Harrison...?) I worked for a company that built them (the carcasses), also the shells for Trace-Elliot combos (2x10...?) and the PA system for that years Iron Maiden tour - I think they were called Acoustic Solutions... I didn't get on with being an assembly-line worker and got "released" (polite word for "sacked") ... My post British Airways (Oct 81 - March 83) time was spent trying to go pro musician and failing, so I went back to work... lots of odd jobs to pay the bills...

Still scanning... going back thru and rescanning some and sorting order - having trouble getting onto photobucket at mo... if I get on I'll post fresh scans from tonight...

[Highlander]

Time I got the proverbial finger out...





Nearly got the set 2 (now I've sorted them all) finished, then set 1 to do... Lowend wins on the "firehouse" shot... mine is blurred so no posting... I think there may be a reasonable blood shot to come...

[Hornisse]

Those are great!  I love that bass Gene is playing.  Isn't that his old LoBue (sp) bass that was refinished/modified? 

[Highlander]

You'll definitely have to ask an expert that question, Hornisse...

This one is to show you what you can do with an old scratched negative... just needs a little TLC...


this is the original scratched-up image that I first posted, not... just wished I had PS... just a tad too costly for my budget this milennia...


... and for those wanting a better shot of Gene's rig... the blurry bit at the bottom is the edge of the stage...
... there may be a better shot yet - still got another 30 ish to scan...



More to come... but as it's now nearly 2AM, not for a few days...

[lowend1]

Those are great!  I love that bass Gene is playing.  Isn't that his old LoBue (sp) bass that was refinished/modified? 

That's the one!

[Highlander]

An expert...!

[lowend1]

You'll definitely have to ask an expert that question, Hornisse...

This one is to show you what you can do with an old scratched negative... just needs a little TLC...


this is the original scratched-up image that I first posted, not... just wished I had PS... just a tad too costly for my budget this milennia...

Nice cleanup, Ken. I'm diggin' the shot of Gene with the candelabra behind him. I have some great shots from '75, but I didn't take them, a friend of mine did - so I have refrained from posting. Shooting concerts has been a hobby of mine for ages, and was actually something I was considering doing for a living when I got out of college. I still make part of my living with my camera, but the subject matter is not nearly as fun. We should have a thread here for concert pix.
Re Photoshop - Try getting an older version on ebay, or even Photoshop Elements - most of what you need will be in there.

[Highlander]

Ta Lowend (what is your name...?) the neg scanner is a plustek opticfilm 7200 (dedicated 35mm - cost £80) which came bundled with a prog called Silverfast (V2.0.7, which appears to be product locked) which has a lovely scratch removal auto-feature - a bit slow, but you pay for... I also have an old Epson Perfection 1200 with the neg scanner add on (which is getting old but works fine) - the primary pic software is 10 years old, called Micrografx Picture Publisher v8 - got very good reviews when it came out, but...

PC's a reasonably spec'd mid range Dell, post the (PSU?) death of the last hybrid just before Christmas...

The idea of trawling through ebay has validity but it is difficult to find at the right price and what looks legit...

Dave could put up the thread but it looks like we might end up hogging it... 

I think I took these shots with an old Zenith E, then had a couple of Chinnon's, then a Pentax Super A until I went digital in 2003 (but in a budget way, just family stuff these days) with a Fuji 602 for our trip to your fair country... I considered that (pro) route, too, but could not afford to take the risk...

There's more nice ones to come...