Paul Stanley’s Revealing Autobiography Face the Music: A Life Exposed
Face The Music: A Life Exposed ~ By Paul Stanley
Every generation loves KISS. The music. The makeup. The larger-than-life personas. KISS is still the personification of rock and roll, the very picture of rock stars ~ daring, cool, flamboyant. And no one embodied these traits more than the band’s co-founder and famous frontman, Paul Stanley, the romantic and brooding Starchild, the man who helped pilot KISS through its 40-year career as one of the biggest bands in the history of rock.
In Face the Music, Stanley reveals for the first time what it was like to rock and roll every night and party every day. With his trademark wit and candor, Stanley takes readers on a kaleidoscopic journey of his and the band’s incredible highs and equally incredible lows ~ from his own rough-and-tumble childhood in New York City and his first meeting with Gene Simmons to the band’s record-shattering (and infamous) Alive! World Tour, its dramatic breakup and surprise reunion, and its triumphant 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Paul Stanley’s Face the Music is a fully realized and unflinching portrait of a guitar god and rock icon, a chronicle of the stories behind the famous anthems, the many brawls and betrayals, all the drama and pyrotechnics on and off the stage. A gripping blend of personal revelations and gritty war stories that will surprise even the most steadfast member of the KISS Army, Face the Music is the shocking, funny, smart, inspirational and I-can’t-believe-it’s-true story of one of rock’s most enduring front men and the band he helped create, define, and immortalize.
“Both honest and inspirational. Amazing tales from one of rock’s great frontmen.” ~ Sir Elton John
“Paul is a great man who has achieved great things. His story is inspiring and motivating for anyone who dreams big. As he said in 1978, ‘Wouldn’t You Like to Know Me?’ The answer is yes and now we finally do.” ~ Dave Grohl
“Paul Stanley proves himself as an artist in music and on canvas and now with a great book.” ~ Jimmy Page
Here’s just a glimpse of what you can expect from the pages of Face the Music:
Growing up with a rare medical condition and a tough childhood. Paul was born with microtia, missing most of his right ear, and deaf on that side. The condition made it tough to hear in class or understand people when there was any background noise, and he was teased. His parents were preoccupied with his sister’s problems with drug abuse and mental illness, and he grew up feeling a distinct lack of security and somewhat unprotected.
His drive and how music became his refuge. He dropped out of college, drove a taxi to survive. He was obsessed with music and guitars, and left himself no alternative but to succeed.
How KISS was created. The hair, the makeup, and the characters: the Catman, the Spaceman, the Starchild, and the Demon. The special effects and pyrotechnics fans went crazy for. And later, the leap of faith that was “KISS unmasking”.
Becoming a rock star as KISS exploded in popularity. The creative rush, the hard work, the wild life on the road, and how he coped with success at a very young age. It was exciting, overwhelming, frightening. Being in the band also gave him a sense of belonging for the first time.
His tumultuous relationship with Gene Simmons. As close as brothers, but there were clashes. At first, Gene was always the band member Paul could count on, but his ego would get out of control, and he was not generally a team player. Why Gene was not invited to Paul’s wedding.
The other original bandmates Ace and Peter. During performances, there was camaraderie, but behind the scenes there was alcoholism, drug abuse, disappearances, jealousies and unprofessionalism. The painful realization that they had to be cut loose. And what the second formation of the band with Peter, Eric, and then Tommy meant for the KISS legacy.
Inside the classic KISS songs. “Rock ‘n Roll all Nite,” “Love Gun,” and the others – what inspired them, who wrote them, and how their first big crossover hit “Beth” changed the game completely.
The girls. Girls on the road, girlfriends (some famous, like Cher’s sister Georgeanne, and actress Donna Dixon – who stunned him when she secretly married Dan Ackroyd before she broke up with Paul). There was lots of sex but no real sense of belonging to someone.
The business near disaster. The early managers, instrumental to their success, but who created a legal and financial mess. The band survived not because they were brilliant but because they were resilient. Paul’s realization that he had to take control over the business.
The car accident that changed his life. He was seriously injured, several KISS shows were canceled, but no one from the band called him to check on him or ask him how he was feeling. He realized that the band was not his de facto family and had to face the fact that he had no meaningful relationships. He attempted to find love and stability in his first marriage, but it was a mis-match and it did not last.
A musical theatre role of a lifetime. Starring in the Toronto company of “The Phantom of the Opera,” originally seen as “stunt casting,” ended up as one of his greatest accomplishments. Occupying the role of the Phantom tapped into things buried deeply inside him, and he started working with AboutFace, an organization dedicated to helping kids with facial abnormalities.
His life now. Happily married to his second wife, he paints, cooks, and is very close to his four children.
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Face the Music (hardcover, ISBN #9780062114044) is available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers beginning on April 8, 2014.
For a list of Paul’s upcoming live appearances, visit paulstanley.com/face-the-music.
Also be sure to check out and Like his Facebook page.