Run It Back: Buck 65 Shares The Origins of His KISS-inspired & Influenced Song "Kiss My A$$" (Transcribed from Vertices Substack)
"I wish I could tell you the craziest story about the song "Kiss My A$$." I really wish I could. But I can't. Next time we run into each other face-to-face, remind me and I'll tell you. Here's what I CAN tell you:
When I was a kid—before Hip-Hop changed my life—I was a massive KISS fan. Funny enough, I know now that I was part of a problem for the band at the peak of their popularity. It wasn't exactly cool that hoards of small children were filling the seats at their concerts and as I understand it, some in the KISS camp hated it. But what can I say? I'm not a kid anymore and I still listen to my KISS records. Maybe, it's a nostalgia thing. I don't know. But back in the day, I was probably drawn in by the spectacle like most of the other kids. An entire wall of my bedroom was covered with KISS posters and photos from magazines. I dressed up like different members of the band for several Halloweens in a row. My friend Shawn & I used to stage lip-sync KISS concerts in my front yard for the benefit of the occasional passerby. And my friend, Chris, who lived a little further up the road, was super-into KISS, too."
"Sometime around 1992, if I remember correctly, I was booked to play my first real "gig" as a solo performer (I was in a group called Haltown Projex with Jorun Bombay before that.)
[Side Note: I came up with the name Helltown Projex for our group. But I think some of the guys were worried about what their religious parents would think, so "Helltown" was changed to "Haltown" (referring to our home city of Halifax. I still think "Helltown" would have been cooler, but I digress.]"
"I was keen for any opportunity to establish myself on the local scene, but there was sort of a catch: the concert I was asked to participate in was KISS tribute night with a whole bunch of bands on the bill. Each act was asked to play three KISS songs. That meant I wasn't going to be able to play any of my own material, but I was still determined to rock it. For my set, I adapted two KISS songs—"Detroit Rock City" from the Destroyer album (which was my favorite) and "New York Groove" from the Ace Frehley solo album. For my third song, I decided to write an original, detailing my childhood KISS fandom ("Kiss My A$$," of course.)"
"I remember that I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for the show, so I had to make a beat for "Kiss My A$$" very quickly. And I was still a beginner as a beat-maker at this point (Jorun made all the beats for Haltown Projex.) So, I whipped up a very simple 808 beat accented by a guitar stab, very-much inspired by the beat for "Rock The Bells" by LL Cool J. I figured keeping it simple and minimal would be best anyway because I really wanted the audience to be able to hear the lyrics.
The first verse opens with mention of the fake concerts my friend Shawn & I used to stage. Then, comes a line about listening to KISS on a Mickey Mouse record player, which is absolutely true. It was the one where you lifted the lid to see a picture of Mickey and the tone arm was made to look like Mikey's arm, creating the effect that he was "playing" the records with his finger. I had a jigsaw puzzle of the Destroyer album cover, which my mom and I assembled at the kitchen table a thousand times. I, also, had a Paul Stanley doll. Then, comes a line referencing the KISS Meets The Phantom of The Park movie. I loved it as a kid. Only when I watched it again recently did I realize how profoundly bad it is."
"Writing the second verse, I did my best to capture the childhood fascination. And, then, I make mention of how genuinely heartbroken I was when Peter Criss left the band. For the uninitiated, he was the band's original drummer and for a while there, he was my favorite of the quartet. I think that on some level, I appreciated that the other guys in the band chose looks that were scary and futuristic and he wanted to look like a kitty cat. He was replaced by Eric Carr in 1980 and I just couldn't accept it. I didn't like his make-up. I was not on board. Now, here's the thing: I didn't know that he had died when I wrote the line about him, saying that he was a "sucker drummer." So, I felt pretty bad when I later realized that I was disrespecting the dead. And I now appreciate that he was, actually, a really, really good drummer."
"The third and final verse is about the "unmasked" era—when the band chose to ditch the make-up and crazy costumes. And I own up to the fact that my interest in the band was mostly superficial and that it began to evaporate at this point.
After making the beat and writing the verses, I recorded a demo of the song. In the early days, it was common practice for me to record demos as a tool to help memorize lyrics for shows and final recordings. I had no notion of the song living on beyond the night of the tribute show. But I couldn't have anticipated how well it went over. Holy mackerel. I remember that the venue (the old Double Deuce on Hollis Street in Halifax) was packed that night and the ovation I received after performing "Kiss My A$$" was overwhelming. All the biggest bands in Halifax were on the bill that night, but I, honestly, think I stole the show. For YEARS after that night, people would stop me on the street and ask how they could hear that song again. So, a few years later, I included the demo on the Weirdo Magnet album (of which there were only a handful of copies made.)"
"What surprises me even more is that the recording low-key caught on outside of the context of the show. People liked the song on its own merits and I would hear people shouting requests for it at gigs over the course of two friggin' decades! All over the world! It was pretty much the first thing I ever wrote and recorded as a solo "artist." It's beyond simple. I think I made it—beginning-to-end—in under an hour. And it followed me around for my entire career. When I played my final show back in June, I ran through a short set of personal favorites. "Kiss My A$" was the first song I played. And once again, the crowd seemed to love it.
Quick Post Script: I'm working on a song with my all-time #1 music hero right now (it's not anyone from KISS) and I can hardly believe it's happening. I'm beyond excited. I can't wait for you to hear it. I'll let you know."
second version of "Kiss My A$$" from Buck 65's Synesthesia (2000-01)
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