THE BASICS ON PETER CRISS:
REAL NAME: George Peter Criscoula
BIRTHDATE: December 20, 1945
BIRTHPLACE: Brooklyn, NY
KISS MEMBER STATUS: late 1972 - mid 1980; early 1996 - present
KISS PERSONA: The Cat
INSTRUMENTS PLAYED: Vocals, Drums
INFLUENCES: Jazz, Big Band, R&B, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led
Zeppelin
MARITAL STATUS: Married to model Gigi Criss (Peter's third marriage)
CHILDREN: daughter Jenilee (age 20, from second wife Debra)* Peter is the oldest of five children in his family.* Peter's parents owned an antique shop in Brooklyn, NY.* Peter's first real taste of a musical career was at the age of 13,
when he formed a street corner doo-wop singing group, called The Stars.* Peter began playing drums around the age of 13 when his father gave
him an old Army marching band snare drum.* Peter went to art school as a teenager. He took an interest in painting.* Peter took some drum lessons from jazz legend Gene Krupa. Peter has
said that he incorporated some of Krupa's drum techniques into his Kiss
drum solos.* Of the four original Kiss members, Peter was the only one to have
ever released any kind of professional recording prior to Kiss. His
band Chelsea signed a two album deal with Decca Records in 1969.* Peter was the first Kiss member to ever be married. His first marriage
was in 1972 to Lydia Di Leonardo.* In the early 1970's, Peter flew out to London, England to audition
for the drummer's role in Elton John's band, only to have lost to Nigel
Olssen.* In the early days of Kiss, Peter supported himself and the band by
recording drums on commercial jingles (Paul & Gene soon followed suit
by doing vocal jobs for commercials).* Peter recorded a seven minute drum solo on the song "Strange Ways"
off the 1974 "Hotter Than Hell" album. The solo was not suitable to
rest of the band and it was cut out of the final version of the song.* Contrary to popular belief, the song "Beth" was not written for Peter's
first wife Lydia. It was originally titled "Beck" for a girl named Becky,
who was dating a band member of a group called Lips that Peter was in
around 1971.* Peter's 1978 solo album was the only album of the four to not reach
the Billboard Top 40, but yet his was the only solo album to release
two singles: "You Matter to Me" and "Don't Let Me Down."* Peter and Lydia divorced in 1979.* Peter's second wife Debra Svensk was a one time Coppertone suntan
lotion model and Playboy centerfold.* Peter's 1980 solo album "Out of Control" was originally to feature a
photo of his face without his makeup on the cover, but that idea was
scrapped after Kiss asking him not to reveal his face so quickly after
leaving the band. Peter officially unmasked in a People Magazine feature
a few months after the release of the album.* In 1983, Peter formed a new band with former Chelsea bandmate and
songwriting partner Stan Penridge called the Criss/Penridge Alliance,
which eventually was changed to the Peter Criss Alliance. The band was
based in the southern states, particularly in Tennessee.* In 1985, Peter was rumored to replace A.J. Pero in Twisted Sister.* In 1986, Peter and his family moved to California. There, Peter joined
a new group called Balls of Fire. The band did some live work, but never
got off the ground. Peter left early due to finding the band unprofessional.* Peter contributed vocals to a song called "Best in the West" on the
album "Nasty Nasty" by the rock group Black 'n Blue. The album was
produced by Gene Simmons.* Throughout the 1980's, Peter worked on a "tell all" book on his life
and Kiss called "Face Without a Kiss." He re-wrote it numerous times
and had publishing interest, but the book never saw the light of day.* In the late 1980's, Peter was set to film a drum instructional video,
which was to include scenes of him in his "cat" makeup.* Peter formed his band CRISS in 1991. The band debuted later that year
at a California club. The band's lineup changed numerous times within
the four years they were together, with only bass player Mark Montaque
as the only other stable member.* CRISS was set to record a second album around the time of the Kiss
reunion. Peter's label TNT Records has since filed suit against Peter
and Kiss for breach of contract. No word has been made of the case since.
Free Myspace Layouts by MyspaceLayoutSpy.com
Peter Criss Myspace Layouts
KISS - Beth (Halloween 1976 Special)
Add to My Profile | More Videos
