The energy and excitement of the most colorful band in the business is caught on film by Barry Levine in the book The KISS Years. Having shot everyone from Queen to KISS, Levine remembers his time with KISS fondly. "Most bands at that time did photo shoots just to support their records. KISS was, and still is, an extremely visual band," explained Levine. "They actually enjoyed doing the sessions and I really enjoyed the process, creating the concepts, building the sets, etc." Also included in the book are his favorite tour memories as well as his personal perspective of the band's over-the-top image.
Created out of love and respect for the band and what they stood for, The KISS Years is the first publication from Studio Chikara, a packaging and production company run by young entrepreneur and unapologetic KISS fan, Robert Conte. It captures the band's outrageous antics both on stage and in the studio. This band affected people because of their courage, drama and willingness to take risks, shown clearly within the pages of this book. Conte was drawn to the band for that very reason. "As a teen, I saw Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley doing an interview and what they said really affected me," Conte explained. "They said stuff like, 'Be yourself...Take risks...Don't fall into pre-set molds.'" Within the pages of The KISS Years it is clear; molds were broken, chances were taken, and history was made. -- From the Publisher