HARDWARES

Been buggin’ Rich for years to get out a book of his stuff, and very glad to see he’s done so, and smartly. Rich has shot all the classic rock bands. His list is incredible, spanning a few hundred shows between sorta ’75 and ’86-ish (by the way, he’ll sell ya prints – rtgenid@suddenlink.net). So yeah, what he’s done here is gone the self-publishing route and it’s pretty darn impressive. This book features close to 100 shots of the band, almost all in colour, shot from ’76 to ’86 at shows in Oklahoma. Watch the costumes get bigger and more elaborate: watch the look on the band’s faces as they realize their star has risen triumphantly, and then waned through crushing obsolescence. The book’s in a cool 8 ½” square format, nicely laid out, good font choices, and on gloss stock. Rich’s framing and lighting skills are on show, and as a stickler for detail, he’s made sure he’s cleaned up and touched up all of these so they sing, or shout it out loud, as it were. Additionally, Rich throws out anecdotes which recreate the vibe of what it’s like to be just another guy at a (rural) stop along the way, dealing with security, getting your passes, finding yourself hanging with Gene… the ‘70s is painted in sepias. And I’m diggin’ Rich’s introductory essay, in which he shows he coulda been a writer too, telling succinctly his story of how he fell into this from a nomadic life as son of an Air Force dad. Bottom line, every last KISS fan should own this, ‘cos so much of it is previously unseen, and it’s all… classic.

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