Paul Stanley: "I stayed away from drugs. I saw people around me dying."

PAUL STANLEY: HOW I MADE IT

(from the LA Times)

Background: Born Jan. 20, 1952, as Stanley Bert Eisen in the Bronx, N.Y., to a furniture salesman and a nurse. Formed a short-lived band, Wicked Lester, with fellow New Yorker Gene Simmons in the early 1970s. They dropped that name and formed KISS with Peter Criss and Ace Frehley in January 1973.
Big dreams: As a child, Stanley was shy but felt in his gut that he could be a rock ‘n' roll star. "When I first saw the Beatles on ‘Ed Sullivan,' I was a pudgy, little, unpopular kid. But I had this epiphany that I could do what [the musicians on TV] were doing. To think that when you could count your friends on two fingers, and you're not the kid who's taking home the trophy for best looking, is your innate voice talking."
Early days: KISS struggled early on, but worked to give the impression that it was successful. The band intentionally limited its New York appearances — even though it often had no gigs elsewhere — so fans would think the group was out on tour. The members saved money by setting up their stage equipment themselves, but did so hours early so no concert-goers would see them. For the same reason, they delivered fliers for upcoming engagements in the middle of the night. "There's no substitute for hard work, for lonely hours and sleepless nights," Stanley said.

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