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KISS Expo good, clean fun Date published: 10/13/2005
By EDIE GROSS Twelve-year-old George DeCampo couldn't take his eyes off the KISS "Alive!" album cover. His sister's boyfriend had left the record at their Prince George's County, Md., house, and the look of the band--decked out in signature white face paint and black spandex--mystified DeCampo. "It was almost pornographic. It was hard to take your eyes off," recalled DeCampo, now 41. "I thought, 'Look at these guys. They're insane. Do they look like this 24/7?' "I saw the cover, and I said, 'I've got to hear what this sounds like,'" he said. "After that, it just snowballed." Three decades later, DeCampo, a guitarist and owner of a deejay business, has taken his childhood fascination to a whole new level, sponsoring the Baltimore/Washington KISS Expo. The event, in its fifth year, brings KISS fans--some in full concert garb--together to sell and trade memorabilia, collect members' autographs, listen to tribute bands and reminisce about the rock band's heyday. "There are fans out there who are bigger than I am. There are people out there who live and breathe this stuff," said DeCampo, who lives in Manchester, Md. "I just provide an outlet for them. It's a big KISS party." This year's event, held Sunday at the Pikesville Hilton in Maryland, features face-painting, a museum with vintage costumes and other band items, and KISS karaoke, where fans can sing their favorite tunes backed by tribute band Love Gun. Starting in 1973, KISS floored audiences with their onstage theatrics, including pyrotechnics, destruction of guitars and the likes of bass player Gene Simmons spitting blood and breathing fire. Their white-faced likenesses were plastered on everything from action figures to ashtrays, prompting a healthy collectors market. In 1995, the band, which had long since abandoned its makeup, launched the Worldwide KISS Convention Tour. Each convention featured performances and Q&A sessions by KISS, music from cover bands and all manner of KISS merchandise spilling across vendors' tables. Expos, like DeCampo's event, grew out of that effort, popping up in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Japan and the United Kingdom. Prior to the advent of eBay, attending an expo was the only way hard-core collectors could get their hands on choice KISS paraphernalia, DeCampo said. Fans ran into each other year after year, and after a while, each expo became a reunion of sorts, he said.
Date published: 10/13/2005
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