Free Kiss Listening Party Set For Poughkeepsie, NY

New Kiss Live in Poughkeepsie release to be celebrated at Darkside Records.

We reported back in February, the release of the new Kiss Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY 1984 album release set for April 7. The album is the only known soundboard recording featuring guitarist Mark St. John during his short stint in Kiss. The recording captures Kiss live at a jam-packed Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie on the Animalize tour.

Mark St .John played with Kiss from April to November of 1984 and his work can be heard on the band's 1984 album Animalize. He died suddenly in early April of 2007.

Also See: Metallica Worldwide Listening Party Coming to Hudson Valley

Kiss Hudson Valley Ties

Drummer Eric Carr played with Kiss from 1980-1991 and performed on studio albums Music from "The Elder", Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up, Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights, and Hot in the Shade. He can also be heard on the new upcoming live Poughkeepsie release.

While Carr was a Brooklyn boy, his parents, Albert and Connie Caravello eventually settled in the Sullivan County area where they lived for years. I remember as a young kid going to the old Dutchess Mall in Fishkill and his parents had a little store dedicated to all things Eric Carr. I remember thinking how cool it was. All sorts of memorabilia were on display, including Carr's chrome Chikara drum set which the drummer used on the Kiss 1988 Crazy Nights tour. They also had video footage showing on a small tv of Carr playing with Kiss on the tour. Carr's passing was sadly overlooked by some, including Rolling Stone, due to the passing of Queen's Freddie Mercury (Mercury died the same day from AIDS complications at the age of 45).

Carr's funeral was held at St. Joseph's Church in Middletown on Nov. 30, 1991, and was attended by Kiss band members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick along with Ace Frehley along with many fans who showed up in Kiss t-shirts and ripped jeans to show their respects to the talented drummer taken from us way too soon. Carr is interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Newburgh, NY.

Free Kiss Listening Party in Poughkeepsie, NY

Darkside Records in Poughkeepsie posted to social media recently to announce a Kiss listening party for the new Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY 1984 album, and it is absolutely free to attend!

The event takes place Thursday, April 6 at 7 pm at Darkside Records located at 611 Dutchess Turnpike in Poughkeepsie and it is sure to be a fun evening for any member of the Kiss Army with everyone attending receiving a free poster, wristband and a raffle ticket to be entered to win an Animalize Tour Prize Pack. Prize pack includes a vinyl copy of the live Poughkeepsie concert along with a vintage Animalize t-shirt and tour book. There will also be a Kiss Swap Meet where you can trade Kiss merchandise with fellow fans. Plus you can have your photo taken in front of Darkside Records' giant one-of-a-kind Poughkeepsie show banner.

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Fellow Kiss fans unite Thursday night in Poughkeepsie and celebrate the new release from the Hottest Band in the World!

KISS in Pictures

KISS have been all over the world and have seen and done it all. Now is Maine’s chance to take it all in and see what we’ve only read about and watched in videos.

The gallery of KISS traces some of their history to their first European tour and some of the band’s evolution over the years. We love the black and white photos mixed with the color photos of the band on stage doing what they do best. Some of the photos are older and some are new. We show the band with makeup and without, at events and on stage. We also include some of the merchandise the band offers as a big part of their revenue.

KISS is the perfect merchandising machine. They have the makeup and the costumes to promote the band on just about anything you can imagine - one of the most famous items is the KISS condoms.

People that grew up with KISS remember the TV appearances and the over the top album covers going. We also look back at the time period when the makeup came off in 1983.

In 1996, the original band members got back together and put the makeup back on with the costumes. The lineup once again included Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

You know how driven the group has always been. Gene and Paul talk all the time in interviews about the importance of songwriting putting on a spectacular show. KISS is a band that has huge record sales as well as major concert money. They have 14 Platinum albums - many of these are multi-Platinum sales - along with 30 Gold records.