Kiss can easily be called the most influential and important band in the history of rock’n’roll. Since the band’s inception in 1972, it has released 29 albums, 26 of which have gone gold, platinum or double-platinum.

Kiss is second only to the Beatles for the most gold records obtained by any artist in history, having sold more than 80 million records world-wide. The band’s latest release, Greatest Kiss, achieved platinum status within the first week of its release and is currently multi-platinum overseas.

The group’s current tour, “Alive/Worldwide,” marks the first time in over seventeen years the original incarnation of the group of Gene Simmons (vocals, bass), Paul Stanley (vocals, guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar) and Peter Criss (drums) have played together.

The reunion took place on the set of “MTV Unplugged” last year, when the four got together and played “2000 Man,” “Nothing To Lose,” “Rock-N-Roll All Nite” and “Beth.” The group also put on its make-up for the first time since ’83. Simmons is “The Demon”, Stanley is “Starchild,” Frehley is “Space Ace” and Criss is “Catman.” Each of the members is named after the way they paint their faces.

“The ‘Unplugged’ session was kind of a catalyst,” Frehley said. “It was the first time that the four of us had played together in over fifteen years. We got along great, had a lot of fun and reminisced about old times. We buried the hatchet about all the shit that you read about in the press, like how much we hate each other.

“We are all older now and more mature,” Frehley said, “back then, we were kids. Rumors have been flying rampant about the reunion for the last five years. Paul and Gene had been getting proposals from promoters and agents to do it. We started negotiating and in January of ’96 I flew into Los Angeles, we had our final meeting, signed the contracts and started working out and rehearsing.”

Frehley left the band in ’83 because of personal problems. Criss had departed in ’80. Since their departure, the group had hired a string of replacements, including Eric Carr (drums) who died of cancer in ’91, Eric Singer (drums) who left on good terms with the band after the reunion of ’96 and Bruce Kulick (lead guitar) who also left after the reunion.

“Alive/Worldwide” is the most ambitious tour in the history of music. It was the biggest money-maker of ’96, breaking attendance records and fastest sell-out records across the globe. Before the tour is finally over this summer, it is estimated that 10.2 million fans in 210 cities across 26 countries will have seen Kiss play.

“There is definitely a demand to see us in concert,” Frehley said. “We started touring and the minute we put a show on sale it would sell out, so we started doing multiple shows. We broke several records in several major cities as far as sell-out times. Even in our heyday back in the ’70s, the maximum amount of shows we could do at Madison Square Gardens was three. Last year we did four and there was enough demand that we could have done a fifth if we would have had a day open. So obviously something special is happening.

“I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that for years theatrical rock has been on the outs and grunge and alternative music has been on the in,” Frehley said. “Maybe people were getting tired of it or maybe people just wanted to see an alternative to alternative music.”

Kiss has definitely provided that alternative. The band’s current tour utilizes over $7 million of state-of-the-art sound, lighting, video, pyrotechnics, staging and special effects, including fire-breathing and blood-spitting.

Before the tour is finished, the group will have fired over $900,000 worth of pyrotechnics, used 41,500 guitar strings and 151,300 guitar picks, have gone through 54 pounds of theatrical make-up and 358 pints of blood. The group’s stage outfits cost in excess of $170,000, and the stage production is transported in eleven semi-trucks and six tour buses.

“If you like loud rock’n’roll and theatrical rock shows, you don’t want to miss our concert,” Frehley said. “We are probably the only thing out there like it. Visually, we are probably one of the most exciting rock ‘n’ roll shows ever.

“One thing that a lot of groups don’t understand,” Frehley said, “is that when fans come to a concert, they come for the show. When I was sixteen, I saw the Who’s first New York appearance. They were one of the first theatrical bands that I ever saw perform. Pete Townsend would throw his guitar twenty feet up into the air and catch it.

“By the end of the night, he would end up smashing his guitar into his amplifier and it would blow up. Keith Moon would wreck his drum kit at the end of the show. Bombs would go off and stuff. I was sixteen years old and I saw that and I thought it was incredible.”

Frehley said he always thought the Who’s music was good and used to listen to the band’s albums all the time. “But when I saw the theatrics mixed with rock ‘n’ roll,” he said.

“I thought that was the way to go. Little did I know that seven years later I would end up joining one of the greatest theatrical rock groups in the world.”

It is this combination of theater and rock ‘n’ roll that have made Kiss so popular among fans. The Kiss Army is a legion of those who count themselves among Kiss’ biggest fans.

The group was formed shortly after the release of Alive when a radio station in Terre Haute, Indiana wouldn’t play Kiss songs on the air.

Bill Starkey, a fan of the group, called and told the disc jockey that if he didn’t play a Kiss song, he would show up with the Kiss Army. The radio station refused and Starkey responded by organizing more than a hundred fans for a protest outside of the station.

“The Kiss Army is a very serious organization,” Frehley said. “I have heard lots of stories from fans about how they used to get in fights defending Kiss. That was in the seventies, when people were kind of ‘purists’ when it came to music.

“A lot of people thought of us as a comic group,” Frehley said. “They didn’t take us seriously. But if you listen to the songs from the seventies, most of them hold up fairly well in the nineties as far as content and theme.”

These songs, including such hits as “Strutter,” “Beth,” “Rock-N-Roll All Nite,” “Detroit Rock City,” “2000 Man” and “Black Diamond” (to name a few of many), are valued among fans of the group.

“Without our fans, we wouldn’t even be on stage,” Frehley said. “That is one thing that most groups don’t understand and that is why so many groups come and go. They are more concerned with themselves and their self-indulgence than their fans.

“Some groups get very cocky when they have a multi-million selling album,” Frehley said. “And they start thinking that they can do whatever they want and the fans will swallow it up. But that isn’t the case.

“We have never turned our back on our audience, we’ve always listened to what they’ve said. We take their ideas very seriously. I think that this has given us our longevity.”

It is this same legion of fans that demand Kiss merchandise and the group is glad to comply with its likeness on everything from condoms to remote control vans and pinball machines.

The group even released “Kisstory,” a 440 page book weighing 9 1/2 pounds, to satisfy the group’s fans’ desires to know the entire history of the group.

“We are scrutinizing the merchandise a lot more than we did in the past, and we are getting involved with it more,” Frehley said. “We are in the midst of negotiations with America Online about a Web site and other sponsorships are in the works that I can’t talk about for various reasons.

“We have been talking about a cartoon series,” Frehley said, “there is also a comic book series coming out. We’ve also been speaking with movie people. There are a lot of people who have ideas for scripts, whether it be a live-action film or an animated feature.

Frehley said the band is also coming out with dolls that are a lot “hipper” than the original ones. “The old ones looked like Ken dolls with wigs and costumes,” he said.

“The ones we have now were designed by McFarlane Toys. They designed some really cool dolls, I think mine is so cool. My guitar turns into a flying sled, I can shoot rockets out of my boots and stuff. If I was a kid, I’d run out and buy them.”

In addition to the merchandising, the band has plenty of future plans. “We are going over to Europe for about three or four weeks and are going to headline all the major outdoor festivals,” Frehley said.

“We are going to come back and take a three or four month hiatus so everybody can take care of their own business and do their own thing. After the hiatus, we are discussing doing a studio album and possibly a follow-up tour.”

Frehley is going to be busy working with computer generation technology during the time off. He has previously designed a morph which takes place at the end of “Black Diamond” in concert. It consists of the group’s faces from the solo album covers that were released in ’78. The faces melt into each other continuously.

“I’d like to do more intricate things,” Frehley said. “I’ve painted about twenty-five paintings and I’m thinking about putting together a tape of the paintings and maybe morph from one painting to the next.

“Maybe I’ll write some music to put the paintings to. There are a lot of different things that I have planned.”

There are also some things going on that he didn’t have planned. Twelfth Picks, a greatest hits compilation spanning Frehley’s career, will be released later this month.

“I have nothing to do with that album,” Frehley said. “It was put out by my old label whom I’m not signed with anymore, but they have the rights to my masters. Unfortunately that is the way that record contracts go and they have the right to put out my material if they want ,without my consultation.

“I guess they saw dollar signs,” Frehley said, “because Kiss is the premier touring band right now. I’m not even sure what songs are on the disc, they never even sent me a letter. But I’ll make money off of it anyway because those are all songs that I wrote.”

Kiss is also scheduled to enter the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame next year. “I guess I’ve turned into a guitar icon, or at least that is what I’ve been told. It’s something that I never strived to do, the only thing that I’ve tried to do is to be the best that I can be. I never knew that I’d influence as many musicians as I have over the years, with people citing me as a major influence on why they picked up the guitar.

Frehley said he just recently started realizing he had a profound effect on a lot of musicians. “If I’d realized that back in the ’70s, I probably would have practiced a little bit more,” he said. “Now I have gotten a second chance to influence another whole generation of musicians, which is pretty exciting for me.

‘Very few people get the chance to do it once,” Frehley said, “and I’m getting a second chance. I consider myself very lucky. I think everybody in the group feels the same way.

“We are thrilled we are getting a second chance to show the world what we can do. Most people seem to like it or at least enjoy it. We are going to go down in history as one of the most special rock groups in the world.”

But in the end, all the critical praise, awards and merchandise means very little to the band. “It is all about making music,” Frehley said. “It is fun. I’ve never gotten tired of playing the guitar. Especially to a sold-out house screaming out my name all night long.

“I live to please my fans. People constantly ask me if playing the same show every night and doing the same songs ever gets boring. I always tell them no because it is always a different audience and you see different faces.

Frehley said the music business is all about making people happy and making sure people are walking away satisfied. “It gives you a good feeling inside,” he said. “Sometimes I almost feel like I’m a rock ‘n’ roll ambassador.”