Makeup to Breakup: My Life In and Out of Kiss

By Peter Criss

Larry "Ratso" Sloman, co-author of Scar Tissue, the mega-selling memoir of Red Hot Chilli Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis, joins forces with founding KISS drummer Peter "Catman" Criss to deliver an unvarnished and eye-opening personal tale of sex, drugs and rock'n' roll.
Legendary founding KISS drummer Peter 'Catman' Criss has lived an incredible life in music, from the streets of Brooklyn to the social clubs of New York City to the ultimate heights of rock 'n' roll success and excess.KISS formed in 1973 and broke new ground with their elaborate makeup, live theatrics, and powerful sound. the band emerged as one of the most iconic hard rock acts in music history. Peter Criss, the Catman, was the heartbeat of the group. From an elevated perch on his pyrotechnic drum riser, he had a unique vantage point on the greatest rock show of all time, with the KISS Army looking back at him night after night.Peter Criscuola had come a long way from the homemade drum set he pounded on nonstop as a kid growing up in Brooklyn in the fifties. He endured lean years, street violence, and the rollercoaster music scene of the sixties, but he always knew he'd make it. Makeup to Breakup is Peter Criss's eye-opening journey from the pledge to his ma that he'd one day play Madison Square Garden to doing just that. He conquered the rock world - composing and singing his band's all-time biggest hit, 'Beth' (1976) - but he also faced the perils of stardom and his own mortality, including drug abuse, treatment in 1982, near-suicides, two broken marriages, and a hard-won battle with breast cancer.Criss opens up with a level of honesty and emotion previously unseen in any musician's memoir. Makeup to Breakup is the definitive and heartfelt account of one of rock's most iconic figures, and the importance of faith and family. Rock 'n' roll has been chronicled many times, but never quite like this.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781743098301

Peter Criss

Peter Criss co-founded KISS in 1973 along with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Ace Frehley. He left the band in 1979, embarking on a solo career. In 1995, he reunited with KISS, resulting in a phenomenally successful world tour before he left the band again in 2004. Criss appeared in the HBO series Oz in 2002, and he continues to write and record music. His most recent solo album, 2007’s One for All, reached #36 on the Billboard Top Independent Album list.

Reviews for Makeup to Breakup

[norinrad10 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

They always say you shouldn't meet your idols. Let me add that you shouldn't read autobiographies by you idols either. This is perhaps one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Chapter after chapter whining about how Gene and Paul are mean, while abusing woman after woman. Chapter after chapter whining that his playmate wife who he left the woman who stood by him for, doesn't want to be with him once he's out of cocaine and money. Whining about Gene sharing information about his personal life because it will get back to his daughter while sharing more information then any child should ever know about their parent. The man just never gets it. Had to go back and re-listen to all my old Kiss records just to purge these images from my mind.

[howifeelaboutbooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've had a love/hate relationship with KISS since I was 12 years old, but I've always rooted for the underdog, so was curious to read the drummer's memoir (as drummers are notoriously left out of the spotlight). When the book started with four pages of acknowledgements, with Criss thanking everyone from the people who have photographed him, the associations he belongs to, and Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr, I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it through. But there is something about rock autobiographies that hook you and won't let go, even if you think the musician is whiny and spoiled and has done disgusting, despicable things in their life. Such was the case with this book. Criss spends most of it complaining that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley made more money than him - a legitimate complaint, since he was a founding member of KISS, but when a guy's complaining about making "only" $10,000 a show, you don't really feel bad for him. Things got a little more interesting once he realized how big of a dick he had been for the vast majority of his life, tried to overcome that and forgive those who had wronged him, and was diagnosed with breast cancer. Unfortunately, there was no real resolution to the book, as in I didn't feel like he actually learned anything or changed at all. Glad I got this book from the library, instead of giving him any of my hard-earned money.

[chris177 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All I can say is WOW! I thought that Ace Frehley’s book was going to be the “tell all” Kiss book with the wild stories. This book screams past Ace’s with more sex, more guns, more drugs and more behind the scene lies and betrayals. He tells all the stories, from the streets to the mansions. I have to be honest, some of the items I would rather not have known. After all, these four people are very special to me (and I’m sure to millions of other fans) but “let the truth be known” and it is time to know the whole story. For years we have only heard half of the story and now (with this book and Ace’s) we can now hear the other half. Peter holds nothing back. He is hard on Gene, Paul and Ace, as well as himself. Half of Peter’s problems have been Peter himself, but I wonder how any of us would have handled the problems, situations and temptations that he had to deal with. Would we have been able to weather the storm or would the storm have buried us. Peter rode the storm and survived! Long live The Cat, and may he and his family be free from future stress…