| STARS (c.1959) |
| If this could even be called a group, then it would
be one step down from a gang - a goup of kids hanging out on street corners singing. Other members of any, if any,
lineup are unknown. |
 |
| JOEY GRECO & THE "IN" CROWD (c.1963) |
Peter got the "gig" by filling in for Joey's drummer
who had broken his leg. Apart from Joey on guitar/vocals, the rest of the lineup is unknown. It is possible that
Peter replaced Bobbie Clarke.
 |
|
| THE BARRACUDAS (<1966 - Early 1967) |
| Peter Criscuola |
Carlos Cancel |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Drums/Precussion |
Guitars |
Bass |
Vocals |
| Little known about this band except that they cut an
independent single. Since the songs on the single were written by Carlos Cancel, it is possible that he was a member of the band. |
|
| SOUNDS OF SOUL (Early 1967 - Spring 1968) |
| Peter Criscuola |
Angelo Opper |
Joey Lucenti |
Pepi Genneralli |
Tommy Ventimiglia |
| Drums/Precussion |
Bass |
Guitars/Vocals |
Keyboards |
Horns/Brass |
A soul band, playing R&B, this band did demo recordings.
 |
|
| THE BROTHERHOOD (Spring 1968 - Late 1968) |
| Peter Criscuola |
UNKNOWN |
UNKNOWN |
UNKNOWN |
UNKNOWN |
| Drums/Precussion |
Bass |
Guitars/Vocals |
Keyboards |
Horns/Brass |
| Since the band that followed The Brotherhood included members from
Sounds Of Soul, it is possible that there was simply a band name change, or that some members of that band were also members of
The Brotherhood. |
|
| THE VINTAGE (Late 1968 - Late 1969) |
| Peter Criscuola |
John Balsamo |
Joe Lucenti |
Pepi Genneralli |
| Drums/Precussion |
Bass |
Guitars/Vocals |
Keyboards |
| This band won a talent show at the Academy of Music in
January 1969. |
|
| NAUTILUS (Late 1969-Mid 1970) |
| Peter Cris |
Kevin Reese |
Peter Shandis |
Unknown |
| Drums/Precussion |
Guitar |
Bass |
Vocals? |
| Members from this band would be part of the jam band that Peter played with at his wedding in January 1970. |
|
| CHELSEA #1 (Late 1970-Jan. 1971) |
| Peter Shepley |
Mike Brand |
Peter Cris |
Michael Benvenga |
Chris Aridas |
| Lead Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
Drums/Precussion |
Bass/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
How Peter hooked up with this band is unclear.
After joining Chelsea in late 1968 the band managed to secure a 2 record deal on Decca Records, distributed via MCA.
When the first album was released it did so poorly that Aridas quit. Michael Benvenga had been in "The Wall" which
played the Brooklyn music scene prior to Chelsea, but the other member's pedigree's are unknown. It would not be
surprising if Shepley/Brand had not worked together prior to Chelsea.
 |
| CHELSEA #2 (Jan. 1971-Aug. 1971) |
| Peter Shepley |
Mike Brand |
Peter Cris |
Michael Benvenga |
Stan Penridge |
| Lead Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
Drums/Precussion |
Bass/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
| Replacing Chris Aridas with Stan Penridge brought a
new creativity to both the acoustic and electric factions within Chelsea, but while he would be able to work with
both Peter/Mike pairs, his contributions would not save the band when producer Lewis Merenstein concentrated more
on Van Morrison. |
| LIPS #1 (Aug. 1971-Early 1972) |
| Peter Cris |
Michael Benvenga |
Stan Penridge |
| Drums/Vocals |
Bass/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
| Lips was born the night Chelsea died, when the trio
performed at the Yellow Front Saloon in Fort Lee, NJ when Shepley and Brand were late. While the material they would
develop was similar to the material Chelsea had done, several later KISS songs were born in this period. When he saw
that the band was going nowhere, Michael Benvenga, quit going on to do session work before marrying in 1975. He
would pass away in 1977, aged 28. The band would do one demo recording with session guitarist John Amato assisting. |
| LIPS #1 (Early 1972-Mar. 1973) |
| Peter Cris |
Stan Penridge |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
| By the time that Lips were reduced to a duo Peter and
Stan were still trying to get a recording deal, never with any luck. Peter and Stan would continue to gig occassionally,
even after the beginnings of KISS... |
| WICKED LESTER #3 (Sept. 1972-Dec. 1972) |
| Gene Simmons |
Paul Stanley |
Peter Cris |
| Bass/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
Drums/Vocals |
Initially as a power trio, Gene and Paul, would for
some time be playing with two bands called Wicked Lester. The lineup with Peter was their new vision for the musical
development which, following the addition of a lead guitarist, would become KISS.
 |
| KISS #1 (Dec. 1972-Dec. 1979) |
| Gene Simmons |
Paul Stanley |
Peter Criss |
Ace Frehley |
| Bass/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
Drums/Vocals |
Lead Guitar/Vocals |
Following the conclusion of the "Dynasty" Tour in December
1979 Peter Criss quit KISS to go solo. By March 1980 he would be recording his solo album, though the "official"
departure from KISS would not come until May 1980. While Ace Frehley joined the band in December 1972, the group wouldn't
take the name "KISS" until January 1973.
 |
| SOLO (1980-1982) |
| Peter Criss |
Session Players |
| Drums/Vocals |
Other Instruments |
After going solo, Peter would use a cast of session
players to record his solo albums "Out Of Control" and "Let Me Rock You", which would including Stan Penridge (for OOC),
and producers David Wolfert and Vini Poncia. Many interesting guests would play on the two albums!
 |
| PENRIDGE-CRISS ALLIANCE (Late 1983-1985) |
| Peter Criss |
Stan Penridge |
Alan Woody |
Benny Harrison |
Tony Mercadante |
| Precussion/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
Bass |
Keyboards/Synth |
Guitar/Vocals |
| Starting out on the East coast in 1984, The Alliance
saw Peter moving back to the lighter sort of material more familiar in his 1960's career. Eventually, Stan would
assemble a session group in Nashville which would cut three demoes, "Baby, Hold On", "Never Met A Woman", and "Forever
With You". The group would split with Peter and Stan going their separate ways. |
| JANE/BALLS OF FIRE (Spring 1986-Dec. 1986) |
| Peter Criss |
John "JP" Pakalenka |
Jane Booke |
Bobby Raylove |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
| For the shortest period in the summer of 1986 it
seemed that Peter cruss would be back, this time as a member of an upcoming rock band with a female lead singer.
Live performaces were made in August, with Peter even getting to dig out "Feel Like Heaven" from his past, with the
rest being original material. However, the project did not last long, and Peter took up the house husband role to
enjoy his daughter Jenilee's growing up. |
| KEEP #1 (1989) |
| Peter Criss |
Kevin Russell |
Michael McDonald |
Joey Mudarri |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
| It is not clear if this lineup was ever an 'actual'
band or a phantom proposed lineup. Michael McDonald is a phantom, his real name was David Donato, and had been in
Mark St. John's White Tiger band (and Black Sabbath, briefly). Kevin Russel had been in 707. |
| KEEP #2 (1989) |
| Peter Criss |
Mark St. John |
Michael McDonald |
Jim Barnes |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
It is not clear if this lineup was ever an 'actual'
band or a phantom proposed lineup. Peter was now working with 1/2 of White Tiger...
 |
| KEEP #3 (Jan. 1990-Early 1991) |
| Peter Criss |
Mark St. John |
Michael McDonald |
Michael Norton |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
| The Keep was a short lived but incredibly cool project
that featured two ex-KISS members, along with Mark's brother Michael and renamed David Donato who had been with him
in White Tiger. Demos were cut at Sound City Recording Studions, but unfortunately the tapes got rejected by all the labels they were submitted
to… This lineup would perform live just once, on May 2, 1990 at a drum clinic at Guitar Center music store in
Lawndale, CA... |
| CRISS #1 (Early 1991-Autumn 1991) |
| Peter Criss |
Ray Carrion |
Phil Naro |
Mark Montague |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
This lineup is short lived (around 7 months, and initially
Michael Norton may have stayed with Peter for a while), following the recruiting of ex-Talas singer Naro, and doesn't
play any live gigs. However, the rehearsals do result in a number of good demos, notably due to Naro's writing...
 |
| CRISS #2 (Autumn 1991-Dec. 1992) |
| Peter Criss |
Ray Carrion |
Phillip Anthony |
Mark Montague |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
Phillip's tenure in the band did not last long. His
real name is Phillip Anthony Bardowell, and Peter had originally wanted to have him used the stage name Tony which he
didn't like. However, this lineup does make the debut of Criss live at the Exposure 54 Club in Los Angeles, CA on
November 11, 1991...
 |
| CRISS #3 (Dec. 1992-1993) |
| Peter Criss |
Ray Carrion |
Mike Stone |
Mark Montague |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
| Mike Stone, who had previously recorded with
Jonas Hansson and had his own band Clover (Mercury), joined the group which started to tour extensively... |
| CRISS #4 (1993-June 1994) |
| Peter Criss |
Kirk Miller |
Mike Stone |
Mark Montague |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
Initial recording phase of the band where Criss goes through several guitarists. This lineup
would record and release the Criss EP...
 |
| CRISS #5 (June 1994-Spring 1995) |
| Peter Criss |
Mike McLaughlin |
Mike Stone |
Mark Montague |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals |
Bass |
Line up was supposed to go into pre-production for the second CRISS album in early September 1995...
This lineup would be responsible for the recording of the Cat #1 album in late 1994, though some work from lineup #4 would remain
on that recording. Mike Stone would leave the band in December 1995 and eventually end up in Boston, and would appear on a track on
five tracks on Iain Ashley-Hersey's "Fallen Angel" album.
 |
| CRISS #6 (Spring 1995-Mar. 1996) |
| Peter Criss |
Mike McLaughlin |
Jason Ebs |
Mark Montague |
| Drums/Vocals |
Guitar |
Lead Vocals/Guitar |
Bass |
The final CRISS lineup. After TNT's option for the
second album from the band expired in December 1995, the band remained in existence, in name only, for a few months
before the KISS Reunion was officially announced. Mike McLaughlin would sometimes sign his name "Angel"...
 |
| KISS #1 AGAIN (Jan. 1996-Jan. 2001) |
| Gene Simmons |
Paul Stanley |
Peter Criss |
Ace Frehley |
| Bass/Vocals |
Guitar/Vocals |
Drums/Vocals |
Lead Guitar/Vocals |
Peter rejoined KISS on a five year contract for the
highly successful Reunion tour. Following the "Psycho Circus" tour supporting the album of the same name, KISS
embarked on its "Farewell Tour". The primary US leg of this tour concluded in October 2000, following which Peter
was unable to come to terms with the KISS Company to extend his tenure in the band for concert appearances in
Japan and Australia. He would be replaced by Eric Singer who would don his makeup.
 |
| SOLO (Jan. 2001-) |
| It's currently not clear whether Peter has any future
musical desire or plans. He made one live solo appearance in 2001, but has been quiet. Hopefully, Peter will return
and either do some classic jazz exploration with a modern interpretation (similar to what Setzer did with Swing) or
pick up another rock squad. |
