In a recent interview on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron shared a surprising anecdote from his teenage years involving none other than rock giants Kiss. Cameron recounted how, nearly five decades ago, he and his bandmates in a neighborhood Kiss cover band faced legal action from the legendary rockers.
Cameron reminisced about the early days of his musical journey, recalling his teenage band's humble beginnings playing local gigs and crafting makeshift stage props in a garage. The pivotal moment came when Cameron, accompanied by his bandmates, presented a photo album of their amateurish Kiss tribute to none other than Paul Stanley himself during a soundcheck for Kiss's 'Alive!' tour in 1975.
"I was in a neighborhood Kiss cover band when I was 13, 14 or something like that. We played our local high school's keggers, and whatnot. And my dad was friends with the head of the stagehand union in San Diego. So, when Kiss was playing there — it was during the 'Alive!' tour, so that was '75 — we got to go see Kiss do a soundcheck at the San Diego Sports Arena. So I brought the two guys that I was in the Kiss band with, Tim and Dave Mahoney, to the soundcheck, and we brought our photo album from our stupid Kiss cover band. My mom made my costume, and Tim's mom made his costume. We built these rickety plywood platforms in Tim's garage. We made flash pots out of coffee cans and a light socket with a little flash powder inside of it. It was janky, low rent, horrible. So anyways, we took this photo album to meet Kiss frontman Paul Stanley. We got a photo with him. And so, we were sort of, like, 'Hey man, we're in a Kiss cover band. Here's our stupid little photo album.'"
However, the excitement soon turned to shock when, several months later, the young musicians received a cease-and-desist letter from Kiss's management company, Aucoin Management. The reason? The band's audacious decision to name themselves 'Kiss' without considering the legal ramifications.
"Cut to, like, I don't know, four to six months later, we get a cease-and-desist letter from Kiss's then-management company Aucoin Management. And we were big Kiss fans. So, Kiss used to put the logo from Aucoin Management on their albums, so we were all excited when we got the letter. 'Whoa, we're getting a letter from Aucoin Management. We've made it.' And it was a cease-and-desist from Kiss."
Reflecting on the incident, Cameron admitted, "It was because I think we just called our Kiss cover band 'Kiss'. We didn't really think ahead there." Forced to comply with the legal pressure, the band begrudgingly changed their name to "Kiss (Imitation)" in parentheses.
