PETER CRISS Reflects On KISS's Historic 1996 Reunion: 'It Was Like Time Stood Still'

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, original KISS drummer Peter Criss reflected on his appearance, along with Ace Frehley, at the August 1995 taping of the KISS "MTV Unplugged" special, which served as the catalyst for the historic 1996 KISS worldwide reunion tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were on a tour, on our own tour, Ace and I. It was called the 'Bad Boys Tour'. And so we were touring together. And it was hard times. We weren't playing stadiums. We were playing, like, 500 seaters, and we were missing it — we were really missing the life. And they [the then-lineup of KISS], too, weren't doing great. They were playing these conventions — they were playing KISS conventions — so they were also not in the position where they used to love to be in that position. And so we got together and rehearsed. I looked at Gene's [Simmons, KISS bassist/vocalist] eyes, and all I saw was 'ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching' rolling around in his eyeballs, when I did 'Hard Look Woman', and I went, 'I got a vibe here.' And I realized we still sounded amazing — we still sounded so good. The magic was still there. And I remember the funny thing is when we were [playing at the 'MTV Unplugged' event], [fans] were booing [then-KISS drummer] Eric [Singer] and [then-KISS guitarist] Bruce [Kulick]. And Ace was, like, 'Ah, shut up. They're part of the family.' And the fans, all of sudden, didn't want them guys; they wanted the [original] band back. And then two weeks later I was on tour with my band in Canada somewhere, and I got a call from [KISS's longtime manager] Doc McGhee, and he said, 'We wanna put the [original] band back. We wanna go back out on a reunion tour. I already know for a fact you already sold out two years, and it's gonna be around the world twice. [You'll travel in a] jet, all the perks, all the good stuff.' And I said, 'You're kidding me.' So I had to work hard. I had to relearn all the KISS stuff that I hadn't played in 17 years. I would get up in the morning and go to the gym. We took it real serious, so I had to go to the gym every day to get in shape again, which I was in shape, but really get in shape."

Peter continued: "I would go and have a drum coach. We'd work out for an hour. Then we'd go to rehearsal. And then I'd go home and watch old KISS movies, like back-in-the-day stuff to relearn kind of the movements and the way we were on stage. So it was a lot of work, man. But it was worth it. And when we finally were getting ready to do it, we looked in the mirror the day we went on the [USS] Intrepid [aircraft carrier] to announce it [at a press conference], it was like time stood still. We looked the same. It looked like we were ageless. We still looked like [we were] in our twenties. And we just looked at one another and said, 'This is gonna be so good.' And we got on the Intrepid, and there was a million photographers from all over the world snapping pictures. And we just knew we were gonna be on the ride of our life. We knew it was just gonna be great. And then I stayed with them for another eight years. And then it again got crazy, as it always does in bands — sometimes you can't change the spots on a leopard, especially with certain members of the band — and so Ace and I kind of ducked out again and said, 'I just don't want a part of this anymore.' But for those eight years with the 'Psycho Circus' tour and the other stuff and all, it was good. It was good. It was [KISS being] back in stadiums."

Criss first left KISS in 1980. Since then he's worked with other bands and released solo albums. He teamed up with KISS again for a reunion tour in the 1990s and most recently in 2004. He was replaced by Eric Singer.

In addition to playing drums in KISS, Peter also provided lead vocals for a number the band's most popular and memorable songs, including "Beth", "Black Diamond" and "Hard Luck Woman".

Peter last appeared onstage with all three other original members of KISS when the group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014, though he and his former bandmates didn't perform at the event.

Criss and the other two surviving original members of KISS — guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and Simmons — received a Kennedy Center Honor at a December 7, 2025 ceremony.

Frehley died on October 16, 2025 after a fall at his New Jersey home. He was 74 years old. His cause of death was listed as blunt trauma injuries to his head due to a fall, according to a report from the Morris County Medical Examiner. The manner of his death was ruled an accident.

Peter released a new solo album, simply titled "Peter Criss", last December . The LP was co-produced by Criss alongside Barry Pointer, who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne, John 5, MÖTLEY CRÜE, Steve Stevens, Pearl Aday and Dolly Parton. Joining the legendary KISS musician on the LP are Billy Sheehan and Matthew Montgomery (a.k.a. Piggy D.) on bass, John 5 and Mike McLaughlin on guitar and Paul Shaffer on piano. The record also features the talents of backing vocalists Dennis and Sharon Collins, and Cat Manning of CAT 5.

"Peter Criss" was Criss's first solo release since 2007's "One For All", which arrived 13 years after his previous solo release.

Criss, who was known as "Catman," released his previous solo CD, titled "One For All", in 2007. Peter produced the album himself for the first time, and was joined by guest musicians that included keyboardist Paul Shaffer and bassist Will Lee of "Late Night With David Letterman". The album featured a range of styles, from rock and jazz to blues and Broadway, and included covers of "What A Difference A Day Makes" and "Send In The Clowns".