KISS has made a massive impact on the rock scene with its stage performances besides the successful works. Their face paintings and flamboyant costumes impressed many people in the 70s as they created a distinctive style in the rock scene. The band amazed the audience with the live shows, including smoking guitars, stage fireworks, and fire breathing.
KISS members were wearing make-ups of comic book-style characters while performing, and they also had special names. For instance, Paul Stanley is the Starchild, while Gene Simmons is the Demon. They continued to use face painting by creating a mystery for the audience until the early 80s.
Eric Carr also had a stage persona when he joined KISS in 1980. He created ‘The Fox’ only two weeks before his stage debut with KISS. As Simmons liked the idea, Carr owned his stage persona. However, there was a lesser-known truth behind Carr’s stage persona creation. He initially went to the KISS members with a different idea from ‘The Fox.’
What Was The Persona Eric Carr Chose Before ‘The Fox?’
Eric Carr joined several bands but could not have a stable place in them. After the departure of Peter Criss, he auditioned to become the new KISS drummer. When Carr got the job, the next step was to create a stage persona for him. After thinking about a few ideas, they decided that ‘The Hawk‘ was a good choice. However, things did not go as planned because they could not have the effect they initially thought about the persona when the costume was completed.
As Paul Stanley revealed in a past interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, the costume of the Hawk did not look as fierce as they thought. The rocker stated that Eric Carr looked like a school mascot instead of an impressive hawk with his costume and make-up. According to Stanley, the look was close to a chicken rather than a wild hawk.
Paul Stanley explained Carr’s ‘The Hawk’ persona:
“We had a costume built with a protruding chest and feathers all over it. He painted a beak on his nose. But he looked like the mascot for a high-school football team. All that was missing were the big foam chicken feet. It was horrible.”
They began to discuss creating a different persona for Eric Carr because they were not satisfied with the results of The Hawk. Carr brought the idea of ‘The Fox,’ and the members went for this new idea. The drummer first took the stage as a KISS member with his new persona, ‘The Fox,’ in Palladium on July 25, 1980.
Eric Carr’s stage persona had a different story behind it as it was revealed. Today, Carr might have been known as ‘The Hawk’ if the creation process could have done as they wished. However, as ‘The Fox’ of KISS, he has impressed many people with his drumming skills even after his death.
