Diary Entry From Kiss' Security Guy

Kiss security guy Danny Francis has posted his diary on www.kissonline.com. Interesting reading!



Danny (The Butler) Francis Kiss 2008 Tour Diary
Arrow Festival- Netherlands Sunday June 15

11.15pm
The Hottest Band In The World have just performed a killer two hour and fifteen minute set at the Arrow Classic Festival in front of 55.000 new and old fans who are still singing as the band jump into our getaway vans to the blue lights and screeching sirens of our police escort. WE ARE IN A HURRY!

And so another notch in the “Love Gun” as another massive crowd leaves to spread the thunderous gospel of KISS!

Looking more like the victorious winners of some Star Wars boxing championship, steam surrounds the four band members as they run towards our two waiting vans, wrapped in heavy, dark blue robes with towels around their necks. We’re in “Drop and Go” mode, which means as soon as KISS comes off stage, it’s drop clothes and go before we can’t get out.

Paul, Tommy, and Doc are in the first van. Myself. Gene and Eric are in the second van. Gene has a hot towel pressed against his face, as he starts to remove his war paint while Eric is telling our driver that he needs to get closer to the first van. We are already travelling at 80mph so I try to explain that if we get too close and for some reason the first van has to stop, we could all end up in the front van. Paul wouldn’t like that kind of surprise…

The private airport where the Kiss Jet is waiting closes at midnight and is sixty miles away, so we have forty-five minutes to make the sixty-mile journey, plus our luggage is already on its way to Paris. We have to make the deadline or it’s the Motel 6 for us!

It is now 11.50pm. Luckily the escort knows what they are doing, as the lights of the lone runway comes into view, we wave as our escort pulls to one side and we dive though the gates and follow the yellow flashing light of the airport vehicle that will take us onto the runway and on to the Kiss Jet.
We take off and I look at my watch, 11.59pm. We make it with a minute to spare. Whew!

Two hours later, at 2:10am, we check into the famous Le Maurice Hotel in Paris and the Commanders in Chief of the Kiss Army are off to bed.

3.: 40am and I check my E-Mails before ending my day…Fifteen!

The very first is from my close friend and rock journalist extraordinaire Paul Elliott… “Fantastic Show”, says he. Paul had travelled up from London to the Donnington show with three other music journalists. Between them they had seen over 50 Kiss shows. In Paul’s own words “the show had all that Kiss are famous for, plus a fucking great rocking set! I have never heard Paul (Stanley) sounding or performing better, but the heartbeat of the set come from the drummer. Please give the guys a big pat on the back from us”. Our mighty Cat does it again!

And another day in Kissworld comes to a glorious end.
Goodnight.