It is very important to have great gear to make a record, but a recording studio should be more than that. A recording studio should have a vibe where people want to record and create great music. The vibe is just as important, if not more so, then any vintage mic or compressor a studio owns. Part of the vibe at Cloud 9 is our love of art. It ranges from original posters of groups like, "The Who" and "Led Zep", to original illustrations used in comic books. Even autographed pictures of famous celebrities like Teri Hatcher, Dean Cane and Pam Anderson are displayed. And just like the Cloud 9 Collection of instruments we're always looking to expand the studio's art collection as well. That's why we were honored when our good friend and artist Ken Kelly, offered to add to our collection by signing two of the KISS album covers he was commissioned to paint; over 25 years ago.
The Story
The story goes that after the success of the "KISS Comes Alive" album - Kiss wanted their next album cover to be a painting of themselves. Ken's work was spotted by someone in the Kiss organization and was brought to the attention of Gene Simmons. Gene was impressed with Ken's mastery and set up an appointment to meet with Ken, to discuss the possibility of Ken painting the next KISS album cover. Ken told us that Gene wanted him to see the band live before he started the project. He felt it would influence Ken's work. Ken agreed and the next thing he knew he was invited to see KISS live, complete with a back stage pass. When he saw what KISS was all about live he couldn't believe his eyes. "It blew me away", he told us. Ken then started on the art work that would become the cover for the "Destroyer" album. The Band liked it so much that they decided to use Ken's talents again for their next release, "Love Gun".
The rest is history.
Ken is available to paint your next CD cover, too. If you'd like to see more of his fabulous paintings you can visit his web site: www.kenkellyart.com.
Jack, Joe and Ken holding the Gold Records Ken received for doing the KISS album cover art.
Ken signing a copy of "KISS Destroyer".
Ken signing a copy of "KISS Love Gun".
