Peter Criss Calls Rock Hall Nod ‘Best Christmas Present’

Co-founding Kiss drummer Peter Criss says he couldn't be happier with the band finally entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Criss -- who turns 68 on Friday (December 20th) -- told The Associated Press, "This is absolutely the best Christmas and birthday present I could get. This is amazing, that something like this could happen to a kid from Brooklyn." It's looking as though all four original members -- Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Criss -- are all on board for performing together at the April 10th induction ceramony at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Criss, who first left the band in 1980 and returned in 1996 reunion tour, is aware that Kiss' bomastic stage designs and performances influenced every hard rock band who took a major show on the road in the ensuing years: "When you set someone a strong example and you see it happening with other bands, you know you’ve opened some sort of door. We always wanted more, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger.”

He went on to reference the band's infamous 1977 comic book when he saluted his former bandmates, saying, "I want to congratulate my other three guys -- Ace, Gene, and Paul. We were the four guys who dumped the blood into the ink for the stupid comic books and came up with all those other crazy schemes so the fans would love us."