Peter Criss

Peter Criss, or George Peter John Criscuola, born on 20 December 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American musician. He was the first drummer of Kiss. Peter sought to play in a band that wrote its own songs; he played in "The Barracudas" 1966, "Sounds of Souls" 1967, "The Vintage" 1968, "The Others" 1969, "Nautilus" 1969, "Chealsea" with whom he recorded an album in 1970, then in "Lips" 1972 with Stan Penridge. He auditioned in England to be the drummer in Elton John's band but was not selected. His friend Jerry Nolan became the drummer of the New York Dolls; unable to take it anymore, Peter decided in October 1972 to place "the ad that would change his life" in Rolling Stones Magazine. He received a phone call from a certain Gene Simmons who asked him if he was slim, if he had long hair, if he sang, etc...