VWMusic

All images courtesy of Getty Images/Wiki Commons

By Dylan Peggin
recordspinner97@gmail.com

All was quiet for a while in regards to Sam Loomis and the various bits of KISS footage that had leaked out during the summer of 2022, which proved to be the most exciting time for a KISS fan to witness footage that had never seen the light of day beyond coveted collectors. Speculation went around that Sam would return on Halloween, October 31st. The day came and went to no avail. Just a little over a week later, Sam returned to YouTube with more goodies that the KISS Army is now finally seeing!

On November 8, 2022, 15 minutes of silent footage consisting of outtakes from the “Sure Know Something” music video was uploaded to YouTube. This footage was shot during June 1979 when the band was running rehearsals for the Dynasty Tour in Lakeland, FL, which was where the tour had kicked off at. There are various close-up shots of each band member in their various states of metamorphosis, looking right into the camera, along with a recreation of the layout of the Dynasty album cover. The music video for the track itself mainly consists of performance footage and what was used of the closeup shots were very seldom in the final cut. Various bits and pieces of this footage have appeared in various documentaries, such as VH1’s Beyond The Makeup. The last few minutes show some shots of the lighted KISS logo in action. 

Along with the “Sure Know Something” outtakes came a treasure trove of footage from the Love Gun Tour. 18 minutes of silent footage filmed at The Summit in Houston, TX, on September 1, 1977, was uploaded to YouTube. Two video crews were on hand at the venue to document the band’s performance. The one piece of footage that most fans are familiar with comes from The Summit’s in-house video crew that projected the band on a large screen, and the band ultimately bought the video for their own archives. The September 1st show has circulated in bootleg circles for many years in poorly lit conditions, whereas the “more lit” show from September 2nd show was released on the KISSOLOGY Vol. 1 DVD. The other video crew is responsible for this piece of footage, capturing some phenomenal closeup shots of each of the band members. Various bits of this footage were used in the promo film for Alive II. I can only imagine the fans’ amusement at the show seeing all these cameras present capturing the hottest band in the world at their peak. Can a savvy video editor work on a multi-cam/source edit of the in-house footage and this new nugget?!

It doesn’t stop there! 43 minutes of silent footage filmed at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Ft. Worth, TX, on September 4, 1977, was uploaded to YouTube. Whereas the Houston footage captured closeup shots, the footage from Ft. Worth provides some stage wide-angle shots, which gives us a chance to witness one of KISS’ most loved stage shows, with the hydraulic platforms, light-up staircases, and wall of Marshall amplifiers. Roughly 28 minutes in,  the footage cuts to where we witness the road crew assembling the stage. Footage of this sort is always a treat to see what entails putting together a large-scale production of this sort. It should be worth mentioning that phenomenal-sounding soundboard tapes have circulated in bootleg circles of the two shows KISS did in Ft. Worth (September 4th and 5th) during this tour. Someone, anyone: sync up the soundboards to this footage!!

If you’re reading this article yet also watching the footage, consider this a grace period before Gooch gets this footage taken down. Will Sam drop another bombshell in the coming days? VWMusic & The Record Spinner will be providing the scoop!

– Dylan Peggin (@Record_Spinner) is a contributor for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at recordspinner97@gmail.com