West Richland man may be area’s biggest Kiss fan (video)
Don’t ask Jeff Hindman to name his favorite Kiss song.
The legendary hard rock band has been around since the 1970s, and each era — each album — has brought new, favorite tunes.
“Off the first album, Plaster Caster I loved. You’ve got Lick it Up,” he said.
He also loves Crazy Nights, We are One. The list goes on and on.
Hindman, 42, of West Richland, might be the biggest Kiss fan in the Tri-Cities.
He has memorabilia galore, and he’s even made his love for the band permanent with several Kiss tattoos.
He’s likely to be among the first in line when Kiss rocks the Toyota Center in Kennewick this summer.
Tickets for the July 10 show go on sale April 15.
Hindman discovered the band as a grade-schooler.
He saw the TV movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, in which the rockers use superpowers to battle an evil foe and save an amusement park.
Then he got his hands on the Destroyer album.
What do you say to someone you’ve grown up with your whole life? I have no idea.
Jeff Hindman of West Richland on what he’d say if he met band
His love for the band grew and he began building up a stash of Kiss goods — cassette tapes and the like at first.
And then, well. “Once you see the room, you’ll see it went way beyond that,” he told the Herald this week.
He led the way into “the room,” toward the back of his West Richland home. It’s covered wall-to-wall in just about every Kiss item imaginable.
Cardboard cutouts. Lunch boxes. Dolls. Stuffed animals. Toy cars.
“I was going to KB Toys on delivery days, Target on delivery days, Walmart on delivery days” to get the cars, he said.
He has clothing — for adults and kids. Decorative lights. School supplies. Christmas ornaments. A skateboard. Gold records. Uncut sheets of trading cards.
“You name it, I’ve got it,” Hindman said.
He finds the memorabilia himself, and people also pass it along to him.
He likes that Kiss’ music isn’t about violence or mayhem, but about having a good time.
The songs are “about living life good,” he said.
Hindman has seen the band live at least five times, including a memorable Gorge Amphitheatre show several years ago.
His 24-year-old daughter Dakota accompanied him. She was a little girl at the time — around the age her dad was when he first found Kiss — and she dressed like band member Paul Stanley.
“It was me and her, fifteenth row,” Hindman recalled.
Dakota liked the opening acts, “by the time Kiss came around, she was on my shoulders. Her eyes were about this big,” he said, making circles with his hands.
You name it, I’ve got it.
Jeff Hindman
Hindman hopes the July show in Kennewick will be a family affair, with his sweetheart Heather Little and other loved ones attending.
He’s excited to see his favorite band in person again.
He does have one wish: he’d like to meet Stanley, Gene Simmons and company.
That’s one Kiss-related experience he’s never had.
“I’ve been a stone’s throw away from them, but I’ve never met them. It would be awesome,” Hindman said.
He doesn’t have a plan for what he’d say if it were to happen.
“I’ve been asked that. (Act like the characters in) Wayne’s World and say, ‘I’m not worthy?’ ” he said with a laugh. “What do you say to someone you’ve grown up with your whole life? I have no idea.”
Concert tickets range from $39.50 to $125. They’re available starting at 10 a.m. today through Ticketmaster and the Toyota Center box office.
Sara Schilling: 509-582-1529, @SaraTCHerald
This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 9:06 PM with the headline "West Richland man may be area’s biggest Kiss fan (video)."