Monday, November 4, 2013

Another extremely satisfied customer

Corey Stuart
When I was growing up in eastern NC, I discovered KISS at age 6. I felt like I had found a legion of SuperHeroes that had existed outside of the cartoon realm and they even played kick ass music. "Love Gun" was my first full Kiss album, and for some reason the Demon character of Gene Simmons resonated with me immensely. Fast forward to 1996, I decided to start dressing as him for Halloween. I began making my own costume, and gradually over the years I got better on the makeup freehand. In 2011, I bought the "official licensed" costume off another site. It was the Alive/Rock The Nation era, and although it LOOKED great, it was cheaply made as I soon found out. The only thing that held up over time were the boots. The stitching would come out of the spiked gloves, and you could tell that it wouldn't be made for the "road" if ever decided to wear it longterm. Plus, general sizes don't always accommodate husky dudes like me. This is where Barry Carr comes in. I've never met him personally, but I've known of him for about a decade. Seeing his work, it's easy to tell that he knows his stuff. Kiss should hire him as the master costumer but maybe it wouldn't be in the fans' best interest because WE'D lose him then! Anyhow, in late August I reached out to him on the idea of buying a Love Gun/Reunion era costume of Gene's. I'd supply the Alive boots, he'd do the modifications, and the rest of the outfit, down to the bodysuit. I provided him with detailed measurements (he'll require this as the entire suit is custom fit to YOUR size...not some cheap third world mass produced generic size). He accepted payments (the guy will work with you...quality doesn't come cheap but trust me, it's well worth it!) and at the top of October I received the first box...the outfit itself! It fits like a dream, is relatively easy to get in and out of, and looks AMAZING. Then, as fate would have it, the weather turned cold, and inching up to the week before Halloween, Barry told me he was running a few days behind on the boots. Cold weather and curing times on paint don't mix. I was getting antsy, but he shipped them out on Monday, and they arrived on Wednesday. Game on! I knew the costume looked awesome, but what would the general public think? I wore it out over the course of three days. Heads turned in awe, and Halloween night itself was mostly a sea of camera flashes. I think I lost count around 150 times I got stopped for personal photo ops. That one full body photo of me has netted over 123 likes on Facebook, and I'm strongly considering a part time gig in Times Square posing for photos at $5 a pop. Bottom line is this: Barry Carr is the real deal. Don't believe any negative reviews on him online, because these are likely by disgruntled people who either couldn't afford his services or worse, tried to be a competitor and fell flat on their ass. Barry is an eccentric creator--any outstanding artist is--and he will let you know from A-Z where he's at on your project if you buy an authentic replica from him. He can pull off ANY Kiss member's costume, ANY era. It's cool to be the rock star for a night (or two, or three) and Barry Carr can achieve that goal for you. You'll have an excellent keepsake after you're done wearing it too! Keep up the great work, Barry...thank you for providing the ONLY reliable outlet for true KISS fans seeking to live out their rock n roll fantasies! Best Regards, -"Corey" Stuart Powell, NYC