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
