Things has been reaching near critical mass for a while. Criss had been partaking in drugs and alcohol, making him nearly useless because of his addictions. He couldn't be counted on to do his job properly. 1979 was his last show. He himself even admits he sabotaged it. The band had been working on their 1980 album Unmasked and had asked drummer Anton Fig to step in and record Criss' parts. It was a split decision; guitarist Ace Frehley wanted him to stay while bassist Gene Simmons and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley wanted him out. Manager Bill Aucoin arranged an audition session at SIR Studios in New York
According to Paul Stanley's memoir Face the Music: A Life Exposed, Stanley said "The day of the audition or rehearsal or whatever you wanted to call it, Peter walked in carrying a music stand and sheet music. The first thing he said was "I'll have to have all your songs on sheet music because I read music now." I whispered to Gene "Are we on Candid Camera?" Peter sat down, put his sheet music on the stand, and studied it for a while. Mind you, this rehearsal was of old material, not the new stuff we had written and recorded for Unmasked. We wanted to see whether he could even play the songs he already knew."
According to Gene Simmons' memoir Kiss and Make-Up, Simmons recalled "Criss looked very serious and intense. Peter couldn't read or write sheet music, not then, not now. None of us could. But by that time he was so delusional that he thought if he had a music stand, he could convince us he'd changed. I'm surprised he didn't bring a baton. The situation didn't improve once the playing started. He was worse than ever. So we had a meeting afterward, and we said "Peter is unhealthy. He's going to kill himself. He's got to leave the band and get some help."
Criss himself had even admitted that his addictions left him in a bad place. According to his memoir Makeup to Breakup: My Life In and Out of Kiss, Criss admitted "With each sip and each snort, I felt my world collapsing around me. Then I just started crying again." Ace still wanted him to stay. "Ace, I don't want to play with the band no more. I'm going to get my own band. You should do the same, you're miserable."
The former drummer admitted he had sabotaged the audition to ensure he didn't have to rejoin. "I really wanted to get back at them for all the times they'd put me and my music down. I was going to play this out to the max. Instead of the fun-loving, clothes-shedding Catman, they were going to see a new, improved Peter Criss. I had never been so serious in my whole life, and it really freaked them out. I was extremely locked into myself from the blow. They didn't know what to make of me."
His last official duty with Kiss was to film a video for the single "Shandi". When Criss left, the band tried to protect him using the old cliches. Simmons said "To the press we used the traditional rock band excuses: creative differences, desire to begin a solo career, and so on. We never said Peter was thrown out of the band for being a drug addict. We wouldn't have done that to him, the fans or ourselves."
As a final note, Criss said he was delighted to leave while retaining a quarter interest in the band's finances. "It was a great deal for me, and I imagine it must have driven Gene and Paul crazy to have to share that money with me. I think they were really sincere about giving me another chance. If I would have played well, I'm sure they would have said "Let's go for it again." Maybe they thought by firing me, they were scaring me straight. I don't know. But I did know that I hated them even more after they fired me."
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