SUMMER ROCK SCENE SEALED WITH A KISS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

For music fan Marc Shapiro, the summer of '96 means KISS-mas has come early.

Shapiro, who has a handful of tickets to a variety of upcoming rock shows, is especially looking forward to seeing KISS, one of his favorite bands of all time, during the theatrical '70s rock group's reunion trek around the country.

But that isn't the only event to whet Shapiro's appetite. He already has seats for Peter Wolf at the House of Blues, Styx/Kansas at the Greek Theatre and the Scorpions/Alice Cooper double bill at the Universal Amphitheatre.

He has even been known to fly to Las Vegas to see a repeat of a concert he particularly liked in L.A.

``KISS is my show of the year, no question,'' the 32-year-old Shapiro said, adding that he's seen the New York-based quartet close to 10 times during the '70s and early '80s, including some shows where the musicians didn't wear their famous horrific makeup and costumes.

Now, that's a fan. And there are plenty more like him, as well as lots of good reasons to get out of the house this summer and take in a show.

Despite the fact that some of the biggest stadium draws in rock aren't touring this year, there are no lulls in the schedules at local venues.

``During summertime, there's a lot more competition for the concert dollar because we as an industry do a little over two-thirds of our annual revenue between Memorial and Labor days,'' said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the Fresno-based Pollstar magazine, which covers the concert business.

Some of the most hotly anticipated rock and pop dates include a sold-out four-night run of Alanis Morissette at the Greek, Hootie & the Blowfish at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Steely Dan at the Hollywood Bowl, the Ziggy Marley/Cypress Hill/Fugees bill at the Universal Amphitheatre, England's up-and-coming Cast at the Troubadour, Ottmar Liebert at the Wiltern Theatre, a fearful White Zombie/Pantera metal fest at the Forum, KISS at the Forum and, of course, the Lollapalooza (Metallica, Soundgarden, Ramones and Rancid) and H.O.R.D.E. (Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band and Lenny Kravitz) caravan tours.

``The KISS tour will certainly be one of the hottest tickets of the summer, along with Alanis Morissette,'' Bongiovanni said.

Family fodder under the stars includes a promising Magic of Mancini concert at the Bowl, featuring Johnny Mathis, Trisha Yearwood, Quincy Jones and members of Los Angeles Philharmonic; and separate evenings with Michael Bolton, Johnny Cash, Gipsy Kings, and Jackson Browne at the Greek; plus a Brazilian music night at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre.

Also, the club scene is expected to get a jolt when the Ash Grove soon reopens on Santa Monica Pier. The club is named for the legendary folk/blues club of the '60s located where the Improv on Melrose Avenue stands today.

Whatever happens, it's unlikely ticket sales will compare to the watershed year of 1994, when the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Pink Floyd, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel/Elton John and the Grateful Dead, took to the stadiums with a net result of $1.4 billion in grosses.

``Judging by the first six months of the year, we expect 1996 to be similar to 1995, which means it will pale in comparison to '94,'' Bongiovanni said.

Last year, too, there were few stadium shows, ``and we see the same thing happening this year,'' Bongiovanni said, predicting an end-of-year North American ticket sales tally close to last year's $950 million.

There's still plenty of competition among touring acts. That's why German hard rockers the Scorpions readily agreed when it was suggested that colorful '70s rocker Alice Cooper be added to a summer amphitheater tour headlined by the band.

``Management gave us a few possibilities, but we thought this Cooper bill would be perfect from a musical standpoint,'' Scorpions guitarist-singer Rudolph Schenker said. ``It's important to have a strong ticket these days when everybody is fighting for the concert dollar.''

When the battle is hot, it seems, few venues are willing to take chances with baby acts. So, if the amphitheater schedules look familiar, it's because they are.

Judging by a summer lineup that includes the Allman Brothers Band, Boston, James Taylor, Jethro Tull, Meat Loaf, Sting, Jimmy Buffett, Tony Bennett, Tower of Power, War, Engelbert Humperdinck, King Crimson, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Boz Scaggs, Sex Pistols, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, REO Speedwagon, Peter Frampton, the Cure, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, the Steve Miller Band, Chicago, Pat Benatar, Connie Francis and Santana, the graying of America has reached the concert stage.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) The KISS reunion trek around the country incl udes a stop at the Forum. The tour of the theatrical '70s rock group is predicted to be one of the hottest tickets of the summer.

(2) Alanis Morissette will headline a sold-out four-night run at the Greek Theatre.

(3) Hootie & the Blowfish will be at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.