KISS News Archive Part 1

Simmons will host the event at The Roundhouse in London on Wednesday, November 9. And he’s clearly looking forward to it.

“On that momentous occasion, the planets will align, living legends will gather to honour their own and London will become the centre of the rock & roll universe. It’s one thing being a voracious and loyal reader of Classic Rock, but it’s another to be in the same room as the people who have inspired me to stop flipping burgers and jump up on stage and have a go at it myself.”

Segura and Parent Rock 'N Roll with "Archie Meets KISS"

This will not be Archie Comics' first somewhat odd inter-company crossover -- most recently, the characters met DC Comics' Tiny Titans and, most notoriously, they once faced Marvel's Punisher -- but it does continue a tradition of unexpected team-ups which Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie and their friends seem to take in stride.

CBR News spoke with Segura and Parent about "Archie Meets KISS" and how the two worlds will collide.

CBR News: First, guys, how did this unusual team-up come together?

Alex Segura: Pretty easily, actually. Gene Simmons called up our Co-CEO Jon Goldwater with the idea. Once the deal was struck, I pitched my story to Jon and President Mike Pellerito. I'd written an issue of "Archie and Friends" before, so they knew I was interested in writing more. The timing worked out really well and the chance to bring together two major pieces of Americana -- Archie and the KISS gang -- was impossible to pass up.

Have you had any input from the band on this story?

Segura: Gene and Paul [Stanley] see everything at each stage, so they chime in. It's been pretty smooth sailing, though, and they've been amazingly supportive. It's one of the easiest collaborations of this kind I've ever been a part of.

Dan Parent: From the art perspective, KISS (particularly Gene) has to approve the art. So far, so good!

Are either of you big KISS fans? Is there anything you can share about your experiences listening to, seeing or following the band?

Segura: Dan's a huge KISS fan -- his stories blow mine away. I love music and I've followed KISS for a long time, so I'm pretty familiar with all things KISS. But even that pales in comparison to Mr. Parent! Dan's not just a card-carrying member of the KISS Army, he's a lifetime member.

Parent: Yes, I was (and am) a big KISS fan, so I would've had a fit it I didn't land this project! I was particularly into them in the late '70s, when their songs were a staple at the high school dances. I had a lot of their albums. I still have the 45 of "Christine Sixteen!"

What can you tell us about the story we'll be seeing here?

Parent: It's got Sabrina, Salem, the whole Archie cast, KISS, demons, monsters, zombies -- and that's just in the first two books!

Segura: When a spell goes wrong, Sabrina and the Archies discover that Riverdale's overrun by a gang of dangerous monsters. Who will help them corral the creatures before they turn everyone into mindless zombies? None other than KISS, who arrive on the scene ready for a fight!

Riverdale has been host to some unusual guest stars -- I'm thinking mostly of the Punisher here, though I know there have been others -- so I'm wondering how Archie, Betty, Veronica and the gang might react to the KISS characters?

Parent: They're a bit shocked, but in comparison to the other crazy things going on in riverdale........

Segura: Everyone stays pretty much in character, so Archie and the crew are pretty surprised when the KISS gang appears -- even more so when they start breathing fire and flying around!

How do the various Archie characters get along with the KISS personas? Is there one, for example, that Jughead is able to bond with over a hamburger or three?

Parent: I think Betty and Veronica like their look, but I think bonding will occur when they combine musical forces. Music is that common thread that unites people.

Segura: You'll see a lot of the direct interaction in the final two parts -- part one and two are about setting the stage, presenting the conflict and seeing these characters dive into action. There's very little breathing room. In fact, there's a pretty fun, all-hands-on-deck fight scene in the middle of issue two that should get people talking.

With the musical nature of the crossover, will Josie and the Pussycats be making an appearance?

Segura: They're definitely in the mix -- but not the way you'd expect. How cryptic is that?

Dan, given KISS's more hard-edged image -- as evidenced in the band's other appearances in comics -- are there any challenges in melding their style into the Archie world?

Parent: Not really. They fit the Archie style pretty well. Our style is based in "semi-reality," so their basic look is all there, just simplified a bit.

Have there been any scenes you especially enjoyed writing or drawing?

Segura: I've enjoyed writing Sabrina and having scenes that involve the KISS guys interacting with "classic" Archie elements, like the Chok'lit Shoppe or Riverdale High. Basically, the melding of the two concepts has been a lot of fun. Also, Jughead's always cool to write. His sarcasm makes everything more fun.

Parent: I've enjoyed drawing it all -- this story is pure fun. But I love to draw Sabrina, so it's really great having her in the story. I love Halloween and it feels like one big Halloween story, which is loads of fun to draw.

OZZY OSBOURNE Tribute Album Due Next Year

2011 HOLLAND KISS FAN EXPO

KISSOnline will also be attending the event with the latest Official KISS merchandise! We look forward to seeing everyone!

The Fan Expo will also feature KISS dealers from around the world, a makeup contest, and Europe’s KISS on the RockS will perform a classic KISS set.

CLICK HERE for ticket info

The 2011 Holland KISS Fan Expo is a fan produced event. By the fans, for the fans!

Ex-KISS Drummer PETER CRISS To Walk In Support Of 'Making Strides Against Breast Cancer'

The event will take on place Sunday, October 16 in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey beginning at 10 a.m.

For more information, go to this location.

No wedding gifts: Shannon Tweed wants SPCA donations

Tweed says on Twitter that the couple didn't register for their Oct. 1 nuptials and are asking "peeps" to give to the Saskatoon SPCA.

The former Playboy model says the couple has enough china.

The SPCA tweeted that it's humbled and delighted to be part of the special day.

Tweed was born in Newfoundland, but raised in Saskatoon and filmed an episode of the TV series "Gene Simmons' Family Jewels" in the Prairie city.

This isn't the first time Tweed has helped the Saskatoon SPCA -- she made a $10,000 donation in July after hearing the story of two dogs who survived being shot.

ERIC CARR's 'Unfinished Business' Due In November

Due on November 8 through a label imprint set up by Eric's sister Loretta Caravello, "Unfinished Business" is a special 20th-year commemorative CD release that features over 17 rare Eric Carr recordings, including previously unreleased music, live performances, interview clips and more. Guests include current and former members of KISS, TWISTED SISTER, SEETHER, ZO2, EUROPE, DANGER DANGER and more.

This CD is a testament to a man whose personality and heart were as big as his enormous talent. Eric's spirit is alive in each and every song.

For more information, go to this location.

KISS ARMY CHILE INTERVIEWS ERIC SINGER

Eric Singer has certainly had a very busy year 2011. KISS tours North America with ESP in Europe and recording the new album KISS have maintained their busy schedule in recent months. Despite that Eric made ??efforts to give the interview had already committed a few weeks, which was finally possible to the August 30, the date on which Eric took the time to talk with KISS Army Chile from his home in Los Angeles. It was a relaxed conversation, just as he was being told all in KISS.

Thanks to your willingness we learn more about the KISS drummer who arrived in 1991, after 20 years in the group (with the interruption of the reunion tour) has earned the admiration and respect for all.

CLICK HERE to listen to Eric's interview with KISS Army Chile.

KISS Guitarist And Drummer's Question-And-Answer Session At 'Kiss Coffeehouse' (Video)

Tommy and Eric signed for over seven and a half hours straight, greeting fans and taking photos. After the long autograph session ended, Eric and Tommy went on stage and held a question-and-answer session with the audience. During the Q&A, it was revealed that the Kiss Coffeehouse will be opening a new restaurant/coffeehouse location in Las Vegas next year.

You can now watch video footage of the question-and-answer session in three parts below.

The Kiss Coffeehouse is a specialty coffee retailer operating at Broadway at the Beach, an entertainment complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Its theme revolves around the band KISS, who own the franchise. A number of items from KISS' stage shows, such as costumes, are also on display at the establishment.

The Kiss Coffeehouse, which opened to huge crowds in the summer of 2006, features signature KISS coffees, including Kiss Army Blend and French Kiss Vanilla, the Kiss Frozen Rockuccino, cookies, brownies and other sinful sweets.

The grand opening of the store was attended by founding KISS bandmembers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

On July 9, 2006, Lisa-Holly Friedman and Ronald K Marukawa (two longtime KISS fans) were married on the premises, with Paul Stanley telephoning during the proceedings to wish them well.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

KISS Special To Air On CNN

"Kiss Inc." is scheduled to premiere on CNN Presents on Sunday, October 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET, replaying at 11:00 p.m. ET.

Hugh Hefner gets invite to Gene Simmons' wedding

The Playboy boss has received an invitation to attend the nuptials of the KISS rocker and his fiance Shannon Tweed on October 1.

Hugh is very excited for the couple, who have been in a relationship for 28 years, because Gene and the former Playboy Playmate met at his home.

Hugh wrote on twitter: "I received a wedding invitation from PMOY Shannon Tweed & rock star Gene Simmons today. They met at the Mansion. (sic)"

The 85-year-old business mogul - who is famous for throwing wild parties at his Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles - also revealed he was visited by his ex-girlfriend Holly Madison Thursday.

The 31-year-old blonde beauty decided to drop in to see Hugh on her day off from Las Vegas burlesque production 'Peepshow'.

He tweeted: "Holly came by & had dinner at the Mansion with GND producer Kevin Burns on the day off from her Vegas show "Peepshow." Good to see her. (sic)"

Gene and Shannon - who appear together in the reality TV show 'Gene Simmons: Family Jewels' - announced their wedding date this week and will be tying the knot at the Beverley Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, Calif.

The invitations the couple sent out contain a picture created by their son Nick, 22, and a message written by their 19-year-old daughter Sophie.

The note read: "There will no longer be a Team Tweed or a Team Simmons but instead a Team Tweed-Simmons."

BACH UNCOVERS KISS ALIVE AFTER IRENE

The former Skid Row rocker was devastated after his New Jersey house was destroyed by the storm, causing him to lose irreplaceable mementos and one-of-a-kind rock memorabilia.

But his spirits were lifted on Wednesday (31 Aug 11) after he discovered his childhood copy of KISS Alive! in the carnage.

Bach posted a picture of the record on his Facebook.com page, writing, "Ripped today from the clutches of Irene... this is the exact copy if (sic) KISS Alive! that my dad gave to me when I was 10 years old. Years later Gene Simmons was cool enough to sign it for me... This was yanked out of Irene's soggy clutches... & ynow (sic) what? Fuck you Irene!" Can the Gargoyles be next?

The star is now planning to relocate to Los Angeles to start afresh.

THE NO. 1 GUITAR HERO: TOMMY THAYER

You're the lead guitarist in Kiss and the band's only golfer. Do the other members tease you?

They used to make jokes when they saw me reading Golf Magazine, saying things like, "Hey, how's your stiff shaft?" Now I think they're jealous because I'm at charity events with cool stars, and I play places like Medinah, Winged Foot and Augusta. Gene [Simmons] came to my charity event last year, but he doesn't have the patience for golf.

That's probably for the best—it's bad etiquette to spew blood during someone's backswing. What similarities are there between playing golf and playing guitar?

A lot. Golf and guitar are both very Zen, very in-the-moment. In golf, you don't want too many technical thoughts. It's the same playing in front of 10,000 people. I'm not thinking, "I'm moving my fingers this way, and now I'll go over here on the stage." No, you just let go. I'm an 11 handicap. I've been playing since I was 12, and it took a while to learn that. Be in the moment.

Do you get nervous on the course?

The first time I played the Hope in 2005, I walk to the first tee. I'm in John Daly's group. Then I hear, "Playing in his first Bob Hope Classic, the lead guitarist from Kiss..." Two thousand people applaud. It gets completely quiet. I'm shaking like a leaf. I almost s--t my pants. Horrifying.

You spent the night in the Butler Cabin when you played Augusta. Did you wear full Kiss makeup?

That would be a sight, wouldn't it? I could get away with it. Look at these lapels—this qualifies as a collared shirt.

Kiss had an '80s hit called "Lick It Up." Any plans to remake it into a song about putting called "Pick It Up"?

[Laughs] Sometimes I get that song stuck in my head, which doesn't help my swing. Man, I'm so lucky to have the best of both worlds—playing with the world's greatest band and playing a lot of golf.

So you're saying you "Rock and Roll All Nite and Make Par Every Day"?

Now that sounds like a hit!

ROCK 'N' ROLL CRUISES

Most of us have to work hard for a living, but Andy Levine gets to run Sixthman Productions , and he might have a little more fun than workers stuck behind a desk all day.

His company was just named as one of the nation's 500 fastest-growing companies by Inc. Magazine and was rated at number 87 overall, and the leader in the travel category. But calling Sixthman a travel company is like saying Eric Clapton is just a guitar player.

Sixthman Productions specializes in one particular kind of theme cruise: live rock 'n' roll concerts on cruise ships. Two of my favorite things are live music and cruising, combine them, and they’re magic.

How does Sixthman work? First it charters a cruise ship that holds 1,600 to 3,600 passengers. Chartering an entire ship means Sixthman gets total control of the cruise: where it sails and stops, food selections and who provides the entertainment. Naturally, they scrap the cruise line's usual production shows like “Karaoke Live!” and instead offer live concerts with headliner rock 'n' roll bands.

While the process sounds fun, it's not as simple as it sounds.

Chartering cruise ships and producing rock concerts are both risky investments. Consider the experience of another company, Shoreline Charters, which recently tried to promote the Bret Michaels Rock Your World Super Cruise, featuring the ex-lead singer of the band Poison. Michaels now alleges the company tried to renege on its original contract and cut his performance fee to $350,000 from $750,000. The cruise has been canceled.

There are a few successful companies producing music cruises. The Blues Cruise has handled some three dozen successful sailings, and The Smooth Jazz Cruise has presented two to five jazz cruises annually since 2004. But Sixthman, based in Atlanta, produces a greater variety of music theme cruises every year.

Here is a typical Sixthman Production (although there is nothing typical about it): The upcoming Kiss Kruise – Wet, Wild and Rockin’ isn’t just a cruise for Kiss fans to buy collectible Kiss dolls (although that is part of it). This cruise features the actual band playing live -- Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. Only the first two are original members, but the important thing is being at sea with nothing to think about but your Kiss makeup and a chance to meet Gene Simmons as he heads to the dining room for baked Alaska.

The Kiss Kruise sets sail on Carnival Destiny Oct. 13 – 17 from Miami to a private island in the Bahamas and to Nassau. There will be two shows by Kiss for everyone onboard to see, plus performances by four other bands. Guests on the Kiss Kruise will pay from $799 to $2,995 per person for a four-day cruise. Sixthman brings its own sound system, controls what is shown on the stateroom televisions, chooses the “drink of the day,” plots the ship’s itinerary and more. For four days Sixthman will basically “own” the cruise ship.

Other Sixthman ventures include two successful Kid Rock cruises, with a third one coming next April. Then there’s the Weezer Cruise, featuring the namesake band plus 15 or so special guests. The Rock Boat, now in its 12th year, started it all and features dozens of different bands.

I am really sorry I missed the last Simple Man Cruise, the fifth of which sailed last January with classic rock bands Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special and Little Feat, but cruise number six is being planned right now.

Then there's the fifth annual Cayamo Cruise sailing Feb. 5, 2012, where songwriters like Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, John Prine and about 20 more will present their work -- and, more importantly, talk to fellow passengers and share their ideas on songwriting and performing. Other rock cruises include the VH1 Best Cruise Ever and Ships & Dips, that includes the Barenaked Ladies and several more bands.

Sixthman plans so many different cruises every year that the best thing to do for planning purposes is just visit its website to see what’s coming up. But be warned: Music cruises are highly addictive. Sixthman says more than 60% of guests on each cruise are repeaters. One of Sixthman’s competitors, the Jam Cruise, now in its 10th year, refers to its loyal client base as “repeat offenders.” Keep in mind that Sixthman's cruises often sell out up to a year in advance.

Sixthman is branching out beyond music to offer the Turner Classic Movie cruise on Dec. 8, 2011, showing several cinematic classics and bringing aboard Ernest Borgnine, Tippi Hedren, Norman Jewison and Eva Marie Saint to discuss and reminisce about the golden age of Hollywood. Overseeing the events will be TCM channel hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz.

Another Sixthman distinction is its choice of ships. While both Smooth Jazz and the Blues Cruise have only used Holland America ships for years now, Sixthman will be chartering Carnival's Inspiration, Destiny and Fascination; Celebrity Millennium; and NCL's Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Dawn during the upcoming season.

When they are finished with each cruise, they will break down the stage, sound and lighting systems they bring on board and get them ready for the next adventure. And let me just say one thing: I would not want to be the person collecting the empty beer bottles.

Gene Simmons -- The Smart Ass Wedding Announcement

The wedding will put a traditional twist on a decidedly untraditional relationship between the hard rock icon and the model that, since 2006, has been chronicled in the reality TV show "Gene Simmons: Family Jewels" on cable network A&E.

The Israeli-born Simmons and the Canadian-born Tweed have two adult children together, Nick and Sophie.

An invitation for the wedding, which will be held on October 1 in Los Angeles, was created that contains drawings of the family done by Nick Simmons and a message by Sophie Simmons.

"There will no longer be a Team Tweed or a Team Simmons but instead a Team Tweed-Simmons," the message read.

Gene Simmons, 62, plays bass guitar and sings in the band Kiss, which had hits with the songs "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Night."

Shannon Tweed appeared in the pages of Playboy magazine in the 1980s and had a number of starring roles in low-budget thrillers and adventure movies such as "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death" and "Scorned."

Simmons proposed to Tweed in Belize, in a moment that was captured by cameras for their A&E reality show.

Gene Simmons Sets a Date to KISS the Bride

Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed have set a date for their years-in-the-making nuptials, E! News confirmed Thursday. They'll do the deed at a Beverly Hills hotel.

So when's the magic day?

It's Oct. 1! Not so coincidentally, that's just three days before the seventh season premiere of A&E's Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which will follow the couple and their two kids as mom and dad get ready to tie the knot after 28 years together.

The KISS rocker popped the question while they were vacationing in Belize, an intimate and romantic moment that was the highlight of the show's sixth season finale in July—and a pretty emotional capper, considering so much of the season focused on Simmons and Tweed's volatile relationship.

But Simmons had figured a few things out by season's end.

"I come with so much baggage, but you're the only friend I've got. You're the only one I love...and you're the only one I ever will love," he told Tweed, who dissolved into tears before saying yes.

New KISS Nebraska Lottery Scratch Game

Nurture your inner-rock star by playing the Nebraska Lottery's $5 KISS Scratch Game. Each time you scratch, you have a chance at winning the top prize of $50,000. And if you don't scratch a winner, you'll be given an encore chance at fame and fortune. Just enter the KISS Second-Chance Giveaway.

Nebraska Lottery MVP Club Members may enter two non-winning $5 KISS Scratch tickets for a chance to win one of two Grand Prize trips to Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles, California, and other prizes.

Tickets may be entered online from August 26, 2011, to October 31, 2011.

* Grand Prize: Paid enrollment for one individual to attend Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles, California, November 10-13, 2011, featuring Paul Stanley of KISS. Package includes camp registration, flight, hotel and $1,000 spending cash. Prize also includes a compact disc copy of "Destroyer" by KISS; * Second Prize: $1,000 cash and a compact disc copy of "Destroyer" by KISS; and * Third Prize: $500 cash and a compact disc copy of "Destroyer" by KISS

For more information, go to this location.

Pictured below is the promotional poster for the new KISS Nebraska Lottery Scratch Game.

PodKISSt #49: "Rock and Roll Over" Turns 35!

Listen here: http://podkisst.com

KISS NAVY LOGO

The only way to become a member of the exclusive KISS Navy is to join the band on the KISS Kruise this October.

KISS Kruise: Wet, Wild, & Rockin’ , your BEST vacation yet! Check out EVERYTHING that is included in the price of a cabin: A KISS indoor rock show, an acoustic show on the Lido Deck (no makeup!), a Q&A with all 4 guys, a photo with the band (in small groups), exclusive KISS Kruise merchandise, and so much more!

KISS Gargoyles from the 1979 Destroyed

"I am numb, in shock and devastated to report that my home of 21 years, my house featured on MTV 'Cribs', has been destroyed, condemned and deemed uninhabitable due to the extreme flooding courtesy of Hurricane Irene.

"In the two decades I have lived in this home, there has never been a single drop of water in the basement or anywhere else in the structure. Now Irene has overflowed the reservoir adjacent to my house. The surging waters have snapped the bridge in half next to my house and sent the bridge straight into my garage, knocking the house off of its foundation. The basement that has been dry for over two decades is now overflowing with water and I am not even allowed to start pumping the water out due to fears of electrocution.

"Original SKID ROW and KISS fans, I have bad news for you. Gone are irreplacable items, such as my KISS Gargoyles from the 1979 tour. KISS pinball machine. SKID ROW master tapes, video and audio, concerts, master tapes from 'Oh Say Can You Scream', etc. Boxes and boxes of one-of-a-kind SKID ROW memorabilia, from the first tour to our last, all stuff I collected on the road that no one else had. I had a library in the basement with every single magazine that had SKID ROW on the cover. This library took up a big part of the basement. All of this is lost now.

"We will salvage what we can, of course. But how I wish there was a reason to do a box set or something before Hurricane Irene hit. Nobody cared. Now it's too late.

"Don't know what you got till it's gone, indeed.

"The good news is that all my father's artwork, including the 16-foot 'Slave To The Grind' mural, is all OK. My sons and friends moved all my dad's art to the second level of the structure before Irene destroyed our home. My Silver Age comic collection is all on the third level, with the David Bierk archives, which is a completely dry level. But we are not allowed into the house yet to retrieve everything because the foundation has crumbled and the house could conceivably collapse at any second. We are working with the police and fire department to get the electricity turned off so no one gets electrocuted entering the premises. As soon as the power is off, we will pump out the basement and salvage what we can. Everything will be put into storage and then it looks like we will level the house.

"This has really taught me that the best things in life are indeed 'free.' What makes me happy is that my children and ex-wife are safe. My dad's art is unharmed. No one got hurt. My scrapbooks of memories of my life are dry and safe. The only things that are making me smile today is cranking BLACK VEIL BRIDES' 'Set The World On Fire' CD over and over again. Texting Danny from ASKING ALEXANDRIA who may become my new roommate in L.A. Getting texts from my girl Minnie [Gupta] in L.A. making sure I'm OK and trying to cheer me up. My neighbours in New Jersey clamouring around my house, calling me, offering help in any way they can. These things mean more to me than mere posessions.

"I have been holding on to my house since December, when my divorce papers were filed. I just could not let go of the only home I had ever known.

"Well, God has other plans for me it seems. He has made His decision for me.

"My home has been taken away by an 'act of God.' I just think He is giving me a much-needed push, is all.

"New Jersey, thank you all so much for 25 years of rock 'n' roll. It's all over now.

"I will always love New Jersey, but now there is literally nothing left for me here except memories of a past life.

"Hello, Los Angeles. Hello, New Life. Here i am. It's time for a new start.

"Like I have a choice."

ARCHIE MEETS ISSUE #2 VARIANT COVER

For this weeks batch of creamy rock facts, we took on KISS, one of the most beloved bands on Earth. Houston hasn't seen any shortage of KISS in the past few years, as the band has been here about three times since 2009, with the last appearance coming at this year's RodeoHouston.

Previously, we've been flying solo on these fact sheets, but this time around we enlisted the help of the biggest KISS fan we know, one Jarod Frank. Frank works in the radio industry, including a DJ slot over at the old 107.5 The Buzz from 1995 to 1999, when they were playing the bands we love that now influence all the bands we don't like on the station today. Now he works for CBS Radio Houston.

Frank currently makes time with Sunsett Stripperz, an '80s hair-metal tribute band that will be at House of Blues next Friday, and a newer project, Foo Fakers, which pays tribute to the Foo Fighters. On top of all this, you can usually see him at most every big old-school metal show in town.

We asked Frank to help us with this list, so as not to run too terribly afoul of the super-fans that KISS has amassed. For the record, our favorite KISS album is 1979's Dynasty, because it has a nasty groove you can dance to.

Peter Criss, disgruntled during and after the filming of 1978's KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, had his voice replaced in the entire movie because he refused to show up for the looping sessions in post-production. The movie was being produced in part by Hanna-Barbera, so it makes sense that they used a voice from their stable to fill in for Criss - Michael Bell, who was doing the voice of Plastic Man as well as Zan and Gleek from the Superfriends' Wonder Twins.

Bruce Kulick's pre-KISS band, Blackjack, has other connections to KISS besides Bruce being the band's fourth lead guitar player. The group's lead singer, Michael Boloton - later changed to Michael Bolton; yes, that Michael Bolton - co-wrote KISS's most recent Top 10 hit, "Forever," with Paul Stanley in 1989. Blackjack's bassist, Jimmy Haslip, pinch-hit for Gene Simmons when some of the bass lines on 1982's Creatures of the Night proved to be a little tricky.

KISS had 12 albums that came with some sort of goodie for fans. Posters were included in Dynasty and Unmasked. All four members' 1978 solo albums came with posters that fit together as one big mural. Rock And Roll Over had stickers, Alive II had temporary tattoos, and you got toy cardboard pop gun with Love Gun.

Katey Sagal, Peg Bundy from Married... With Children and the biker mama on Sons of Anarchy, sings back-up on Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album.

Ace Frehley's solo in "She" is ripped off from The Doors' "Five To One." Interestingly enough, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready admitted to ripping off the solo in "Alive" from "She."

Paul Stanley always said he wrote "Hard Luck Woman" for Rod Stewart, but it's never clear if it was ever presented to him for Stewart's own use. Still others say that after the success of "Beth," the band, or their record company, decided to keep it for Criss to sing on the band's next record to capitalize.

KISS was offered the part of the Future Villain Band in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The band turned down the movie because they were afraid of what it might do to their image. The part eventually went to Aerosmith, who ended up recording a hit version of The Beatles' "Come Together" for the soundtrack to the roundly panned film.

Gene Simmons tried to get any and all of the Beatles to guest on his 1978 solo album, but couldn't. So he got members of tribute band Beatlemania instead to fill in.

KISS was paid $35 for its first show in 1973.

Gene Simmons Family Jewels Season 7 Starts October 4

Picking up where last season’s cliffhanger left off, viewers will find out Shannon’s answer to Gene’s long awaited marriage proposal in a special one-hour season premiere.

ARCHIE MEETS ISSUE #2 VARIANT COVER

And here’s the standard cover (on the left) by Dan Parent. Which, you know, isn’t bad or anything… (www.bleedingcool.com)

Lady Gaga Rocks, But 'Rock Sucks' According to Simmons

"There is only one exciting artist, and her name is Lady Gaga," Simmons told us when we caught up with him in Los Angeles on the red carpet celebrating the Blu-ray release of the 1983 Al Pacino classic, "Scarface." "Everybody else is exactly the same. Every rapper is the same as every other rapper; every rocker is the same as every other rocker. Uniqueness is the only important thing, and Gaga is the real thing."

The outspoken icon gave Justin Bieber his just due, though he compared him to other teen idols like 1970s sensation David Cassidy. "I mean, he's terrific, but I've seen him before," Simmons said of Bieber.

Without naming names, Simmons was pretty sour on all current musicians, contemporary rock and roll artists, in particular. "I think rock sucks at the moment. Artists look like delivery boys; they look like they could use a bath," he said. "There's no respect for the stage — the stage is holy ground. I don't care what you do. You don't have to spit fire or drool blood but when you get on that stage, you should give people bang for their buck."

It isn't just present-day rockers Simmons took issue with, however. He wouldn't validate anyone pre-1980. "From 1958 to 1980 — that's about 30 years — you can name a thousand major artists: Elvis, the Beatles, Hendrix, on and on and on. From 1980 till today, name me an artist that's going to last the test of time," he challenged us. "Good luck with that, by the way." (Video)

Yell! Magazine's Holy Trinity Series - Three Ikonik KISS Albums

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, KISS’ influence and bombastic impact on heavy metal and hard rock is irrefutable. Who in the civilized world isn’t familiar with at least one of their songs (most likely “Rock And Roll All Nite”) or can’t name that band based solely on an image? And while, yes, the argument presented thus far is weak, we’ll appease any naysayers, though they already know it’s true, and state that:

KISS has sold more than 100 million albums world wide; while promoting their first album much bigger bands refused to let KISS open for them for fear of being upstaged by their live show; KISS was the first band to find success with a live album (Alive!), setting the bar and ushering in a new era of music consumption; KISS are marketing giants having achieved a level of branding many strive for but few reach; KISS beat the The Beatles at Budakan, selling and performing five sold out shows while The Beatles only managed four; between 1977 and 1979 alone, KISS merchandise sales reached an estimated $100 million (do you know how much money that was in the ‘70s? It’s about $300 million today.); KISS was the first band (and I can’t name any subsequent bands) to have all members release “solo” albums simultaneously on the same day; they’ve released 19 studio albums (12 of which were released in their first decade of existence); in total KISS has received 42 Gold and 16 Platinum Awards in the U.S. alone.

Plus, Dimebag Darrell is buried in a KISS Kasket. RIP.

When it comes to a band with as extensive a history and such a deep discography as KISS’, it’s challenging to settle on one holy trinity. In fact, there are two holy trinities within the KISS discography, but here we’ll focus on the superior of the two. Superior because these three albums are the most driven, hungry, straight-forward, and ambitious (in the sense that they feature some of the band’s hardest-hitting, intense rock and roll, which at the time was classified as heavy metal and/or hard rock; the terms were interchangeable in the ‘70s as the genres hadn’t been divided yet) KISS albums produced.

KISS: KISS

The first album we’ll address is the one that started it all, the self-titled KISS. Released on February 18, 1974, this 35-minute opus not only has one of the greatest album covers in music history (featuring all four of their sinister faces against a black background), but it also contains so many great songs, such as “Strutter” and “Deuce,” that they’ve remained staples of KISS’ live performances for more than 35 years.

Yes, there are a couple of tracks that could be considered throw-aways, like “Love Theme From KISS” and the cover “Kissin’ Time,” the latter of which didn’t actually appear on the original release; it was added at the insistence of then Casablanca co-founder, Neil Bogart, in an attempt to boost lackluster album sales. It worked, but KISS didn’t want it on the album. The album was also panned by the critics, who wrote the band off as a joke, but when they performed their first single, “Nothin’ to Lose”, on Dick Clark’s In Concert, many were exposed to the phenomenal live KISS experience and then people slowly began to understand.

Unfortunately, as great as this album is, it failed to capture the earth-shattering live essence of KISS. That would have to wait for Alive! Nonetheless, KISS remains a fan favorite, an essential to anyone’s KISS kollection or classic rock collection for that matter. Many of the tracks were written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley during their pre-KISS days in Wicked Lester, some of which have the rare distinction of having co-writing credit between the two and “Love Theme From KISS” is the only song in the entire KISS catalog to give credit to all four original members.

What makes KISS so great is its ability to straddle ‘50s-era rock and roll with a Beatles style and bring it into the then-modern era of heavy metal, which meant more prominent bass guitar, grittier vocals (though still perfectly harmonized), blistering guitar solos, and a lot more jazz-inspired drum fills. It’s simple. It’s fun. It’s dark. It changed the genre. And it inspired countless musicians and bands to follow.

Stand out tracks outside of “Strutter” and “Deuce” include: “Nothin’ To Lose,” “Firehouse,” “Cold Gin,” “100,000 Years,” and “Black Diamond.” Yes, that’s almost the entire album – that’s how good it is.

KISS: Hotter Than Hell

After just a few months of intense touring following the release of KISS, the tireless band returned to the studio in July to hammer out and release Hotter Than Hell on October 22, 1974. The first thing that many listeners will notice about this sophomore effort is the recording; it sounds gritty, scratchy, less than perfect. This wasn’t a mistake as KISS was intend on capturing their live sound.

Despite some of KISS’ best material and displays of their best musicianship, Hotter Than Hell didn’t capture the public’s attention as they had hoped – in fact, the album was a bigger flop than their debut. Many owe this to the fact that their label, Casablanca, lost its distribution deal with Warner Bros. and, thus, lost out on backing.

Some say that KISS hadn’t grown musically, and that may be true, or that Hotter Than Hell doesn’t offer anything that hadn’t already been heard on KISS, but this is decidedly a darker, gloomier, heavier, grittier, raunchier album than its predecessor. However, the “outro” provided at the end of KISS’ final track, “Black Diamond,” does seem to foretell the vibe that would appear on Hotter.

Why the slight shift in sound? It might be because KISS had to relocate to California to record it and though you might think that would give them a sunny disposition, they were New Yorkers and pissed to be out of their element. Sure, there are some lighter rock-and-roll-feel-good tracks (“Got To Choose,” “Hotter Than Hell,” Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “All The Way,” and “Comin’ Home”), but many of these tracks feel slower than they should be, deal with less-than-honorable subject matter, and sound tuned down.

Also, a good listen to the rest of the album will show an attentive ear that a number of the tracks served as precursors for speed metal (“Parasite”), the glam-metal ballad (“Goin’ Blind”), goth metal (“Strange Ways”), and grunge (“Watching’ You” – though that might be a stretch).

Much of the material on Hotter Than Hell was written while in the studio or shortly before sessions began. Only a few of the tracks – namely, “Goin’ Blind” and “Watchin’ You” were carry overs from the Wicked Lester days. Unlike the preceding album, there are no throw-aways on Hotter Than Hell, but here’s a rundown of some of the more memorable gems:

“Got To Chose” is a nice opener to the album; it’s the one that sounds a bit too slow, but the harmony and bass line are fantastic, and Gene truly carries this number that sets the stage for the ferocity that is “Parasite.”

“Parasite” is by far the heaviest track on the album and is quite possibly the heaviest track KISS ever recorded (excluding the majority of what appears on Carnival of Souls). The main riff is so simple that any hack on the guitar can play it, but it’s powerful. Peter Criss also peaks as a drummer on this one and Gene’s vocals are nothing short of fierce.

The title track, “Hotter Than Hell,” is one of those that gets into your bones. Great riffs, great solos, great back beat, great vocals, great story. Pure KISS. Pure genius.

“Watchin’ You” is a groovy number with precursor Iron Maiden-esque dueling guitars, question and answer solos between Ace and Paul, some required ‘70s era cowbell, and great bass fills from Gene.

“Strange Ways,” written by Frehley and sung by Criss, is another heavy track. Slow and methodic, it’s the type of song that’ll make you change the way you walk. It also features one of Ace’s best guitar solos.

The final album in our KISS Holy Trinity is up next…

KISS: Dressed To Kill

Dressed To Kill is the best album in the holy trinity – if not the best KISS album. Yes, it has the song that everybody in the world knows, “Rock And Roll All Nite,” but that is hardly why this is a great album.

Released on March 19, 1975, just five months after Hotter Than Hell, Dressed To Kill was yet another album that flopped in the eyes of the public, that is, until the live version of “Rock And Roll All Nite” (charting at Number 12) from Alive! was released later that year. While Neil Bogart was the first to recognize that KISS needed an anthem, and Gene and Paul obliged by putting together two songs that they’d been working on independently, “Rock And Roll All Nite” is KISS’ “Stairway to Heaven” – the song everyone knows and is tired of hearing. Since its release, this song has closed most every KISS concert and appears on all best of compilations and live albums.

Behind the scenes there was some considerable duplicitous infighting between the label, management, and producers, which resulted in Neil Bogart (struggling Casablanca label owner) becoming the new producer. This might answer some fans concerns regarding KISS’ departure from a more “metal” sound to one with a lot more pop in it, however, they still maintained their ‘50s-era rock and roll sound and Beatle-like harmony. With major labels showing interest in the band, not for moving products (the previous two albums weren’t moving off the shelves) but for a must-see live performance, Bogart needed to try something different with KISS’ sound if he wanted to keep them on his sinking label.

OK, Dressed To Kill has the greatest back cover in history and, once again, it’s just simplicity; it’s the negative of the photo on the front cover. Musically, there are a few surprises. First, Gene and his bass carry this album; without it, it would sound like shit. Ace is tight throughout, even on KISS’ first acoustic solo introducing “Rock Bottom.” And Peter Criss never sounded as good vocally as he does on “Getaway.” And while the album is fairly pop-oriented, “She” comes out of no where with heavy riffs, blistering solos, great vocals, and awesome lyrics like “The power’s all within her as she takes off her clothes.”

Again, there are no throw-away tracks on this album (except “Rock And Roll All Nite,” but KISS understandably needed this song at the time – and it’s good, so it belongs), but the songs to pay attention to are: “Room Service,” “Getaway,” “Rock Bottom,” “C’mon And Love Me,” and “She.”

KISS This: Just think that all this was accomplished with an uncompromising attitude, a belief in your greatness, and 13 months.

KISS' NEW ALBUM IS A "MONSTER!"

"We were all blown away by the unanimous raves from critics and fans for Sonic Boom. Anyone who thought that album was a lucky fluke is in for a brutal surprise. This album kills." - Paul Stanley

KISS is planning a massive 2012-2013 "Monster" world tour which will take the band around the globe.

KISSONOMICS

KISS, the iconic rock band led by its co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, manager Doc McGhee, along with their partnership with Live Nation Merchandise led by industry veteran Dell Furano, have built a multi-million dollar integrated marketing and merchandising brand that rivals many of the successful properties not only in the history of music licensing but across the entirety of brand licensing.

According to Furano, CEO of Live Nation Merchandise, KISS has generated $500 million in retail sales of licensed merchandise from concerts, online sales and at retail since 1996, making it the largest and best selling rock and roll band.

This legendary rock group has not only been focused on the creativity of their music and stage show, but it has always been in tune with the business side that has now produced a wide array of licensed products from condoms to coffins, from lighters to lottery tickets and from cars to cruises.

While so many artists and musicians have been reluctant to aggressively pursue brand extensions and licensing, KISS has embraced it since the very beginning, realizing there was a bona fide business lurking beyond the elaborate stage show they have performed regularly for decades.

To understand the global success of KISS, one has to understand the philosophy of its two partners Simmons and Stanley who have built a brand licensing juggernaut that its loyal and diverse fan base–now with almost five million fans on Facebook alone–just can't seem to get enough of.

"KISS was the anti-hero," says Simmons, recalling the band's formative years in New York City clubs in the mid-1970s. KISS was formed in 1973, and its first album "KISS" was released in February 1974. "KISS was tired of seeing groups on stage looking at their shoes and thinking they were doing you a favor by performing, so we decided to give our fans a bang for the buck and higher heels that their mommy ever did. We wanted to make a spectacle on stage and in a very short time KISS became a phenomenon within a year and a half after starting and releasing our first record.

"I read all the trade publications because I wanted to know how the business worked," recalls Simmons, who grew up in Queens, New York, as the only child of his mother, a German Nazi Concentration Camp survivor. "It was the 'music business' with the word 'business' that is right up there, like show business. It's not just called 'music' or 'licensing.' It is actually called the 'music business' and the 'licensing business,'" he points out.

Simmons says the KISS Mantra was simple: "There are no rules. We want to blow stuff up, have fireworks on stage, do everything you could imagine, but always stay consistent."

KISS represents four personas that have become, Simmons proudly says, "four of the most recognized faces around world."

"When we signed our first record deal with Casablanca 38 years ago, we quickly became their biggest act. But we were critically lambasted because we began doing licensing for toys, games, jeans and jackets and we actually thought it was fun," says Simmons. "We didn't know the rules and we didn't care about the rules."

In June, Simmons was recognized for his business accomplishments by Forbes, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of "The Entrepreneur Behind the Icon" event, held in Hollywood, Calif.

Stanley, who also grew up in New York and always wanted to be a rock star (hence the nickname Starchild), looks back on the band, its music and its merchandising business with the same passion and attitude of partner Simmons.

"In the rock community, people looked down on the merchandise as if selling was a four letter word. Fan clubs and everything about them were frowned upon," recalls Stanley. "I always thought there was no better way for a fan to align themselves and show allegiance to the band than to wear the colors, so to speak, whether it was a t-shirt or a belt buckle. It all started very grass roots. It was fans telling us what they wanted and we gave it to them.

"We really understand our customer," Stanley adds. "As long there is no quality or ethical issue, we will put our brand on anything. Most of the other bands are boring, but KISS' entertainment and iconic imagery is unbeatable. We have created super heroes with guitars."

This uncanny blend of music, spectacle and, of course, business acumen from the early days of the band in the mid-1970s (which was atypical during that era) has become the strategic essence of the band and property today.

"KISS is the only band that has adopted a persona with Starchild, Demon and other characters–along with make up and costumes–which they have had since the beginning, and that has really been the foundation of their merchandising and licensing program," explains Furano, who is a friend, neighbor and business partner of Simmons and Stanley for 20 years. "Gene and Paul have remained accessible to their fans and the momentum of the last three years has been enormous," Furano adds. "The KISS artwork and imagery are so easily translated to merchandise and the merchandising program has almost eclipsed the band."

Furano adds that Simmons and Stanley understood the real value of cross-promotional marketing and integrated marketing much more than any other band. According to Furano, they studied other iconic licensed properties, in particular Star Wars and how George Lucas and Lucas Licensing strategically built the property over the years.

"When they approve merchandise, every band thinks about their image and their fans and they all have a role they want their merchandising to play," say Furano. "Many artists want to keep their merchandising a natural extension of their concert tours and don't want to take it beyond that. KISS is just the opposite. Merchandising is an integral part of who they are as a band."

Longtime manager Doc McGhee, who has been with KISS since 1996, recalls how it was a more simple merchandising strategy back then focused on basic quality products and collectibles and how it was difficult to get major companies to partner with the band. But all that changed very quickly as more and more corporate brands joined forces with KISS. The latest deal with Hello Kitty truly exemplifies the global and consumer popularity of the band.

"The brand is bigger than the band," says McGhee. "It's not just about the next record, it's about the experience of KISS."

McGhee admits it has been both a blessing and curse.

"Some people will say they don't know if they are the best band in world, but they are the best marketers."

KISS now has its brand and various logos featuring the costumes, make up and nicknames on just about everything imaginable, boasting almost 3,000 SKUs and counting. And there is no end in sight as the brand and the band will likely garner even more publicity and gain new fans worldwide in 2012 and beyond as KISS approaches its 40th anniversary.

KISS, which just concluded its 2011 "Lost Cities" tour last month, is already working on its 2012-2013 "Monster" world tour which will take the band to numerous countries throughout Europe, South America and Asia. The first new album since 2009's "Sonic Boom," also called "Monster," is scheduled for release in January. The "KISSology IV" DVD is also scheduled for a January release. Furano points out that all new imagery is being developed that will further expand KISS' licensing efforts over the next several years.

KISS is also developing more extensive global merchandising initiatives with various partners that could be considered unlikely on the one hand, but among the most innovative deals in the licensing industry on the other.

Consider the breadth and scope of KISS' new licensing initiatives that are in various stages of development:

KISS and Hello Kitty–KISS recently announced a partnership with another iconic brand, Hello Kitty, which will further expand the merchandising efforts of both properties. Furano says the new partnership, which will bring co-branded merchandise to 250 countries, will be heavily promoted during Brand Licensing Europe, Oct. 18-20, in London, and hit retail in the second half of 2012.

KISS, Archie Comics and IDW Publishing–The "Archie Meets KISS" four-part series will debut in November, while IDW plans to launch a new KISS comic book series in 2012.

KISS and Round 2–In celebration of the 35th anniversary of the "Destroyer" album, KISS signed a deal with Round 2 to create model figures of the band's characters as they appeared on the 1976 album cover art.

KISS and Rubie's–Set to hit retail for this Halloween, Rubie's has created KISS-themed costumes, masks, wigs and accessories for adults and children.

KISS and Monster Mini Golf–Scheduled to open in November in Las Vegas, the mini indoor glow-in-the-dark golf course will feature animated KISS monster props at each hole, music, themed party rooms and a gift shop.

KISS and Eternal Image–Following its deal for the KISS coffin, Eternal Image recently announced the KISS cremation urn featuring color images of the band and its flame logo.

KISS and Graphic Armor–The newest line of KISS Kondoms go beyond the box and wrapper, featuring Simmons' tongue extending the length of the latex condom in the first FDA-approved Picture Condoms. A "Studded Paul" condom featuring Stanley is also being developed.

KISS and Mini–Four customized KISS Mini Countryman cars, featuring mirror caps autographed by the band, were auctioned in June with part of the proceeds donated to UNICEF. In addition, Mini will sell exclusive vehicle wraps that resemble the actual car designs.

KISS and Spirit Halloween–Retailer Spirit Halloween will feature an exclusive KISS end cap display this fall promoting the band's Halloween products.

KISS and Carnival–The first themed KISS Kruise on the Carnival Destiny sets sail in October from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, featuring a KISS show and various other activities.

KISS and WMS–WMS is creating new KISS branded slot machines.

KISS and Grab Games–The KISS virtual game is currently being developed.

In addition to all the licensing programs, Simmons and Stanley have also leveraged various co-branding and promotional partnerships including Dr. Pepper, Cannon, VISA and 7-Eleven, as well as lottery in Sweden and lottery programs currently in five U.S. states.

According to Simmons, KISS recently signed a deal with The HUB network for a new animated kids show that will further extend the band's audience.

And then there are various individual interests. For example, Simmons stars in the A&E network's reality show, "Family Jewels," which just completed its sixth season. Stanley is an accomplished artist, who has held numerous art exhibitions and has turned his passion into a thriving business.

The list of licensing programs and partnerships will only get bigger, according to Furano, identifying categories for expansion that include food and beverage, spirits, sporting goods and fashion apparel for juniors and kids.

"There are no boundaries for KISS licensing, and there are plans to develop and expand KISS sports line, KISS girls (from stilettos to make up, panties, scarfs and accessories), KISS Pandas and several KISS Kids programs," says Furano.

"Other bands don't want merchandising to overshadow its music, but with KISS it's an integral part and the heart of what's different," Furano adds.

With a new album, new world tour and a plethora of new licensed products and partnerships, the iconic KISS brand will continue to rock on over the next several years as it approaches its 40th anniversary and reinforces its position as one of hottest and most influential entertainment properties in global licensing.

View the article (with all photos) at www.licensemag.com.

Paul Stanley: Girls Are God's Revenge!

“I always say I’ve learned that girls are God’s revenge,” he jokes to PEOPLE. “It’s payback for my past.”

Born on Aug. 9, Emily joins big siblings Sarah Brianna, 2½, and Colin Michael, 4½ – Stanley’s two children with wife Erin, an attorney – and 17-year-old Evan Shane, the rocker’s son from a previous relationship.

“Honestly, it’s just the greatest gift,” he says of adding another little girl to the family.

“There’s a relationship and a bond between dads and daughters that only a dad can understand. It’s very unique. To have my last two children be girls is pretty spectacular.”

Emily’s birth has also served to bring the family closer together than ever before.

“My house is really what most people would wish for and dream of,” Stanley, 59, says. “I have the greatest kids, an amazing wife. My 4-year-old was holding Emily like a 40-year-old would. Before we went to the hospital, he dressed up in his best clothes on his own and went there and had her in his lap. It’s really something very profound because you get to see that children really are a reflection of their parents. If you spend the time and the effort, you get something great for it.”

When it comes to the couple’s classic naming style, Stanley jokes, “I guess we’re not cool enough for names like Peach or Astro Girl.”

“We were a little more traditional and stick with names our children hopefully won’t regret when they grow up,” he explains. “Your kids aren’t objects for amusement, so why would you give them a name that would subject them to possible ridicule at school? Kids can be pretty tough on each other, and who wants to put a child named Spaghetti through school?”

Having just wrapped the North American leg of KISS‘s most recent tour, Stanley is looking forward to spending time at home, though he emphasizes that family has always taken precedence over career commitments.

“There’s really no struggle,” he says. “Last year, everybody toured Europe with me. There’s nothing like coming off stage to 100,000 people and having your little ones in pajamas say good night to you. It can be done.”

But for the time being, he is happily basking in the glow of being a new dad.

“I couldn’t write a better story if I tried,” Stanley says. “This has all turned out better than I could have anticipated. My life is blessed but I’ve worked hard for those blessings.”

ERIC SINGER ON RED EYE RADIO TONIGHT

Tonight's show will be hosted from 790 KABC in Los Angeles by talk radio icon Marc Germain.

1 (866) 90-REDEYE – 1 (866) 907-3339

The show is currently aired by WABC in New York City , 790 KABC in Los Angeles, 680 WRKO in Boston , MA, 700 KSEV Houston, TX, 98.9 KXBT Austin, TX, 850 WFTL, Ft. Lauderdale/Miami/West Palm Beach, FL, 1220/106.9 WSRQ, Sarasota, FL, 1200 WINK Ft. Meyers, FL, 1310/95.5 WLOB Portland, ME, 970 KCMB in Portland, OR, 100.5 WAPI Birmingham, Al, 105.9 WXTL Syracuse, NY, 99.7 WNTK New London, NH, 94.3 WTRW Scranton, PA, 99.1 KSMD Searcy, AR, 950 KXJK Forrest City, AR, 1240 WATN Watertown, NY, 1420 WLIS Old Saybrook, CT, 1150 WMRD Middletown, CT, 1400 WILI Wilimantic, CT, 106.7 WSRT Traverse City, MI, 105.5 WSRJ Traverse City, MI, 940 KYNO Fresno, CA, 106.7 KNKI , Show Lo, AZ, 1450 WBMW Wahpeton, ND, 960 WSBT South Bend, IN, 1300 WGDJ Albany, NY, 1240 WRTA Altoona, PA, 1300 WLSC Charlotte, NC/Kershaw, SC, 910 WAVL Apollo, PA, 1010/94.9 KIND Independence, KS and Cable Radio Network.

Gene Simmons reveals bloody butcher's job

The KISS rocker admits one of his worst jobs came when he was a youngster in New York as he was responsible for cleaning up in the areas where animal carcasses were divided into cuts of meat.

He told RadarOnline.com: "I worked in a butcher's shop where I had to work rubbing the fat off the chopping block, which they used to chop the heads of the chickens. It's true. I was 12."

Despite the disgusting nature of his tasks, Gene, now 61, doesn't resent working from such a young age.

He said: "You should work, kids should be working."

The 'Crazy Crazy Nights' hitmaker has previously spoken of his belief that it is important to have a number of different experiences and expertise in order to become more successful.

He has said: "To never put all your eggs in one basket has always been a good idea and a mantra of mine. Spread the risk. Have one job and do one thing and be able to do two or three other things in case one thing doesn't work out. Just don't be a master in one and a knucklehead in all others.

"[Don't] do one thing. Never be the same rat that goes through the same maze to get the same cheese."

Gene Simmons - Imported American Pride

This piece is written by a grateful immigrant. A legal one, but an immigrant nonetheless.

I was born in Haifa, Israel.

I emigrated to America with my mother, Florence, when I was a child. My mother was a survivor of the Nazi Germany concentration camps of World War II. She was in the camps when she was 14 years old.

If it weren’t for America and the brave sacrifices of its military, my mother and millions of others would have perished.

After the war, my mother found her way to Israel.

Life was hard, but in Israel - finally - there was a place where people didn’t try to kill you just because of your religious persuasion. You could breathe fresh, free air and not be afraid to say “I’m a Jew.”

When I was 8 1/2 years old, my mother took me by the hand, and we emigrated to America. The land of the free. The home of the brave. The land of hopes and dreams.

When we landed in New York, I was simply awed by the majesty that is America. The skyscrapers. Television. Streets full of cars. It was too much to take in all at once.

I soon became an unabashed, unapologetic, dyed-in-the-wool American who believes in standing at attention when the Stars and Strips flies at full mast. To this day, I proudly say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the national anthem. And I am ashamed when some natural-born citizens of America don’t.

That last phrase makes some native-born Americans uneasy. Being patriotic has become politically incorrect. I refuse to succumb to a numb apathy that seems to pervade some elements of the media and pop culture.

For me, it’s all too real. If it weren’t for America, my mother wouldn’t be alive. If it weren’t for America, this world would be in chaos.

Too politically simplistic, you say? Too black-and-white?

Actually, it’s profoundly true, and it’s time for all Americans to proudly recognize those facts.

I want to be blunt about a message to America:

In the Middle East, you have no greater friend, no greater ally - than Israel. It owes its very existence to America.

A simple political message?

I stand by every word of it.

Op-ed pieces from immigrants in newspapers and statements on television are a good idea. Listen to what we have to say. Hear the gratitude and love for America we all share.

Wake up to what we all have to say: America is the greatest country on Earth.

And finally, thank you for making a poor immigrant boy’s dreams come true.

Gene Simmons is a media mogul and frontman of the rock band Kiss, the juggernaut of all music licensing and merchandise entities. He is head of his own label, Simmons/Universal Records and has the longest- running celebrity reality show, “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.”

CLASSIC ROCK INTERVIEW: KISS ON NEW ALBUM

"It's Sonic Boom on steroids!" Exclusive! Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons on KISS's new studio album. And the book. And the golf course...

Nearly 40 years into their career, and the fire is burning stronger than ever for Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. KISS's senior partners are back in the studio with guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer to record their 20th album. Just as 2009's Sonic Boom revitalized them as both a viable recording band and a proper unit, this new album -- recorded, like its immediate predecessor, at L.A.'s Conway Studios -- finds them more focused than ever. "KISS, over the years, has strayed," says Simmons, giving Classic Rock the exclusive low-down on the as-yet-untitled album with Stanley. "We've had bitches who didn't love us, we just liked their asses and we did them for the night. But I will say unequivocally that the new record feels honest."

How far into the album are you?

Paul Stanley: We've recorded eight tracks. Everything's on except the vocals. There'll be 10 on the album, with a couple of tracks as bonuses for different projects.

How does it build on Sonic Boom?

PS: Sonic Boom was a pivotal album in the sense that we were aware of who we were as a performing band, but we had to re-establish who we are as a recording band. That being done, this is much easier and that much more self-assured.

Gene Simmons: This new record feels heavier than Sonic Boom. It feels like there's a connection between Destroyer and Revenge.

Care to throw us a few song titles?

PS: I'd be surprised if the album didn't start with "Hell or Hallelujah." It's up-tempo, a great riff, definitive KISS. There's a track called "Born to be a Sinner," and Tommy has a song called "Out of This World" which is terrific. They're anthemic soncs. That's the nature of how we write. There are no ballads.

GS: "Are You Ready?" is a new track that I worked out, wrote, and brought everyone into the studio and said: "Let's bang this out." Another of the new songs, tentatively titled "Wall of Sound," we just came up with on the spot. The guts of that song were written in 40 minutes.

KISS Dropped From MICHAEL JACKSON Tribute Concert

The promoters tell TMZ.com, "We have listened to Michael's fans and are grateful to have been alerted to these unfortunate statements by Gene Simmons. Under the circumstances we fully agree that even though KISS is a band Michael admired we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our tribute concert."

In a 2010 issue of U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Gene Simmons told journalist Geoff Barton he believed Jackson was a child molester despite the fact that the singer was acquitted of child-molestation charges.

"I knew Michael," Simmons was quoted as saying. "I ran into him a few times. I met him the first time before he became the superstar, when he was sort of teenagey, when he was still a JACKSON FIVE. This was in the Cher days, when Cher and I lived together.

"But as time moved on, and no matter what my fond memories and fond images of Michael were, with one allegation of pedophilia after another and another and another…Oh dear."

Simmons went on to say that he knew some of the musicians Jackson toured with, and cited one who quit after seeing "boys coming out of the hotel rooms...Well, you know, where there's smoke there's fire. There's no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt."

Simmons also said, "There's never been a single female of any age that I've ever known about who has ever made a claim that she has had a physical relationship with Michael, ever.

"The only sexual references ever made about Michael Jackson that were made by anyone, anywhere around the world, have always been made by kids, and specifically males usually 10 to 14 years of age; never females, that age or older, and never grown men."

KISS TO OPEN THEMED COFFEEHOUSE IN LAS VEGAS

The iconic glam-rock band is embarking on two themed ventures that could leave a lasting footprint — in the shape of a high-heeled leather demon boot, of course.

Band members on Sunday announced plans to open a Kiss Coffeehouse in Las Vegas next year. It will be the second Kiss java joint in the country (one in Myrtle Beach, S.C., just celebrated its fifth anniversary) and could set the stage for a national chain. It will also piggyback on a Kiss-themed miniature golf course scheduled to open this fall just off the Strip.

“We’re coming to take over Vegas,” said Johnny Rock, owner of the Myrtle Beach shop and one of the Las Vegas location’s developers.

The Las Vegas haunt likely will be modeled after its Southern predecessor, which is nothing like a Starbucks or typical coffee joint. Twenty-foot-tall smoking Kiss boots greet guests, Kiss music blares and patrons gulp beverages out of 100-ounce “guitar sippers” that flash colors and play hard rock. It’s possibly the last place where you’d want to curl up with a good book.

Extending Kiss’ already billion-dollar brand to coffee and putt putt springs from the success of the Myrtle Beach store and reflects what other celebrities are pursuing. For example, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville franchise has grown to include more than 20 restaurants, a hotel and casinos. Caesars Entertainment is transforming a portion of the Flamingo into a Buffett-themed minicasino that will attach to the Margaritaville restaurant that anchors the north corner of the hotel.

In Myrtle Beach, the Kiss Coffeehouse was twice voted “best coffee shop” by residents and tourists. Sunday, fans from around the world gathered to celebrate the business’s fifth birthday with Kiss band members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. It was there the musicians announced their plans for Las Vegas.

In a later interview, Rock said only that the coffeehouse would open “soon” and would be in a different location and under different management than the Kiss minigolf course, which is slated to open in November at the Shoppes at Harmon Square at Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road.

If Myrtle Beach is any clue, a best guess would place the Las Vegas coffeehouse on the Strip. The Myrtle Beach location sits in the middle of Broadway at the Beach, an outdoor tourist area dedicated to flashy restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Rock said developers seek high traffic, high visibility tourist destinations.

“Locations in New York City, Orlando, Hollywood, they’re all on our radar,” Rock said. “Las Vegas was the destination we decided to go with first. It’s where the party is.” And indeed, the band is no stranger to Vegas.

The coffeehouse’s website outlines its real estate requirements in more detail: at least 1,200 square feet in a spot with no less than 5 million visitors annually and no other coffee vendors. Room to build a storefront sign that includes giant boots and the Kiss logo is a must. Casinos, amusement parks and stadiums are cited as ideal venues.

As for the menu, the coffeehouse serves the standard lattes, cookies and teas, as well as some specialties, including a dozen flavors of frozen, $6 “rockuccinos.”

Kiss is among the most merchandised bands of all time (along with the Beatles, AC/DC and the Rolling Stones) and has lent its name and members’ likenesses to comic books, condoms and even coffins. In October, Kiss will headline the first “Kiss Kruise,” a five-day themed voyage from Miami to the Bahamas.

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons explained the band’s strategy last year at a Montreal music conference: “It doesn’t matter what it is: Whether it has music, whether it’s a religious symbol, a political symbol, or a politician — everything should be a brand.”

MJ Tribute Concert: Gene Simmons to Perform Despite Calling MJ a Pedophile

Katherine Jackson was on CNN this AM, talking about the concert, when promoters revealed that KISS would be performing.

Yet Gene Simmons went on record last year -- mind you, a year after MJ died -- saying, "There is no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt."

Simmons went on to say, "The only sexual references ever made about Michael Jackson that were made by anyone, anywhere around the world, have always been made by kids, and specifically males usually 10 to 14 years of age; never females, that age or older, and never grown men."

Hate the man. Love the music.

KISS JOINS MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE

Other major artists may be announced soon to round out the roster of acts for "Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert" in Cardiff, Wales, according to promoter Global Live Events.

Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the musical family, appeared on CNN Monday to discuss the show, which will also includes performances by her children and grandchildren.

It appeared unlikely the October 8 concert would be the scene for a Jackson 5 reunion, since two of the brothers, Jermaine and Randy, have publicly objected to the show being held at the same time Michael Jackson's doctor is on trial for his death.

"We want to make clear that this does not reflect the position of the entire family," the two brothers said in a joint statement after their mother and four siblings endorsed the show.

"While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honors our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael's death," Jermaine and Randy Jackson said.

Members of the Jackson family taking the stage October 8 include several of Michael Jackson's brothers, "the next generation of Jacksons," and 3T, which consists of Tito Jackson's three sons, the promoters said.

Alternative rock band Alien Ant Farm and British R&B singer Craig David are also on the bill.

"This concert will unite various generations and musical genres, reminding everyone of just how amazing a talent Michael was," Global Live Events executive Paul Ring said.

Fans can "register their interest for tickets" online at http://www.michaelforevertribute.com/ through Thursday, the promoter said. A lottery will determine which fans will be invited to purchase tickets, it said.

The concert in the Wales Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which seats 75,000 people, would be at least four hours long, Global Live Events CEO Chris Hunt said.

A spokesman for Michael Jackson's estate said last month that the promoters never sought or obtained permission from the estate's executors to use the late pop singer's name or image.

"The estate has not been contacted and is not involved with Global Live Events in the UK tribute concert announced today," spokesman Jim Bates told CNN at the time.

Couple Watch

Ex-KISS Guitarist BRUCE KULICK Working With 'Incredible Artist' ANDREW LONDON

Kulick's third solo album, "BK3", sold around 1,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 12 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"BK3" was released in Europe in January 2010 via Frontiers Records and in North America in February 2010 through Twenty 4 Records/Rocket Science Ventures. The first single from the album, "Hand Of The King", featuring Nick Simmons (son of KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons), was a digital-only release available at all online music stores, including iTunes.

'Kiss Coffeehouse' To Open Las Vegas Location Next Year

Tommy and Eric signed for over seven and a half hours straight, greeting fans and taking photos. After the long autograph session ended, Eric and Tommy went on stage and held a question-and-answer session with the audience. During the Q&A, it was revealed that the Kiss Coffeehouse will be opening a new restaurant/coffeehouse location in Las Vegas next year. More details about this exciting development will be posted on KissOnline.com in the months ahead.

The Kiss Coffeehouse is a specialty coffee retailer operating at Broadway at the Beach, an entertainment complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Its theme revolves around the band KISS, who own the franchise. A number of items from KISS' stage shows, such as costumes, are also on display at the establishment.

The Kiss Coffeehouse, which opened to huge crowds in the summer of 2006, features signature KISS coffees, including Kiss Army Blend and French Kiss Vanilla, the Kiss Frozen Rockuccino, cookies, brownies and other sinful sweets.

The grand opening of the store was attended by founding KISS bandmembers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

On July 9, 2006, Lisa-Holly Friedman and Ronald K Marukawa (two longtime KISS fans) were married on the premises, with Paul Stanley telephoning during the proceedings to wish them well.

KISS FANS LINE UP TO MEET BAND MEMBERS

Saturday also marks the five year anniversary for the KISS coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach.

Fans came for a meet and greet session with drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer.

By noon, more than 500 had waited in line. Some, like Jacob Jones who waited as long as three hours, but said it was worth it. "It's something we fit into and it's something we enjoy to get away from regular life."

Among the lucky fans, brothers Evan and Ethan Crookham.

"It was a once in a lifetime thing and I got the guitar signed which was really cool," Ethan said.

"He {Eric Singer} made me pose like a rock star for out picture with my guitar," 9-year-old Evan added.

KISS fans will continue to celebrate Saturday night with a question and answer session with Singer and Thayer, followed by a KISS army tribute concert.

KISS' VISIT TO CADILLAC RE-COMMEMORATED

As part of the reunion festivities planned by the Class of 1976, reunion organizers will present to the school a plaque marking KISS' visit to Cadillac during homecoming weekend in October 1975. The public is invited to a presentation set for 1 p.m. in the high school's “Hall of Fame” hallway, said Class of '76 member Harold Falan, who spearheaded the group's effort.

Although the American Bicentennial occurred weeks after graduation, the Class of '76 is best known as the “KISS Class,” and its gift reflects that famous visit. It's a 24-inch by 30-inch plaque featuring photos and other memorabilia from the visit.

Falan, a retired Michigan State Police trooper, said whenever he mentioned his hometown during his law enforcement career, someone always brought up the KISS visit. He brought the plaque idea to the reunion committee and Cadillac Area Public Schools Superintendent Paul Liabenow. Both the committee and Liabenow enthusiastically gave their approval.

Falan then had Spike Lawrence Inc. in Berkley craft the plaque.

“I think this gift is going to be a nice addition to this high school,” Liabenow said, adding the plaque will celebrate a moment in local history. “(The visit) put Cadillac High School on the map, if you will.”

Not only is the plaque meant to inform students and the community about KISS' visit, the reunion committee wanted to replace a plaque the band had given the school. It had been placed on a wall outside the principal's office and had disappeared within six months.

Over the years, there were rumors of who might have stolen the plaque, said Jim Neff, the assistant football coach and teacher who was instrumental in bringing KISS to town.

“It never surfaced,” he said. “That was kind of the odd thing.”

It's hard to speculate what might have happened to the original plaque. It would be difficult to sell today because KISS memorabilia collectors well-versed in Cadillac “KISSstory” are well aware the plaque is stolen, Neff said.

“It could be in the Wexford County Landfill for all I know,” he added.

Neff plans to attend tomorrow's presentation.

“It's just a great gesture,” he said. “The fact that it came from the Class of '76 is even more special.”

Also planning to attend the presentation and reunion is Harry Hagstrom, co-captain of the 1975-76 football team who met the band during its famous visit and who, like, Neff has been interviewed by local, state and national media about the experience.

“I think it's a great thing,” he said of the plaque.

Both Neff and Hagstrom marvel that people are still interested in Cadillac's KISSstory nearly 36 years later.

“I'm amazed it still has this kind of attention,” Hagstrom said.

Neff and his family met with the band when it performed at the DTE Energy Theater near Detroit in September 2010. Gene Simmons not only recognized him but Neff said Simmons also told him how the 1975 visit had become a “wonderful story.”

A brief KISStory lesson: In 1974, the Cadillac High School Vikings football team was in a slump. Assistant football coach Jim Neff began playing KISS albums in the locker room before games to loosen up the players and to get them pumped to play. Before long, the team was winning. Neff wrote to the band to inform them of their role in the team's success. Soon, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons asked Neff to call in after every game to let them know how the team did. Neff and players twice saw the band in concert in Detroit and Saginaw. Upon learning that KISS would be performing in concert in Kalamazoo at the same time of the Vikings' homecoming in October 1975, Neff invited the group to a pep assembly. KISS did one better. During a whirlwind overnight stay in Cadillac, the band met with students, played a concert at the high school, got the key to the city, posed for photos with city and school officials and rode on a float in the homecoming parade. This visit has been well-chronicled on VH1 and ESPN, on Neff's website – www.neffzone.com/kiss -- as well as several newspaper articles and in the stories shared by those who were there.

KISS KRUISE UPDATE

Stay tuned for more exciting details on the first-ever KISS Kruise! (www.thekisskruise.com)

KISS COFFEEHOUSE EVENT TOMORROW

Check out this interview that Eric Singer did today to promote Saturday's Anniversary Party!

Kiss Are About 'Self-Empowerment,' Not Merchandise 'Schlock' Says Paul Stanley

Never.

"It's misleading because of the volume of things we have, that Kiss is just a schlock house," Stanley tells Spinner. "The truth of the matter is, we have pride in everything we do. At the core this is a rock 'n' roll band, but we don't put our name on anything that we don't believe in, or that the fans don't believe in.

"People sometimes say, why do you have things like Kiss sleeping bags? Because a fan asked for it. We're not great merchandisers -- we're great listeners. We give the fans what they want. If that's a crime, I'm ready for my trial."

As for what makes the Kiss brand endure like it does, Stanley explains his theory.

"Kiss is a timeless truth," he says. "It was true 100 years ago and it will be true 100 years from today. It's all about self-empowerment, it's about believing in yourself and believing that the only thing in the way of you and your dreams is hard work. We believe a great work ethic will pretty much get you wherever you want to go.

"Kiss will outlive me, for sure. What we've done is create a way of thinking, an ideal that hopefully will go on beyond me and the other guys in the band because the idea is bigger than any individual."

HELP KISS SUPPORT CITY OF HOPE

TOMMY TALKS ABOUT KISS COFFEEHOUSE PARTY

A fifth anniversary party for the KISS Coffeehouse at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, with events starting at 10 a.m., will center around two special guests from the group: drummer Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer.

Thayer was on hand for the second-year celebration in September 2008, after KISS co-founders bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley marked the grand opening in June 2006.

Singer and Thayer will take photos, meet fans and answer questions, before a KISS Army concert and after-party to round out the evening.

Thayer, who sports the spaceman makeup, took a few minutes Tuesday afternoon by phone to talk about the group and the coffeehouse.

Question | How does this extra interaction with fans, such as through the party this weekend in Myrtle Beach, remind you how the KISS name, concept, sound and look have remained a cultural touchstone for fans through the decades?

Answer | It just shows you the uniqueness of KISS and what it promotes. … It’s just a opportunity, now that we are off tour, to get together with some of out dearest and nearest fans, at a KISS Coffeehouse. What other bands can say something like that?

Q. | What’s your greatest memory as the guest of honor for the KISS Coffeehouse second anniversary celebration?

A. | There was a kid named Todd who won a contest to sing “Forever” with me on stage. We took submissions from hundreds of fans who emailed their version of them singing our song “Forever.” He won, and he had a great voice. It was a cool, interactive thing to do with fans.

Q. | Did you have a favorite KISS song before you joined the group, and what’s a tune you love performing on stage from almost a decade on stage with the group?

A. | I remember one of my first favorite KISS songs, from the first KISS album, in 1974. That was “Black Diamond.” It’s always been one of my favorite KISS songs. In live performance, I love “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You.” It’s actually more complex than other KISS songs. It’s a very guitar-driven anthem, which I love.

Q. | What extra publicity have the A&E series “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and Simmons’ role on Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” provided for the band’s continuing popularity?

A. | Gene and Paul together have continued the KISS legacy for 40 years. You have to really tip your hat to both of them. …Gene’s TV shows have been very popular, and I think that has brought some awareness, too. … Paul is producing the new KISS studio album. When it comes to … the mission of what KISS is, looks and sounds like, he’s more hands-on in that. Sometimes Paul doesn’t say as much, and he keeps a lower profile, but that shouldn’t conceal the fact that he’s more of the driving force behind KISS.

Q. | With KISS members entertaining frequently for U.S troops around the world, how humbling an experience do you bring home each time?

A. | It’s something we take a lot of pride in. The Wounded Warrior Project was something we got involved in a year ago. … My dad is a retired brigadier general who was in the Army. I’ve been around this stuff a long time. All the troops: They are the real heroes of the country.

'Kissology - Vol. 4' Due In November

Content will include:

1976 - Houston full "Destroyer" show
1977 - Cobo Hall
1980 – "Kids Are People Too" segment
1983 – U.S. Armed Forces segment on Lick It Up Tour
2002 - Winter Olympics
2007 - "VH1 Rock Honors"
2009 - Cobo Hall full Alive35 show
2009 - "Modern Day Delilah"
2010 - Wetten Dass Medley

KISS's "Kissology - Vol. 3 1992-2000" DVD box set was certified octuple platinum (platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies) back in March 2008.

VH1 Classic Records released "Kissology - Vol. 3 1992-2000" on December 18, 2007. The set contains nearly 10 hours of KISS live on stage, including songs that didn't make it into the broadcast or CD version of the MTV "Unplugged" performance; and the much-heralded Queens, NY Coventry Show from December 1973 — the band's first-ever concert filmed in makeup in its entirety.

"Kissology - Vol. 3 1992-2000" has been super-expanded to four DVDs, featuring over 100 live performances, commentary from Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bruce Kulick and Tommy Thayer as well as a 20-page full-color booklet.

One version of the release features a fifth bonus disc of KISS' performance at the KROQ Weenie Roast on June 15, 1996. Tracks include: "Deuce", "Love Gun", "Calling Dr. Love", "Firehouse", "Shock Me", "100,000 Years", "Detroit Rock City", "Black Diamond" and "Rock and Roll All Nite".

Original KISS Drummer PETER CRISS Talks Horror Movies

Paul Stanley of KISS Welcomes Fourth Child

The band's lead singer/guitarist Paul Stanley and his wife Erin, an attorney, welcomed daughter Emily Grace Stanley on Tuesday in Los Angeles, he tells PEOPLE.

Emily, who weighed in at 7 lbs., 10 oz, joins elder siblings Sarah Brianna, 2½, Colin Michael, 4½, and Evan Shane, 17, Stanley's son from a previous relationship.

"Erin and I are once again blessed with the addition of Emily Grace to our family," the rocker, 59, says. "I'm not sure she can sing but her first screams let me know she's definitely Daddy's girl."

Stanley – who's also a successful painter – just completed a series of sold-out KISS dates and is currently producing the band's next album.

As for having kids later in life, Stanley says his age doesn't slow him down.

"I may be 59," he told PEOPLE in February, "but the only rocking chair this rocker is getting ready for is the one for my new baby."

FIRST-EVER KISS URN

Eternal Image, Inc. (the "Company") (OTC PINK:ETNL), a public company engaged in the design, manufacturing and marketing of officially licensed, Brand-name memorial products, today announced that the first of its official KISS cremation urns is now available for purchase.

KISS is famous for its explosive live performances and outrageous rock and roll style. In their forty year career, the band has achieved record-breaking tours, album sales in excess of 100 million, a huge "KISS Army" fan base, and the most memorable look in all of rock history.

“We call this particular KISS urn our ‘Monument’ model,” said Donna Shatter, VP of Operations for the Company. “This urn offers fans a unique expression of their passion for the legendary rock band. It features full-color images of the band members and the KISS flame logo—all displayed against a striking black metallic finish.”

The Monument model KISS urn is eight inches tall. The Company plans to release three additional urn models later this year.

http://www.eternalimage.net/product/kiss.

METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, AC/DC, GUNS N' ROSES Classics Among Top Songs Of All Time

AC/DC and KISS had the most entries in the top 666 — 28 and 23, respectively — with METALLICA appearing 21 times, including twice in the Top 10. GUNS N' ROSES had 18 and IRON MAIDEN had 14, with DEEP PURPLE coming in with 11 and BLACK SABBATH following closely behind with 10.

Top 10 songs of all time as voted by the listeners of Rockklassiker 106.7:

01. DEEP PURPLE – "Smoke On The Water"
02. METALLICA - "Enter Sandman"
03. GUNS N' ROSES - "November Rain"
04. AC/DC - "Back In Black"
05. METALLICA - "Nothing Else Matters"
06. IRON MAIDEN - "Run To The Hills"
07. KISS - "Lick It Up"
08. AEROSMITH - "Janie's Got A Gun"
09. JIMI HENDRIX - "Foxy Lady"
10. QUEEN - "Bohemian Rhapsody"

The entire Top 666 can be found at this location.

ACE FREHLEY On KISS: 'The Four Of Us Did Have A Chemistry That Was Unique To The Four Of Us'

The Morton Report: Did you feel your talent was undervalued when you were in KISS?

Ace: Well, it seemed like it. Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons] never wanted to give me the credit that was due. It was like in a lot of instances they tried to bury the fact that I did A, B, C, and D. I can't remember Paul or Gene ever saying, "Wow, that was a great solo." On some of my classic guitar solos that were on their songs. But what goes around comes around. They have a new album coming out and I have a new album coming out, and you know what's going to happen. People are going to compare the two. That's all I'm going to say about that.

The Morton Report: I think the world is broken down by who is your favorite KISS member. There's even a Facebook quiz, "What KISS Member Are You?" You ask people and they always say that you're their favorite member of KISS.

Ace: Well, according to Paul and Gene, that's not true.

The Morton Report: No, I think you're the most beloved member.

Ace: I don't think Paul and Gene ever got that. If they did, but why would they have replaced me with Tommy Thayer? And it was profitable in the beginning, but that was because nobody knew it was Tommy Thayer. They were kind of were burying that fact.

The Morton Report: Who do you think it's worse for? Do you think it's worse for Tommy Thayer to have to be you, or for you to see Tommy be you? He didn't even get his own persona, you know?

Ace: Well, he didn't get his own makeup because of all the whole merchandising machine Gene has in place with Sony Signatures. To create a new face just would be a big problem. So it all comes down to dollars and cents, and not what's really the right thing to do.

The Morton Report: As for you, what do you think your greatest strength is?

Ace: I think probably my greatest strength is, because I grew up in the Bronx and was a street kid, I have the survival instinct. And there were plenty of times in my life where I didn't think I was going to make it. Or just mentally didn't think I was going to make it. But I was able to draw from my childhood, my street sense, and that always carried me through tough situations. And also my belief in God. I do believe there's a greater consciousness that everybody's part of, that if you can tap into that, you can get to a higher place. I've written songs that I felt I haven't written. I feel like the words just get beamed into my head.

The Morton Report: Do you still feel a loyalty to them, to KISS as an entity?

Ace: I don't know if loyalty's the right word. I feel a connection. The four of us did have a chemistry that was unique to the four of us, but I think it might be gone at this point, or impossible to recapture.

The Morton Report: If the circumstances were right, could you do something with everybody at the same place, same time?

Ace: I think it's probably passed. It came and went. But that's okay. I did the reunion tour. I feel I was there for them when they needed me.

Read the entire interview from The Morton Report.

PAUL RETURNING TO FANTASY CAMP

WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE: This Fantasy Meets Fantasy 14th Anniversary Camp, November 10th-13th featuring the Final Night Concert at the world famous Playboy Mansion where you will perform live on stage with Paul Stanley of KISS. This four-day camp or five-day recording experience in Hollywood, California features our best counselors, the option of a full day of recording and the final concert to be performed in front of a sold-out audience at the famous Playboy Mansion. I am personally inviting you to reconnect with your band, come as a group or treat yourself to this upcoming opportunity. With Father's Day and Graduation arriving in a few short weeks, Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp is the ultimate gift for your Grad, Dad or Other Half!

"It's a great thing, it's a way for me to say thank you to a lot of people, but, nobody should think that this is just a joy for those people,...For me to get up and play with people who have that exuberance and energy, it's really a gift to me as much as to anybody else," said Paul Stanley, the co-founder and frontman of KISS.

Our Playboy Mansion (four day) or Recording Package (five day) camp is ON SALE NOW. Sign up for Father's Day before June 19th and take advantage of our early bird specials. Bands of four or more, enjoy an additional 10% discount on top of your pre-sale price (group must sign-up at the same time). Additional Individual tickets for the final night can be purchased so that you can bring your friends to join this party or just come that night to get a taste of what Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp is all about. Tickets are limited and on sale now for $999 each. The evening features: Playmate Guided Tours of the Grounds, Personal Photos with Playmates, All-Night Long (top shelf) Open Bar, an Elegantly Catered Buffet Style Dinner, Swimming in the Grotto and the option of Renting Private Cabanas. This is a great night to bring your spouses and partners to celebrate the expereince of a lifetime.

'MAGICAL JAM SESSION' BRINGS DONORS OUT IN DROVES

Organizers of Pacific University's annual Legends Golf Classic charity tournament, which finished its fifth run Monday at Aloha's The Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club, say its star-studded, rambunctious atmosphere has made it the university's most hyped yearly fundraiser.

"I've had phone calls and emails from people at Division I and Division II schools from all over the country, just asking how to put something like this on," Pacific Athletic Director Ken Schumann said at Monday's tournament.

Not bad for an event that began like many other small schools' charity golf outings: Just a couple of dozen Pacific sports supporters swinging clubs to support the athletic department.

Enter KISS lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, a Beaverton native who serves on Pacific's board of trustees, and the smalltime fundraiser became a place to see, be seen, and party like a rock star.

"It just kind of makes you feel special when you're going to spend money on a cause," said Marshal Burgess, 38, of Portland, who gushed about his dinner with actor Clint Howard the night before.

The backstory goes like this: Schumann invited Thayer, then a new trustee, to participate in that year's the golf outing. Thayer accepted, but on one condition.

"I said of course I would, but I want to make it a really top-notch event," Thayer said as he prepared to tee off Monday.

Luckily, Thayer's address book is filled with other celebrity musicians and pro golfers he's met through the pro-am circuit. He called up a few friends, asked them to join, and soon the small fundraiser earned the title of "celebrity golf outing."

Pacific earned $75,000 in Thayer's first year at the golf outing. This year, Schumann expects the event to net at least $180,000, with 160 people paying top dollar to hit balls with their music and sports idols.

For many, the tournament itself wasn't the highlight. It was the night before, when guests bid on auction items including a KISS-themed Mini Cooper or a long weekend at Thayer's vacation home on Cannon Beach.

Then, Thayer and his brigade of special guests such as Darius Rucker and Clint Black rocked out for hours in a private concert. Thayer called it a "magical jam session."

"It's a'happening," Pacific trustee Yvonne Katz said Monday. "We were rocking and rolling last night 'til after midnight."

It's no wonder the next day's golf outing didn't tee off until 1 p.m.

Thayer was there, dressed in golf gear with a studded black belt and long, shaggy hair for the appropriate rocker edge. So was Johnny Lee, covered in head-to-toe green with dollar bills on his pants. The Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger practiced his swing in psychedelic multicolored trousers that could have come straight out of the band's heyday.

Big names, loud outfits, killer guitar riffs -- Thayer said that's what makes Legends unique.

"It's known as a golf event, but really it's an entertainment event," he said. "The thing that's unique and special about what we do is our party and concert."

But it's not all about the party. The money earned at Legends will cover various expenses for Pacific's 21-sport athletic program. About $80,000 will pay to install a turf practice field inside the university's Stoller Center fieldhouse.

"It directly benefits over 500 student athletes," Schumann said. "That resonates with a lot of people."

GENE AND PAUL TO COLLOBORATE ON MEMOIR

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, two of the founders of legendary superband KISS, are collaborating with rock journalist Ken Sharp on Nothin’ To Lose, an oral history of the band’s early years, from its founding in 1973 to the 1975 release of its breakout concert album Alive! The book will include interviews with bandmates Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, other rock stars of the era, and the behind-the-scenes players. The book will feature never-before-published photographs. IT Books, an imprint of Harper Collins is scheduled to publish the book in Summer 2012. Drummer Peter Criss has his own memoir due in 2012.

IT Books Editor Denise Oswald exlusively talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the project. “KISS is one of the most beloved and influential hard rock bands of the last forty years. What is particularly fascinating about this project is about how the band got off the ground, how they came up with the concept of who they were that so defined them and captured the love and imagination of all of their fans.” Oswald says the book is about more than just the band. “Its also an amazing depiction of New York in the early seventies--its Manhattan, its Queens, you have members of the Ramones, members of Blue Oyster Cult, touring with and playing with Kiss. You really get this incredible portrait of a time.”

Simmons and Stanley founded KISS in 1973 after their previous band Wicked Lester broke up. They found drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley through advertisements in East Coast rock magazines. The band’s first few albums recorded so-so sales, but KISS gained a reputation as a sensational live act for their makeup and Simmon’s theatrics, which included spitting blood and breathing fire. They also cultivated an airy of mystery by not allowing themselves to be photographed out of makeup. Band members have also talked in interviews about the epic backstage partying that went on during its early years. Kiss’s big breakthrough came in 1975 with the release of ALIVE!, which featured the its first top-40 hit in the live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite."

KISS DRUMMER ERIC SINGER INTERVIEW PART 2

KISS drummer Eric Singer recently sat down with BraveWords.com scribe, Mitch Lafon, for an all-encompassing three-hour chat. Part I of the sit-down can be found here. In Part II, Eric discusses more of KISS' upcoming plans.

On the upcoming KISSology IV DVD Box set: “It should be out before Christmas. It’ll be about twelve hours of stuff. Tommy has been putting it all together, but I can’t tell you exactly what is on it because we still have to get the rights to some of the stuff. The band has to buy the rights even if it’s only one song like on David Letterman or Jay Leno. Even though it’s your performance, it’s their show and they own it. KISSology IV picks up where the last one left off. For the most part it runs chronologically, but there is some old vintage stuff on there that they had been trying to find. It’s all a matter of clearance and them getting permission to use certain stuff. There’s an A list of stuff we want, a B list of stuff we know we can use and C list of stuff we have to wait and see if we can use, but I do know there will be a Cobo Hall (Detroit) concert from 2009.”

On the topic of Paul Stanley: “Paul is the consummate pro. Paul never complains. He’s calm before the show, but when he walks out on stage he flips the switch, goes 100%, gives it all and never ever complains. This is a guy who has had both knees replaced, his hip (on the right side) replaced twice and torn both rotator cuffs (in his shoulders). He might say, ’I’m really sore, so I’ll need a massage or I’m staying in bed today, but still after all he’s had done he never complains.”

KISS maven, Gene Simmons: “Gene is the archivist in KISS. Anytime there’s an article about KISS, Gene tears it out nicely and he puts them in these big coffee table sized books. He used to have them stacked at home under the bed at his mom’s house, but I don’t know where he stores them now. He collects anything and everything KISS."

As for Gene’s love of money, Singer says: “I laugh when people say that all Gene Simmons cares about is money. Nobody really knows who Gene is. Nobody loves KISS more than Gene… NOBODY! Gene eats, breathes, and lives everything KISS. That’s what he does. Gene is a workaholic. We’re on a day off right now and I’m at home, but Gene’s in Vancouver doing demos with local musicians. He’s working on song ideas for the new record. He did it in Toronto last week on his day off too. Gene can’t sit still. He can’t just relax by the pool and get some sun. That’s just the way he is. He’s got work ethic like nobody’s business. There’s nobody more driven and with a better work ethic than Gene. Gene is 24/7 KISS. Everything he does is because of KISS.”

On KISS’ work ethic, Singer states: “These guys don’t fuck around. When we meet at rehearsal, they put on the guitars and gear and we run the set from front to back and it’s see you guys later. Let’s say the set takes two hours to run down, we’re there no more than three hours. Other bands goof around for hours, but these guys come in and ‘bam’ they run this shit down and get it done with. They do their work and leave. Still to this day (38 years or whatever later), they still do the work and whatever it takes that you are supposed to do to be in band. They will talk to Joe Fucks website. Whatever interview list they give us to do… we do it. In other words, we do the work. That’s why, for any of the naysayers out there, we get along and this line-up works. This is why Gene and Paul still want to play and enjoy it. We’re all completely different in our personalities, but when it comes to being in a band everybody treats KISS professionally and with respect. It’s about being respectful to it and being serious. Bottom line is that this band has given everybody a life style that is better than most people and that comes from them doing the due diligence, doing the work, treating it with professionalism, respect, and not running away from the work. It gets done. I’ve learned a lot from Gene and Paul about those things that are taken for granted by most musicians. Much smaller bands will sit there and have an attitude about doing interviews… ‘I don’t want to do this or I don’t want to do that,’ and you know Mitch – you hear it and see it all the time. Then you see a band like KISS, that will do whatever they have to do.”

On the new KISS album currently being recorded: “It will be completed in the next couple of months. The plan is to put it out at the beginning of the year and to do a tour with a new stage (new staging and new show) and maybe even new costumes. There’s no plan to sit around in 2012.”

When asked if the new album will be a Walmart exclusive (much like their last offering, Sonic Boom): “I don’t know. What’s changed more than anything, is in the old days you toured to support a record, but now you make a record so that you have a reason to tour. It’s exactly the opposite of what it used to be. The only way bands can make money anymore is by touring. People just don’t buy records when I was in BADLANDS in 1989, we sold almost 400 000 copies of our first record and that wasn’t enough. Atlantic records said that they’d kick in the real big money if we could get it to Gold (500,000 copies sold). We came so close to getting MÖTLEY CRÜE's Dr. Feelgood tour, but WARRANT got it because they had radio songs happening. Badlands did one more record. They went from selling almost 400,000 to selling 80,000 on the next one and then the band was over. If you sold 350,000 records today; that would be considered phenomenal.”

When asked if KISS will ever tour again without make-up Singer offers: “I don’t know. I’ve heard Gene mention something about maybe doing another KISS convention thing again in the future, but I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen. When we did it in 1995, it cost 100$, but that’s nothing compared to today’s prices. For the fan, that was a great experience, but Gene says a lot of things. He’s an idea man and in business if one or two of your ideas comes to fruition you’ve done pretty damn good. Do you know how many pilots and screenplays that get done, but never see the light of day and that nobody knows about? One of the things we plan on doing on the KISS Kruise, however, is to play unplugged with no make-up.”

Caught In The Act

PAUL STANLEY, PHIL COLLEN To Teach Punters How To Rock On 'Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp'

VH1 Classic and executive producer Mark Burnett are bringing back a new group of 'average Joes' for their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put their music skills to the ultimate test and find out if they have what it takes to be a true rock star on "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp". Hosted by "American Idol" sweetheart and Vanguard recording artist Kimberly Caldwell, the show will feature 15 musicians from a variety of backgrounds and cities as they go through the unforgettable transformation of having to put it all on the line and find out if they have what it takes to make it in the cutthroat world of rock 'n' roll. Broken into three groups of five, each group of campers will create a band and be assigned a rock star camp counselor (Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Mark Hudson) who will give them pointers and guidance, transforming the 9-to-5'ers into center stage front men and women. For one week each group will have the opportunity to rehearse and learn the ropes from other special-guest rock gods who drop by including Paul Stanley of KISS, Phil Collen of DEF LEPPARD, Marky Ramone of the RAMONES and more. At the end of the week, each group should have the music know-how, fresh looks and rock-star swagger to give an unforgettable performance to a group of legitimate rock stars who are acting as judges.

Will they pass the test and be flocked with adoring fans or booed off the stage? The stakes are high as the band voted best by the fans will win the opportunity musicians can only dream about — a once-in-a-lifetime performance with legendary rock star Sammy Hagar.

Catch the complete first season at FantasyCamp.VH1.com. New episodes will launch online every Monday morning following the show's on-air premiere.

"Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp" is executive-produced by Mark Burnett, David Fishof and Lee Metzger for Mark Burnett Productions and by Lee Rolontz and Keshia Williams for VH1.

KISS-THEMED SUSHI ON THE MENU

KISS COFFEEHOUSE ANNIVERSARY SCHEDULE

Schedule Of Events*

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Professional Photographs @ KISS Coffeehouse
(Platinum & Double Platinum Packages Only)

12:30 PM – 5:00 PM Meet & Greet w/Eric & Tommy @ KISS Coffeehouse

7:00 PM – 7:30 PM Q&A Session w/Eric & Tommy @ Celebrity Square

8:00 PM – 10:00 PM KISS Army Concert @ Celebrity Square

10:30 PM – ??? After Party w/KISS Army @ KISS Coffeehouse

*Schedule is tentative, and all times are approximate, and subject to change.

ALL Kids 10 & Under Get In FREE With Paid Adult!

Visit www.KISSCoffeehouse.com for more information.

TOMMY THAYER RADIO INTERVIEW

KISS CRANKS IT UP IN HIGH-ENERGY SPECTACLE

The band that claims to be the hottest band in the world had the burners cranked up for Windsor.

Even lead singer Paul Stanley remarked at one point, "Never have two countries been closer in the spirit of rock 'n' roll than right here in Windsor and in Detroit Rock City."

Detroit Rock City, of course, is one of Kiss' enduring favourites and the crowd reacted with roars of approval.

The show is a spectacle from start to finish and the band doesn't leave you enough time to take a breath as it gears it up for 16 of its best-loved songs.

Gene Simmons, 61, the star of reality TV and the trademark of the Kiss phenomenon in his Demon makeup, continues to amaze with the energy of a 20-year-old.

Stanley, at 59, is no less amazing, as he takes charge from the time he hits the stage.

The much-younger and newer sidemen, Tommy Thayer on guitars and Eric Singer on drums, round out an act that never seems to age in terms of appeal and enthusiasm.

One longtime fan, Chatham's Rob Richardson, 34, saw his first Kiss show in 1986 with his older brother. Now he's passing the torch to his eight-year old daughter, who couldn't join dad on this night because of the age restriction at the Colosseum.

"But she just loves them," said Richardson. She even has a drumstick courtesy Simmons at one of Kiss' outdoor shows in London.

Highlights Wednesday included Love Gun, a surefired hit with any audience, that features a machine-gun attack on the drums by Singer and Stanley's lead vocals.

It led into the Simmons solo, God of Thunder, which includes the stage blood oozing from his mouth and prominent displays of his axe-shaped bass.

Shock Me provided a solo slot for lead guitarist, Thayer, who has taken over for Kiss original, Ace Frehley. The exploding guitar and fierce battle with the drummer remains as a reminder of the old days.

Kiss has no shame when it comes to laying the pyrotechnics and effects on thick. It's like baroque heavy metal.

There were nods to their rock ancestors. Stanley played the opening notes of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven in the intro to Black Diamond, while the encore performance of Lick It Up featured a middle section quote of The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again.

Gene Simmons' Marriage Proposal Sets Series High For 'Family Jewels'

Live Review: KISS at Casino Rama

The rocker proposed to longtime Canadian love Shannon Tweed on his A&E series, Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels in an episode that aired Tuesday night.

Then he donned seven-inch heels, black leather and studs, spandex, black-and-white face makeup and took to the stage for a sold out crowd at Casino Rama.

Simmons brought original singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, current lead guitarist Tommy Thayer (Ace Frehley left in 2002) and current drummer Eric Singer (Peter Criss left in 2003) along with him.

Slightly later in the evening, the marriage-phobic Simmons could be seen finally popping the question (it was actually filmed a couple of months ago) in Belize to Tweed, his girlfriend of 28 years and the mother of his two grown children, with her answer still up in the air.

But of course.

Simmons, now 61, is nothing if not a master marketer.

As for the Casino Rama concert, the band played on an impressive, if streamlined stage, with the giant white lights of the KISS logo looming large.

They were first seen approaching via backstage video while a giant black KISS flag unfurled on stage heralding their arrival with plenty of pyro, four video screens, and speakers putting a fine point on it for the opening song, Modern Day Delilah.

“So we couldn’t make it to Toronto,” said Stanley, 59. “But we wanted to get close. You all feel like family to us.”

I guess that meant Stanley could give the audience heck after a couple of songs, Let Me Go Rock N Roll and Firehouse, with Simmons doing his usual fire-eating routine at the end of the latter, and also entertaining mightily during Deuce.

“Y’all look like your sitting down and watching TV. If it’s rock n’ roll, standup!” he said. “Man, I don’t mind doing the work, but y’all gotta stick with us.”

Truthfully, the Hottest Show on Earth seemed a bit tired, at times, maybe without Frehley and Criss in the lineup, and given this is the second leg of the tour maybe Simmons and Stanley really are tired.

Thayer, who sang lead on Shock Me, and Singer both delivered impressive solos about midway through the show with Simmons and Stanley leaving the stage - possibly to lie down? - which included Thayer firing pyro out of his guitar and Singer doing likewise out of a bazooka looking device.

When Simmons and Stanley returned they seemed more energized on I Love It Loud, Love Gun, and God of Thunder with Simmons doing his usual schtick, spitting blood and looking like a deranged Japanese samurai.

Stanley had his moment in the spotlight too on Black Diamond playing a bit of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven in the intro before saying: “You don’t want me to play that? Say no, Paul!” and then giving the crowd a hard time once again for not being responsive enough: “Can you do a little bit better than that?”

The group closed with plenty of pyro and Detroit Rock City and Singer’s drum kit rising into the air before returning with an encore that began with Singer coming out from behind his kit to sing lead on Beth.

It wasn’t his finest moment, let’s just say.

Then Stanley inexplicably began doing a bit of The Guess Who’s American Woman before forgetting some of the lyrics - “What are the words?” he said - before finally launching into the KISS anthem, Lick It Up, that also mysteriously ended with a bit of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again right down to Moon’s drum rolls.

Pacing seemed to be an issue late in the game.

Much better were the last two songs of the night, Shout It Out Loud and Rock And Roll All Nite, with plenty of white confetti showering the audience amid fireworks and firebursts, and Simmons, Thayer and Singer rising up on platforms, during the latter tune.

SET LIST
Modern Day Delilah
Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll
Firehouse
Deuce
Do You Love Me
Calling Dr. Love
Shock Me
I Love It Loud
Love Gun
God of Thunder
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City

ENCORE:
Beth
Lick It Up
Shout It Out Loud
Rock And Roll All Nite

ACE FREHLEY: 'No Regrets' Memoir Due In November; Cover Unveiled

"No Regrets" was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.

Layden recently worked on MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's autobiography, "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir".

Jennifer Bergstrom, Vice President, Editor-in-Chief of Gallery Books, said "'No Regrets' is sure to be the next must-read rock-and-roll memoir."

Commented Frehley: "I think Sinatra said it best… 'Regrets I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.'"

One of the most popular rock guitarists of the 1970s, Frehley became an inspiration to a generation of guitarists with his lead-guitar prowess and atmospheric Les Paul sound.

Frehley performed with KISS from its inception in 1973 until his first departure in 1982 before rejoining KISS in 1996 for a very successful reunion tour. Frehley's second stint lasted until 2002 as Ace went back to being a solo artist again, but the stories and memories still remain from touring in one of rock and roll's most successful acts of all time.

On the red carpet just before his performance with Slash at the at the sixth annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert on May 7, 2010 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, Ace Frehley talked about putting his memoir together and how he got help remembering some of his old stories that he might have forgotten.

"It's gonna be memoirs, you know," he told the Artisan News Service.

"I just turned 59, [so] I think it's about time I start getting the stuff out and writing it down on paper before I forget it.

"It's hard for me to remember a lot of the stuff, so what I've been doing is getting together with people I used to work with, and they usually have better memories of situations than myself. Getting together with old bodyguards... They have the best stories about me... stuff I don't remember."

Gallery Books is an imprint dedicated to publishing a wide variety of must-read books on a wide array of topics. The imprint was designed to showcase established voices and to introduce emerging new ones — in both fiction and nonfiction, and across a variety of genres.

Gene Simmons Proposed 'Months Ago'

Turns out, the proposal scene in Tuesday night's finale of A&E's reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels was taped "several months ago," a source confirmed, and it's been a rocky road for the pair ever since.

Simmons, 61, and Tweed, 54, were vacationing in Belize when he proclaimed, "you're the only friend I've got. You're the only one I love ... and you're the only one I ever will love," before getting down on one knee.

It remains to be seen whether Tweed will be saying "I do" and sticking with it. She did, however, tell PEOPLE in a recent interview that she had moved out of their home and that there was a "slim chance" of them getting back together. "You're seeing this happy family," Tweed said, "but in my heart, I am dying."

The couple, who once described themselves as happily unmarried, have been together for 28 years and have two grown children Nick, 22, and Sophie, 18.

This season of Family Jewels has documented their troubles and family therapy sessions stemming from Simmons's claim that he has slept with thousands of women. Last month, during a promotional tour, Tweed slammed Simmons for his infidelities and said their relationship had "pretty much unraveled."

"I need some sort of commitment," Tweed told PEOPLE, reiterating that their relationship is over if Simmons's behavior continues. "Something has to give."

On Monday, Tweed Tweeted that the proposal was "the most shocking moment" of her life.

Gene Simmons proposes to Tweed

The KISS frontman and the model are parents to 22-year-old son Nicholas and 18-year-old daughter Sophie, and have lived together since 1985.

They are currently starring in reality TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels, on which their strained relationship has come under the spotlight - last month the couple fell out during the filming of the show after Simmons poked fun at his infamous womanising ways.

But now the star has pledged his love to the former Playboy model, getting on his knees to propose on the season finale of the programme.

In a clip of the show, he tells Tweed, "I come with so much baggage, but you're the only friend I've got. You're the only one I've ever loved. You're the only one I love and you're the only one I ever will love, and I will say those words to anybody."

The rocker then drops to his knees, when Tweed bursts into tears and holds her hands over her mouth as he asks her, "Please marry me."

Tweed's answer will be shown when the episode airs on Tuesday.

KISS Frontman Gene Simmons Pops the Question to Shannon Tweed!

The rock legend who once vowed he wasn't the marrying kind has—after more than 25 years of living together and raising two kids—finally asked the ex-Playboy Playmate for her hand in marriage.

And wouldn't you know…the touching moment just happened to be caught on camera for their A&E reality series, Gene Simmons' Family Jewels!

Here's how it went down:

Simmons, 61, and Tweed, 54, were vacationing in Belize when the fire-breathing KISS bassist opened his heart and proclaimed that she was the one for him (it only took 28 years).

"I come with so much baggage, but you're the only friend I've got. You're the only one I love...and you're the only one I ever will love," Simmons told Tweed. "I've never said those words to anybody. And I don't ever want to...funny, I used to watch movies where they say I can't live without you, but for me it's true."

Playing to the cameras? Most likely. But no matter. Not one to shy away from grand gestures, Gene gets down on bended knee and proposes, prompting tears from Shannon, though no word whether she says yes.

Simmons subsequently announced the about-face on Twitter, linking to a clip leaked to TMZ and writing, "Tomorrow night I put Shannon before everything."

Okay, so it was a shameless plug for the season finale, which airs tonight at 10 p.m. But will it produce ratings?

The couple have made their marital woes the central headline this season, kicking things off in June with the actress acting disgusted by Gene's ongoing flirtations with other women while the two were making the publicity rounds. The discord culminated in Tweed storming off the set of HLN's The Joy Behar Show during an interview and talk of the couple going their separate ways.

So tune in to see if they can put Humpty-Dumpty back together again.

CFL Gene Simmons and Family at the B.C. Lions game

Gene 'I'll Never Get Married' Simmons ... PROPOSES!!!!

(Video)

We don't know what her official answer is -- but based on her reaction, we can take a guess.

The proposal -- caught on camera for “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” -- airs tomorrow night at 10 on A&E. Gene and Shannon met 28 years ago ... and have two kids together.

The 5th Pacific Legends Golf Classic Brings Together Another Star-Studded Field Of Celebrities

The 2011 Pacific University Legends Golf Classic, hosted by the KISS lead guitarist and Pacific University trustee, takes place on Sun., July 31 and Mon., Aug. 1. Over the first four years of the event, the Legends Golf Classic has raised over $400,000 for Pacific's athletic program and the over 400 student-athletes who participate annually.

“Legends has been successful year after year thanks to the outpouring of support from celebrities from the worlds of sports, entertainment and music,” Thayer said. “I am so happy that so many of my friends are coming back out for another first-class golf event to support Pacific athletics.”

The Legends Golf Classic opens on Sunday with a dinner, auction and concert at the Tiger Woods Center at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton. Emceed by Golf Channel host Holly Sonders, the evening will feature silent and live auctions featuring memorabilia from the music and sports worlds, trips, special concert opportunities as well a limited edition KISS Mini-Cooper automobile.

The evening concludes with a jam session by Thayer and some of his friends, including Don Felder, Robby Krieger, Danny Seraphine, Eric Singer, Clint Black, Darius Rucker and Johnny Lee.

The tournament continues on Monday at The Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club in Aloha, one of the premier courses in the Pacific Northwest. A professional golf clinic featuring PGA and LPGA professionals will precede the double-shotgun start.

Also among the featured celebrities expected to participate in this year's Legends Golf Classic include PGA professionals Notah Begay III, Tim Petrovic, Colt Knost, Brian Henninger, Jason Allred and Arron Olberholser; LPGA standouts Perry Swenson and Amber Prange, actors Clint Howard and David Anders, NFL stars Neil Lomax and Leroy Irvin, Major League Baseball stars Richie Sexson, Chuck Finley and Scott Erickson and former Oregon football coach and ESPN analyst Mike Bellotti.

The 2011 Pacific Legends Golf Classic is sold out. There is still a chance, however, to earn a playing spot. A total of six playing spots are being auctioned off this week by our media partners, News Radio 1190 KEX and 105.9 The Brew, with proceeds benefiting Pacific athletics. For more information on the auction, please visit www.1190kex.com or www.1059thebrew.com.

In addition, supporters can also participate in the tournament by purchasing a chance in our golf ball drop. For just $20 per ball, you could have a chance to win at least half of the money raised from golf ball sales up to $2,500. The golf ball drop takes places on Mon., Aug. 1, and you need not present to win.

For more information on the golf ball drop as well as details on this year's Pacific University Legends Golf Classic, including celebrity biographies and sponsorship details, please visit www.pacificlegendsgolf.com.

Kids steal the show with tribute Kiss bike

Thousands of fans left with a photograph of them with the famous family, but the Simmons’ clan walked away with a photo album of their own, documenting the six-week process of building a Chopper bicycle in their honour.

Sophia Harrington, 12, built the Jewel bike with the help of three other youth as part of the Angels Chopper Bicycle Club. The club gives youth an opportunity to keep busy, rather than taking to the streets.

“We are fans of the show,” Sophia said. But they also love bikes, including building them from scratch. “We make them and paint them,” she said.

Tony Harrington, 9, Gavin O’Driscoll, 11, and Thomas Haywood, 16, helped build the bike and design it in tribute to Kiss and the family.

The bike seat is shaped as Simmons’ famously-long tongue and has a guitar-shaped back-support.

“Go ahead dad, sit on your own tongue,” said Nick.

The white bike also has the names of Gene, Shannon, Sophie and Nick — and now their signatures, which the family added.

The youth group offered to ship the bike to the Simmons’ clan, but Shannon Tweed had another suggestion.

“Do you think it would be a good idea if we signed that bike and you auctioned it so you could make some money for your club?” she asked. “I think that would be a good idea.”

There were many children on site to see the stars of the Gene Simmons Family Jewels reality television show, and Simmons had some advice for youth looking to pursue their dreams.

“Whatever it is that you want to become, sometimes where you are from doesn’t have it all,” he said. “Be proud of who you are, but the mountain is never going to come to you.”

The ACBC group has built bikes as tribute to several famous groups, including the Ozzy bike and the Elton bike. They have also built a Canucks-themed bike.

New guitarist says there's no end in sight to the KISS phenomena

And it seems like that isn't going to be ending any time soon.

For the past three years, the band has performed more than 250 shows, in three dozen nations around the world, to an audience that is arguably getting younger and younger.

As part of a short mid-summer tour, Kiss, comprising original members Gene Simmons, 61, and Paul Stanley, 59, along with longtime drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer, will be shaking the foundations of Casino Rama outside Orillia, on Tuesday and then take to the stage at Caesar's Windsor the following evening.

Thayer, who has been working with the band in a background capacity since the early 1990s, and joined the band as a full-fledged member in 2002, told QMI Agency about what a ride it's been for the veteran rockers over the past number of years.

"It's been a whirlwind, and it keeps going because it's been going so well that we keep on adding shows here and there. This run we're on now is only about five or six weeks, but a lot of the shows are up in Canada, which has always been one of the greatest places for us to play. Some of the biggest turnouts, almost ever, have been at some of our Canadian shows. There's a lot of great fans there," Thayer said from Los Angeles, where the band had taken a short break from touring to do some work on their next album.

The band's previous album, Sonic Boom, was the first studio album for Kiss in more than a decade, and the first with Thayer.

It was a smash hit, in an era when record sales have been in decline thanks to the advent of downloading. On the strength of the singles Modern Day Deliliah and Say Yeah, the Sonic Boom world tour has, essentially never stopped. Thayer said all of the band members, but particularly stalwarts Simmons and Stanley, were very pleased with the album, and were heartened by the critical acclaim it received, as well as the overwhelming fan support.

Like their as-yet-untitled forthcoming album, Sonic Boom was recorded 'old-school', much like Kiss' first three albums — Kiss, Hotter than Hell and Dressed to Kill — in the early 1970s.

"We were super proud of how we wrote and recorded that album, and the way it sounded. From top to bottom, we were 100% happy with how it turned out. The whole design of it was something that we were going to do just between the four band members. We did all the writing and recording, we didn't get influenced, or have outside input on song selections or anything like that. We did it almost like a new band starting up would," Thayer explained.

"It reminded me of that feeling of going back to when you first got into a band, where you're in your garage or someone's basement, and you're writing songs and recording them. There was no real agenda with Sonic Boom. We wanted to keep it simple, and not over-think it."

Thayer said eight songs have been recorded for the new album, and there are still four or five more to go.

"This new record has the same approach, but I think we've even upped the ante as far as the writing, and I think we're just more comfortable now. We're coming up with even cooler ideas. And even the recording process is kind of a throwback. In the studio, everybody is playing together, it's not just building tracks up one instrument at a time. We all played together, and we recorded on analog tape ... to get the real straight-ahead rock sound," he said.

"When you hit that tape, with a hard punchy sound, there's a certain style and warmth that you don't get on a digital recording."

Thayer, who turns 51 in November, said he is heartened to hear that many fans, including an increasing number of young fans, are rediscovering vinyl LPs, and seeing music are more than just another disposable digital commodity.

"When we were younger, you'd buy an album, and you'd sit there for hours looking at the cover, and every little detail and all the liner notes and lyrics, while you played it over and over again. There really was a visual and interactive part to it. And it was an event to go buy records," he said.

"And then with cassettes and later CDs, you kind of lost a lot of that, because the packaging got so small. And it became less important, and now you're at the point where you do a digital download and that whole 'event' element to new music is go. It's no wonder that kids today don't want to collect music like we used to. What is to collecting a digital file? Who cares, right?"

But he said Kiss still thinks it's important to treat every new album as an event ... and apparently it's worked, as Sonic Boom entered the Billboard charts at No. 2 when it was released and topped the charts in many other countries.

Thayer's story is an interesting one. A life-long fan of Kiss, he's been able to live the dream of every kid who ever signed up for the Kiss Army fan club, or dressed up at Hallowe'en in the vaunted Kiss make-up as either the Demon, Starchild, Spaceman or Cat.

Originally from Portland, Ore., he formed a band called Black 'n Blue in his hometown in the early 1980s, and moved to Los Angeles to find fame and fortune.

After just six months on the circuit, the band was signed to Geffen Records and earned some slots opening up for some pretty big bands, including Kiss.

"That's when I met Paul and Gene. Not long after that, we asked Gene to produce our third and fourth albums for Black 'n Blue, which he did. So we kind of built a relationship and it started evolving, and soon thereafter, he asked me to come and write with he and Paul for a record they were working on. So I got more involved in their world. After Black 'n Blue ran its course (around 1989), they hired me to come and work for them, part time to begin with, just as a guy to help out with whatever project they were doing at the time," he said.

In 1996, Kiss donned the face paint again after 13 years without it. The band also reunited with the two other iconic original members, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss.

Thayer was working behind the scenes, basically working with Frehley to help him re-learn his guitar parts on many of the classic songs which he hadn't played for many years.

"And it was partially managing their reunion tour, doing a lot behind the scenes. I was also editing and producing their long-form videos. And, at the end of the day, it all evolved to where they wanted to make a chance in 2002, and they asked me to step into the coveted role as the lead guitar player, and that was almost 10 years ago now," he said.

Thayer replaced Frehley, who wanted to go back to his solo career, and donned the Spaceman outfit and make-up.

Although there were some fans who resented both he and Singer donning the looks of Frehley and Criss respectively (back in the early 1980s, Criss' replacement Eric Carr was The Fox, and guitarist Vinnie Vincent had an ancient Egyptian design on his face paint), Thayer said the vast majority have no problem with it.

"Being in Kiss for the first time was almost an out-of-body experience. You can't ever imagine something like that happening. And I think 99 per cent of the fans are cool now with me, just because we have been touring for several years, and particularly for the last two or three years, the shows have been so huge, and it's a different kind of crowd now. There are a lot of new fans of all different ages, and lots of younger kids that are just discovering Kiss, and it's not a big deal to them," Thayer said.

"These days, people are going to see and experience Kiss — the extravaganza, see the performance, the spectacle and here the songs. It's more like the circus coming to town. People are coming to see a cultural icon. I think people need to get real with the fact that, as time goes on, the bands are going to change.

"And some purists say, 'they should just hang it up then.' Why? That's not reality. People still want to see these bands and hear the music, and if there are different people up there doing it, people have to get real to that fact it's going to happen. Look at Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Journey and Foreigner. But don't get me wrong, it's got to be done well, if not better than the original, and it's got to look and sound great. Rock and roll shows like ours are something that people are always going to want to see, and it's not going to just end all of a sudden."

And Thayer confirms that neither Stanley nor Simmons have given any indication that they want to stop any time soon.

Tickets for Tuesday's show at Casino Rama are available at the box office, or at www.ticketmaster.ca. Show time is 8 p.m. Visit www.casinorama.com/Entertainment.html. Tickets for the Colosseum show at Caesar's Windsor are available at the box office, and also through Ticketmaster. Visit www.caesarswindsor.com.

KISS ROCKS MONTREAL!

Two days and nights, 39 bands, enough volume and weight to shift a tectonic plate. Knobs at 11? 12. Heavy MTL.

And when KISS followed Motorhead’s customarily essential set, setting off their own Fireworks Competition display last night, one had to admit, this is the ideal one-stop-shopping outing to stock up on a year’s worth of metal.

Sunday night, Heavy MTL got the headliner it deserved and needed – not the purest of the death metalloids, but the showbizzers who prove more than any that the “bastard child of rock’n’roll” is multigenerational. When Paul Stanley screeched “Hold up your little ones!” between Firehouse and Deuce, and many parents hoisted kids in KISS make-up, you realized KISS reminds you of the pointlessness of Broadway. This is Broadway, the hard/real way: the demon/loverman/space-case/cat costumed finery, the spectacle, and a vilified songbook that still kills anything in Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. A huge crowd, who’d shifted over after Motorhead’s irreducible Ace of Spades and Overkill to cram the left side of the park, roared at the fire-pillars, and throughout a comprehensive set that reminds even the least devoted in the audience that KISS has now been an entry point to rock’n’roll for 40 (!) years of wasted youth.

Video: Gene Simmons & Family in Victoria

Gene Simmons and family thrill Victoria fans

The Kiss bassist and star of Gene Simmons Family Jewels was accompanied by his wife Shannon Tweed, daughter Sophie and son Nick, for a meet and greet outside the View Royal Casino on Saturday.

“You know we aren’t doing anything, we are just going to stand here and talk. We’re not performing, you know that right,” Nick told the crowd of screaming fans. “Then hi, nice to see you. Why are you here?”

The event was a family affair, with many parents accompanied by their children, who are fans of the show.

Landon Shaw was just there to have his photo taken with the Simmons family and his own, but used his 15 seconds on stage to also play a few chords for the rock star.

Simmons stole the moment, however, when he reached around the 11-year-old’s shoulders to play a few chords on the boy’s electric guitar. “It is a milestone he will remember forever,” said his mother Tiina.

Landon plays one KISS song, I Was Made for Lovin’ You, as part of a busking set he does downtown. His parents are fans of the band, and “now we pass on the tradition,” said his father, Ken Shaw. They also share a love for the reality television show starring the famous family.

“It’s the life of the rock star family-style. They are so down to earth, though,” said Ken. “They go through the same trials and tribulations as we do, only they have got a lot more money.”

The money and fame is one side of the story, but the family portrayed through six seasons is just like many others. Sophie said her father is extremely strict. “There’s zero tolerance for drinking or partying or things like that. They encourage us to go out with our friends, but they encourage us to not be idiots.”

“I think the TV show is good for all of us. It is certainly good for me, because it gives me a chance to watch myself and realize that my perception of myself isn’t accurate. Sometimes I can be short, arrogant, selfish,” said Simmons.

As for the marriage rumours: “For the record, I have never been married. I have desperately loved Shannon for 28 years, and we have two great kids,” said Simmons.

Video: On planet Simmons

KISS Drummer Eric Singer Featured In Exclusive BW&BK Interview

Singer: "KISS has always been somewhat of a unifying and polarizing band. Just like buying a car buying a car or eating at a restaurant – you go by participation. If I don’t like something I don’t buy it. I don’t support it. You vote with your wallet, but KISS is about the show and about having a good time. Being in KISS is a lot of hard work. It’s not easy like everybody thinks. I’ve been in a lot of bands and nothing takes the amount of energy, effort and work as it does to play in KISS. I’ve seen Paul almost yawning before he goes on stage, but when the lights go down – BAM. He’s running around, jumping…What’s important is when you are on that stage. That’s when you have to give 100%..”

-- On the KISS audience: "We’ve seen how the audience has changed over the past few years. It’s now more of an all-ages show. I liken KISS to Disneyworld or Universal Studios – it’s one of these spectacle things that you’ve got to go see."

-- On Heavy MTL: "We love Montreal. It’s a beautiful city. I’m glad that we’re going back there to play the Heavy MTL festival. And we have a day off there, which is very cool."

-- On the new album: "We’ve done eight songs so far. Doing this summer run keeps it fresh, but mainly it gets you playing at a more intense level and that helps you bring that intensity back into the studio. Right now, the album doesn’t have a title because we’re not done, but this isn’t The Elder where we have a theme for the whole record. It’s a straight-ahead rock KISS record and I think this stuff so far is stronger better material (than Sonic Boom). It’s more riff-y which makes it more interesting."

"This album will have more production (than Sonic Boom), so in that sense it might be leaning more towards a Destroyer type approach. I’ve asked to have my drums put in a bigger room because I want to get a big sound… a more bombastic drum sound. We’ve taken more time to get better sounds on this recording."

-- On doing a vocal on the new album: "There’s been talk about it, but until we do it… The plan is to have me sing a song and to have Tommy do one, but we’ve never asked to sing a song. Paul is the producer and that was his choice and decision. It was him encouraging me to sing. He knows that I’m actually shy when it comes to that. I’m not a shy person for the most part, but I am when it comes to singing."

"A lot of people say, ‘I can play circles around that guy,’ but I realized a long time ago that you can’t let it be about you. You have to be smart enough to know your place in the band. You have to play for the song, play for the music and keep your own personal shit out of it. You have to have that attitude if you’re going to work for people. I’ve got to do the job that I’m hired to do."

-- On Vinnie Vincent: "I won’t make any comments about Vinnie, but I do think actions speak louder than words and his actions have spoken very loudly. There’s a saying, 'the whole world can’t be wrong.' It’s one thing to sit there and point the finger in a particular situation, but when that situation keeps happening again and again after a while you have to go, 'Well, wait a minute, maybe it’s not everybody else,' but that’s all I’ll say about Vinnie. I believe that in life you are supposed to pave the road smoother for those that travel the road after you, not make it harder… and some people have made the road harder (that were there before me)."

KISS COFFEEHOUSE GOING NEON!

KISS headline the two-day Heavy MTL Festival at Parc Jean Drapeau, July 23-24.

Rock’n’roll has always been about haircuts and shoes. And with KISS, throw in a little kabuki make-up and pyrotechnics, and you’ve got a genuine rock’n’roll circus.

The last time KISS headlined in Montreal, Gene Simmons told me, “There hasn’t been an important rock band to emerge in the last 25 years that will still mean something in 100 years. But from the end of the 1950s to 1980, there was Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, Led Zep, ABBA – say what you will but they wrote great songs – KISS, there’s a hundred bands from that period. All the music from Elvis to KISS was born before MTV, cellphones and the Internet. KISS still trains hard and every emo band at 19 can shine our boot heels! They’re gonna get a lesson [from us]: You blow the god—- place up!”

There are few folks in show biz who give good quote like Gene. Say what you will about him, but the man is never boring. The critics may still hate Kiss, but the kids – even the 45-year-old ones – are still proud card-carrying members of the KISS Army. Says Gene about unrepentant rock critics, “You know, I discovered a band [over 30 years ago] called Van Halen, I signed them [to my record label] and produced their demo. Critics hated them. When singer David Lee Roth was asked why the critics hated Van Halen and loved Elvis Costello, Roth said, ‘Because they look like Costello.’ It’s still true.”

When KISS were the new kids on the block – they formed in NYC in January 1973 – they decided to out-do vaudevillain Alice Cooper, who told me himself many years ago, “We told Kiss where to buy their makeup. We were friends with those guys. We knew they were comic book characters and Alice was the Phantom of the Opera.”

Nearly four decades later, KISS still hasn’t been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That probably bothers Simmons. But if it does, he’s not saying. After all, it’s still true that rock’n’roll is still just about haircuts and shoes.

And as anybody who has seen Simmons star in his slick reality TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels, there is more to the man than the KISS machine and assembly line: Simmons is also a loving father. He’d do anything for his family. In fact, when I asked him about Chaz Bono, the trangendered son of his ex-girlfriend Cher who spent many difficult years transitioning from a woman to a man, Simmons replied without missing a beat, “I love Chaz. I was living with Cher when Chaz and [his brother] Elijah were kids and I was a substitute dad for a while. Life is short and we should all make up and be happy. And everybody else be damned if Chaz isn’t happy today, God bless. If Chaz is happy, then [he] will have found the secret of life.”

Duff Mckagan, Matt Sorum, Paul Stanley, Phil Collen Go To Camp for Vh1

The second season of the show is set to premiere Saturday, August 20 at 10 PM ET/PT. Here is the synopsis:

VH1 Classic and executive producer Mark Burnett are bringing back a new group of 'average Joes' for their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put their music skills to the ultimate test and find out if they have what it takes to be a true rock star on "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp."

Hosted by American Idol sweetheart and Vanguard recording artist Kimberly Caldwell, 15 musicians from a variety of backgrounds and cities will go through the unforgettable transformation of having to put it all on the line and find out if they have what it takes to make it in the cutthroat world of Rock 'n' Roll. Broken into three groups of five, each group of campers will create a band and be assigned a rock star camp counselor (Duff Mckagan, Matt Sorum and Mark Hudson) who will give them pointers and guidance, transforming the 9-to-5'ers into center stage front men and women.

For one week each group will have the opportunity to rehearse and learn the ropes from other special-guest rock gods who drop by including Paul Stanley of KISS, Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Marky Ramone of The Ramones and more. At the end of the week, each group should have the music know-how, fresh looks and rock-star swagger to give an unforgettable performance to a group of legitimate rock stars who are acting as judges. Will they pass the test and be flocked with adoring fans or booed off the stage?

The stakes are high as the band voted best by the fans will win the opportunity musicians can only dream about – a once-in-a-lifetime performance with legendary rock star Sammy Hagar.

NEW COMIC BOOK SERIES: ARCHIE MEETS KISS

KISS is coming to town.

"It's the biggest band in rock history crossing paths with Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and Sabrina," said Alex Segura, who's writing the four-issue story with art by Dan Parent. "Two major pieces of Americana joining forces for the first time."

It may seem like an odd pairing, to put the milkshake-sipping teens from Archie with a hard-rocking band like KISS. But the story, which begins in Archie #627, sees Riverdale invaded by monsters from another dimension. Their presence makes the town ripe for a visit by the KISS personas: Demon, Starchild, Spaceman and Catman.

"The Riverdale gang are looking to cast a protection spell to protect the town before Halloween," Segura said. "Of course, that means Sabrina is coordinating things. But when the spell goes awry and a cabal of dangerous monsters appear, who's going to stop them? Enter KISS. Can the Archies team up with the rock legends in time to save the town from the legion of monsters? Stay tuned. Oh, and zombies. There'll be zombies."

The story will also introduce a gang of four monsters that Segura said will "simultaneously frighten and amuse, and fans of pop culture stuffs will get a kick of them."

The Archie Meets KISS comic will coincide with another KISS comic from IDW, making this a rare situation where two major comic publishers are sharing a popular trademark license simultaneously. And this isn't the first time the on-stage personas from KISS are showing up in a comic, but it is a first for Archie and the gang.

"Most of my non-musical interaction with KISS has been through comics," Segura said, "whether it was the older stuff from Marvel or titles like Psycho Circus and the like. They're as close to real-life comic characters as you can get."

For Parent, getting to draw KISS has brought back a lot of memories. "I remember playing the 45's over and over of Rock and Roll All Nite and Christine Sixteen," he said. "I remember the first dance I ever went to, in eighth grade, I danced to Beth and I kid you not, the girl I danced with was named Beth too."

Segura said he's trying to give each of the KISS members a unique voice in the four-issue story, but he admitted that writing the mixture of the Archie teens with KISS has been a little odd.

"It's a treat to type out scenes like 'Demon spits fire next to Betty in the Chok'lit Shoppe,'" he said. "One of those 'huh, this is my life' moments."

KISS COFFEEHOUSE 5TH ANNIVERSARY RADIO SPOT

ACE FREHLEY Confirmed For 'Rock And Shock' Horror And Music Convention

Bringing together the best elements of horror films, music and culture, the event has grown exponentially over time, with this year's festivities promising to be the biggest yet.

For more information, visit www.rockandshock.com.

Time for Simmons clan to KISS and tell

But according to Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, the star of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, the familial strife that has dominated the program's highly successful sixth season is anything but fake. "What you see on TV is real," Simmons, 61, said in a recent interview with Postmedia News.

"Shannon is not very happy with me, and rightfully so."

One of the highest-rated and most popular shows on the A&E network, Gene Simmons Family Jewels sent the profile of Simmons, his common-law wife, Shannon Tweed, and the couple's two children, Nick, 22, and Sophie, 18, through the roof when it debuted in 2006. The lighthearted program is now broadcast to millions of viewers in 87 countries.

The current season is considerably more serious in tone, with much of the conflict falling directly at Simmons' feet. He faced the music on the show's Tuesday-night episode, which was billed The Kids Aren't All Right. And though his infamous antics appear to be genuinely hurting those around him, including his children, Simmons said it's important for the show to continue.

"I think it's good for me and good for the family," said Simmons, who shot recent Family Jewels episodes while on tour with Kiss.

"It forces myself and the family to confront issues that would normally be hidden. We've been together 28 years, and I don't know of a single highway you can drive on that doesn't have bumps in the road. Love is the answer, and if you care enough about somebody, you confront those issues."

The Simmons clan is attempting to put the drama — real or scripted — behind them, starting Friday, with a series of public appearances.

The patriarch promises full-throttle fun — especially for fans of his family.

"Everybody wants to meet them," he said. "Unlike me — the dark, brooding guy — the rest of the family is charming, and everybody wants to be around them."

Due to the nature of his show, and the likes of Twitter, Simmons' life is often laid bare for the public, more so than it ever was in the past. Simmons has played a huge role in that, having written or co-written four books that omitted nary a detail. He has also appeared in movies and on television for the better part of four decades, always with the intention of spreading the Kiss gospel far and wide.

Promotion took on new meaning when it was the real Gene Simmons being peddled, he said. And being at the helm of what he called "the longest-running celebrity reality show of them all" meant the stakes were even higher. These days, the man known in the Kiss universe as the Demon is required to play a more friendly game of ball.

Simmons has been very surprised by the outcome of his new approach. "The TV show, for me, is medicinal. I'm able to watch it and realize that I'm not aware how I come off. None of us are, really. If you can be a fly on the wall and watch yourself, sometimes (you'll find out)you're an a—hole. I can be short, I can be impolite and not be aware of it, and it certainly hurts people's feelings, especially those of Shannon and the kids. By watching the show, it's good for us. It's good for me, that's for sure."

What is good for Simmons has proven to be good, not only for his biological brood, but for his rock 'n' roll family, as well.

Kiss, has been drawing record concert crowds of late, while its last record, 2009's Sonic Boom, gave the band the highest chart debut of its 38-year career.

Not only is a new Kiss album halfway done, according to Simmons, a host of other ephemera is coming down the tube, too. Chief among those — which includes a joint venture between Kiss and Archie Comics, a Kiss Hello Kitty project set to launch in 250 countries, and a Kiss mini golf course in Las Vegas — are the speaking engagements in which Simmons alone instructs people on how to make more money.

Simmons, who is a partner in Cool Springs Life, a website which loans high net-worth individuals as much as $300 million, clearly loves this part of the job. "I make people money without ever writing a check to them."

His advice? "Stop spending stupid money. Stop going to the bars, stop smoking and drinking. I call it the Duh Syndrome which, when you think about it, covers a lot of stupid things."

He is living the life he's chosen for himself. Simmons, however, said he would give it all up in an instant if one day he stopped enjoying what pleases him to no end today.

"This is a privileged life. There are rewards. But at any time I could say, 'I don't want to do this, don't bother me,' and quit. I do it because I love it."

Gene Simmons to appear at B.C. Lions game

Gene Simmons, the long-time bassist with the rock band KISS and star of his own reality television series, will perform the ceremonial pre-game coin toss Friday night when the Lions face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Empire Stadium.

The Lions (0-3) are one of two CFL teams still in search of their first win. The other is the Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-3).

Hamilton (1-2) is coming off a 33-3 home victory over Saskatchewan on Saturday.

"BLACK DIAMOND" LIVE IN OSHKOSH

SOUNDCHECK VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM SPRINGFIELD

CREW'S EYE VIEW: KISS EXITING CONCERT STAGE

Kiss/Archie Comics

10 Things: Simmons still rocking the KISS machine

The tongue-wagging, blood-spitting, fire-breathing bassist for KISS is among the world's biggest stars, in part because of his larger-than-life personality. His mantra? The bigger — and more expensive — the better.

Of late, he has been helped by Gene Simmons Family Jewels, the reality show that features Simmons and his family. It has become a huge hit, enough so that a tour featuring the cast is currently underway. Simmons and his clan will be at the View Royal Casino on Saturday (noon to 3 p.m.) for a public meet-and-greet that will most definitely be over the top.

While television has made him a celebrity, it's important to remember the role KISS has played in his life. The group is still out on the road gigging, and is playing with a voracity that hasn't ebbed in 35 years. Simmons — especially when he dons his makeup and calls himself the Demon — is a huge part of that.

Need proof? Here are 10 songs by KISS on which Simmons takes over on lead vocals.

1. Rock and Roll All Nite (1975). A by-the-book but rousing sing-along that does its business in under three minutes, Rock and Roll All Nite is perhaps KISS's finest song, if not its best-known. Taken from the band's third studio album, Dressed to Kill, the anthem benefits from a wicked lead vocal by Simmons. Rock and Roll All Nite still qualifies as the band's most fist-pumping moment, on record and in concert.

2. God of Thunder (1976). Following closely on the heels of its legendary live album, 1975's Alive!, the band issued Destroyer to keep the career momentum in motion. KISS's fourth full-length proved to be its commercial and critical breakthrough, thanks to singles Shout it Out Loud, Detroit Rock City and Beth, the band's first Top 10 hit. The album's other notable track, God of Thunder, was written by Paul Stanley for Simmons, who has since made the song his unofficial calling card.

3. Calling Dr. Love (1976). Written by Simmons from the standpoint of a "doctor" whose specialty is satisfying persons of the female variety, Calling Dr. Love fit in perfectly with the bassist's sexual reputation at the time, which didn't hurt the song's chart chances. It wasn't the biggest hit on Rock and Roll Over (that was the Peter Criss-sung Hard Luck Woman) but it certainly lives on in infamy as one the band's most notable.

4. Christine Sixteen (1977). There are no shortage of double entendres on Love Gun, a recording whose sexual innuendo starts with the album title and worms its way through each of the 10 songs included. The band's sixth studio album features not one but two salacious songs about girls turning the corner on their teen years, though Simmons's Christine Sixteen — which was sampled heavily on rapper Tone Loc's Funky Cold Medina — is considered the better of the pair.

5. Plaster Caster (1977). Simmons was inspired to write and sing one of the best songs in the KISS catalogue by Cynthia Plaster Caster, a groupie who gained fame for making plaster casts of the genitalia of male rock stars. While there is no evidence to suggest Simmons had ever participated in a casting session, KISS remains closely associated with the practice on account of Plaster Caster.

6. Radioactive (1978). Each member of KISS released a solo album in 1978; to the surprise of no one, Simmons's charted highest, narrowly missing the Top 20. Credit that to his roster of guests (Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, and Bob Seger among them) but also his selection of material. Radioactive, with its rolling piano, was a big departure for Simmons, though fans responded to the radical departure.

7. I Love It Loud (1982). Kiss was at a crossroads during the recording of Creatures of the Night, its first without original guitarist Ace Frehley. His replacement, guitarist Vincent Cusano — a.k.a. Vinnie Vincent — turned out to be a nice fit, and is credited alongside Simmons with co-writing I Love it Loud, one of the band's most overlooked gems. I Love it Loud was the last certifiably "heavy" single from the band for nearly a decade.

8. Killer (1982). The duo of Simmons and Vinnie Vincent struck power-chord gold once more with Killer, the second single from the critically lauded but commercially unsuccessful Creatures of the Night. Another song by Simmons about the dangers of wild women, its most marked characteristic is an up-tempo beat and Vincent's inspired playing, elements of KISS which had been missing for years up to this point.

9. Domino (1993). The grunge years were tough on bands like KISS, yet through the greasy hair and cheap flannel the band adapted nicely to a harder-edged sound on 1993's Revenge, its highest-charting album since 1977's Love Gun. A big part of that was due to Domino, the bluesiest song in the Kiss catalogue about a topic — women — Simmons knows too well.

10. Goin' Blind (1996). Simmons proved during the band's return-to-form MTV Unplugged performance that he could still sing. After years of cartoonish behaviour from the group, 20-year-old songs like Goin' Blind (about an old man's relationship with a much younger woman) took on new musical shape. Goin' Blind comes off splendidly here, and played a big part in the massive reunion tour that followed.

Kiss and tell with rock royalty

“I know my place,” the Kiss frontman and founder said yesterday at the Boulevard 500 Show ‘N’ Shine in Coquitlam. “I know that I’m an invited guest and this is Shannon’s territory."

It was also heartwarming to see the continued support of Canadians after all these years to their hit TV show “Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels,” he added.

He gives credit to his longtime partner for raising their children. “The reason Sophie and Nick are who they are, it’s because of Shannon.”

Tweed, a former playmate from St. John’s, said their family dynamic works because their children are “intelligent and emotionally mature” under the spotlight.

“I think we’re more realistic than most normal families,” 19-year-old Sophie added, referring to how drinking is not tolerated in their home.

When asked about the best show he had in Canada, the God of Thunder said Kiss’s performance in Abbotsford last June 27 would probably be it as the Kiss Army turned out in full force to watch them.

TOMMY & ERIC SOLO FROM PRINCE GEORGE

New Prince George Footage Posted Online

VIDEO FROM ROCK USA FESTIVAL, OSHKOSH

LONGTIME KISS FANS PASSIONATE FOR YEARS

For Mike Austin, it was in St. Louis at the old Checkerdome.

“I had to sneak out of the house and lie to the parents to get to go,” he said. “I had to catch a ride with other people who had tickets.”

He was 14. It was the autumn of ’79. It was Kiss.

“After I saw them once, that was all it took,” he said.

Austin, who was living in Pawnee at the time, saw his first Springfield Kiss show in 1983.

He saw the band three times on that tour. Then he began seeing them more. A lot more.

He has driven up to eight hours to see Kiss.

Louisville. Peoria. Moline. Rockford. St. Louis. Chicago. Indianapolis.

And, of course, Springfield. Austin will be there at 7:30 p.m. Monday, when Kiss returns to the Prairie Capital Convention Center for the first time in nearly two decades.

“The July show will be my 63rd Kiss show,” Austin said.

Kiss inspires a remarkable degree of loyalty among its fans.

‘Family members’

The group, best known for hard-rock anthems like “Rock and Roll All Nite,” first performed in Springfield on Dec. 30, 1974, at the Illinois State Armory.

The band was less than two years old. Tickets cost $5 in advance, $6 at the door.

There were fairly regular appearances throughout the 1980s, but the band hasn’t been here since 1992. Yet they keep coming.

Can anything make a show really special when you’ve already seen it 62 times?

“People ask me, ‘Is it the same every time you go?’” Austin said.

From tour to tour, sometimes the songs change, or the costumes or the set. But things don’t vary much on a given tour. There will be makeup. There will be explosions.

“But it’s one of those things that I just don’t get tired of,” Austin said. “They’ve been in my life as long as family members.”

By the group’s Nov. 24, 1992, concert at the PCCC, the group had shed its makeup. But it was still working to put on a ridiculous show.

“We have a history and I want to see us live up to it,” founding member Paul Stanley told The State Journal-Register at the time. “We’ve set off more bombs in this show than anything we’ve ever done. Great lasers, too. Two hours a night. We’ll do loads of stuff from (1975’s) ‘Kiss Alive!’ right up to the latest stuff.”

To some, Kiss is the ultimate rock band.

“I’ve seen them 36 times,” Randy Bounds said. “This will be 37.”

Like Austin, that tally includes all the Springfield performances except the 1974 Armory show.

Bounds, 42, is the controller at E.L. Pruitt Co. in Springfield. His older cousins turned him on to the band.

“I saw them on ‘The Paul Lynde Halloween Special’ and ‘Midnight Special’ and that was it. They’ve been my favorite ever since,” Bounds said.

He has 474 Kiss songs on his iPod.

“A lot of people don’t give them credit for the music, but the music’s good,” he said. The band members have been nice when he’s met them, and they put on the kind of show they would want to see.

“It’s not just a bunch of guys in blue jeans coming out and singing,” he said. “It’s theatrics and the show — you get the best of both worlds.”

Austin is serious about the music, too. His parents bought him his first Kiss album at the old JR’s Music in White Oaks Mall.

He still has his copy of “Alive!” and says he buys new Kiss albums the day they come out — and he still prefers hard copies to digital downloads.

“All of my vinyls I’ve had through the years, I’ve gotten rid of all of them unless they were autographed — or unless they were Kiss vinyls,” he said.

Part of the machine

Kiss has sold millions of copies of its singles, albums and videos, but it’s much more than the weight of its platinum and gold discography.

Mark Kessler, co-owner of Recycled Records, sums up the group’s enduring popularity in two words: “marketing genius.”

The vintage vinyl/used furniture/you-want-it-we-got-it shop at 625 E. Adams St. has a wide range of Kiss products, old and new.

There’s a Starchild Christmas ornament from 2010 and an FM radio from 1998. There are toy cars and a mid-1990s concert program. And there’s a lot of vinyl.

You want an autographed copy of Ace Frehley’s ’78 solo album? A Japanese version of 1981’s “Music from ‘The Elder’” with gatefold cover? A red vinyl pressing of 1994’s “Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved” featuring a cover of “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Toad the Wet Sprocket? Got it, got it, got it.

Kessler recently sold a black terrycloth bathrobe with an embroidered Kiss logo. He even has a bottle of Kiss This, a “dealcoholized” wine, 1997 vintage, bottle No. 2,290 out of 60,000. That’ll set you back $100.

But all that pales in comparison to the showpiece item of Kiss memorabilia at Younger Than Yesterday in Peoria: a working, vintage Kiss pinball machine.

Owner Craig Moore said customers ask about the price several times a day.

“Not for sale,” he tells them. He’s owned several such machines over the years. Two were lost in fires. Others were sold. The one he still has was his first.

“Ten, 20 years ago, if somebody came in and offered me five grand for it, it’d be gone,” he said. “I don’t need the five grand to let go of it.”

“It’s just cool,” Moore said. “The band still exists and there’s all this mythology about Kiss, and Gene Simmons is still out there doing his best to continually reconstruct the mythology.”

All the merchandise in the world doesn’t do any good if you’re not selling something people want. Beyond the music and behind the merch, Kiss is just a band — and a brand — people can get behind.

For Simmons, the co-founder and frontman, it’s all been part of a lifelong ambition.

“Fame and riches are fine, but one can have both and still have no power,” he wrote in his autobiography, “Kiss and Make-up.” “Power is something I craved from the time I first set foot in America. I was made fun of because I couldn’t speak English, or because I was Jewish, but it really came down to not having power.”

Devil worship?

Kiss has had its share of detractors.

“Springfield has never seen anything quite like it,” Bob Mahlburg wrote in his SJ-R review of the group’s Feb. 25, 1983 show at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. The opening act was Wendy O. and the Plasmatics. “Both groups demonstrated their ability to wrench the crowd’s attention Friday — but showed painfully little musical ability.”

Mahlburg spent a hefty chunk of his review on the antics of Wendy O., then got around to the headliner: “Kiss showed a little more taste, but were guilty of an even more serious offense for a rock performance — they were just plain dull.

“Despite throwing in every gimmick — from torches to shooting six-foot spark showers and more explosions than a state fair fireworks finale — their heavy metal pounding was more plodding than rocking.”

And beyond the band’s musical merits, there were other types of controversy, stemming in part from the group’s odd appearance and live shows that included fire and fake blood.

There was no hint of it in coverage of the 1974 show, but by the time the band returned to Springfield in 1983, rock ’n’ roll paranoia was on the march.

Mahlburg noted that the band had “stirred controversy in some areas because of their alleged link to devil worship.”

Members of Trinity Lutheran Church distributed Christian literature outside the PCCC before the show.

“We understand Kiss is not a Christian group,” Paul Hartman told Mahlburg. “We believe you either worship Christ or worship something else.”

Stanley addressed the concerns in his 1983 interview with the SJ-R: “I feel bad for anybody who listens to a self-appointed expert on religion and rock ’n’ roll.”

“What’s real interesting is that most of these creatures, if you ask them what church they represent, they might as well be Al’s Church because they’re usually self-ordained ministers, who are only trying to make sure their names are spelled right in the newspaper,” he said.

The band’s dangerous image seems to have softened over the years.

In a scene from the A&E reality show “Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels,” Simmons was seen recording an audio children’s book.

“Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the young fish used to go and swim in the giant octopus’ garden. ‘How happy we are,’ they cried to each other,” Simmons said.

“You know it’s really funny I’m doing an audiobook for kids when people in the ’70s used to think I ate them.”

Cannon fodder

Today’s Kiss concerts are family affairs.

Bounds’ son Forrest has accompanied his father to several concerts. One such father-son outing gave Bounds’ his favorite memory of a Kiss show.

Forrest’s first show was at the Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis in 2004. He was 9 or 10, and as the show progressed, the pair snuck closer and closer to the stage.

The final song, as usual, was “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Bounds lifted his son onto his shoulders.

“They have these confetti cannons,” he said. We were right in front of it, and it was coming out so hard against us that I was having trouble holding him up.”

Afterward, Stanley told the concertgoers to lift their kids up so he could see the new Kiss Army.

As Stanley came by, he tossed Forrest a guitar pick.

“The last couple years we’ve gone over to Indianapolis for the Kiss conventions; the drummer Eric Singer has been there and he’s been very nice to us both times.”

It’s almost like a club, Bounds said, like being a Cardinals or Cubs fan.

Bounds and Forrest, now 15, will be in the second row Monday night.

Austin will be in the row in front of them. It’s the first time he’s had tickets with the coveted Row 1 designation. He, too, has a bond forged through Kiss.

“I met my best friend at a show in Springfield,” Austin said. “They played here in ’87, and I decided I was going to go down and hang out outside the convention center, take a couple albums, and try to see if I could get them autographed.”

That’s when Dave Fyke, who lives in Decatur, stopped by to do the same thing. They struck up a conversation, and eventually moved to the Renaissance bar, hoping the band would come to the hotel. They did, and Austin got autographs and pictures and a new best friend.

“Ever since that day — that was in December of ’87 — Dave’s been one of my best friends,” Austin said.

“He stood up with me in my wedding … I was best man in his wedding,” Austin said.

And in perhaps an even truer mark of friendship, Fyke will get Austin’s other front row ticket.

Want to go?:

Kiss will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. Tickets cost $51-$91 and are available at the PCCC box office and through Ticketmaster, (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.

KISS ROCKS NEWFOUNDLAND!

The theatrical rock spectacle known as KISS, literally lit up Ford Festival Park in Oshkosh Saturday night, with a stage rig that made 4th of July look like a fountain with a wet wick.

Though Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are long gone from the band, Simmons and Paul Stanley hold down the original KISS lineup, while lead guitarist (Frehley fill-in) Tommy Thayer and drummer (Criss fill-in) Eric Singer have handled their respective duties since the early Millennium. And though some will always yearn for the original all-star lineup, Simmons and company let Oshkosh know that KISS is still alive in 2011.

When the lights came on, so did “Modern Day Delilah” from 2009’s “Sonic Boom,” something the crowd appeared to absorb well as an opener, though most didn’t seem to be singing along.

A few songs later, the band’s signature pyrotechnics picked up with “Firehouse,” and Simmons capped off the song by spitting fire from a flaming torch.

KISS then bulldozed into “Shock Me,” which eventually led to extended solo work by the new guys (Thayer and Singer) by song’s end. Thayer wielded off a circa five-minute guitar solo, while Singer followed with an approximate five-minute solo on the drums. Stanley worked the crowd well all night, as did Simmons in a lesser role, and the energy of the show stayed at a high level from then on out.

Songs such as “I Like it Loud,” “Love Gun” and “God of Thunder” seemed to be crowd favorites and Simmons’ signature spitting of the blood – which he performed under a full moon, right at midnight – was a performance highlight.

KISS ended their set at about 12:20 a.m. with “Detroit Rock City,” casting Singer’s entire drumkit into the air –with him still playing on it. The band then stopped playing for a brief moment, held their positions for dramatic effect, and then kicked back in for a couple musical punches before exiting the stage.

It was obvious the band would come back onstage for an encore, having not played ‘Rock and Roll All Nite,” but the length of the encore was a bit surprising – about 20 minutes.

For the first song, Singer came off the drumset to sing “Beth,” but as soon as the song ended, Stanley got back on the mic and said something along the likes of not wanting to end the night soft. He then began an A cappella sing-a-long chant to “Makin’ Love,” which the crowd ate up and gave full participation. The song eventually kicked in with the full band.

“Shout it Out Loud” was another sing-a-long smash before “Rock and Roll Nite” served as the band’s grand finale with confetti and swirling pyrotechnics, while Simmons, Thayer and Singer were all hoisted about 30 feet in the air on movable floors with their instruments.

The band ended with a bang, literally and not, before taking a bow and exiting the stage for the second time of the night. The big tron then read, “KISS loves Rock USA.”

As a whole, fans seemed satisfied with the performance and from a theatrical aspect, KISS did exactly what KISS always does: Simmons spits blood, band members are hoisted high into the air, confetti blows into the crowd, etc. However, when combined with solid music production, the novelty becomes more charming.

Musically, KISS’s harmonies were spot on, instrumental solos were well crafted and vocals easy to hear. KISS’s sound is so full – and loud – that it’s hard to believe there are just four people performing. Perhaps the dozens and dozens of woofers onstage help out with that.

As for the set list, a KISS tribute band probably would’ve played more hits – sorry Guitar Hero fans, no “Strutter” tonight – and it sometimes hurt that the crowd seemed unfamiliar with songs from “Sonic Boom.”

Overall, the theatrical elements were in place and exciting, the music was well performed and the mic work, as far as engaging the crowd, was arguably the peak at Rock USA.

At the end of the day, it’s supposed to be a rock “show,” and that’s exactly what KISS put on.

It was time for the real thing.

KISS tribute bands have been fluttering through Northeast Wisconsin this past year, but it was finally the right moment for Gene Simmons and the gang to show the boys how it’s done.

The theatrical rock spectacle known as KISS, literally lit up Ford Festival Park in Oshkosh Saturday night, with a stage rig that made 4th of July look like a fountain with a wet wick.

Though Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are long gone from the band, Simmons and Paul Stanley hold down the original KISS lineup, while lead guitarist (Frehley fill-in) Tommy Thayer and drummer (Criss fill-in) Eric Singer have handled their respective duties since the early Millennium. And though some will always yearn for the original all-star lineup, Simmons and company let Oshkosh know that KISS is still alive in 2011.

When the lights came on, so did “Modern Day Delilah” from 2009’s “Sonic Boom,” something the crowd appeared to absorb well as an opener, though most didn’t seem to be singing along.

A few songs later, the band’s signature pyrotechnics picked up with “Firehouse,” and Simmons capped off the song by spitting fire from a flaming torch.

KISS then bulldozed into “Shock Me,” which eventually led to extended solo work by the new guys (Thayer and Singer) by song’s end. Thayer wielded off a circa five-minute guitar solo, while Singer followed with an approximate five-minute solo on the drums. The two would then combine for a circa 10-minute guitar and drum session – a spot where the show’s energy appeared to suffer. Concertgoers seemed restless after about 15 minutes of speechlessness, beginning to go on their cellphones, talk to each other, leave for beer, etc.

However, the band recovered as soon as Stanley got back on the mic. Stanley worked the crowd well all night, as did Simmons in a lesser role, and the energy of the show stayed at a high level from then on out.

Songs such as “I Like it Loud,” “Love Gun” and “God of Thunder” seemed to be crowd favorites and Simmons’ signature spitting of the blood – which he performed under a full moon, right at midnight – was a performance highlight.

KISS ended their set at about 12:20 a.m. with “Detroit Rock City,” casting Singer’s entire drumkit into the air –with him still playing on it. The band then stopped playing for a brief moment, held their positions for dramatic effect, and then kicked back in for a couple musical punches before exiting the stage.

It was obvious the band would come back onstage for an encore, having not played ‘Rock and Roll All Nite,” but the length of the encore was a bit surprising – about 20 minutes.

For the first song, Singer came off the drumset to sing “Beth,” but as soon as the song ended, Stanley got back on the mic and said something along the likes of not wanting to end the night soft. He then began an A cappella sing-a-long chant to “Makin’ Love,” which the crowd ate up and gave full participation. The song eventually kicked in with the full band.

“Shout it Out Loud” was another sing-a-long smash before “Rock and Roll Nite” served as the band’s grand finale with confetti and swirling pyrotechnics, while Simmons, Thayer and Singer were all hoisted about 30 feet in the air on movable floors with their instruments.

The band ended with a bang, literally and not, before taking a bow and exiting the stage for the second time of the night. The big tron then read, “KISS loves Rock USA.”

As a whole, fans seemed satisfied with the performance and from a theatrical aspect, KISS did exactly what KISS always does: Simmons spits blood, band members are hoisted high into the air, confetti blows into the crowd, etc. However, when combined with solid music production, the novelty becomes more charming.

Musically, KISS’s harmonies were spot on, instrumental solos were well crafted and vocals easy to hear. KISS’s sound is so full – and loud – that it’s hard to believe there are just four people performing. Perhaps the dozens and dozens of woofers onstage help out with that.

As for the set list, a KISS tribute band probably would’ve played more hits – sorry Guitar Hero fans, no “Strutter” tonight – and it sometimes hurt that the crowd seemed unfamiliar with songs from “Sonic Boom.”

Overall, the theatrical elements were in place and exciting, the music was well performed and the mic work, as far as engaging the crowd, was arguably the peak at Rock USA.

At the end of the day, it’s supposed to be a rock “show,” and that’s exactly what KISS put on.

KISS ROCKS NEWFOUNDLAND!

Iconic rockers KISS played for a packed-solid crowd, with special guests Smash Mouth, Down With Webster, The Orchestra (featuring original members of ELO), and Fefe Dobson. Gene Simmons tweeted “The KISS conquest of Planet Earth… Here in Grand Falls-Windsor… population 15,000… concert attendance 25,000.” It was truly a monumental, unforgettable event.

The weather was sunny and gorgeous all day, right up ’til KISS took the stage… and then, as if on cue, the heavens opened up and the rain came down. And nobody cared, because not even nature can compete with the sheer energy and fire power of KISS. An almost electric “we’re all in this together” vibe coursed through everybody there, as we shook off the rain and partied on the grass while KISS blasted through hits including “Rock & Roll All Nite,” “Strutter,” “Cold Gin,” Shout It Out Loud,” and “Detroit Rock City.” There were explosions. There were huge columns of fire. There was spitting of blood. It was bombastic rock ‘n roll at it’s finest.

Paul Stanley declared onstage, “Tonight, I’m a Newfie!” (He also pronounces “Newfoundland” the correct way.) The whole band showed much love and appreciation for the audience, whose spirits could not be dampened by rain, and we loved KISS right back. As the show ended, Paul promised “We will see you again!”

KISS, at the Salmon Festival Mega Concert in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, was proudly presented by NTV, The Newfoundland Herald, and the Rock of the Rock, Newfoundland’s OZFM!

VIDEO FROM BUSHKILL CONCERT

KISS SOAR OVER NEW HAMPSHIRE

The band is taking a break from recording their next studio album to play a relatively brief series of concerts in smaller towns, the kind of places they haven’t played in several years, in what they’re dubbing the “Lost Cities” tour.

Their full arsenal of ramps, lights and flying rigs won’t fit in these venues, so the band had to rely a bit more on their music to entertain the crowd. Accordingly, Paul Stanley and company chose an 18-song set list heavy on classic rockers from their ’70s heyday, which they performed in a faithful, muscular and energetic manner.

Many fans criticize Stanley and co-founder Gene Simmons for hiring Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer to wear the makeup made famous by original guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss while filling their roles in the band.

But, it was pretty clear from the 2000 farewell tour that the original lineup’s chemistry was no longer intact. The energy and precision the new guys bring to the table seems to have re-invigorated the old guard, especially Stanley, who’s added a bit more of a knowing wink to his delivery of wonderfully adolescent songs like ‘Love Gun.’

A couple of recently absent Kiss classics made their return to the show for this tour, with Simmons once again spitting up blood before the Godzilla-like crawl of ‘God of Thunder,’ and the band’s oft-hidden Beatles love shining through in the surprisingly melodic instrumental coda of ‘Do You Love Me?’

The show proved that the music is, jokes aside, the most important factor in Kiss’ nearly forty-year career. That said, when we say it was a stripped-down show, of course that’s a relative term. The band still soared above the crowd on big hydraulic lifts, and set off more fireworks than my hometown did on the 4th of July. At one point Singer even blew up part of the stage with a bazooka.

In short, even at a small town show, Kiss delivered big for their audience.

SHOUT IT OUT LOUD & ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE

FAN-FILMED CLIPS FROM MANCHESTER SHOW

Simmons To Keynote Entertainment Summit

"We couldn't be more excited to have international entertainment legend and serial entrepreneur Gene Simmons to keynote the L.A. Mobile Entertainment Summit," said John Golicz, CEO of Unicomm. "Gene is definitely in a league of his own when it comes to creating, marketing and monetizing an international entertainment brand globally."

The rocker has branched out into licensing and new media, and recently signed on as business partner and spokesperson for Intertainment Media's Ortsbo worldwide translation platform for social media. He and his family are in production on the seventh season of A&E's "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," in addition to his activities in merchandising, movies, publishing, TV and music.

The Mobile Entertainment Summit will cover the intersection of original content, mobile platforms and digital assets across the rapidly growing mobile entertainment business, with studios, startups, brands and manufacturers participating.

KISS ROCKS SALMON FESTIVAL CROWD

After opening acts Fefe Dobson, The Orchestra, Down With Webster and Smashmouth played under sunny skies, clouds moved in as if on cue, but the crowd’s enthusiasm shone through.

The headliners, known for their outlandish makeup and costumes and spectacular pyrotechnics, performed many of their hits, including “Shout It Out Loud,” “Detroit Rock City,” and “Beth”.

Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Al Hawkins said the event was huge for the town.

“Grand Falls-Windsor is a concert centre,” he said. “We are pretty happy. When you look at the amount of money people will leave in the town, we are happy.”

Simmons’ partner, Newfoundland-born Shannon Tweed, with whom he stars in their reality television show, “Gene Simmons Family Jewels”, accompanied him to the event.

While official numbers are not yet known, estimates put the crowd in excess of 20,000. Visitors to the town more than doubled its population overnight, and hotel rooms in the central Newfoundland region have been sold out since the event was announced several months ago.

Police reported no major incidents as of the end of the concert, either at the Centennial Field venue or in Grand Falls-Windsor itself, however overwhelming demand for product in the beer garden at one point in the evening required intervention by security staff and RCMP.

More major acts are expected for Salmon Festivals in the coming years, as the town council in Grand Falls-Windsor recently signed a five-year contract with Moncton-based SRO Entertainment to co-ordinate the event.

KISS and tell

For someone who has spent most of his 38-year musical career covered in a demon costume and Kabuki makeup, Gene Simmons is exposing his innermost self an awful lot these days.

Not only is Simmons, the bassist for the rock group KISS, starring in a reality TV show chronicling his struggling relationship with longtime live-in Shannon Tweed and his coming to terms of the death of his father, but KISS is working on what will be its second studio album in two years, after an 11-year recording hiatus.

And after completing a 2 1/2-year world tour just last year, KISS is back out on a summer jaunt that brings it to Mountain Laurel Performing Arts Center in Bushkill on July 13. The band kicks off a summer concert season for the venue that has been dormant for four years.

So why is rock's God of Thunder suddenly putting himself out there in so many ways?

"Why do it? Why do anything?" Simmons, now approaching 61, says in a telephone call from the road. "I mean, if you have enough money and enough anything, what are you going to do? Just sit on your thumb and wait to die?"

Perhaps the most surprising of Simmons' activities this summer is the sixth season of "Family Jewels," the A&E Networkl reality show that stars Simmons, Tweed and their children, Nick and Sophie.

The season premiered last month with an episode in which Tweed, after seeing a photo of the famously womanizing Simmons with two women on his arms, becomes fed up and leaves him. In later episodes (six of the eight have now aired), they reconcile and go through counseling.

Simmons swears the story wasn't created or enhanced for television— despite the fact that, with the added promotion of Tweed angrily walking out of an interview on CNN's "Joy Behar Show," it had one of its largest viewing audiences.

"Yeah, I don't care," Simmons says. "I mean, that's fine, but if you're gonna ruin your life to get ratings, that's not a good idea. I don't care about that."

He says his relationship with Tweed remains "touch and go."

"What happens when you cut yourself and it bleeds? Does it heal right away, or does it sometimes get infected and get worse?" Simmons says.

"Women are basically living with Jekyll and Hyde when it comes to men. Men are always on their best behavior for women, and they don't really get to see what's under the skin. 'Cause what's under the skin is testosterone. And the tendency of guys is to do all kinds of stuff that [ticks] off women. And so when they really peel off the outer skin of the snake, they get the snake. And that's not easy to take."

Asked how, now that he's back on tour, he deals with women approaching him sexually (Simmons has often claimed he's had sex with 5,000 women), he replies with a sign, "I try to be a good boy."

"It ain't easy," he says. "How about if you're on a strict diet, no sugar, no carbs, and every time you go to sleep, you go to sleep in a bakery? And you smell the cinnamon and the sugar and the chocolate – you smell it; it's all around you. Yeah – it's really tough. You're not even going out to clubs looking for it. It knocks on your door and scratches outside your door throughout the night."

The reality show this season also showed Simmons break down into tears at the grave of his father, whom Simmons hadn't seen since he left the family 54 years ago, when Simmons was a boy.

"It was actually good for me because, you know, guys aren't introspective," Simmons says of the episode. "You know, we get up, we're hungry, we eat. You don't really confront issues that are still with you. I mean, my father ran out on us when I was about 7 and I never looked back – never went back to Israel or anything. … But that doesn't mean it's not in there and it was good to confront that."

Easier these days is confronting work with KISS, Simmons says.

The band went through an unsettled decade that saw its fortunes wane. In 1997, Simmons and group co-founder/vocalist Paul Stanley reunited with original guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss and had a successful reunion tour. But then Frehley and Criss left again.

The current lineup that includes drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer has now been together seven years — the longest continuous lineup of KISS ever.

In 2009 KISS released "Sonic Boom," which gave the band its highest-charting disc ever (No. 2 on Billboard).

KISSing up to Gene Simmons: The demon discusses his relationships and his band

Not only is Simmons, the bassist for the rock group KISS, starring in a reality TV show chronicling his struggling relationship with longtime live-in Shannon Tweed and his coming to terms of the death of his father, but KISS is working on what will be its second studio album in two years, after an 11-year recording hiatus.

And after completing a 2 1/2-year world tour just last year, KISS is back out on a summer jaunt that brings it to Mountain Laurel Performing Arts Center in Bushkill on July 13.

So why is rock’s God of Thunder suddenly putting himself so transparently out there in so many ways?

In a recent telephone interview from Prince George, Canada, on a stop in a tour that brings KISS to the Mountain Laurel Performing Arts Center in Bushkill on Wednesday, Simmons spoke about the suddenly open aspects of his life and the future of his band.

Here’s a transcript of the call:

LEHIGH VALLY MUSIC: I want to talk a lot about KISS, but I have to tell you I saw the episode of your reality TV show ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’ in which you visited your father’s grave, and I have to tell you it was really compelling. It was very emotional stuff and I wondered how you felt about it being on TV?

GENE SIMMONS: “It was actually good for me because, you know, guys aren’t introspective. You know, we get up, we’re hungry, we eat. You don’t really confront issues that are still with you. I mean, my father ran out on us when I was about 7 and I never looked back – never went back to Israel or anything. Just do the stuff you do, get up, eat, sleep, do all that stuff. But that doesn’t mean it’s not in there and it was good to confront that.”

And the fact that it was shown to the world?

“Oh, I don’t care.”

[Laughs] OK. And since we’re on the personal subjects, I’ve got to ask you about your relationship with your longtime companion Shannon Tweed and where that stands these days. [The show has chronicled how Tweed, after seeing a photo of the famously womanizing Simmons with two women on his arms, becomes fed up and leaves him. In later episodes (six of the eight have now aired), they reconcile and go through counseling.]

“You know, it’s touch and go.”

Is it really? That wasn’t enhanced for TV?

“No. What happens when you cut yourself and it bleeds? Does it heal right away, or does it sometimes get infected and gets worse.”

But there’s been some time lapse since that was filmed. Are things getting better.

“That’s right, that’s right. Women are basically living with Jekyll and Hyde when it comes to men. Men are always on their best behavior for women, and they don’t really get to see what’s under the skin. ‘Cause what’s under the skin is testosterone.”

[Laughs]

“Yeah, and the tendency of guys is to do all kinds of stuff that [ticks] off women. And so when they really peel off the outer skin of the snake, they get the snake. And that’s not easy to take.”

Yeah, understandable. Well, you’re on tour again. How do you deal with women approaching you the way they do?

“[Sighs] I try to be a good boy. It ain’t easy. How about if you’re on a strict diet, no sugar, no carbs, and every time you go to sleep, you go to sleep in a bakery? And you smell the cinnamon and the sugar and the chocolate – you smell it; it’s all around you.”

[Laughs]

“ Yeah – it’s really tough. You’re not even going out to clubs looking for it. It knocks on your door and scratches outside your door throughout the night.”

The situation with you relationship didn’t hurt the ratings for the television show. It got 2 million people on its first episode this season.

“Yeah, I don’t care. I mean, that’s fine, but if you’re gonna ruin your life to get ratings, that’s not a good idea. I don’t care about that.”

So let me talk a little bit about KISS then. You’re back out on tour – 18 shows.

“A lengthy tour was 2 1/2 years, which we did a year ago.”

But why tour at all at this point? First of all, you don’t have a new album out – yet. But secondly …

“We promised we would do these shows. Something happened on the last 2 1/2-year go-around. We went around the world twice and we skipped these cities. Some of the cities I’ve never even heard of .. Prince George, Abbotsford (Canada), places like that. Where are we playing with you guys?”

It’s Bushkill, Pennsylvania. It’s a tiny little place, but we’ve got a fairly new Mountain Laurel Arts Center there.

“But I have a feeling we haven’t been there – or haven’t been there in a long, long time.”

No, you have not been there. You’re going to be the first concert for its reopening after being closed four years.

“And that’s the answer. But why do it? Why do anything? I mean, if you have enough money and enough anything, what are you going to do? Just sit on your thumb and wait to die?”

Tell me about the stage show. Anything different to look forward to?

“Yes – what you have to look forward to is KISS. And if that doesn’t say it all. I mean, we’re the ones who changed the live concert experience, period. So whether you see Gaga or McCartney or anybody else live, and they’re using pyro and effects, where do you think that comes from – The Oak Ridge Boys?”

[Laughs] I totally agree with you there – you’re 100 percent correct. KISS basically changed the paradigm of concerts.

“Absolutely. Basically we strapped out boot heels down — our platform boot heels down — and said, ‘You paid a lot of money for this concert, you deserve more than me sitting with an acoustic guitar on a Persian carpet and lighting incense.”

Recorded music now – what’s the status of the new album? Where are you at?

“We’re halfway through, we have about eight songs done – very exciting. Real meat-and-potatoes rock album, no ballads, no outside writers. And we should be done with that end of August.”

And released shortly after that, or wait?

“When release dates have to do with timing, when we decide to go back out on tour and all that. So we’ll figure all that out.”

I got to say, the time in which this album is being developed comes very quickly – in KISS terms – after “Sonic Boom.”

“Not really, because when we first started making records a million years ago, we recorded two albums a year.”

Right, but in latter years, there’s been …

“Well, in later years the marketplace changed. And the market dictated that you couldn’t release too many records at the same time cause it took too long to distribute them. The marketplace got bigger, you know, all that stuff.”

But is there a creative element to it, too? Is creativity back for you guys?

“Yeah, the creative element, it says, basically, ‘Shut up, turn off the TV and sit down and work. The idea that you’re sitting around waiting for inspiration to hit you is the lazy man’s way out. You know, people who write books do it like a 9-to-5. They get in front of their computer of their typewriter, whatever they use, and they sit there – put in the time. If nothing happens, that’s fine, but don’t do something else.”

The compilation album “KISSology 4” is about to come out, too.

“That’s right. We’re almost done with that. And we have a 50-pound – 52-pound – hardcover book that’s coming, as well. Like an art book. All kinds of other stuff. There’s going to be a KISS TV show for kids that’s going to be on The HUB. KISS at Archie and IDW, two different comic book companies, are going to be bringing out two different sets of comic books at the same time. The KISS golf course is opening in Las Vegas. You know, more stuff than you can imagine.”

And, I see, two weeks after you guys play Pennsylvania, you’re going to be doing a full-family stage show.

“That’s right. I do speaking engagements, usually for corporate entities and entrepreneurs, and there’s a lot of demand to meet Shannon, Nick and Sophie. So we’re going to be doing at least one big event over two weekends up in Vancouver.”

Speaking of Nick and Sophie, I got to tell you that – on your TV show I see it, but I also read a quote by you – basically you said that the secret of good parenting it to not give kids the option to be bad, and I 100 percent agree with you.

“Well, you can’t negotiate with kids. It’s just, ‘These are the rules – that’s it.’ Approach it the way Mother Nature does. Mother Nature basically looks at babies and says, ‘Look, I know you’re an amoeba and you don’t know anything, but if you put your hand in this fire, I’m still going to burn the s—t out of your hand. ‘But I’m a baby, I didn’t know.’ Oh well, tough. Now you do.”

And from every appearance, you’ve got two very great kids. You did a great job.

“Because they’re not allowed not to be. Their only job is to do well in school and be charming. That’s it.”

Congratulations. Last time we talked, I asked you about whether you see physical limitations slowing you down at all.

“No, not really. I’m in really good shape. We work hard. You know, it would be easier to be in The Stones, respectfully. Or U2 – both very successful bands – ‘cause all you have to do is strum your guitar. Try to be on 8-inch platform heels for two hours and fly through the air and spit fire and do all that stuff. It’s physically exhausting.”

I have no doubt it is. The companion question is that you seem to be speeding up – adding things, doing more things than ever, rather than slowing down.

“That’s what you should do in a race. Life is a marathon. Cruise, and then as you see the finish line, speed up. You don’t want to slow down.”

Autographed Gene Simmons guitar will keep giving

But buyer Bill Knight, of B&B Demolition, hopes it will eventually raise $100,000.

"I plan to give it to a charity that will auction it for a good price," he says. "I hope the buyer will enjoy it for a while and then pass it on to another charity.

"I'd like to think that after a number of changes of hands, the guitar might generate in the region of $100,000."

The guitar was acquired by Global TV's Gord Steinke and helped carry the total of funds raised at the Royal Glenora Club event to some $54,000.

The night was a wrap-up party for our Le Tour of Hope cyclists who pedalled back from Penticton in support of KWC. This year's campaign has generated some $460,000 to date.

"It's an incredible sum," says the KWC's Val Figliuzzi. "We set a goal of $225,000."

Flying high on the ground

Bill Knight also bought a dinner in Teresa Spinelli's south-side Italian Centre store with Bob Walker, KWC board chair, for $3,000. Then he rounded out the night by purchasing a party for 30 at Yianni Psalios's Koutouki restaurant for $4,000.

Bob Maclean, a keen pilot and cyclist, bought for $5,000 the opportunity to fly a WestJet Boeing 737 simulator. Bin 104 wine store owner Bill Tanasichuk will dine with friends at the Kids With Cancer House after spending $3,100. An autographed Lance Armstrong cycling jersey, with coaching classes from Alex Stieda, sold to Gary Fortier for $1,500.

Auctioneer Mark Scholz also sold a scenic trip over the Rockies for $3,000. But there was a paper mix up and we don't know who the lucky bidder was. Please e-mail me.

Big thanks to New Asian Village restaurateur Harmeet Kapur for laying on a feast.

For the third year in a row, Era Rowles and company donated an interesting array of original artwork and helped push the silent auction to $5,555. There were more Pinot Noir wines than most could sample in a single evening, but an offbeat new item was Jo-Ann Yewchuk's cupcake bar featuring Pinot Noir and strawberry toppings.

A pool full of laughs

They say the laughs out of the RGC's $6-million pool could be heard across the river at the U of A when Nick Danger's Water Babes synchro swim team walked out to take on the Nova Synchro team.

I was totally embarrassed when, after telling my squad that we'd have some fun, they totally overdid it.

David Martin, RGC assistant general manger, insisted in swimming in a full tuxedo. Ironman triathletes Cam MacKenzie donned a rearpointed cycling time-trial helmet and Farrell Shadlyn wore his lawyer gown.

Nova athletes, all aged eight to 16, were Ruth Maidens, Kristina Pappas, Morganne Stubbs, Naomi Grenke, Leah Magnan, Sarah Tostowaryk, Camryn Bergum, Abigail Grenke, Anna Embury and Aisling Elia-Kelly. Their split-second timing, and ability to disappear under the water, was superb.

But the judges, Nicola Crosbie, Lesley MacDonald, Gord Steinke and Rob Christie praised our team members for introducing strokes and unnatural moves the world had never seen before. The event was tied. But I'm afraid some of my team members let us down badly in a relay race to decide the winner.

Raj Sherman got about halfway down the pool before losing direction and swimming at a 45-degree angle into the side of the pool.

Former Edmonton Police Service superintendent Chris Braiden, who hadn't been in a pool for 35 years, made a comeback. But it wasn't very good. Nevertheless, it was better than most of my team could manage.

KISS 'changed the live concert experience,' Gene Simmons says

“What you have to look forward to is KISS,” Simmons said in a recent telephone interview. ”And if that doesn’t say it all. I mean, we’re the ones who changed the live concert experience, period.”

There’s little argument that, with the emergence of KISS in the mid 1970s, concerts expanded from exclusively musical to a show experience. With its members wearing painted faces and costumes, fire breathing and shooting, Simmons spitting blood and more, KISS clearly changed the concert paradigm.

“Absolutely,” Simmons says. “Basically we strapped our boot heels down — our platform boot heels down — and said, ‘You paid a lot of money for this concert, you deserve more than me sitting with an acoustic guitar on a Persian carpet and lighting incense.’

“ So whether you see Gaga or McCartney or anybody else live, and they’re using pyro and effects, where do you think that comes from – The Oak Ridge Boys?”

Simmons promises a similar experience when KISS hits the stage at Mountain Laurel.

Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer discusses new album, replacing Ace Frehley and inaugural Kiss Kruise

"I've been so much involved with Kiss and (singer/guitarist) Paul (Stanley) and (singer/bassist) Gene (Simmons) so many years, we're talking 25 years, there's a repertoire there already. For me to start as the new lead guitarist was actually a kind of natural, easy transition because we knew each other so well," Thayer says over the phone. "It wasn't like there was a learning curve there."

Before replacing founding member Ace Frehley as the band's lead guitarist in 2002, Thayer co-wrote two songs for Kiss' 1989 studio album, "Hot in the Shade." He continued to work with the band behind-the-scenes until getting the go ahead to don the Spaceman regalia after Frehley's departure, although the decision was met with backlash by some longtime Kiss fans.

But Thayer isn't concerned with criticism. He says he's just doing his best to make the Spaceman character his own.

"The biggest step was replacing one of the great guitar players of our time who has influenced so many people. Those are big shoes to fill," Thayer says. "The biggest challenge walking into that situation and succeeding was that good things take time. Getting in there and trying to fill the role he played and play the parts as well or even try and do it better ... it slowly becomes a little more me and just being the Spaceman, it's been quite a process. There have been so many amazing fans who have been so supportive and honest about letting me know I'm doing a great job and to keep it up."

Kiss is currently on the final leg of their "Hottest Show on Earth Tour," before they return to the studio to complete their follow-up to 2009's "Sonic Boom." The group performs Wednesday night at Mountain Laurel Pocono Performing Arts Center in Bushkill, Pa.

"The band is good. The last several years, the last two or three years, we've been on fire out there," Thayer says.

Thayer says the songs on the next album, which he says should be in stores by early 2012, will be "more riff-oriented" and will be slightly heavier than those on "Sonic Boom."

"It's going phenomenally," Thayer says of the recording process. "We've been in the studio for several weeks. We've cut eight songs already. I've heard Paul and Gene. This is definitely some of the best stuff Kiss has ever recorded."

Thayer says recording the new album, officially his second as a member of the band, has allowed him to branch out and put his own spin on the vintage Kiss sound.

"The idea was to create a classic Kiss record going back to the roots of the early records and really try and capture that vibe. I think we did and then some," Thayer says of "Sonic Boom." "I slowly wanted to put a little Tommy Thayer in there. I think on this record, we're taking it to the next step."

He adds, "We're spending a lot of time making sure it sounds like a great Kiss record."

In addition to a new album and a fourth "KISSology" DVD set ("It's going to be an amazing package. It's hefty," Thayer says of the collection), Kiss is gearing up for its inaugural Kiss Kruise, which will set sail in October. The cruise will feature a full-blown Kiss performance, Thayer says, as well as acoustic renditions of the band's biggest hits.

"The battle plan is exactly the same: pummel and deafen and blow it up," Thayer says, with a laugh. "We're not going to sink the ship, but we're going to do some devastation ... This will be a great and very unique experience for the consummate KISS fan."

Thayer, who played the role of Spaceman in the Kiss tribute band Cold Gin before meeting Simmons and Stanley in the late 1980s, says it's still surreal to play the part on stage with his heroes.

"It was kind of an out of body experience," says of his first show with the band, a private performance in Jamaica. "It's something I might have dreamed about, you almost have to pinch yourself remind to you that it's really happening. The enormity of a band like Kiss, to be suddenly in that position, is a once in a lifetime (opportunity). I never imagined it would have happened, especially to someone like me, who grew up a fan of theirs ... it's an unbelievable experience."

KISS DRUM HEAD IN TORNADO RELIEF AUCTION

The Birmingham Barons are holding an online auction benefiting tornado victims. Fans can bid on various autographed memorabilia and collectibles as 100% of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Tornado Relief Fund.

KISS donated an authentic KISS BASS Drum Head to the auction. The Drum Head is autographed by Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer, and Gene Simmons.

CLICK HERE to bid on the KISS Bass Drum Head, and other collectibles.

Frontman Paul Stanley chats about tour, iconic band image

KISS never soared to the top of music charts — it only had two songs, “Beth” and “Forever,” reach the top 10 in the U.S. singles chart. But the band made the most of its legendary stage show, and the Starchild, Demon, Spaceman and Catman, also known as Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, respectively, will bring that show to the Verizon Wireless Arena on Tuesday, July 12.

“We built our reputation as a live animal,” Stanley said during a phone interview while he was at a tour stop in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. “The beast is prowling and ready to pounce.”

The band’s lineup has shifted considerably since it was founded by Stanley and Simmons, who began as the group Wicked Lester in New York City in 1971. Stanley and Simmons have been the band’s only constant members.

According to the band’s biography on its website at kissonline.com, Stanley and Simmons saw an ad posted by drummer Peter Criss saying he’d be willing to do anything to be in a rock band. The three got together in late 1972 and then auditioned guitarist Ace Frehley. In January 1973, the band dropped the name Wicked Lester in favor of KISS, with Stanley coining the name and Frehley coming up with the band’s famous logo.

The band also played its first show that month at a nightclub called Popcorn, in Queens, N.Y.

Thirteen months later, the band’s eponymous debut album was released. It was the first of almost 40 records the prolific band released.

Despite lackluster sales of the band’s first few albums, KISS enjoyed successful tours as the group’s reputation for putting on exciting live shows featuring deafening music and fireballs — including one that burned Simmons’ hair — led to larger concerts and increased ticket sales.

And Stanley said the Manchester show would be no different.

“There will be lots of bombs and lots of bombast,” he said. “I can’t imagine that anybody is going to be disappointed.”

In 1976, KISS released “Destroyer,” the band’s most successful studio album.

He said the band enjoys playing its biggest hits and never believed it should only play its new or obscure works.

“We can’t disappoint fans and not play” big hits, such as “Shout It Out Loud,” “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Calling Doctor Love,” Stanley said. “As a band, we can’t always concern ourselves by pleasing only our diehard, hardcore fans. Some songs are obscure for a reason.”

KISS’s original band members, who enjoyed the band’s most successful run of album sales and concerts during the 1970s, stayed together until 1980, when Criss left the band and was replaced by drummer Eric Carr.

In 1982, Frehley left the band to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Vinnie Vincent, who was a member of the band when it “shocked the world” by appearing without makeup in 1983. Vincent lasted just two years before being replaced by Bruce Kulick in 1984. Seven years later, Carr died of cancer and was replaced by Singer.

In 1996, the band’s four original members reunited for a tour donning full costumes and makeup for the first time in 13 years.

Stanley said the band’s reunion was the perfect time for it to resurrect its iconic images.

“You can go anywhere in the world, show someone a picture of us and they know it’s KISS, even if they don’t know our music,” he said. “KISS is too recognizable and we’ve spent too much time building what we have to start messing with these iconic images.”

That doesn’t mean band members don’t have their own projects. Simmons tried his hand at acting, notably as the lead villain in two films: “Runaway” opposite Tom Selleck and “Wanted: Dead or Alive” opposite Rutger Hauer.

He also stars in an A&E reality TV show with Shannon Tweed and their children called “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels.”

Stanley, for his part, has become a successful artist, and unveiled his paintings at a show in 2006 to positive reviews.

His original works sell for as high as $70,000, according to a review at musicradar.com.

“I have to say that I’m pretty stunned by the embracing of the work,” he said of his art.

Since the original lineup got back together, Criss and Frehley again left the band and were replaced by Singer and Thayer.

The lineup has stayed the same since 2004 and the band has kept on rocking.

Indeed, even with Stanley at age 59 and Simmons at 61, the band continues to sell out large venues holding 10,000 fans or more.

“This juggernaut continues at full speed,” Stanley said. “There’s no end in sight, nor should there be.”

Tickets to the Queen City show, to be opened by The Envy and Bad City, range from $31.50 to $79.50.

For more information, log onto ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000.

BAYFEST: FESTIVAL KICKS OFF WITH A BANG

Die-hard fans like Chris Buscema were in line since Tuesday evening for a chance to watch his all-time favourite band.

"I'm so pumped for tonight," said the 20-year-old Sarnia resident, who brought an authentic Gene Simmons Axe bass guitar with him, in hopes that "The Demon" himself will sign it.

Buscema scored a coveted backstage VIP Meet & Greet pass thanks to Bayfest organizers and his performance at The Observer's Superfan contest.

Meanwhile, the official tour bus for Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, the rocker's popular television show, arrived backstage shortly before the gates opened.

Sixteen-year-old Brian Maxwell, of Collingwood, bought $195 worth of KISS merchandise before the show to add to his bedroom shrine. He says his homage to the band contains more than $1,000 worth of band memorabilia.

"They're not just a band, they're superheros," he said.

The KISS Army was in full force as hundreds of the more than 15,000 at the park turned out with faces painted or dressed up like the flamboyant rockers.

KISS' popularity hasn't waned since the iconic band formed in New York City in 1973, led by original members Paul Stanley and Simmons.

Fans continue to flock to their shows, which are fueled by large amounts of pyrotechnics, flaming guitars and Simmons' signature fire breathing and blood-spitting.

Each band member puts on his own face makeup, which takes close to an hour.

Their headline show opening Bayfest marked their second visit to the Sarnia festival in three years.

Bayfest organizer Michele Stokley said the massive 5,700-square-foot stage required extra trussing to accommodate the band's thunderous show.

Even as Gene Simmons "Family Jewels" motor coach rolled, Bayfest security and backstage workers stopped to snap pics on their cameras and cell phones.

The waterfront festival, which began with in 1999 with more humble beginnings, has grown into one of Ontario's feature tourism events.

This year's Bayfest is expected to draw close to 100,000 people over the course of the seven-day music extravaganza, drawing fans from across the globe, including Tennessee, South America and across Canada.

For those wondering how the band kicked back before heading on stage, they sipped on coconut water and dined on seared salmon and steamed vegetables.

They also requested four copies of The Observer to read featuring stories on lead guitarist Tommy Thayer and the band's backstage wish list.

KISS ARMY MARCHES TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER

"Everybody thinks I'm crazy," said the 16-year-old, who was decked out in Gene Simmons-esque 'Demon' makeup Wednesday.

Maxwell was among the first in line to see the iconic rockers take the stage opening night at Sarnia's Bayfest music festival.

"They're not just a band, they're superheroes," said Maxwell, shortly after buying another $195 worth of KISS swag — a shirt, sweater, signed photo, signed drumsticks, poster and a bandana to add to his collection.

"I think there's maybe about 200 KISS logos in my room," he said.

Many of the more than 15,000-member KISS Army that poured into Centennial Park sported makeup and other regalia in homage to the band.

Some arrived in the complete KISS costume, complete with six-inch platform shoes.

"For us, it's a family thing," said Tom Snyder, who came to Sarnia from Attica, New York to see the show with his sons Hunter, 7, and Zak, 20.

"This is what we do and we just love it," he said.

Hunter, decked out as frontman Gene Simmons, said he loves the songs, the fireworks, the flames and everything about the band's stage show.

He's already been to five KISS concerts in his young life.

"I don't think there's any(thing) better, with my kids, you know," said Tom, who's been a fan since the early '70s.

"I've been to one concert by myself and it's just not the same."

The band — Simmons, lead vocalist Paul Stanley, lead guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — were making their second Bayfest performance after rocking a sold-out show in 2009.

"I just like their drums and I like Gene's guitar, the bass," said Snyder.

Arriving at the show from Niagara Falls was Gordon Taylor, with two sons, daughter, and a family friend. Taylor is a long-time fan who said he's seen shows in Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto, Kitchener, and Oshawa.

The family has a love affair with KISS, said Alexandra Taylor, 15.

"It started off with (my dad), then it wore off on us," she said.

There was no shortage of fans eager to show off their devotion.

Adam Taylor, 17, his brother Gavin, 19, and Michael Easson, 18, earned passes to meet and greet with the band backstage, courtesy of The Observer, after delivering a performance of KISS' Modern Day Delilah.

"It is the best day of my life right now," said Gavin, in a full 'Spaceman' costume.

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