KAOL II KISS Tribute News Update
From: Kathy Labonte
The deadline for KAOL 2 entries has long since come and gone. There were many great tracks submitted and I now have the final song lineup in the order in which they will appear.
1) Kissin' Time, 2) 100,000 Years, 3) Deuce, 4) Shout It Out Loud, 5) Jungle, 6) LoveGun, 7) Goin' Blind, 8) Parasite, 9) Rockin In The USA, 10) Hard Luck Woman, 11) Two Timer, 12) Detroit Rock City, 13) Larger Than Life, 14) Plaster Caster, 15) Christine 16, 16) Master & Slave, 17) Take Me, 18) Rip & Destroy, 19) I Cry at Night (featuring Eric Carr)
There will be no screensaver on Creatures of The Net as was originally planned. We have decided to incorporate that into the final KAOL 3 next year. Screensavers require a lot of room and that would mean not being able to fit as many songs on the CD as we would like. There were so many good entries that it was decided to forego the screensaver in favor of the music. There will, however, be 2 very cool commemorative vinyl back stickers inside and the actual CD booklet will be 2 extra pages longer than last time.
One more announcement: KAOL has just written it's first check to the Children's Hospital Of Wisconsin for $1000. We had hoped to be able to donate before Xmas and year's end, and we did. The presentation will take place next week sometime and we hope to have some pictures up on the website in the new year. Although the donation is a small one to start, it's nice to come full circle and actually have accomplished what we set out to do.
We plan on eventually being able to donate more than 10 times that much in sales, with the release of Creatures Of The Net soon. With all the opportunists jamming the web to make a buck, surely there must be room for an Internet project that is strictly for fun and charity.
If you haven't reserved your copy, you can order your CD now thru our website - http://members.aol.com/cldjhen
This really is a great KISS Tribute disc and your money is going to a wonderful cause of helping kids and keeping Eric's memory alive.
[For the latest in KAOL II Tribute News, check the KAOL II News page in the News Extra section]

Peter's Solo Albums to be Released!?
From: Steve
We have unconfirmed reports that Mercury Music Entertainment Japan have a plan to release "Out Of Control" and "Let Me Rock You" next year. It will be released at the same time or just after the release of the new KISS album. So, now is the time to step up our LET HIM ROCK US! petition and phone blitz on Polygram.
More details at the Peter Criss Cat Club:
http://www.crafti.com.au/~gerlach/crisclub.htm

December 12

KISS "Carnival of Souls" Japanese CD
From: Kevin Drinan
Today I picked up a Japanese copy of "Carnival of Souls". Unfortunately, the "Outromental" track does not appear on it, but there is some good news for those who have complained about the CD's minimal packaging. The Japanese version has a bonus 14 page insert inside the standard booklet. Its cover is a b&w photo of the band (the same one on the rear panel of the booklet), with Gene & Eric on the front, Paul & Bruce on the back. Inside, there is some text written in Japanese, then the full album lyrics in English and Japanese.
[For "Carnival of Souls" news, check the COS News page in the News Extra section]

KISS Matchbox Cars
From: Jason
You may already know this but the new Kiss matchbox cars are almost completed. I spoke with Playing Mantis, the company that is making them, and they said that the cars would ship the last week in January and be available in stores the first week in Febuary. Here is a look at the KISS Cars.
Gene KISS Car | Paul KISS Car | Ace KISS Car | Peter KISS Car

Gene & Shannon on VIBE
From: Jonathan Daniels
Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know that last night Gene was on the late night talk show VIBE. He was there because Shannon Tweed was there talking about her upcoming appearance in Playboy. The host, Sinbad, mentioned Gene and said he was in the audience. They showed Gene sitting in the audience with a black leather trench coat on and his hat (Man, he wears that same hat everywhere now). The hat was pulled down covering his eyes and he was smiling really big. Shannon mentioned that their kids go to the same school as Hugh Hefner's kids. Gene was also glimpsed earlier in the program when Sinbad was at a party at the Playboy mansion. They showed Gene walking in the front door with Shannon. Well, that's all. See ya.

KAOL II "Creatures of the Net" Update
From: Kathy Labonte
Well, Creatures of The Net is just about ready for pressing. It will be going to mastering in about a week and we are anticipating a late January/early Febuary release. There will be 2 special inserts inside relating to Eric Carr. I will be posting the final song lineup this weekend for everyone to see. I don't want to ram KAOL 2 down anyone's throat here, but I want to let you all know that there's only about 2 weeks left for you to pre-order at the special advance price, good thru the end of the year. After Dec. 31st, you can still pre-order, but it won't be at a discount. We've gotten a surprising number of orders in the last 3 weeks and I want to thank everyone who have been so quick in reserving their copy. If you are one of the ones who haven't yet, you can do so at the website.
[For Great KAOL II News Coverage, check the KAOL II News page in the News Extra Section]

Gene & Shannon on ET
From: Jon Atherton
Gene Simmons was on Entertainment Tonight last night (12-10-97). They were doing a piece on Shannon Tweed and the Playboy Anniversery Party. Shannon was giving E.T. a tour of the Playboy Mansion and they mentioned that she had attended the affair with long time boyfriend, Gene Simmons. They showed Shannon and Gene at the party. Gene was wearing his classic blue pin stripe suit and a white silk shirt. He had a goatee and his hair was pulled back in a pony tail.

"Jungle" On The Charts
From: Chris
Here's the latest:
December 12th R&R Charts- Jungle falls to #12 on the Active Rock Top 50 and #18 on the Rock Top 50.
December 13th Billboard Charts - Jungle remains at #12 on the Mainstream Rock Top 40.
COS dropped out of the Top 200 after spending only four weeks on the charts.

December 11

Guitar World Grooves on "Carnival of Souls"
From: Philip
The new Guitar World gave KISS' COS three and one half stars. They said it "is the best bunch of tunes kiss has released since their Seventies heyday"

December 10

Vote KISS!
From: Chris
You can all check out the latest results. There has been a big Kiss swing again because of a link to a pretty major Kiss Site [=) ]. Remember if you can email your favourite bands web sites then we can all make it much more even. If you are on any Mailing Lists, let them all know. The more the better. Anyway, here is the URL for the site so check it out.
http://www.ideal.net.au/~crowley/metalsurvey/

KISS Mention on Conan
From: destroyer96@geocities.com
Last night on Conan O'Brian, Conan was talking with guest Courteney Cox about a white tatoo she recently got. Courteney comented that you need to have some color to your skin in order to see white tattoos, and Conan said that he could be covered in white tatoos right now and no one would know it. He could even have Gene Simmon's make up tatooed on his face, and no one would be able to see it unless he held his head under a black light or something. I thought that was kinda cool.

December 9

Messege From Paul Stanley
From: Joop / KISS Kollector Online
Early December Paul informed me that no songs have been chosen yet for the upcoming album. He expects that the mixing of the album will take place in April/May. This and more of Paul's updates on the upcoming album and other projects can be read in the full color December issue of KISS Kollector, out in 2 weeks (none-members can ask for a sample issue by sending two International Reply Coupons to: KISS Kollector Fanclub; Herenweg 109; 1244 PZ Ankeveen; Holland).

KISS Sign on WCW
From: Don Venzina
Last night on WCW(world champion wrestling) Monday Nitro, some fan in the audience had a big sign that was viewed on the tv screen for a few moments. It was a excellent drawing of Gene's face, w/ tongue hanging out, and the words read, "NWO wants to Rock and Roll All Nite". Thought it was cool.

KISS Action Figure News
From: Michael Brandvold
Production NOT Discontinued: Last week on the AOL KISS board it was reported that "McFarlane Toys have announced this week (11/26) that the original Kiss figures will not be produced any longer." This is not the case! I talked to McFarlane todays and here's what I was told, "Just talked to Chet. He said that with KISS AF the retailers that are placing orders now are being told that they may or may not get their orders. They will continue manufacturing them until time to begin manufacturing the next line of KISS AF from the Psycho Circus line. At that time production will cease on the current line and will begin on the PC line."

Internet KISS Monthly Charts
From: Florian / KISS Asylum News Germany
Hello! Here are the results of the "KISS Album/Song poll December"
Albums:
1.(1) Destroyer
2.(2) Alive!
3.(3) Revenge
4.(4) Rock And Roll Over
5.(9) Alive II
Songs:
1.(1) Deuce
2.(2) Rock And Roll All Nite
3.(3) Black Diamond
-.(4) Detroit Rock City
5.(5) Shock Me
If you want to see detailed results go to KISS Deutschland:
http://kunden.swhamm.de/hedwig/kchart.htm There you will find all albums/songs of this poll. And you are welcome again to send me (HEDWIG@swhamm.de) your five fave songs/albums!

December 8

Fans Ask Andre Interview Coming Soon!
From: Elizabeth Sneed of The KISS Asylum
A few weeks ago we asked you to submit the questions YOU wanted KISS's Head of Security/Road Manager Andre Augustine to answer. We received a ton of great questions from as far away as Australia, Russia, and Singapore to present to Andre on your behalf, and we were recently able to complete the "Fans Ask Andre" interview!! Be on the lookout next Monday, December 15th to see what was on your fellow fans' minds and how Andre responded to your questions!

KISS Trivia Chat on Thursday!
From: The KISS Asylum
There will be a KISS Trivia Chat this Thursday, December 11th in the Live Chat room at 9pm EST. This has been one of the most well attended chats since we started doing it a few months ago. A lot of people really groove on it! Bob Rodrick (KISS Fact of The Week) hosts this chat. This chat is a nice place to come and have fun and learn more about KISS. I highly recommend everyone attend! =)

Great New Bruce Kulick Interview!!!
From: The UNION Asylum
Without question Bruce Kulick's number one fan is Michelle Gibson, "Kulicker" to all you AOLers!! Michelle has been a huge supporter of Bruce since his KISS days, and often helps him out with his table, merchandise, mailing list, etc. at the various KISS Expos he attends around the country. Well, Michelle was recently able to conduct a great phone interview with Bruce for the 495 website that will be available at that location in Real Audio (as well as transcribed) form shortly. Michelle has also been generous enough to give The UNION Asylum the "ok" to share the transcribed form of this great interview with all the Bruce & UNION fans!
The interview lasted over an hour, and Michelle and Bruce covered just about everything you could possibly want to know including: "Carnival of Souls," the latest goings on of Eric Singer, great details about UNION's new album, and Bruce & John's plans for promotional radio appearances and, later, a tour to support the impending February 24, 1998 UNION release!!

KISS Newsbit From MTV Online
From: MTVOnline
December 5 [10:00 EDT] -- Kiss management has confirmed that the band will be heading into the studio with Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn early in the new year to record a new album with the original Kiss line-up: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
Fellow production whiz (and fellow Canadian) Bob Ezrin will also be on hand to help with co-writing and arrangements. The band begins rehearsals and pre-production in Los Angeles in early January. They expect the record to be released in late spring or early summer.
A report in the Advertising Age magazine says the CD will be titled "Psycho Circus," like their recently launched comic book series. The moniker is also expected to inspire set the merchandising and staging themes. Early plans are said to include a pre-show carnival.
The Kiss reunion tour ended up as one of the top draws of the year and will again hit the road in 1998. Frehley told one fan that it was possible the band would be staging some sort of giant 4th of July concert, but brushed off Internet reports that it would be taking place in Roswell, New Mexico, the alleged UFO landing site.
Meanwhile, Frehley may have rejoined Kiss, but it hasn't stopped his profile as a solo artist. Frehley's Comet will be releasing "Loaded Deck," a greatest hits compilation album with six new tracks, January 20.
And former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick and former Motley Crue singer John Corabi, who like Kulick was turfed from his band when the original members regrouped, are calling their new project 'Union.' Also included are drummer Brent Fitz and bassist Jamie Hunter. Their as yet untitled album is due out February 24.

KISS Army Online: Fan Focus
From: The KISS Asylum
Just a reminder of the new Features here at the Asylum. This page is dedicated to the Online KISS fans. Currently we are looking for pictures of YOU in KISS Makeup! as well as pictures of YOUR KISS Tattoos! Click here to see how you can get involved!

"Carnival of Souls" Japanese Version
From: Michael Edwards
I just wanted to let everyone know that CD Universe has the Japanese version of "Carnival Of Souls" available for $16.95.  The total cost w/shipping & handling was $19.94, which is pretty cheap for a Japanese disc.  (I'm only ordering it because the Japanese discs usually sound better than U.S. discs, but I'm hoping the "Outromental" that was left off of the American release will be on there.  I'll let you know when the disc comes in!)  The address is www.cduniverse.com.

KISS Action Figure News for European Fans
From: Florian / KISS Asylum News Germany
Fantastic News for German/European KISS Fans. The McFarlane's KISS Action Figures are online available at Action Figures&Toys(German and English language): http://members.aol.com/actfigtoys/aft_spawn.html
The sets are available for 140,- DM but if you write in your order KISS Deutschland sent you, you will get them for only 135,- DM! I think this is fantastic news because I recieved a lot of e-mails asking where to buy the figures and I had always to answer: "Go to America!"

December 6

UNION News Update
From: Paula Hogan of Mayhem Records
UNION's debut album will be self-titled and will hit stores on FEBRUARY 24! The first single will be "Old Man Wise." The official radio add date for the single is February 2. In the weeks prior to the single shipping I will forward a list of email addresses and request lines for you. I'm sure you'll know what to do.
The Electric Village chat with Bruce and John was very successful. I am working on obtaining a log for those who could not attend. I will keep you posted as to where it will be posted. I am working on finalizing the January chat. This will be late month. Album packaging is being completed now. Yes lyrics will be included as well as lots of pictures of the band.

December 5

KISS Merchandise From Spencers
From: unmasked@concentric.net
All of the new KISS merchandise has finally hit Spencer Gifts just in time for KISSmas!!! Just in are the AWESOME KISS slippers, made to look just like Gene's boots. In my opinion they are the coolest and most original of all the new merchandise to come out. The silver coins are now in as well as factory sets of the Cornerstone KISS cards. The KISS wine is also now available, as well as pillows, hockey jerseys, and denim jackets. Look for the neon sign and figurines to be in by KISSmas! Items already available include: pool cues, wall banners, metal signs, action figures, puzzles, plates (large and small), baseballs, 3-D wall hangings, water balls, cd holders, ties, KISSmas ornaments, throw rugs, calendars, and mouse pads. From what I am told there will be no more new merchandise until after the new album because they want to concentrate on the album and not on approving merchandise! Also don't forget to enter the MERRY ROCKIN' KISSMAS contest to win a trip to California for a photo with KISS!

December 4

December 3

New OFFICIAL KISS Book In The Works!
From: Elizabeth Sneed (The KISS/UNION Asylum)
Spoke with Gerri Miller of "Metal Edge" briefly today via IM and she said that KISS is planning on doing "another big book a la KISSTORY, a toys and games bible, and they want fans to contribute." She said more details, including what they are looking for and how you can be involved, will be forthcoming in the very near future!!

Cornerstone cards SOLD OUT
From: Got2Chuz
Talked with Cornerstone this week and this is what they said:
Cornerstone has SOLD OUT of the 1st printing of the Series 1 Kiss cards. You can no longer order any of the various card sets. There will be a 2nd printing of Series 1 in a few months, but the boxes and foil-packs will change and there will be no solo member picture boxes. Also, the prices have increased considerably on all items. Cornerstone is just now shipping the Factory Sets and the uncut sheets should ship soon.

December 2

KISS Army Online: Fan Focus
From: The KISS Asylum
The KISS Asylum is proud to introduce a series of new Features here at the Asylum. This new page will be dedicated to the Online KISS fans. Currently we are looking for pictures of YOU in KISS Makeup! Click here to see how you can get involved!

The UNION Asylum
From: The UNION Asylum
The KISS Asylum has developed a new web page devoted entirely to Bruce Kulick and John Corabi's new band UNION. This page, The UNION Asylum, started out as a news page in The KISS Asylum's popular "News Extra" section, but quickly grew so large we decided to make it into a seperate UNION web page. If you are looking for the best and latest UNION news and reviews, this is the page to go to!!! There is currently a great, early review of some of the UNION demo recordings up on The UNION Asylum!! Just click over to http://kissasylum.com/union

Merry KISSmas:
Free Guitar Picks From Creative Communications
From: The KISS Asylum
Yes, that's right!!! Creative Communications wants to make sure you have a very Merry KISSmas, so they are introducing a special limited offer just in time for the holidays: FREE REUNION TOUR GUITAR PICKS!!!

Vote KISS!
From: robstar@webspan.net
You can vote KISS in the Metal Edge 1997 readers poll at the Metal Edge website. KISS dominated last year, let's make sure they do it again for 1997! Be sure to vote for Gene, Paul, Pete and Ace in their respective categories, and, vote "Carnival Of Souls" in as record of the year, and "Jungle" as best single.Remember, your vote counts!

KISS Tribute Band on Jenny Jones
From: Jim
Today on Jenny Jones Show she had the tribute band 'KISS ARMY' play. They played a little each time they went to a commercial break, and then at the end of the show they played a whole song, "Rock & Roll all Night". They looked and sounded good. The theme of the show was 'Outrageous Looks'. Pretty fitting music and band for that show dont you think?

December 1

UNION on Real Audio!
From: The UNION Asylum
You can hear two new UNION songs on Real Audio thanks to FriedAlive.com. Click here to go to thier Real Audio section and you can listen to "Old Man Wise" and "Let It Flow."

KISS Worldwide Tourbook From Metal Edge
From: Chris Cook
I just picked up the new KISS WORLD WIDE tour book by Metal Edge - it is awesome. This is no magazine! The book is made exactly like a tour book, heavy stock glossy pages from cover to cover. The photos in this book are awesome. I belive these are the same photos/pages as in the European tour book. I also belive it has the same text as the European tour book, though this one has 2 extra pages at the end. One of the new pages is an advertisment for the Metal Edge KISS Specials, and the other is an Official KISS Mechandise page. The tour book also comes with a GIANT double sided KISS poster/98 calendar. This poster/calendar is no cheap paper poster, it is the same heavy gloss paper that the rest of the book is printed on. One side is KISS live on stage and the other side is a 1998 calendar with a huge studio shot of KISS above it. The book is 40 pages cover to cover, not counting the 8 page size poster/calendar. This book is well,well,well worth the $9.99 I paid for it, so if you see it out there buy it - you won't be dissapointed. Metal Edge has hit yet another KISS home run.

Philly KISS Expo Review
From: Mark Stroming
Here are some of the things I'd thought I'd post regarding the Philly KISS Expo I went to on Sunday.

Music Survey
From: William Mcnew
Just checked out the standings in that "greatest metal/hard rock"survey. Here are the standings as of 11.29.97:
Group: Kiss #3, Frehley's Comet #71, Vinnie Vincent Invasion #153, Ace Frehley #222, Criss #264, WICKED LESTER #294
Album: Alive#5, Destroyer #9, AliveII #32, Revenge #40, Love Gun #43, Creatures of the Night #47, Rock 'n' Roll Over #50, Kiss #54, Alive III #98, Hotter than Hell #100, Dressed to Kill #121, Carnival of Souls #134, Dynasty #242, The Elder #253, Animalize #269, Asylum #271, Lick it Up #297, Unplugged #324, Hot in the Shade #365, Crazy Nights #466, Unmasked #630
Ace's albums: Trouble Walkin #412, 12 Picks #424, solo(kiss) #429
Vocalist: Paul Stanley #4, Gene Simmons #27, Ace Frehley #68
Guitarist: Ace Frehley #2, Bruce Kulick #27, Paul Stanley#82, Vinnie Vincent #86
Bassist: Gene Simmons #2
Drummer: Peter Criss #5, Eric Carr #9, Eric Singer #19
Songwriter/or team: Stanley/Simmons #2, Ace Frehley #50
Thought you might want to post these so the army can rally and kick van halen and metallica's ass. The Metal Survey is here.