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 All news should be considered an unconfirmed report unless verified, and all information published at KISS Asylum is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves. All information is confirmed where possible, and all publication is governed by common sense.
From: Get A Life Inc. Just back in Indy from last night's KISS show in Columbus. Like usual, not sure if I had more fun seeing KISS or reuniting with the "Get A Life Inc" family! The show was part of the Honda Family Fest for Honda employees and took place at the Nationwide Arena. Got to the the hotel around 7 and called Russ who was already backstage at the venue. Russ told me to go over to the arena before 8, that was when they were letting the crowd in. There were no assigned seats so first come, first serve and we were hoping to beat the crowd in and get good seats. My wife, Michelle and our 2 youngest children, Alyssa and Joshua headed across the street to the Arena. The vibe outside was crazy - I was not sure what to expect since you could not buy tickets, sure KISS fans would find a way in - they always do, but the majority of the audience was probably seeing KISS for the first time and they seemed to be ready for the experience! There were thousands there waiting for the doors to open so we headed for another entrance and luckily enough they let us in with our passes. There was no one in the venue itself but workers and security and we decided we were going to get our seats rather than head back stage. Just as we walked down the stairs to the floor, my second family entered from back stage - Get A Life, Inc was in the building! Mike Brandvold, Mike Naimoli, Warren Lapine, Al Soluri & Toni Ann, Kevin Gladden and back from the dead and about 100 lbs lighter, the baby of the family - Russ Dannecker (insert your own applause for Russ here)!!! Also some other good friends of ours were present, Ken, our friends from PaulStanleysparadise.com, Huggy Bear, Kristin, Hiro and the girls from Japan (I don't want to misspell their names! They're always so nice - thank you so much for the gifts!!). They all scouted out their seats - front row center and as tempting as it was, I decided to take the front row of the first section on Paul's side, so the little ones would be just a little off the floor. The kids (Russ included) decided they wanted a snack while we were waiting and Josh and I headed to the vendors upstairs. Just as we got to the counter, they let the crowd in. I grabbed Josh and basically hugged the counter as a mad rush of 10,000 pushed their way into the arena. I noticed the young girl behind the counter actually seemed quite scared. I asked if this happened for the previous events that day and she said no that was a much calmer entrance then this, she continued that those crowds walked in slowly but then again this is KISS!! When we got back to our seats my wife told me it was quite a scene inside too as the people rushed to get seats. Sitting next to me was a group of teenagers and the male of the group, Bradley Bowermaster chatted with me and my son. He is a huge KISS fan and when I told him about KISSAsylum, he told me he had been going there since 7th grade - boy do I feel old!
Found out this was his going away present before he headed off for training as a Marine. Now if you know me or read Asylum at all, you know I am a huge supporter of the Armed Forces and what they are doing for all of us. I wanted to do something cool for this kid and believe he could be fighting soon somewhere in the world. He looked like he was maybe 15. I was going to call Eric but it was so close to showtime that I knew he would have his cell off, so I called BRUCE KULICK and all I had to do was tell Bruce what this kid was doing and he said put him on the phone. It was great watching him and his friends' reaction! He was so excited and just a little while after talking with Mr. Kulick, the light went down and the famous intro - "You wanted the best, you got the best."
KISS was really tight especially considering this was their first full show in over a year. Everyone looked and played great. One thing about a KISS show is there is almost too much going on to actually see everything, you have to pick and choose. You could never tell that Paul has had 2 hip replacements this year, he jumped around the stage as usual, never missing a beat. But then again being the professional he is, how many of you could ever tell he needed a hip replaced for the better part of a decade. Paul is the ultimate front man, period! TOMMY THAYER was on top of his game throughout the show. Had the opportunity of watching many of his solos closely tonight where we were sitting and I was impressed. I've been a fan of Tommys since his Black 'n' Blue Days, he is a tremendous guitarist. Ok, ERIC SINGER, what can I say about one of my dearest friends in the world? Sure I'm biased but when you have legends like PAUL STANLEY, Alice Cooper and Brian May calling Eric one of the greatest rock drummers ever, there is also some substance there, not just the friendship talking! The problem I have reviewing Eric is he's always on. Not too many mistakes with this guy and believe me I wish there were a few so me and Russ could rip him. Though he did miss catching a stick once Saturday, I'll give him a passing grade. Oh almost forgot Gene, can't do that even if I wanted to! Gene looked slim and his rested voice sounded great.
By the time "Rock And Roll All Night" ended with the confetti and Fireworks, KISS had impressed a whole new crowd. As the lights went up, I heard numerous people saying they couldn't believe how great KISS was. If they come, they will be fans!! The Get A Life, Inc. crowd headed back stage where we talked about the show and caught up with old friends, while waiting for the band to make a brief appearance. When they did come out the first thing that caught my attention was Mr. Simmons, wearing the Get A Life, Inc hat I had given him last year. There are so many jokes there that I just won't touch it. Gene greeted some of the fans and jumped into the van with 2 girls on his arm. I think Tommy went straight into the van but Paul and Eric mingled with just about everyone. For me it's great to see everyone but in reality what I love is to watch my kids interact with the guys. My 9 year old daughter especially loves going to the shows. Both her and her brother Josh sang and laughed the whole show. I think Josh being almost 7 just does not understand that these guys are famous or he's just not impressed! He's been around them since he was born. So when Eric waved to him from the stage and the people behind said he knows you - you're lucky, Josh was just like, yeah he's my friend, so what.
Any way back stage Eric came over and gave us all hugs, he's so good with the kids. They love him, but with Eric - they really love him not because he's in KISS but because he's their buddy. Then Paul came over and I couldn't have scripted what he said to the kids any better. Earlier this summer I had a meeting with Paul and took the kids. We were there for quite a bit of time and Paul spoke with them about Disney and Universal and other things. So when he came over to see them Saturday he said "Hi kids. I haven't seen you since the office. How was Universal?" They ate it up. Imagine being 7 and 9 and getting that kind of attention. What I appreciate with Eric and Paul so much is that when they ask kids something, they want an answer. It's not just lip service, they're really talking with them! Next I introduced Paul to my wife. She's met him before but Paul doesn't know her by name. What was funny was Paul's short pause. I'm used to it with my wife because even though she's 33 , most people think she's under 18. So when I told him we had just celebrated our 15th anniversary, he looked surprised but told me I was very lucky. Doc tells Michelle she has Dick Clark-itis, she looks younger every time he sees her! Funny side note here, about 5 years ago on the Farewell tour, Peter looked at me when meeting my wife and said Keith she could be your daughter. I said Pete she may look like she could be my daughter but your wife Gigi actually could be your daughter. Peter laughed!!
We headed back to the hotel and met up with Eric and Tommy and headed up to the lounge area. My buddy Dave Matthews (not the singer) was there and we had a nice time catching up! Paul hung around and chatted for a while. My son Josh sat himself down and chatted with Tommy and his friend PGA golfer Sean Micheel, before I moved him to the next table. He's not that shy. All in all another great time with great friends. For me I think of these KISS shows as similar to going to a wedding or a funeral. You see all your old friends and family and catch up on old times. I'm happy to report that KISS is in fine form and so are my friends - so now I think of it more in the wedding vane. A few years back there were definitely some funerals!
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