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November 9
While we are waiting for it, I thought this would be a great time to highlight one of our performers on this new release. His name is Mark Gray and he has provided KAOL with a memorable performance of "Beth". Mark was a former vocalist with the 70s band Exile. Those that are old enough to remember may recognize him from their hit single "(I Wanna) Kiss You All Over".
Mark has since written Top 40 hits for Dolly Parton, Alabama, Tammy Wynette, and several others. He has also written the theme song for a proposed Feed The Children country album which is how he came to appear on KAOL. I was introduced into that project and offered to write some of the song material for the possible FTC album. The idea of the "Beth" remake was offered in return shortly after.
Mark had been touring in the southern part of the country and stopped briefly in a small studio in Mississippi to cut the track. With only a keyboard and vocal in this simple arrangement, he quickly turned out one of the more moving versions of the song that I have ever heard.
It's just one of many interesting stories behind some of the songs on the new "KAOL Music From The Folder '99". You can check out the MusiCare Online website for full updates and info on the entire series of the KAOL "Cyber Circus" trilogy of discs.If you haven't ordered any yet, check it out! Our goal is to be able to donate a total of $5000 to The Children's Hospital of Wisconsin so that we may purchase the KAOL/Eric Carr plaque for the pediatric wing.
October 28
July 24
July 13
Ever since "KAOL 2 -Creatures of The Net" has been released, the interest in the original KAOL disc has been an unexpected surprise. We stopped selling it a while ago because of some production problems but are excited to make it available again with some changes. Included in the new disc will be a brand new cover designed by Dave Magee, some new songs, and the 12 remaining songs will be remastered.We will also be including an official KAOL/Eric Carr Signature Guitar Pick. KAOL has been authorized to manufacture these limited edition picks and one will be inserted inside of each disc.
For all those interested in purchasing the new Music From the Folder, we'll be accepting your order next month. Please go to the MusiCare Online website for details on reserving your copy now. The first 150 people to reserve the disc will also have the option of purchasing the original out of print Music From the Folder for your collection for just a few dollars more. There are very few of those left so it will be on a first come first serve basis. We already have several reservations for both the remaster and the original disc. The website address for details is: www.musicareonline.org
Stay tuned for the announcement of our next donation to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Eric's name. We're getting closer to reaching our goal of getting the plaque in Eric's name and likeness made to hang on the wall of the pediatric wing.
May 25
May 18
March 20
March 11
There has been a small series of miscommunications with the pressing plant since the start of this project, the most serious blunder occurring 2 weeks ago. All discs were packaged, shrinkwrapped, and about to be shipped to me when I discovered that the graphics on the back of the CD had been changed, the layout altered, and credits removed. They had Fed X'd me a sample of the CD booklet and all the artwork a few days prior in accordance with my request, and that is when I noticed the huge mistake. All of this stuff had been proofed ahead of time and ok'd to print so someone had inadvertently changed it later. Anyways, they ARE fixing their mistake and reprinting all of the traycards. But that also means unwrapping all of the discs, re-assembling the art and sticker inserts, and then shrinkwrapping again. This is what has caused the delay.
Had it not been for graphic errors, this CD would have been out last month as scheduled. The music for KAOL 2 was done a long time ago and every artist pulled their weight, made their deadline, and worked professionally to keep things on schedule. So in no way can they be blamed for a manufacturing problem. Absolutely no one held up the project and they all did a good job in doing their share to keep things running smoothly.
The good news is that today I received a box of 15 of the misprinted discs just to have for promos that need to go out to magazines and other media with deadlines. They sound and look good and I think everyone will be happy with this new CD. We really spent some extra money on the packaging with full color double sided traycards, colored transparent trays, and the 2 full color stickers inside. The mastering on this CD was really done well too. A mastering house in New Hampshire did the work for us at no charge because of the charity involved and they did an outstanding job.
So give us another week and we should start shipping out everyone's orders. We've got everything ready to go and once the discs are here they will be sent the very next day to all our customers.
Remember, your public reviews are welcome good or bad! We made this CD with a little something for everyone to enjoy. So if you do, say so! And if you don't, let me know so we can make KAOL 3 even better.
I also spoke to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin this morning and found out that the husband of the woman who handles the KAOL donations is a huge KISS fan! They are aware we are about to release KAOL 2 and we're hoping that later in the year we will have raised enough money for Eric's plaque to be hung in one of the hallways. She is checking into exactly how much we need to do that and also seeing if our plaque can be one of the only ones specialized with his likeness. I have never spoken with her on the phone before as Tim Olp (TNTGB) usually handles all of our business with CHoW, and I have to say that I was real pleased that we chose this hospital because she was one of the most genuine people I have ever come across and she really believes in how the hospital cares for and treats the children.
So here's to 1998: The year of the Net Creatures!
Again, sorry for the delay. I will post the official release in a few days.
January 12
MusiCare's new site now houses the KAOL 2 "Creatures of The Net" webpage, which has received a bit of a face lift during the move. If you haven't seen it in a while, go check it out.
Construction on the third and final KAOL webpage will begin shortly as well. The final KAOL CD entitled: KAOL 3 " The Spirit of '78", focuses on the 4 solo albums of 1978 and will be released sometime next year. The details and theme of the album will be available for preview soon on the MusiCare Online site.
Along with the KAOL webpages on the MusiCare Online site, you'll find a page devoted to the Children's Hospital Of Wisconsin (CHoW). For now, all of MusiCare's projects, whether they be KISS related or not, will donate the funds to the hospital. When the KAOL CDs are all done and over with after #3 comes out next year, MusiCare Online will hopefully continue to do other musical projects thru the Internet that can benefit different charities.
So for all those who have supported the KAOL project, I hope you'll find time to stop by it's new home, on the site of it's parent company, MusiCare Online Inc.
A quick update on the progess of KAOL 2 "Creatures Of The Net":
All of the tracks are now in New England being mastered and prepared for pressing. The artwork is completed and will go off for printing in the next week. The whole package will be coming together soon, complete with special inserts inside the CD, 2 commemorative vinyl back stickers.
The estimated date for release at this time is late February. MANY of you have pre-ordered your discs and I want to thank you for your enthusiasm and support. We will have some confirmation letters sent out soon along with a little KAOL keepsake for ya, so keep your eye on the mail!
December 15
December 12
November 17
It seemed so normal, yet when I think about it, it was incredible. Here was the man who produced Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, and Kiss. He walked in and shook my somewhat nervous hand. He sat down at the board and began playing with the knobs as we all watched. He was really very easy to be around and not intimidating at all. He mixed it in no time.
Gene didn't come with him as originally hoped. So I asked Bob, " Did Gene really like the song?" He said "Yeah, they loved it!" Then he picks up the phone to call Gene. He says, "The young lady here wants to speak with you." Then he hands me the phone and says "Say Hi to Gene!"
Talk about unprepared!
I said "Hi Gene." He said something in a funny voice and I wasn't sure what to say. Then all of a sudden that Gene Simmons voice said "What's your name?". I told him my name and about the production of the new Kiss Tribute CD online. I then told him that this was the sequel and that all the profit from these CDs would be going to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Eric's name and there was no personal profit being made. Amongst other things, he told me to have fun with it. He then told me to get a pen and gave me his address to mail anything else that I would like him to hear. We then talked a bit more about the CD project.
It was a great night. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to meet both Bob and Gene and share the story. I asked Bob for a picture before he left and he was very kind. We took it in front of the mixing board. He shook my hand again and left.
We'll put that pic up on the KAOL 2 website soon!
Thanks again to Howard and Brian from Sound Magazine for bringing the Partridge Family back to the forefront with such grace. Kiss fans will love this version.........Bob, Paul, and Gene sure did.
We are accepting pre-orders for the CD now. I hope to have it released in mid January. If you want to reserve your copy now, go to the website to order. http://members.aol.com/cldjhen
October 24
But if you order your CD now before December 31st, you can purchase it for the same price as the original Music From The Folder CD, which is $10 plus $2 shipping.
So order now to reserve your copy and save a couple of bucks.
Send your check or money order to:
Some of the highlights of the new CD are:
All the proceeds from Creatures Of The Net will be donated to The Childrens' Hospital of Wisconsin in Eric's name and a plaque will be made to be on display in the hospital. Don't forget to visit the website for updates! A full song roster will be posted there soon.
October 20
Also, our cover art design is being drawn by Dave Magee. Some of you may be familiar with his work from Kisstory, Kissnation, the Official Alive/Worldwide Tour Magazine, and most recently, the Metal Edge special Kiss Rocks The World. Dave's work is absolutely phenomenal. He recreates album covers perfectly. He is doing ours based on the Creatures Of The Net album but with a very unique twist. You'll just have to wait and see. :-)
Finally, I am very pleased to announce that we've acquired official status as a non-profit charity, with a corporation I've started called MUSICARE ONLINE. This corporation was created to make the rest of the KAOL albums, as well as any other possible Internet music projects of the future. Any musical project developed by Musicare Online, will be devoted entirely or in part, to raising money for CHoW in Eric's name, or any other cause we deem appropriate for the particular project being done. The new logo we've developed for the KAOL CDs will soon be a registered trademark of Musicare Online. The KAOL Tribute CDs have the honor of being the first ever Internet CDs made, and Musicare Online is the first charity developed to raise money thru music, with people working together from the Internet.
The Kiss bulletin board on America Online sure has really sparked something really cool!
That's it for now. Don't forget to come play the website contest we're running! It is SOO easy to win free CDs! http://members.aol.com/cldjhen
October 7
There are two things you have to do to enter. First, there are 4 thumbnail pics of KISS on different pages of the site. Find what page each one is located on. Once you've done that, you'll need to answer the following 3 questions:
1) Why was the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin chosen, and what specific part of the hospital will the proceeds be donated to?When you have the answers to both the placement of the pics and these questions, then go to the first page and click on the flashing envelope to e-mail the results. (It will go directly to Cld Jhen who will print out the correct answers and drop them in a container).
2) What are the ROCKHEADS and what was the name of Eric's production company that he was going to use to produce them?
3) What is the name of the unreleased Eric Carr song that KAOL will be including on the upcoming CD?
We will keep this contest going until Thanksgiving. Then we will randomly pick the 76 winners from all the correct entries.
There are two reasons why we are doing this. First off, it's obviously a good way to get people to the website that haven't been there and will in turn generate more interest and sales for the new CD. But just as important, it's a great opportunity for everyone to actually read the info on the pages and learn more about where the money raised from these CDs is going. Yeah, it's fun to make them, especially if you enjoy Kiss and love making music too. But I don't want the meaning as to why we are making them getting lost in the shuffle. We won't be doing this forever and no matter how much fun KAOL has been, it would be nice to actually say we made some money for the hospital when it's all over. I hope everyone will have fun and find time to participate in the contest!
Here's the address:KAOL 2-Creatures of The Net
September 15
It went great! Nile did an awesome job. He also brought me his finished version of Hard Luck Woman which is a pleasure to listen to as well. If you liked See You Tonite on the first KAOL CD, then you'll love this one. While he was here, I put him to work! He helped do the backup vocals on Jheni Clason's (CldJhen@aol.com) version of "Rip and Destroy". This song is going to be a direct recreation of the movie version so we all did some extra vocal soundbytes and crowd noises that you'll just love.
All in all, we accomplished a great amount of work in about 5 hours and I just want to publicly thank him for being an EXTREME pleasure to work with. THIS is what making KAOL records is all about...........pure fun. We laughed so much during some of the Rip and Destroy stuff that we almost couldn't finish! You guys will love the results too. In discussing the final chapter of the KAOL Trilogy, KAOL 3: The Solo Projects, Nile is set to record Mr.Make Believe from Gene's album. He'll be starting that one soon to put in the vaults for next years release.
In other notes, I also received ROCKETRIDE's completed version of Detroit Rock City and am very pleased with the production on this one. It's the full on version with radio intro and car crash ending. I'm also pleased to announce that KAOL 2 will be the first tribute CD to cover any material from the COS album. I have a band from Canada who has done a knockout version of "Master and Slave (Tell Me)". The recording is incredible.
I think we'll be putting up wavs of this stuff on the website in the next couple of days for anyone who would like to get a sneak peak.
September 11
New Wav!
Well, by now everyone knows about the unreleased Eric Carr songs of his teenage days with his band, the Cellarmen, that KAOL will be pressing on the Creatures of The Net CD (thanks to the Caravello family). Some of you have asked me if he just plays the drums on these. No, he sings the lead vocal as well. They were recorded in the 60's and sound very Beatle-like. We just put up a brand new wav of one of these songs on the website along with the teenage drum solo we've had up for about a month. Go check it out for a sneak preview! The temporary address is: http://members.aol.com/cldjhen
Massachussetts Convention
This Sunday the14th, KAOL will have a table at the KISS convention in Seekonk, Mass. Our own Destroyer (who appeared on the Music From the Folder CD) will be performing and will be representing the KAOL table. If you purchase the CD at the convention, you will receive a coupon for $2 off the sequel when it is released. I'm happy to announce that we will also be sharing our table with the Caravello family in selling some rare Eric Carr material. On display will be Rockheads memorabilia, limited sets of Eric's very own "StreetGang Productions" stationary, and there will be a cymbal that Eric used on the Hot In The Shade tour for sale as well. It's quite pitted and well used and I believe it's the only one the family has left. The table will have plenty of info and merchandise from Destroyer, KAOL, and Eric's family. If you are there stop by!
Recording Notes
I have a recording session with one of the returning artists this Saturday. Nile Carter (ICEMN78@aol.com) who performed "See You Tonite" on the first KAOL CD, is performing "Hard Luck Woman" on the sequel and is also part of the KAOL All Stars version of "Kissin Time". This tune will open the CD and consists of 4 KAOL members in different parts of the country all contributing sections to the song and most of it being done without a telephone, or a face to face meeting. This song is the basis of the entire KAOL concept. An online community coming together to make music with e-mail as the main source of inspiration, ideas, and communication. I've recorded all the musical tracks for that song in the last couple of weeks here at my home and Nile will be joining me this weekend to begin the vocal process by recording Gene's verse. The master will then make it's way over to New Jersey for Bartley Collins (BLACKDIMON@aol.com) of BoneDaddy to record Peter's verse and the final stop for the tape will be in Detroit where John Stockwell (NiteGrin@aol.com) of ShirkSmile will recreate Paul's verse and ship the final product back here to me. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of making the CDs, and that is what the KAOL project is all about.
In the next update there will be details of the website contest we'll be running for a limited time which will result in 50 free CDs given away for prizes! So there is the most current information for you. Check back here for future news and developments and come by the Creatures of the Net website when you get the chance! KAOL 2-Creatures of The Net
Kathy LaBonte
ILOVE70s@aol.com
August 18
August 3
July 28
As if that wasn't enough, we will also be including on the inside CD booklet, a full-page color illustration of Eric's ROCKHEADS cartoon concept that he was never able to finish. These drawings were by Eric himself that he began working on as a teenager and continued on through his years with KISS. At the time of his death, he had hoped to make these a Saturday morning cartoon complete with music, some of which were co-written by Bruce Kulick.
Finally, KAOL is going to become one of the first fan-based tribute CDs to go multimedia. We currently are working on a suprise screen saver, details to be announced later. All of this information will be available on our *NEW* KAOL website. Here is the new website address, though keep in mind the site will still be under construction and is at a temporary address: http://members.aol.com/cldjhen
So it appears that Eric himself will find a home on the KAOL CD and will be responsible for directly helping the kids of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. I have received a lot of interest from bands online and should begin to go through audition tapes soon. The deadline is still October 20th for anyone out there who is still interested in participating. E-mail the me, Kathy Labonte, directly for official guidelines.
We expect major interest in this CD due to Eric's own appearance and the quality of the bands being chosen. If you thought the first one was exciting, get ready for Part 2!! Thank you to all who have purchased the first CD, and to all those who have been supportive of KAOL in recent weeks. Stay tuned for more details to come soon!!