Ryan Keller | Examiner

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Kiss is one of the most popular bands in the world, and is also one of the most recognizable brands. This has been accomplished largely due to the marketing genius of bassist/vocalistGene Simmons, though fellow vocalist/guitaristPaul Stanley deserves credit too. In fact, it could be said that Kiss is Gene and Paul, as the remaining two original members, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, haven’t played with the band in over ten years. Those roles are now filled by Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, respectively. But could Kiss live on without Gene and Paul?

According to Stanley, in a recent interview with the San Diego Union Tribune, the answer is yes.

“The band is bigger than its members,” said Stanley. “And it only takes, in this case, four like-minded people with a similar outlook and talent to further the cause and continue Kiss. It makes perfect sense to me. It may not make sense to other bands, but we’re not other bands. We don’t live by those rules. We never have.”

Both Stanley and Simmons are now 62, so, asks the Tribune, is there concern that the two “are growing too old to rock ’n’ roll all night?” According to Stanley:

I’m damn good at what I do. But do I think I’m the only person capable of doing what I do? Absolutely not. I’m not talking about a clone (of me), but somebody with the same passion, drive and love for the music I love. So, can I envision a time when I won’t be here anymore? Absolutely. It’s not tomorrow, or next week. But when it happens, I would be celebratory. Because it would prove that I was right and that Kiss is exactly what I believe it is: an ideal, a way of performing, a point of view. It’s an attitude, and the respect and love (we have for) our audience.

The Tribune also asked Stanley if there could be a reunion of the original lineup. “Never!” was Stanley’s response. He continued:

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Syracuse.com

Katy Winn

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Motley Crue and Kiss are donating money to support those affected by theColorado movie theater shootings.

The bands said at their concert in suburban Denver on Wednesday night that they would donate $100,000 to the Aurora Victim Relief Fund.

The fund was set up to help victims and families who were hurt when a man opened fire July 20 at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” in Aurora. Twelve people were killed, and 58 were injured.

Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue and Paul Stanley of Kiss said in a written statement that they hope their gesture will encourage others to give.

The two bands, currently co-headlining “The Tour,” will perform at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday, September 15. Tickets range from $36 to $157.

Patrick Reilly

One of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had was attending the “Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp.” I have done the Camp 3 times and each experience was incredible!

When I first heard about the Camp a couple years ago I couldn’t understand what it was about.

I was walking down Hollywood Blvd on my way to the gym where I was getting ready to train a client and I look up and see a billboard, “Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp with Special Guest MEATLOAF and Ace Frehley from KISS.” As soon as I saw Ace’s name I was intrigued! What’s this “Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp?” I need to find out more. So after I finished training my clients I went home and jumped online to check out the website www.rockcamp.com to see what this “Camp” is all about. As a KISS fan I was interested in seeing what Ace was up to and couldn’t care less about MEATLOAF. Then I saw on the homepage “Jam with Ace Frehley!” Immediately I was interested and as I continued reading I saw pictures of the “Rock Star Counselors,” Kip Winger, Bruce Kulick, Teddy Andreadis (the keyboard player from Guns N Roses), Mark Hudson (Aerosmith’s co-writer), Billy Sheehan and Rudy Sarzo. One of these guys was going to be your counselor for 5 days and play onstage with you at the Whiskey A Go Go in Hollywood!

I was hooked! I thought it over that night and said to myself, “I’ve worked hard for years. How many opportunities will I get to play with Ace Frehley?! I immediately signed up and was lucky enough to get in since I was a late entry. I spoke with a Rock Camp assistant and told them I didn’t have much musical experience. She said it was fine and they have different levels from beginner, intermediate and advanced. Personally, I had no musical knowledge of playing an instrument. For years I’ve always wanted to learn how to play guitar so I can play my favorite songs one day. But as much as I love music I was born to be doing what I do…changing peoples’ lives through fitness. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

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NJKissExpo.com

The New Jersey KISS Expo is proud to announce the special appearance of founding KISS member Peter Criss at the New Jersey KISS Expo, Saturday September 8, 2012.

This will be one of your last chances to meet the Catman – sources tell us Peter has decided to retire from signing and attending autograph events by next year. To give the fans one last hurrah, Peter will be providing special “One-on-One With the Catman” meet and greet packages which include autographs, a photo with Peter, exclusive event merchandise and most of all, the opportunity to do all this with Peter in an intimate, one-on-one environment where you can have your items signed and speak to him personally in a private room, away from the crowds and lines outside.

A truly unique experience you don’t want to miss! Details of the One-on-One With the Catman VIP package are at the New Jersey KISS Expo website.

Visit NJKissExpo.com for all info for this event.

From: Ames

Chick-fil-A had an Appreciation Day last Wednesday which was all over the news.  We heard that the next event was planned for Friday which would be KISS Day at Chick-fil-A.  My daughter Callan and I were pumped up to hear about this.  On Friday we threw on our gear and drove to our local Chick-fil-A to celebrate KISS Day!

@sammyhagar

Sammy Hagar Tweeted a photo of him and Ace last night  at the Catfish Extravaganza in Greenville Wisconsin.

STV

The US group hold the UK and its bands in high regard always wanted to be a part of the music scene there.

Drummer Eric Singer said: ”We have great music, but we don’t have what England do! As musicians we always liked the British bands, it’s interesting that we’ve always aspired to be English. I wanted to be in that kind of band, I wanted to play Hammersmith Odeon, live in England, dress the same way with cool Carnaby Street clothes. Like Queen, they looked grandiose and they sounded grandiose.

”The English bands made complete statements, they’d look at how they sounded and the philosophy of the songs connected to the essence of the band. American bands didn’t understand that.”

Bass player Gene Simmons – who completes the band with Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer – says the group’s message is universal, and that liking the band is like sharing a language.

He told Metal Hammer magazine: ”It’s a tribal thing which bonds people together, from any walk of life. We’ve had the admiral of a nuclear sub, brain surgeons, politicians, you name it come to our shows. Even if you’ve never heard KISS before, you’ll walk away as a fan because you’ll get it. It’s fun and over the top.”

Tim McPhate | KISSfaq

David Wolfert: The KissFAQ Interview

Grammy- and Emmy-nominated producer/musician recalls working with Peter Criss on his first solo album following his departure from KISS, 1980’s “Out Of Control”

“You know, when I left the guys, I did the ‘Out Of Control’ album and I was out of control. I was someone who had a lot of demons in my head at that point.” — Peter Criss (Cat Club)

By the time KISS regrouped in early 1980 to record “Unmasked,” the band’s drum seat was vacant. Peter Criss was no longer a member of KISS.

Instead, Criss would begin the new decade “starting over again” by commencing work on his first post-KISS solo album at RCA Recording Studios in March. In tow was his trusty longtime songwriting partner, Stan Penridge. The job of producer ultimately went to David Wolfert, who was referred by Vini Poncia, the man who helmed Criss’ 1978 solo album and was in the midst of producing “Unmasked.”

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NJKissExpo.com

Saturday September 8, 2012 at the Raritan Center in Edison NJ

Kulick.net

The New Jersey KISS Expo is proud to announce Bruce and Bob Kulick as the special guests for 2012! The Kulick brothers both have a long and intimate relationship and history with the band and we can’t wait to see them on stage together talking about the old days with the band! Other guests are Ken Kelley, album artist for Destroyer and Love Gun, JR Smalling, the announcer of KISS Alive and Len Delessio, KISS photographer from the early ’70s.

Tickets are now on sale! Get your VIP early-access tickets NOW as they are limited and are expected to sell out!

2012 New Jersey KISS Expo Tickets available HERE

Visit the website for all EXPO Info – NJKissExpo.com

Jeremy Thomas | 411 Mania

KISS frontman talks about upcoming album…

Gene Simmons recently spoke with Billboard about KISS’ new album Monster, which releases October 16th. Check out the highlights:

On the lyrics for the album: “A lot of the lyrics and points of view have less to do with sort of the cocksmanship, craftsmanship — ‘Hey babe, I’m gonna rock you all night long,’ and are more about sort of primal notions about who we are and how we feel. So something like ‘The Devil is Me,’ for instance, is more confessional; you can keep pointing your fingers at all the evil in the world, but you’ve got some of it and here’s the Lord’s decree — the devil is me. Maybe there’s a little devil in all of us.”

On the quality of the album: “[It is] one of the best or the top three albums we’ve ever done.”

On Paul Stanley producing the album: “In both instances he put aside everything else in his life and was there. I no longer have that patience or the temperament to be strapped in the studio for three months. There’s too much going on outside, and who better to trust than (Stanley)? He’s a very good team player and isn’t afraid to say, ‘Yeah, maybe I’m not right? Let’s try this’ or ‘Let’s try that.’ We’d go in and just try anything. It’s really a band effort, like four guys in a car but somebody’s got to be driving and everybody else is going, ‘No, turn right here, turn right there!’ Ultimately we’re all going to the same place, and Paul got us there.”

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Katie Sheehan | Artist Direct

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons is like a warrior going into combat when he hits the stage, telling VH1 Classic Radio that he doesn’t get tired when taking the stage, even at age 62.

“Physically you can be tired but you can’t be tired unless you’re mentally tired,” Simmons said. “That’s called fatigue. When you’ve got mental fatigue, it doesn’t matter what shape you’re in, you’re done. If you’re excited in your mind, actually something happens physically which is adrenaline is released into your system and you get that get-up and go thing. You know, whether you’re completely insane, mad men are difficult to bring down – you can have five cops trying to bring down a man who’s insane because there’s so much juice going through his system, and that’s sort of like what happens on stage.” Sounds like an accurate assessment!

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COTN

Rustyn Rose | Examiner

A new Kiss album is always an exciting affair. It raises the adrenaline of fans and blood pressure of the band’s detractors. Kisscontinue to give haters something to gripe and snipe about. Meanwhile, they continue to headline arenas and are once again churning out quality heavy rock. On July 30, the band released the track listing and artwork for the band’s forthcoming album, “Monster”.

The band’s previous studio effort, 2009′s “Sonic Boom”, proved the band still has more than a little gas in the creative tank. Bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons along with guitarist and co-founder Paul Stanley continue to remind us why they are, “the hottest band in the world.” New members, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer have both been in the band longer than original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Despite not officially joining Kiss until 2002, Thayer was the primary guitarist on the band’s 1998 “reunion” effort, “Psycho Circus”.

Kiss will release their 20th studio album, “Monster”, on October 16 through Universal Music Enterprises. Just as in the band’s heyday, all four members wrote and sang on the new Continue reading →