Ultimate Guitar

KISS cofounder Gene Simmons doesn’t appear to have a problem with the idea of the band continuing without him or Paul Stanley, he revealed in a recent interview.

Simmons was asked by Cantonrep.com, “The idea of KISS moving on without Paul Stanley and yourself is another highly-debated topic among Kiss fans. You see it working to some degree with bands like AC/DC with only one original member and Foreigner, who often play live with none. Is it a testament to the strength of the music that an idea like that could work for generations to come?”

Gene responded, “Well, AC/DC has had 21 different members. But it’s more than music. It’s a vibe. You can’t just get a jazz musician to step up there with a rock band, I don’t care who it is, and make it convincing. Not just in how you play, but how you stand on stage. People are listening with their eyes. They’re bringing their eyes, and you better make that work. It’s not just your ears. When you stayed at home in the old days, you could turn on the radio, and you didn’t know what anybody looked like. That’s different.

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Jeff Giles | Ultimate Classic Rock

Kiss auditioned dozens of potential replacements after Ace Frehley departed the lineup in the early ’80s — including a teenage guitarist calling himself Adam Bomb, who recounts the experience in his upcoming memoir.

Classic Rock has premiered an excerpt from Bomb’s book, titled 911 Is Disconnected … So This Is Rock & Roll, in which he takes readers through his version of the events surrounding his brief brush with Kiss. At the time, he was just a young musician looking for a gig, and had no idea when he responded to a Billboard ad from a band seeking a guitarist that he’d end up on the phone with drummer Eric Carr.

Invited to audition — and informed he’d have to make his own way to Los Angeles — Bomb hurriedly brushed up on the four songs he was told he’d need to play: “Firehouse,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Black Diamond” and “Calling Doctor Love.” Determined to take his shot even though he was neither old nor tall enough to fit the description posted in the ad, he learned “every lick, shake and squeak that Ace Frehley made on the live and studio albums. … If nothing else, I was going to play those songs with Kiss.”

Arriving early enough to catch another hopeful’s failed audition, Bomb made his way into the rehearsal studio — and, as he tells it, regardless of how the experience ultimately turned out in terms of employment opportunities, it lived up to his dreams. “I wanted to scream but I kept my cool. I was still a huge fan. I pictured them in my mind from the record jacket for Kiss Alive and from seeing them in concert in Seattle. I felt like the whole world stopped turning for a moment,” he wrote. “It was just me in a room in Hollywood, playing lead guitar with Kiss.” Continue reading →