The upcoming Ronald Reagan biopic Reagan stars noted Donald Trump supporter Dennis Quaid as the title character, and the cast includes Jon Voight, Kevin Sorbo, and Creed’s Scott Stapp (as Frank Sinatra). Directed by Sean McNamara, the film also boasts a soundtrack with some noteworthy names. The biggest of them is Bob Dylan, who recorded a cover of Cole Porter’s “Don’t Fence Me In” for the closing credits. Notably, Quaid is the third cousin of the late Gene Autry, who cut a popular version of “Don’t Fence Me In” in the 1940s.

“I was honored to have Bob join our film,” Quaid said according to Spin. “We gave him the freedom to do any song he wanted to do, whether an original or a cover, and he chose ‘Don’t Fence Me In.’ That was extra special since it was a song that Gene made famous. Bob is a great lover of the American Songbook and we were delighted with the way he delivered the song. He’s a national treasure and was the perfect addition to the film. Gene and Clint were also generous with their time and Tanya has been a friend of many years and I’m thrilled to have her song as well.”

Other contributors to the Reagan soundtrack include KISS’ Gene Simmons, who covered the 1930s torch song “Stormy Weather” for a scene featuring Reagan and wife Jane Wyman (played by Mena Suvari) in a nightclub, and country legend Clint Black, whose take on John Denver’s “Country Roads” appears in the film’s final scene. Tanya Tucker reportedly recorded a song for the movie too.

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Is there another band like Kiss? Their sound, image, and stage show remain as timeless as ever. Their recent announcement of a show performed by avatars only further cements people’s love for them and hammers home the band’s timelessness, as people worldwide will be travelling to see Kiss perform, even if it’s not the band playing.

A combination of make-up, music, eccentricity and pyro made for a band that people couldn’t get enough of. In fact, they weren’t a band; they were superheroes, borderline fictional in their magnitude. Black Sabbath once admitted that they regretted taking Kiss on tour because of how much of a difficult band they were to follow. They had such a strong idea of who they were and executed that idea so perfectly that they won over crowds better than anybody.

“Kiss was the first one to use pyro,” said Geezer Butler, recounting their tour together, “It was a completely new direction for people. People had to start thinking about stage production after Kiss. It was tough to follow them. We went on as just an ordinary band, no effects or anything, and everybody else still had their mouths wide open from seeing Kiss.”

Kiss’s show was so tight that it’s hard to imagine it being based on anybody. Given that they looked like fictional characters and presented themselves creatively and eccentrically, it was hard to imagine the idea came from anywhere other than the member’s heads. While some aspects of that will be true, Paul Stanley admits that there was a band they modelled themselves after.

“The Beatles, in many ways,” said Paul Stanley, before confirming what was important to Kiss was that they looked like a band, “Those ‘60s British groups all looked like real bands. No member of The Beatles could have fit into the Stones. No member of The Who could have been in the Dave Clark Five. You had unified images of those bands, and at the same time, there was an emphasis on the individual members.”

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NIAGARA FALLS — Over the past seven years, local business owners have forged a partnership with one of their childhood heroes.

Brothers John and Paul Janik, third generation owners of Johnnie Ryan Beverages, along with their business partner and longtime friend Chris Haick, have been fans of rock band KISS, and particularly bassist Gene Simmons, since they were in elementary school.

“I was five years old, six years old,” Paul said. “I loved Gene probably because of my background, just loving horror movies. I was always into the Classic Universal Monsters. I took to him even before he started explaining his influences.”

“I just like KISS because it was basically like living, breathing art,” John added.

Having met the band’s members on several occasions, it was one particular meeting at a 2017 comic convention in Cleveland, Ohio, that got Simmons and the brothers on the subject of the soda business. A few months later, Paul received an unexpected call from Simmons, on a Sunday afternoon.

After a series of follow-up emails and phone calls, the two sides blended their respective visions and MoneyBag Soda was born.

“We’ve been trying to market the product to people who are into specialty sodas, into non-alcoholic options for drinks, your foodies or people who just look for something different and something special and that’s kind of what the product is,” John said. “It’s natural flavor, sweetened with pure cane sugar and beautifully painted bottles.”

The following year, Simmons visited Niagara Falls for the first time to celebrate the launch of the product.

Simmons is returning to the city again on Sunday for an appearance with numerous local officials on Goat Island at Niagara Falls State Park.

Following a 1 p.m. press conference there, a presentation will take place at City Hall at 2 p.m. at which Mayor Robert Restaino and North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec will recognize Simmons with keys to their cities.

A portion of Main Street between Pine and Cedar avenues will also temporarily be renamed Gene Simmons Boulevard.

On Monday, Simmons and his band will perform at West Herr Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, with ticket proceeds going towards the theater’s expansion project. The show is Simmons’ only scheduled live performance in North America this year.

“Gene has really given up a lot of his time over the years to do promotional events like the one on Goat Island this Sunday,” John said.

“And what better way to celebrate that and to bring recognition to the area and then to have Gene Simmons come in,” Haick added.

Since the brothers last brought Simmons to the Cataract City to celebrate the launch of his product at a local 7-Eleven in 2018, they have been around the world with the fire-breathing, blood-spitting bassist.

The brothers and Haick joined Simmons in several cities on KISS’ lengthy End of the Road tour in an effort to promote the product and strike up business deals with national and international distributors.

John described hitting the road the Simmons as a great “learning experience.”

“It was interesting to see how all that came together for a big show like that and just how professional they were with us, with the fans and everything. So that was the coolest part,” John said.

“Gene and KISS for that matter were just so gracious…And there were times where Paul Stanley would come in as well,” Haick added.

In addition to international distribution, the product has garnered recognition from notable pop culture figures including Buddy Valastro of the TV series “Cake Boss,” American rapper Lil Xan and KISS frontman Paul Stanley.

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