Episode 585. Well we had an entirely different topic planned for this week, but conversations take on a life of their own. We comment on the recent Unpopular KISS Opinions which exploded and completely took over the Three Sides Facebook group. This lead into discussing a couple unpopular opinions about the Elder. Which in turn led into us discussing the reality of being a fan when the Elder was released. What it was like. Could anything have saved the Elder? Short answer… no! It was a mistake to record, but without it we would have never gotten Creatures of the Night. So sit back as we sit on our front porch and tell all the kids about what it was like back in the day.
Kissing is history, but Gene Simmons is having a blast calling up his life band with the new tool he has up his sleeve. A night of kissing without being a kiss was experienced last Tuesday at the Guíxols Arena, in the wildest night to remember in the annals of Porta Ferrada.
A metal evening, yes, doubled by the previous appearance of two bands leading up to the raised fist and a sea of black shirts on the track. Motörhits, a professional tribute band, put us in a situation with a real tribute to the late Lemmy Kilmister. A tanned frontman, with his sideburns and Rickenbacker bass, and merciless assaults on Death Row, Iron Fist, and Ace of Spades. And then Opus, the band that in the 80s represented the essence of the genre’s makara metal with two of its original members, spokesman Forto, with his vocal cords in miraculous health, and guitarist Paco Laguna.
Gene Simmons’ band finally appeared, sounding compact and faithful to the Kiss sound from the early days: the distant Deuce, the crushing war machine and the rarity that deserves not to be, Are You Ready? The great bass master, with his powerful, style-defining voice, is a wandering icon, but he’s ready to offer up funny commentary in Philo-Mexican Spanish (“muchas gracias, putos pendejos”) and welcome four very young fans on stage (with their faces plastered in old-fashioned costumes) to share the powerful melody of “Love It Loud.”
Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) – Legendary rock star Gene Simmons of KISS will be honored with the Key to the City of Niagara Falls this Sunday afternoon at 1 to celebrate his successful business partnership with Niagara Falls-based Rock Steady Sodas. Simmons launched MoneyBag Sodas with Rock Steady back in 2017. Niagara Falls will also name a downtown street “Gene Simmons Boulevard” in recognition of the rock icon.
The National Buffalo Wing Festival will celebrate its 23rd year this Labor Day Weekend. There’s several new attractions this year, including 63 new wing flavors, like Maple Bacon Jalapeno, French Toast, Hot Dill Pickle and Smoked Bourbon. There’ll also be a new layout, with all food being served in Highmark Stadium’s main concourse. The field will be open for Festival-goers to walk around.
Every kid thinks they’re the first to ever experience the heavy stuff like love and rebellion. But, and this is key, that means when stories about that kind of stuff are told well, they land for everybody—it doesn’t matter what year the bygone days are occurring, it always looks the same because it always, always sucks to be a teen. The late ’70s/early ’80s in which Detroit Rock City is set were pretty garbage times to be a teen, too. Rough time to be an underdog all around, if other things set during this time are to be believed.
There were two coming-of-age movies about the ’70s music scene right after one another at the turn of the millennium in this and Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous. Almost Famous is the better movie. I’m not here to pretend otherwise: It’s shot and edited better, its feelings are deeper and sadder and more real. It is so serious.
But Detroit Rock City is the one that has a kid yell at his chain-smoking, shrieking church lady of a mother to shut the hell up about Satan and just give him his drumsticks back already. It is the only movie with Edward Furlong—in the last role of his that anybody cares about, unless you are a real fanatic of The Crow—puking every last one of his guts out on stage in a stripping contest. Our heroes in this flick are not noble or virtuous, they just want to go see a band they really like, and nobody will just get off their asses about it. They just want some degree of respect, something that is apparently too much to ask.
Detroit Rock City was about the usual 20-years-ago nostalgia people were feeling in 1999. At 25, Detroit Rock City is now a window into a time nearly half a century ago, and by virtue of that (and the fact its cast’s star power has only increased since it landed), it’s worth revisiting.
It’s 1978 in Cleveland, and four pot-smoking teens just need to get through one last day of school before they can go to a show put on by the only band they care about: Kiss. High school students Hawk (Furlong), Jam (Sam Huntington), Trip (Jason DeBello) and Lex (Giuseppe Andrews) are members of their own Kiss tribute band, Mystery, and thoroughly misunderstood by their family members. None more so than Jam, whose mother (Lin Shaye, game as she’s ever been) is the type who is happy to go around stoking moral panics and yelling at Jam for everything from his clothes to his choice in music.
The guys have scrimped and saved to score four tickets to Kiss in Detroit on the night of their last day of school. It’s just a short train ride away, provided everything goes well. Nothing does, of course: Jam’s mother discovers and cruelly destroys the tickets after embarrassing Jam in front of the entire school before committing him to a humorless Catholic boarding school, which she takes him to immediately. (I guess they’re already matriculating for next semester?) On top of it all, the rest of Mystery all get slapped with detention.
Guesting on Guitar Tales With Dave Cohen, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley discussed his latest solo album, 10,000 Volts, touring, starting out, and looked back on his history with KISS.
Frehley: “I had really big resentments against Paul (Stanley) and Gene (Simmons)when I quit the band the first time, and even the second time. They used to say I got fired, which is complete bullshit. Both times I left on my own accord, and they would perpetuate the myth that they fired me, which is complete bullshit.”
“There was always a jealousy there. The fact that my solo album (released in 1978), with ‘New York Groove’, was the most successful out of the four. I used to get the hottest girls. I didn’t go after movie stars, though, ’cause that just complicates things. ‘Cause you’re a celebrity, you’ve got another celebrity there and it’s twice as complicated. So I don’t understand why Gene went out with Cher, Diana Ross. It just became harder, if you wanna go do anything. But Gene doesn’t party. So, he’s pretty much in the hotel. And he doesn’t like going out on vacations, he told me. He hasn’t been on a vacation in 15-plus years. But everybody’s different.”
Frehley headlined the 80’s Rock Invasion at Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, MI on July 20. Jordan’s Rock Vault has uploaded 4K video of the full show, filmed from the pit. Watch below.
Setlist:
“Shock Me”
“Deuce”
“10,000 Volts”
“Shout It Out Loud”
“Love Gun”
“Rocket Ride”
“Hotter Than Hell” Interlude
“God of Thunder” Intro/”New York Groove”
“Rip It Out”
“Detroit Rock City”
“Love Her All I Can” Interlude
“Cold Gin”
“Rock And Roll All Nite”
This KISS Poster captures the essence of one of rock music’s most iconic bands. The dynamic and electrifying image reflects the legendary stage presence and larger-than-life persona of KISS in their full regalia, making it a must-have for any fan.
Sized 36″ x 24″: This standard size ensures easy framing and is perfect for showcasing in any room.
High-Quality Print: Crafted using premium inks and poster paper, this print guarantees vibrant colors and sharp details, preserving the essence of KISS’s performances for years to come.
Printed in the USA: Proudly printed in the USA on top-quality paper, ensuring a durable and exceptional product.
Kulick offers a front-row perspective of what went down with Kiss in the ’80s: the tension between the past and future, his six-string independence from Ace Frehley, and the coming grunge asteroid
Kiss’s non-makeup era is often relegated to “persona non grata” status – at least for original-lineup diehards. But things were different for Kiss fans growing up without Ace Frehley – as they only knew Bruce Kulick. Of course, before Kulick, there was Vinnie Vincent, who some fans say “saved Kiss”. And then there was star-crossed shredder Mark St. John, who Kulick replaced.
But the truth is that despite Frehley’s iconic foundational licks, Vincent’s cult following and St. John’s… well, never mind about him… without Kulick holding down the fort as the lead guitarist of rock’s most bombastic band between 1984 and 1996, Kiss wouldn’t have had a house to bring down thereafter, let alone a non-makeup era to forsake.
“When I came into Kiss, I wasn’t asked to imitate Ace,” Kulick says. “I’m very thankful for that because it allowed me the freedom to be myself. If I was asked to do what Ace did, I’m not sure things would have worked.”
And that’s a good thing, as after Kulick joined in 1984, Kiss experienced success with records like Asylum (1985), Crazy Nights (1987) and Hot in the Shade (1989). But for purists, none of that “mattered.”
“There are misconceptions about ’80s Kiss,” Kulick says, “the biggest of which is that we sucked! Old fans maybe didn’t get it. But the fans who grew up seeing Kiss without makeup knew how good we were. Certain years of my era were magical; I stand by the ’80s; we were a cut above. You’re always in the winning circle when you have two leaders like Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.”
The ’80s might have been alright for Kiss, but a problematic era was ahead in the early ’90s, as drummer Eric Carr died of heart cancer in 1991. Meanwhile, music was changing; hair metal was out, grunge was in, leaving Kiss – a band of men in their 40s – to stare their musical mortality in its face.
That led to producer Bob Ezrin being called in for Kiss’s ’90s opener, Revenge (1992), which Kulick has long championed. “We put so much into Revenge,” he says. “But it wasn’t received well as, by that time, Nirvana had hit.”
Original KISS drummer Peter Criss will appear at the Famous Monsters Festival at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania next month. The legendary 78-year-old rocker will meet fans on Friday, September 13 and Saturday, September 14 only.
Friday, September 13, 2024
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 14, 2024
12:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
* No tableside selfies allowed
* Maximum of five items signed per guest/family
* No outside drumheads or drum parts
Drumheads will be available at the event at Peter‘s table, with proceeds going to charity.
Says Peter: “I’m looking forward to seeing you all. Safe travels and I will see you all soon!!! God bless.”
Dale Torborg The Demon signed in red paint pen. Very hard to get. Dale signed a couple of these for us in Daytona, FL in 2024. Comes with our Certificate of Authenticity. Includes Demon Face Dale Torborg pick and protective case.
