Cassius Morris

NJKISSExpo.com

ATTENTION – Legendary photographer Lynn Goldsmith will be photographing and interviewing fans for an up-coming KISS book at this year’s New Jersey KISS Expo – be sure to dress the part to be included in this piece of KISStory!

Lynn produced some of the most recognizable photos of KISS as well as many other rock bands of the ‘70s and ’80s, (in the Land of Hype and Glory TV show from ’77, she is the photographer on the stage yelling, “gimme more tongue” to Gene, to give him motivation). A simple Google search will show you the astonishing amount of iconic KISS photos she is responsible for that we have loved for decades!

Lynn also has photo credit on album covers for many other artists including Ted Nugent, the Village People, Police, Grand Funk Railroad, Frank Zappa and has also worked with Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, the Ramones, Prince and Ozzy Osborne, just to name a few.

Do not miss the opportunity for the chance to meet Lynn and be part of her new KISS book. Come dressed in your KISS costumes or wear all your KISS paraphernalia for the photo shoot!

See more of Lynn’s work at lynngoldsmith.com.

“Lynn is the boss. When she picks up her camera, my dragon boots buckle at the knees. She makes me do things I wouldn’t do, unless I was in jail”. – Gene Simmons

Shalom Life

If you’re a KISS fan in Israel then you’re in luck. Frontman Gene Simmons announced on Facebook this week that the band will be performing in Israel as part of their world tour.

Simmons was born in Haifa under the birthname of Chaim Witz, and emigrated to the States when he was only 8 with his mother, who’s a Holocaust survivor. Simmons and his fellow bandmates formed KISS in New York in 1973, and have gone on to sell over 100 million albums and have 28 gold records to their name (and counting). The band was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, though they refused to perform.

Simmons, known for his candid opinions and outright political view, has openly said he’s pro-Israel and publicly defended the country in the wake of a media outcry following their recent war with Hamas. Simmons has also spoken out about artists who refuse to play in Israel as part of their pro-Palestinian tactics or who encourage other artists to cancel their Israeli performances to put pressure on the country.

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Frequency
 

Ultimate Classic Rock

Ace Frehley‘s new album, ‘Space Invader,’ includes a song (‘What Every Girl Wants’) that makes use of the phrase “shakin’ sharp shooter.” As fans may recall, this isn’t the first time Frehley’s used those words in song — in fact, he originally tried to use them on his last album with Kiss, 1998′s ‘Psycho Circus.’

“‘Into the Void’ on ‘Psycho Circus’ used to be called ‘Shakin’ Sharp Shooter,’” Frehley tells Ultimate Classic Rock in an exclusive video interview, which you can watch above. “That was a song I originally wrote with that music, and [Paul Stanley] and [Gene Simmons] didn’t think it was working with the rest of the songs the the record.”

Determined to wrangle a songwriting credit onto the album, Frehley pressed on undaunted. “I said to Gene, ‘Give me half an hour,’ and I went up into another room in the studio and I wrote all the lyrics for ‘Into the Void’ — boom!” he laughs. “I work good under pressure.”

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Strange Ways Podcast

August 28th, 2014..KISS played a blistering set in front of 18,000+ screaming KISS freaks in St. Louis, Mo.!!! Your STRANGE WAYS pals felt compelled to discuss the festivities, and are joined by special guests, and local KISS freaks, Lonnie Weishaar, and Maria Shepard to talk about a great night!!! We hope you enjoy, KISS ARMY!!!

Joe Polo

New Jersey KISS Expo

The New Jersey KISS Expo returns Saturday, September 13 in Edison NJ at the NJ Exposition Center at the Raritan Center. Growing bigger and bigger every year, this show is slated to be our best yet!

We still have a few Dealer Tables left – click HERE to reserve yours!
Tickets are on sale now – Discount if you buy in advance HERE!
All info and directions are HERE!

NJKISSExpo.com

The NJ KISS EXPO is proud to announce Danny Anniello, ‘The Farrow’ – sculptor behind the current line of KISS action figures.

Under an exclusive arrangement, he will be creating OFFICIAL 12 and 8 inch figure variants for sale ONLY at this year’s New Jersey KISS Expo! Yes, these are OFFICIAL items endorsed by Figures Toy Company! Each extremely limited figure will be specially enhanced from the regular figures as well as SIGNED and NUMBERED by The Farrow.

Also, The Farrow will be showcasing prototypes of upcoming KISS figure releases including a 12 inch Gene Simmons variant that spits blood! Yes, actually SPITS BLOOD!

“The Farrow” Danny Anniello is currently the official lead Sculptor for Figures Toy Company on the well-known KISS product line. A self taught sculptor who got his start creating custom 1-of-a-kind, high end, incredibly detailed, life-like figures of his favorite bands KISS, Motely Crue, Eddie from Iron Maiden, Punky Meadows from Angel, etc. An eye for detail, and the ability to sculpt realistic figures, eventually lead to professional work for Figures Toy Company and Neca, (licensees for many Music, Superhero, TV, and Movie product lines). He has sculpted many Mego-style figures for Figures Toy Company such as KISS, BATMAN 66, EVEL KNIEVEL, and with many more to come!

The Farrow also plays with ‘LORDS OF MERCY’, a band rising fast and has played with legendary acts Ace Frehley, Michael Schenker, Twisted Sister, Accept and will be touring with ANVIL in October 2014.

See all of The Farrow’s figures on his official website HERE.

Fox 5 News

Elliot in the Morning

David Hinckley | New York Daily News

With all the promotion that now surrounds professional football pretty much year-round, it’s not a big surprise that the quarterbacks of the rock band Kiss would get in on the action.

No band has ever promoted itself more flamboyantly than these rockers who started in the ’70s, and now original Kiss-ers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are presenting an AMC show called “4th and Loud,” about their adventures running the Arena Football League team the LA Kiss. It airs Tuesday nights at 9.

They do say they rejected the idea of having the team wear the face paint that has long been a stage signature of the band.

“There are some pragmatic reasons why our great athletes should not be wearing the Kiss makeup,” says Simmons. “For one thing, you’ve got to earn it. Secondly, it’s got to be real football, not stuff going into everybody’s eyes while they are running on the field and getting tackled. Not a good idea.”

Elsewhere, though, there are Kiss touches all over.

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Ben Smith | VH1

It’s not uncommon to hear fans opine that the best Kiss album isn’t a Kiss album at all, but is actually the 1978 solo album from their extraterrestrial former-lead guitarist Ace Frehley. So it was welcome news when Ace let it be known that he was looking back to that first solo album while putting together his latest, entitled Space Invader, which came out last week. From the thick, memorable guitar riffs to the spacey artwork courtesy of Ken Kelly, who painted the cover of Kiss’ landmark Destroyer album, there’s plenty for Kiss and Ace Frehley fans to get excited about. And that’s a nice change of pace considering all the drama that surrounded past and present members when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the affable and good-natured Bronx native remains reflective about the incident, as you’ll read below, and is excited to be taking his new album on the road. So let’s turn things over to him or as his former-bandmate Paul Stanley would say “ACE FREHLEY, LEAD GUITAR!! COME ON!!!”

VH1: What are your feeling now about the events surrounding Kiss’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Ace Frehley: The rock and roll hall of fame was an exciting experience. We could’ve been inducted 15 years earlier you know, but we finally got inducted this year in April. I know there was a little controversy going on preceding the event. Originally we were asked to perform and at the last minute Paul and Gene decided they didn’t want to perform with me and Peter(founding Kiss drummer Peter Criss). Me and Peter were up for it. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was insisting that only the four original members perform and you know, Paul and Gene opted not to do it, after 40 years they couldn’t give the fans 15 minutes. Go figure. I think they’re going to regret that decision.

Tell us about your new album Space Invader.

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Ultimate Guitar

Sound: Ace Frehley is one of the most iconic ’70s guitar players. As the lead guitarist in KISS, he captivated audiences with his stage presence, his array of smoking and rocket-shooting Les Pauls, and to a lesser extent it seems, his guitar solos. Though many probably know him better by his character name, the Spaceman, Frehley became one of the world’s most recognizable guitar heroes. And despite his average at best musical skill, he influenced hordes of young, would-be guitar players across the world, most famously Dimebag Darrell. On a personal note, his guitar solo in the live version of “Deuce” is one of the principle reasons why I started playing. As a testament to his popularity among guitar players, his signature Les Paul model was one of the best-selling Gibson signature models in the company’s history (although the guitar was so visually stunning it may not have needed much help).

However, pretty much all of Frehley‘s fame comes from his time in KISS. His solo career has been a far less illustrious endeavor. His previous solo albums are not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but when Frehley advertises this new album by effectively saying, “It’s just as good as my 1978 solo album” (which was written while he was still in KISS), it is easy to see that, well, he is no Paul McCartney.

Considering that Ace also continues to take shots at his former band/boast about his own music and KISS seems to be doing the same, it is definitely worth comparing “Space Invader” to KISS‘ newest album “Monster.” After listening to both albums, though withAce‘s album admittedly being the fresher in my mind, I have concluded that KISS and Aceneed each other, at least from a musical standpoint.

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Something Else
 

Through he’s long sported the makeup made famous by his predecessor, Eric Singer is careful to note that he and fellow late-comer Tommy Thayer aren’t trying to ignore what the departed Peter Criss and Ace Frehley built with Kiss. He says they’re simply trying to add to a legacy created along with remaining founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.

“I think it’s pretty incredible what they built, what they created with those original guys,” Singer tells Nuvo. “And I’m thankful for that and I totally respect it. I think sometimes people think that somehow [we’re] trying to forget what started or what created it. And believe me, nobody is trying to forget that.”

Singer also notes that this current lineup, for all of its detractors, has been together longer than any other in the complicated history of Kiss. That period of peace, Singer adds, gives him a special perspective on what came before.

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NJKISSExpo.com

We still have a few Dealer Tables left – click HERE to reserve yours!
Tickets are on sale now – Discount if you buy in advance HERE!
All info and directions are HERE!

Investigation Discovery

Joey Cassata

The premier KISS tribute band, KISS Nation will be appearing at the New Jersey KISS Expo playing multiple sets, masked and unmasked, plugged and unplugged, on September 13th. Go to NJKISSExpo.com for more details!

Ryan Smith | Mailonline

In their decades on the rock scene, the members of KISS have remained as famous for their black-and-white make-up as they have their music.

So when the legendary rockers became the latest stars to take part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge while performing in Indiana on Friday, all eyes were understandably on their faces.

While on-stage at Noblesville’s Klipsch Music Center as part of their 40th anniversary tour, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer halted proceedings to do their bit for charity.

Wearing their signature embellished leather bodysuits, the stars were cheered on by the capacity crowd as a crew stepped onto the stage to tip red buckets of ice water over their heads.

And, much to the delight of those watching, the rockers’ make-up remained completely unaffected as the chilly water softened their teased hairstyles and ran down their bodies.

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