35 Years Ago: ‘The Return of Kiss’ Tour Hits a Snag Read More: 35 Years Ago: ‘The Return of Kiss’ Tour Hits a Snag

Chris Epting | Ultimate Classic Rock

In February of 1978, Kiss ended a grueling five-year touring cycle that helped them become one of the biggest bands in the world. Yet, when the foursome returned to the road a year and a half later for a jaunt dubbed ‘The Return of Kiss,’ they found their position in the rock hierarchy was anything but secure.

The tour was to follow one of Kiss more audacious stunts, the release of four solo albums after the conclusion of their ’78 dates in support of ‘Alive II.’ They’d then issued a disco-fied hit ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ in advance of the May street date for ‘Dynasty,’ with concert dates set for the entire second half of 1979.

These concerts would be the biggest and boldest yet from a production standpoint, even while reflecting those solo efforts through the individual band members’ costumes. Each contained colors from their respective solo albums — so Paul Stanley’s costume was purple, Gene Simmons’ was red, Ace Frehley’s was blue and Peter Criss’ was green.

The ‘Dynasty’ tour also saw the introduction of several new effects in the Kiss live concert arsenal. It was during this tour that fans first got to experience Simmons flying in midair. Frehley’s guitar, meanwhile, was tricked out with a new rocket-shooting stunt as well.

But something had changed since the last time Kiss toured the United States. Audiences had begun shifting away from the band’s classic and bombastic presentation. By this time, both punk and disco had gained solid footholds in the country. All of a sudden, the Kiss circus seemed somewhat out of step. Markets that had once been surefire sellouts were canceling gigs or downgrading to smaller venues.

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Gene Simmons Sings “Star Spangled Banner” at Dodgers Game

ABC News Radio

Screen Shot 2014-06-18 at 9.29.46 AMIt’s no secret that KISS supports the efforts of the U.S. armed forces so it was only fitting that when Gene Simmons was asked to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a Los Angeles Dodgers game, he shared the spotlight with some USO members.

Before Monday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies, Simmons performed an a capella version of the national anthem with five USO singers, harmonizing and throwing heavy-metal devil horns at the end of the song.

KISS and Simmons have long been vocal in their support for the troops. KISS recently announced that their 2014 tour crew — like their 2012 tour crew — would include two specially-recruited veterans. The band has also played special free concerts for armed forces members and their families.

KISS begins a co-headlining tour with Def Leppard next week in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here are the tour dates:

6/23 — West Valley City, UT, USANA Amphitheater
6/25 — Denver, CO, Pepsi Center
6/27 — Ridgefield, WA, Sleep Country Amphitheater
6/29 — Auburn, WA, White River Amphitheater
7/2 — Concord, CA, Concord Pavilion
7/3 — Wheatland, CA, Sacramento Valley Amphitheater
7/5 — Irvine, CA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/6 — Chula Vista, CA, Sleep Train Amphitheatre
7/8 — Los Angeles, CA, The Forum
7/9 — Phoenix, AZ, Ak-Chin Pavilion
7/12 — Austin, TX, austin360 Amphitheater
7/13 — Dallas, TX, Gexa Energy Pavilion
7/15 — Cincinnati, OH, Riverbend Music Center
7/16 — Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
7/18 — Atlanta, GA, Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood
7/19 — Charlotte, NC, PNC Music Pavilion
7/20 — Raleigh, NC, Walnut Creek Amphitheater
7/22 — West Palm Beach, FL, Cruzan Amphitheater
7/23 — Tampa, FL, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater
7/25 — Bristow, VA, Jiffy Lube Live
7/26 — Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center
8/1 — Mansfield, MA, Xfinity Center
8/2 — Atlantic City, NJ, Boardwalk Hall
8/3 — Camden, NJ, Susquehanna Bank Center
8/5 — Saratoga Springs, NY, Saratoga Performing Arts Center
8/6 — Wantagh, NY, Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
8/8 — Virginia Beach, VA, Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
8/9 — Scranton, PA, Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
8/10 — Hartford, CT, The Xfinity Theatre
8/12 — Toronto, Canada, Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
8/13 — Darien Center, NY, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
8/15 — East Troy, WI, Alpine Valley Music Theater
8/16 — Tinley Park, IL, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8/17 — Minneapolis, MN, Target Center
8/20 — Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
8/22 — Noblesville, IN, Klipsch Music Center
8/23 — Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/24 — Burgettstown, PA, First Niagara Pavilion
8/26 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH, Blossom Music Center
8/28 — Maryland Heights, MO, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
8/29 — Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
8/31 — The Woodlands, TX, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

What Rock Stars In High Heels Have To Do With The Future Of Your Brand – A Lesson From The KISS School Of Business

Forbes

Brands come and brands go. We’ve seen the business cycle get shorter and shorter in past decades (Facebook’s 10-year reign seems like a lifetime) and it makes it harder and harder to carve out a lasting niche for yourself. What’s the use, entrepreneurs wonder, if their brand will be yesterday’s news almost as soon as they’ve started building it?

It’s rare to see anyone break the endless cycle of launches that end in immediate obscurity. That’s why the hard rock band Kiss’ 40th anniversary is so impressive.

Yes, there are important business lessons to be learned everywhere, even when they involve levitating drum sets and strapped leather outfits. Kiss . . . has something special.

Their success defies logic. Most rock bands from the 70s are long gone, but Kiss just keeps getting stronger. They’ve sold more than 100 million records and have the most gold albums of any American rock band—ever.

So what’s their secret? And more importantly, how can we apply that secret to keep our businesses and brands from getting run over by the next fresh crop of entrepreneurs?

The answer: it’s all about identity.

Svenska: Det här är en bild av Gene Simmons oc…
Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, KISS in Stockholm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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KISS’ Paul Stanley Talks DEF LEPPARD Tour, Rumored Las Vegas Residency – “I Can Only Anticipate That If Those Posters Are Any Indication Of Things To Come – It Will Be Everything That People Would Expect And More”

Mitch Lafon | Brave Words

Special report by Mitch Lafon

p18pu9lglcvik1s80uih16hliv84On June 10th 2014, Paul Stanley held a special press only conference call to discuss KISS’ upcoming tour with DEF LEPPARD and his New York Times’ best selling book, Face The Music: A Life Exposed. Journalists from across Canada and the U.S. were able to ask one question plus a follow-up. What you will read below are Paul’s answers to the questions that were posed (in proper sequence) by the various media invited to the one-hour event. PLEASE NOTE: This is Part One of a three part special. Also note than none of the questions were asked by this reporter.
The first question asked of Paul was the obligatory, ‘what will we see on the tour?’

“This is the greatest and best stage that we’ve ever had,” started Stanley. “We took it through Europe and it was a huge success. We call it the Spider stage because the lights are actually in the shape of a spider and the legs are actually dangling down onto the stage and move. I designed this. I wanted a stage where the lights and stage were one instead of having lights hanging from the ceiling. So, the lighting and the stage is by far the best thing we’ve done,” and added proudly, “Look the band is firing on all cylinders so, between that and the fact that we are psyched up for this and we’re celebrating our 40th year; we are out there to do a victory lap although the race isn’t over yet. There’ll be more races, but this is a celebration of everything we’ve done up to today.”

The next question in the cue dealt with the much talked about Vegas Residency as the reporter inquired about the ‘coming this fall’ posters seen around Las Vegas and posed the very direct question – ‘Are there plans for KISS to do a residency in Las Vegas this fall?’

“I’ve seen the same posters you have,” stated Stanley calmly and added, “I guess we’ll both find out what this is about as time goes on. Time tells all I guess.” Pressed on the issue and wanting to find out if he had anything to divulge on the topic right now. The always diplomatic Stanley asserted, “No, but I can only anticipate that if those posters are any indication of things to come – it will be everything that people would expect and more.”

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KISS’ Paul Stanley Interview Part II – “We’re So Much Bigger Now Because We’re Superman, But Don’t Have To Hide Behind Clark Kent”

Mitch Lafon | Brave Words

p18qirqplplu01auv13b7p5b10e94On June 10th, Paul Stanley held a special press only conference call to discuss KISS’ upcoming tour with Def Leppard and his New York Times’ best selling book, Face The Music: A Life Exposed. Journalists from across Canada and the US were able to ask one question plus a follow-up. What you will read below are Paul’s answers to the questions that were posed (in proper sequence) by the various media invited to the one-hour event. In part two, Paul addresses more local issues as well as the importance of supporting the troops.

When asked about performing for Nashville audiences, Stanley had this to say, “We’ve been coming to Nashville since playing Mother’s (April 1974)which for me was a legendary show. I still remember the yellow t-shirts. We were coming to Nashville when perhaps there was a large segment of Nashville that didn’t quite embrace us. Things have changed over the years. Nashville has always been a music community; although the scope of what was called country was much narrower when we first came in. Country music now is not only built on Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn or George Jones. It’s reached a point now where it’s also built on The Eagles, Queen, and KISS. Many of the later generations of country artists grew up embracing rock n’ roll. It’s an incredibly vibrant and healthy community. It’s fertile to say the least and I love what Nashville has evolved into. There’s a lot of great music coming out of Nashville. We know we’re playing for musicians that we respect and we go in there to do our best.”

In years past, many bands including KISS controlled the amount of information that was available to the public. Now with social media, everything becomes immediate fodder for public consumption. Asked if there is simply too much information available these days and if it hurts the mystique, Paul replied, “Certainly, in all walks of life (in terms of public figures) there is a certain mystique that is gone because everything is known. I think mystique is healthy. I think to glamorize and fantasize is a good thing. I’m not sure KISS could have accomplished what we did initially in this time because we could make sure photos weren’t available. The paparazzi didn’t have photos of us out of makeup. We could create this mystique. It wasn’t unlike the mystique of Hollywood in the ‘30s and ‘40s which was a romanticized version of reality. I’m a fan of it. We’ve progressed and evolved over time into something much bigger in scope, but our roots are quite clearly in the mythical.”

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Strange Ways podcast 24 – Talkin’ KISS with J.R. Smallin

Terry X

285>_9665609JR SMALLING dropped by to talk KISS with us! We discuss the brand new ebook, “OUT ON THE STREETS”, and in typical STRANGE WAYS fashion, we also touch on a wide variety of KISS topics, sure to put a smile on your face! We hope you enjoy, KISS Army!!! And as always..Thanks for listening, and keep on rockin’!!!

 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Father Paul Stanley Listens to His Kids, Teaches Them to Be Grateful

ABC News Radio

paul-stanley-with-his-wife-456-081011Just in time for Father’s Day, some thoughts on parenting from Paul Stanley. The KISS frontman recently published an autobiography called Face the Music: A Life Exposed, which not only reflects on fame, fortune and music but also delves into Stanley’s less-than-wonderful childhood.

The extensive press that the singer’s done to promote the book made him philosophical about his own parenting style.  Stanley tells ABC News Radio that he’s learned what not to do from the mistakes his own parents made.  “I’ve always tried, with my children, to listen,” he says.  “If something’s bothering your child, they’re not looking for anything except to be heard.  Just, someone needs to be there to listen to [them].”

Having sold more than 100 million albums and made trunk loads of cash on merchandising deals, Stanley is quite wealthy.  He says that even though his kids have whatever they want, “I never have seen my children as spoiled.  I’ve never seen anyone say ‘Thank you’ or smile more at getting things than my oldest [son, Evan].  It’s how you accept things, and if you don’t accept things in the right [way]…well then, perhaps you’re getting too much.”

Paul Stanley: Face the Music: A Life Exposed is available in print, audio and digital formats now.  KISS kicks off their summer co-headlining tour with Def Leppard on June 23 in Salt Lake City.

Ace Frehley plays ‘Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?’

Ultimate Classic Rock

He’s written his own tell-all memoir, so you’d think that former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley wouldn’t have to deal with false or misleading information on his Wikipedia page. As it turns out, however, there are a few stories that need to be set straight — and Frehley did the straightening during a recent edition of Loudwire‘s ‘Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?’ series.

This latest segment, which you can watch via the embedded video at the top of this post, is the second of Frehley’s two-part sitdown with site (you can see the first one here). The discussion focuses on his years with Kiss, and although those were a long time ago, you might still come away from watching these clips with some surprising new information — including which big-name session drummer was a member of the band for one day and which of Frehley’s songs was inspired by a high-speed chase involving a dinged-up DeLorean and the White Plains, N.Y. police department.

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Paul Stanley of KISS guests on Hallmark TV’s Home & Family

Hennemusic

KISS frontman Paul Stanley was the featured guest on Tuesday’s edition of “Home & Family” on the Hallmark channel.

Stanley was on hand to promote his recently-released memoir, “Face The Music: A Life Exposed”, as well as demonstrate his home cooking skills.

The memoir debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times “Hardcover Nonfiction” best sellers list.

Published April 8, the book chronicles Stanley’s life and rise to global success with KISS, which he co-founded in January of 1973 with bassist Gene Simmons from the ashes of the pair’s previous band, Wicked Lester.

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Gene Simmons of KISS to produce ‘Ugly Models’ TV show

Examiner

KISS’s long-tongued God of Thunder, the incomparable Gene Simmons, is going to produce a series titled “Ugly Models.” The show’s name mimics a British modeling agency that takes on “character models” of every description.

The modeling agency actually has the word “ugly” in capital letters sprawled across its home page. If you’d like to see what they call “character models,” click HERE. The site says, “We like our women fat and our men geeky, we like the extremely tall and the shockingly small. No one is too abstract for our books! We are Ugly. And we are the leaders in character modeling. With a unique outlook on modeling [sic], our philosophy is simply – ‘Any beauty can be airbrushed but we want our look to have true character.’”

Not everyone at Ugly Models is just an ordinary character. They have some folks on the roster that are also in the Guinness World Records, such as the world’s tallest man, Sultan Kosen, who is 8 feet, 1 inch tall. They also have more traditional looking models. According to the site, “If you have luscious locks and fab abs, you’re still Ugly to us!”

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Strange Ways podcast 22 – It’s all about Paul, part 1

Jody Havenot

Dude…It’s all about Paul!!! Episode 22 and 23 finds us joined by our PODCAST ROCK CITY bro, Joe Polo!!! We celebrate and discuss all things Paul Stanley!! The conversation was a blast, but it went a little long…So it is divided into 2 episodes..so make sure you get both parts!!! And as always, thanks for listening. and keep on rockin’!

Alternate Kisstory: Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer & Bruce Kulick Speak Out

Brian Hiatt | Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone‘s first-ever Kiss cover story mostly focused on the original lineup of the band: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. The Rock and Hall of Fame also chose to induct only those members – a decision Simmons and Stanley made quite clear that they opposed. They invited current Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer, current drummer Eric Singer and former guitarist Bruce Kulick (who played in the band from 1984 to 1995) to join them at their table for the April 10th ceremony, and thanked them from the stage for their contributions. In that spirit, here are Kisstory-spanning conversations with each of those musicians, culled from the cover-story transcripts.

20 Best Moments at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2014 Induction 

Tommy Thayer

When Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent wore makeup in Kiss, they had new characters. Did you have any discomfort about simply wearing Ace’s makeup?
No, first of all, I didn’t have any input on that. That was a decision that those guys made. There was not even a conversation about it, because I think it was so obvious, that they weren’t going to introduce new characters 30 years into the band. I never thought that there should be some new designs or something. I thought that would have been ridiculous. And the only thing is, you’ve got a lot of push-back from some of the diehards. And that’s understandable. Hey, you know, if you lived in the Seventies and Kiss was your favorite band, and that’s what you grew up with, and suddenly there’s another guy wearing that makeup, I can understand how some people, it might not have appealed to them as much. But as time as gone by, a lot of people have changed their mind.

You can imagine what Ace has to say.
He probably wouldn’t agree with that, would he?

He told me, “A supergroup has one of the most dynamic, greatest lead guitarists in the world leave the band, and who did they hire to play lead guitar? Their road manager, who used to be in a Kiss cover band. How insane is that? You can’t make this shit up.”
[Laughs] You know, that’s one way to… that’s one way to put it, I guess, even though that’s not really accurate. These guys like to say that, oh, he was the road manager. He never paid his dues. Well, you know, if you look back, I’ve been in music professionally for over 30 years now, and I’ve made just as many records as they have, probably. And it’s not to detract from what he’s saying as far as, he was iconic in the Seventies, you know? And he did influence a lot of guitar players, and he did record and write some great stuff. Specifically, the first three or four Kiss albums, up to Kiss Alive!

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Peter Criss Signs On for John Bonham Tribute Concert

Ultimate Classic Rock

criss-bonhamOriginal Kiss drummer Peter Criss is set to make a special appearance at a tribute concert for the late Led Zeppelin time keeper, John BonhamBonzo Bash is being billed as an all-star tribute to Bonham, and will take place on May 31 at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey.

Also taking part in the tribute will be members of Overkill, Living Colour, Twisted Sister, and Kings X, as well as Corky Laing of Mountain. Billed as ‘The Ultimate Celebration For The Ultimate Drummer,’ ‘Bonzo Bash’ is being put together by Brian Thomas Tichy, who has played with WhitesnakeForeignerBilly Idol and Ozzy Osbourne to name a few.

Criss recently joined Rob Zombie on stage to perform the Kiss classic ‘God of Thunder’ at a May 10 concert in New Jersey. We recently published an in-depth look at the ups and downs of the Catman’s solo career following his initial 1980 departure from Kiss.


KISS Inducted Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Huffington Post

Few bands short of the Beatles inspired more kids to play the guitar and drums than KISS. The entire notion of rock stardom owes an enormous debt to the group’s signature makeup, explosive stage shows and anthems including “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City.” “They are four of the most recognizable faces on the planet and one of the most iconic and badass bands of all time — tonight is the night that KISS enters the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” proclaimed Tom Morello, inducting KISS to some of the loudest crowd cheers of the induction ceremony. Morello cited three important considerations for induction: “Impact, influence and awesomeness.” In their decades of rock and roll bombast, KISS checked all those boxes, and the sparks continued when the original members of the band took the stage to accept their Hall of Fame awards.

Gene Simmons:

We are humbled that the fans gave us the chance to do what we love doing. And so I’m here just to say a few kind words about the four knuckleheads who, 40 years ago, got together and decided to put together the band that you see on stage — critics be damned.

To Ace Frehley: his iconic guitar playing has been imitated, but never duplicated, by generations of guitar players around the world. To Peter Criss, whose drumming and singing … Well, there’s not a guy out there who beats the sticks who sounds just like Peter. Nobody’s got that swing and that style.

Something happened 40 years ago: I met the partner and the brother I never knew I had: Paul Stanley. You couldn’t ask for someone more awesome to be on the same team. I am humbled.

I was going to say a few kind words about Eric Carr, Rest in Peace. Mark St. John, Rest in Peace. Vinnie Vincent, the great Bruce Kulick, and of course, here we are 40 years later with the great Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer, and we continue on.

However, we wouldn’t be here today without the initial Fantastic Four. God bless you all.

Peter Criss:

I’d like to thank the Hall of Fame for this honor: I never thought this could happen in my life. Thank you. I’d like to thank everybody that had to do something with my career and the band’s career. For 50 years, I’ve been doing it; 40 years, we’ve been doing it.

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Ace Frehley’s real live ‘Spinal Tap’ story

Ken Kelley | The Loon

Ace Frehley has never been particularly shy about voicing his opinions on matters concerning his former band, Kiss. Now, he’s offered his thoughts on why Kiss chose not to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony while also setting his sights on current Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer.

“I think the reason they didn’t want to get together with the original members was because they’re afraid of history repeating itself,” Frehley says in the July 2014 issue of Guitar World. “When we did ‘Unplugged’ in 1995, you saw what happened: because the fans were so excited about me and Peter playing with those guys, they had to scrap their last record [with then-current members Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer] and do a reunion tour. Although at this point I don’t think Peter could do a two-hour show and a full tour. But I still got the chops. I definitely blow [current Kiss guitarist] Tommy Thayer off the stage.”

This isn’t the first time that the guitarist has criticized his former band but with the Hall of Fame fiasco behind him, Frehley is looking towards the future. The 63 year-old guitarist is engaged to be married and regularly works with Gibson guitars on a myriad of signature instruments. But perhaps most significantly, Frehley is now seven-and-a-half years sober, a monumental achievement for the once hard-living guitarist.

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