Bryan Alexander | USA Today

Lena Headey is clearly not a big Kiss fan. At Tuesday night’s premiere for 300: Rise of an Empire, rocker Gene Simmons found that out the hard way after Headey snubbed his aggressive social advances.

It was a scene that would have fit in perfectly on the rocker’s canceled reality show.

Simmons tried in vain to pull Headey, one of the 300stars, away from an ongoing black carpet interview . He wanted to introduce her to his son Nick Simmons, 25, who was waiting with a pained expression a few feet away.

At first Headey smiled politely as Simmons assured her that she would much rather meet his son than continue an interview.

Then Simmons joked lamely about the AP microphone in front of him. (“I have an app on my phone,” he said.) No one laughed.

Then he found out that Headey was not going to move despite being guided by his left hand on her back. Headey, who plays Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones and Spartan Queen Gorgo in 300: Rise of an Empire, stood her ground and continued her interview.

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Kory Grow | Rolling Stone

Kevin Mazur

The bitterness between the current and former members who founded Kiss will not be quelled anytime soon. It’s been a little over a week since the group announced that it would not perform “in any lineup” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, following Ace Frehley’s comment that he would not perform with current guitarist Tommy Thayer wearing Frehley’s sometime makeup. Now, in a new interview with Guitar World, vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley has derided Frehley’s talent.

Kiss’ Long Road to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Photos

“What we had at the beginning was magical. . . Ace and I played great together,” Stanley said. “But in my mind it’s a crime what Ace did: He threw away incredible potential and talent. The Ace I played with when the band first started out was a comet – and not [Frehley’s late-Eighties band] ‘Frehley’s Comet!’ But he was burning bright and really had the ability – and this would rub him the wrong way – to be a real contender. But he stopped practicing. He got involved with a whole lot of things that really diluted and diminished his craft. I saw that comet grow dim.”

Stanley also said that after Kiss ousted drummer Peter Criss in 1980, he decided the band needed to reinvent itself, and that’s why they removed their makeup in 1983. It’s a decision he now feels hurt the band. “Rather than saying, ‘We’ve built these iconic figures together and we’re going to continue on with what we built,’ we bought into the idea of, ‘We have to have a new character,'” he said. “That watered it down. Some people may argue with me, but I feel that Batman is Batman whether he’s played by George Clooney, Christian Bale, Val Kilmer and on and on.”

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KISSonline.com

Paul Stanley’s “Face the Music: A Life Exposed” will be released in ALL formats including eBook and spoken word on April 8th! Paul will be signing copies of his new book at the following locations:

Monday, April 7 – New York – 6:00 pm

Barnes & Noble Tribeca
97 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007

Tuesday, April 8 – New York – 7:00 pm

Barnes & Noble
2245 Richmond Avenue
Staten Island, NY

Wednesday, April 9 – New York/New Jersey – 6:00 pm

Bookends
211 E. Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ

Wednesday, April 16 – Los Angeles – 7:00 pm

Barnes & Noble
The Grove
189 The Grove Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Thursday, April 17 – San Diego – 7:00 pm

Warwick’s
7812 Girard Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92037

Friday, April 25 – San Francisco – 7:00 pm

Jewish Community Center
3200 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94118

Special Risks Bureau

That’s 1,001,462 U.S. Dollars.

Joe Polo

Classic Rock Magazine

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley has insisted he and Gene Simmons were never going to allow Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to take part in their cancelled Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction performance.

And he adds that while they’re still welcome to attend the ceremony in April, there’s no chance they’ll be allowed to wear the make-up that made them famous.

Stanley and Simmons last week stated that no line-up of the band would play, following previous comments which had offered fans some hope the four original members would take the stage together.

The frontman’s latest comments come after the partner of Bill Aucoin, the manager who helped make the band’s name, called for them to stop their “nonsense” and find a compromise.

Stanley tells the LA Times: “Imagine getting on stage and playing with a line-up that does not exist.” He compares the situation to being forced to reunite with a former spouse.

He adds that he’d still be happy for Frehley and Criss to take part in the actual induction – but he’ll accept no argument that current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer should not be there too. “The naysayers talk about Tommy or Eric being impostors,” Stanley says. “I think an impostor is a guy up there doing it for a pay cheque.”

Meanwhile, both ex-members have expressed their disappointment. Guitarist Frehley says: “For years, Gene and Paul have been trying to minimise my contributions to the band, even though I designed the famous Kiss logo and the trademarked make-up for the Spaceman character.”

Criss comments: “We should have been able to work it out as grown men. It’s a shame we couldn’t.”

NBC

The fun starts at the 1:51 minute mark…

Mitch Lafon

Steve Appleford | LA Times

Liz O Baylen

The sideshow at Dodger Stadium is about to begin as Paul Stanley emerges from his backstage trailer, shirtless and in full kabuki drag: bright red lips, his face painted harlequin white, a black star over his right eye. The singer-guitarist is here to perform with his band KISS but hears his name and walks over to a crowd gathered at the fence.

COTN

Krazy Knights

Nick DeRiso | Ultimate Classic Rock

After a period dominated by squabbles over the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s time for Kiss to unplug — literally. They’ll play a rare acoustic show a week before their controversial induction ceremonies, offering stripped-down Kiss favorites and telling stories sans makeup.

Called ‘An Acoustic Evening and Stories with Kiss,’ the show mimics their memorable ‘MTV Unplugged’ episode of some 20 years ago. The concert will take place at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, Calif. on April 3 — which also falls two days before the first-ever home game for the L.A. Kiss, the new arena football team that’s partially owned by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

Cameras from AMC will be on hand to film the casino show for the upcoming reality show centered around the football team’s inaugural season. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 28, via Ticketmaster and at the box office in San Manuel.

Kiss will join the Rock Hall on April 10, but announced this week that it will not perform after getting into a dispute with organizers over who would be part of their induction.
Read More: Kiss To Play Acoustic Concert A Week Before Hall of Fame Induction | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-acoustic-concert/?trackback=tsmclip

Mitch Lafon

ABC News

At least one former  KISS  member is issue-free about the band’s impending induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ex-KISS guitarist  Bruce Kulick  — who spent 12 years with the group during their non-makeup period — tells ABC News Radio that he thinks the induction is “a long time coming…[and] awesome.”

KISS fans were disappointed to learn the band doesn’t plan to perform at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, reportedly because of difficulties determining which incarnation should take the stage.  Kulick gives those notoriously ardent fans credit for making the induction happen, noting they’ve been “petitioning…for years” for the band’s inclusion.  He declares, quite simply, “the people have spoken.”

Bruce Kulick parted ways with KISS when the band reunited with original members  Peter Criss  and  Ace Frehley  in 1996.  Even so, he’s remained friends with  Gene Simmons  and  Paul Stanley , as well as current KISS drummer  Eric Singer  — all of whom can be seen on Kulick’s recent wedding video , posted on his website. The guitarist married girlfriend  Lisa Lane  on January 4.

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Joe Polo

KISSonline.com

To All Our Fans In Regards To The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Out of respect, Ace and Peter’s recent statements demand a quick response to you, our fans.

Our intention was to celebrate the entire history of KISS and give credit to all members including long time present members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, and additionally Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr all who have made this band what it is, regardless of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s point of view.

Although KISS has moved forward far longer without them, Ace and Peter are at the very foundation of what we have built and this would all be impossible had they not been a part of it in the beginning.

It is over 13 years since the original lineup has played together in make-up and we believe the memory of those times would not be enhanced. Contrary to claims made through the media we have never refused to play with Ace and Peter.

We have spent 40 years dedicated to building KISS without quitting or wavering as the band has moved forward with huge tours and platinum albums through different important lineups for forty years, to this day.

KISS has always been a band unlike any other. That is why we started KISS. That is why we continue KISS. Being unlike other bands also means making choices and decisions unlike other bands.

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Eddie Trunk

Bill Aucoin’s former partner, Roman Fernandez, has released the following statement regarding KISS and the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony:

“I’m going on record.

I normally stand by the sidelines quietly watching the scrimmage in silence, but now, I feel I have to speak up.

My late partner, Bill Aucoin, bothered enough in 1973 to wager his entire career as a successful television producer and bet all the money he had, as well as money he didn’t have, on 4 kids from the streets of New York. He unfortunately can no longer speak for himself on the subject of KISS and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bill Aucoin gave KISS their start, as well as some of the best years of his life. KISS would, in fact, despite all his other successes, come to define Bill in the eyes of millions of fans and in the eyes of the industry. An industry that to a great degree didn’t give KISS the time of day when it mattered the most. No one did except for Bill, Sean Delaney and Neil (and Joyce) Bogart. All no longer with us except for Joyce. But, Bill and I spoke about this subject on several occasions before he passed. Bill Aucoin was not the type to reflect in regret, and he harbored no animosity. But he was convinced that due to politics within the board of the Hall of Fame, the day would never come that saw KISS inducted. I’m pretty certain he was OK with that.

But had Bill been alive to see the day it was announced that the group would indeed, despite every notion to the contrary, be inducted, might have been a nice parting gift for him. But it’s done. He’s gone. It could have just as easily been Paul, Gene, Peter or Ace. But they’re still here. And I’m pretty sure this is what Bill might have said in light of all this nonsense: ‘(….unintelligible noises) Look it, find a compromise, put everything aside for one night, be the larger than life rock stars you know you are, and then…. Onward and upward!’

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PeterCriss.net

To KISS fans,

It’s disappointing to have to say to you, the fans, that as of today, Ace and I have been denied a performance with Gene and Paul for our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.   Tickets go on sale on Monday, Feb. 24th,  and I wanted to make sure that fans understood that no original performance, in or out of makeup, has been offered to us before they purchased their tickets.  This is disgraceful and I feel bad for the fans who were looking forward to the four of us being inducted together.

God Bless,

Peter Criss – The Catman

Eddie Trunk

The Associated Press

KISS won’t rock and roll all night — or at any point during the day, either — when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, the band said Sunday.

The band has had many replacement members over the years, and they all can’t seem to agree on which members should play during the April 10 induction ceremony in New York City.

Instead, the Toronto Sun reports, they’re opting to not perform at all.

The dispute concerns whether original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss would join Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in a live performance, or whether the current lineup of Stanley, Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer would play instead.

In a message on its website, KISS said it won’t perform with any lineup, calling it “an emotional situation where there is no way to please everyone.”

“Our intention was to celebrate the entire history of KISS and give credit to all members, including longtime present members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, and additionally Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr all who have made this band what it is, regardless of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame’s point of view,” the band wrote on its web site. “Although KISS has moved forward far longer without them, Ace and Peter are at the very foundation of what we have built and this would all be impossible had they not been a part of it in the beginning.”

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