Amber Lee | 93 Rock

KISS singer/bassist Gene Simmons recently told Rolling Stone that he was open to a reunion performance of his band’s original lineup when the group is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and now ex-KISS guitarist Ace Frehley says he’d also be up for playing with his old band mates at the event.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Frehley commented to Rolling Stone when told that Simmons was agreeable to a reunion.

Asked whether he’d be apprehensive about hitting the stage with Gene and KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley again, Ace says, “Not at all.  I think it will be great.  I think it will be great for the fans to witness and a lot of fun.”

As for how he feels about his old band getting inducted into the Rock Hall, Frehley says, “It’s such an honor,” adding, “It should be a great evening.  I’m really excited and looking forward to the night.”

With regard to KISS having had to wait more than a decade after first being eligible for the honor, Frehley notes, “I had a sense that someday we’d have to get recognized, and that someday has come to pass.”

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From: Chris

This KISS fan actually re-created, corrected and perfected the original Paul Stanley PS10 guitar ad from 1978 and it looks even better than it’s predecessor. The new ad from 2013 is on the left with the original from 1978 on the right. An incredible job well done!

What can I say, the ps10 always has been my ultimate Kiss guitar.

The photo’s from ’70s and the ad’s from Ibanez are burned in my head. I bought the ps10ltd, I thought that that was the ultimate signature model to have and since then I always wanted to bring my guitar back into the ’70s, So I took the ’78 ad and we re-created the shoot with the album covers and the amp.

I alway thought that the amp used in the original ad was wrong and that it should be a Marshall, so we changed that. And also we changed the inner sleeve from Alive II to the album cover of Alive I. I wanted the same feeling but at the same time it had to be different.

Chris

Wayne Parry | The Modesto Bee

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — An adopted son of the Jersey shore is heading into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Peter Criss, the original drummer of the rock group Kiss, has made his home in Wall Township for years. The band was among the Class of 2014 inductees announced Tuesday.

“This is absolutely the best Christmas and birthday present I could get,” Criss, who turns 68 on Friday, told The Associated Press. “This is amazing, that something like this could happen to a kid from Brooklyn.”

Criss said the band always tried to give fans more for their money by adding makeup, costumes, explosives and stage props to the live concert experience. His drum kit, for example, rose 50 feet into the air during his drum solos, which were often filtered through a phase shifter to produce a surreal sound effect.

The big productions Kiss pioneered have been widely embraced by other rock and pop acts, he said.

“When you set someone a strong example and you see it happening with other bands, you know you’ve opened some sort of door,” he said. “We always wanted more, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger.”

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Andy Greene | Rolling Stone

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame officially announced next year’s inductees on Monday: Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt will all join the class of 2014. The E Street Band will be given the Award for Musical Excellence and Beatles manager Brian Epstein and original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldgham will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.

See all of the Rock Hall’s legendary inductees from 1986 to today

The induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 10. It’s the first time the general public will be able to attend the event in New York City. Tickets go on sale in January; HBO will air the event in May.

Artists are eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single.Nirvana, whose first single “Love Buzz” came out in 1988, are entering the institution their first year of eligibility. “That’s really no surprise to me,” says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Joel Peresman. “People see the relevancy of that band. We’re just getting into the creative of the show, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with that performance. They have to figure it out.”

The rock band Kiss, from left, Tommy Thayer, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Paul Stanley in March 2012.

Kiss have been eligible for the last 15 years, but didn’t get the nod until now. “The Kiss Army has descended on Cleveland in recent years,” says Peresman. “And we’ve gotten thousands of letters. They also did extremely well in the public vote.” (In 2012, the band joked to RS, “We’ve been thinking about it and the answer is simply, ‘We’ll just buy it and fire everybody.'”)

A lifetime of Kiss: look back at the group’s rise to the Rock Hall

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Krazy Knights

Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock

This morning (Dec. 14), firefighters in Westchester County, N.Y. were called to a house in Yorktown Heights owned by former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. There are no reported injuries.

Lohud.com is reporting that the stone house was “heavily damaged,” and that “[f]lames burned through the roof.” The Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire Department has posted four pictures of the fire to its Facebookpage, including the one used above.

It is believed that a caretaker, not Frehley, lives in the house. The Red Cross has been enlisted to assist with finding a place for the resident to stay. “We are making arrangements to make sure he has emergency lodging,” Carolyn Sherwin, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross, told lohud.com.

Back in February, U.S. Bank National Association looked to foreclose on the house due to nearly two years of unpaid mortgages. A lien had also been placed on the property due to Frehley owing back taxes, which were paid off in May. The foreclosure issue does not appear to have been settled yet.

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The Guardian

Tania Savayan

A suburban New York house owned by the former Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley has gone up in flames.

The Journal News newspaper reported that firefighters had been called to the stone house in the town of Yorktown Heights late on Saturday morning. The home was heavily damaged, with flames burning through the roof.

The newspaper said the musician had been fighting foreclosure on the property in Westchester county court.

The Red Cross helped a resident with emergency lodging. A neighbour said a caretaker had been living in the home.

It was not clear where the 62-year-old founding member of the famed rock band was at the time of the blaze. He played with the group until 2002, during what was billed as their farewell tour.

Global Trader

Royalty, rock’n’roll and movie stars – they do business lunches differently in America.

While British business councils and clubs might attract the odd comedian or government minister, over in California today (Friday December 13) Kiss frontman Gene Simmons and Sarah Duchess of York were just two of the stellar names attending the annual Christmas Luncheon of the British American Business Council Los Angeles.

Taking place at the uber-glitzy Fairmont Hotel and Bungalows Resort in Santa Monica, the event – this time appropriately showcasing British and American luxury brands – is now in its 54th year, and the organisation aims to promote ‘friendship, commerce and trade between the United States and the United Kingdom.’

While evidently getting its rocks off at the same time!

Simmons, whose commercially lucrative oeuvre in the glam rock Kiss line-up includes raunchy tunes such as Calling Doctor Love, and special guest speaker Fergie, who has forged a successful media career across the Atlantic, were part of a 500-strong throng at the popular festive bash.

Other guests included Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food), Will Rothhaar (star of National Geographic’s Killing Kennedy), Cas Anvar (Diana the movie), Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist, Saving Lincoln and Mistresses) and Lolita Davidovich (Rizzoli & Isles, Kill Your Darlings, and Squatters).

Meanwhile the serious business side was represented by the British Consul General, the Regional Director of UKTI and a multitude of influential bosses. The BABC LA is part of the largest transatlantic business network, with 23 chapters, 2,500 member companies and some of the world’s largest multinationals, based in major business centres throughout North America and the UK.

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RTT News

KISS have unveiled their latest foray into the merchandising world — an officially licensed version of Sega’s iOS game Demon Tribe.

The painted rockers shared the new game online this week, boasting that it blends of the best of several spheres of the gaming world.

In an official statement, band reps say that the game is “an intense real-time blend of MOBA, Card Collection and RPG gaming,” which requires players to “build a powerful team of fighters by capturing demons and fusing them into the ultimate power: magic that transforms you and your tribe into the very demons you must vanquish.”

Online gaming is relatively new to KISS. Gene Simmons previously said that they’ve “stayed out of the marketplace because the ideas simply weren’t exciting enough.”

Sterling Whitaker

Kiss were one of the top arena draws of the ’70s, staging some of the most impressive concert spectacles of that era with their over-the-top theatrical performances. But the power of their live production almost cost guitarist Ace Frehley his life at a gig on Dec. 12, 1976, at the Lakeland Civic Center in Florida, when an unforeseen technical glitch caused him to nearly be electrocuted onstage.

The near-fatal production snafu occurred early in the group’s set, after ‘Detroit Rock City.’ Kiss performed that song atop their set before descending to the stage for the next song. As Frehley came down from the top of the set, he grabbed onto a metal rail to steady himself — inadvertently completing an electrical circuit with his guitar. He was seized by the electrical current and unable to move, but finally broke free and fell several feet to the stage below. “If I hadn’t been able to let go, I would have died,” Frehley told theLakeland Ledger shortly thereafter. “My life passed in front of my eyes.”

Shaken, but not seriously hurt, the Spaceman took a 10-minute break in the dressing room before returning to the stage to a standing ovation, finishing the night’s set. “I knew it for an instant and then I blacked out. I woke up behind the amplifiers,” the guitarist told the Morton Report. “I said, ‘I can’t play.’ Then the fans started chanting my name and I finished the show. But I had no feeling in my hands. I don’t know how I even did it. I guess it was all adrenaline.”

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Something Else!

Should Kiss earn a belated induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Gene Simmons has made it clear he’s not participating in a reunion with his fellow original members. That won’t keep Ace Frehley away. “There’s no way Gene can put a lid on it,” Frehley tells Eddie Trunk. “I mean, what’s he going to do?”

Kiss has grown increasingly fractured over the 15 years since it became eligible, as the good feelings engendered bya long-awaited 1990s-era reunion of Frehley, Paul Stanley, Simmons and Peter Criss have been completely forgotten. Kiss continues these days with replacements Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, even as the remaining founders making increasingly inflammatory remarks.

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Examiner

Rock Legend and media mogul, Gene Simmonswill mentor and jam with campers along with fellow rock star friends at Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp offering an opportunity of a lifetime at itsLas Vegas studios. The camp will also feature Tommy Thayer (KISS), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Dave Ellefson (Megadeth). Together alongside Simmons, they will help musicians of all levels form bands, learn or perfect their knowledge of an instrument, write and record a song. The four-day camp will culminate with a live performance at the House of Blues at theMandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas March 27-30, 2014. This March marks Simmons’ return to Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp for the first time since his October 2012.

“Mentoring adult and young rockers at the fantasy camp has always been an amazingly rewarding experience for me,” said Simmons. “I enjoy teaching and handing over lessons I’ve learned from the business to young and upcoming talent’’

Space for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp is extremely limited. To sign-up or for more information, please visit www.RockCamp.com, or call (888) 762-2263.

Formed in New York City in 1973, KISS is one of the most successful rock bands of all time and was recently nominated this year for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Simmons, the band’s original bass player and co-founder, is credited with writing many of the band’s songs including “Nothing To Lose,” “We Are One,” “Shout It Out Loud,” and “Domino” to name a few. He also owns a record label, Simmons Records, and is known for his innovative marketing of his band and his TV series, “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.”

The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is located at 3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, please visit www.mandalaybay.com.

KISSmuseum.com

Or shipment arrived today and we are shipping all orders, (including pre-orders), out within one business day. Order now to have them in time for Christmas.

The new KISS Dressed to Kill figures are a step up in detail, molding and quality. The suits are made of stitched fabric and the facial expressions are phenomenal!

Postage is always only $3.95 for any size U.S. order when you order from KISSmuseum.com!

Buy the new figures HERE at KISSmuseum.com

Musicnews.com

Rock Legend and media mogul, Gene Simmons will mentor and jam with campers along with fellow rock star friends at Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp offering an opportunity of a lifetime at its Las Vegas studios.

The camp will also feature Tommy Thayer (KISS), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Dave Ellefson (Megadeth). Together alongside Simmons, they will help musicians of all levels form bands, learn or perfect their knowledge of an instrument, write and record a song. The four-day camp will culminate with a live performance at House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas March 27-30, 2014. This March marks Simmons’ return to Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp for the first time since his October 2012.

‘Mentoring adult and young rockers at the fantasy camp has always been an amazingly rewarding experience for me,’ said Simmons. ‘I enjoy teaching and handing over lessons I’ve learned from the business to musicians and upcoming talent’

Space for Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp is extremely limited. To sign-up or for more information, please visit www.rockcamp.com

Krazy Knights
 

Marshall Terrill | Get Out

Alice Cooper’s 13th annual Christmas Pudding is going heavy on the metal — and will be sealed with a KISS.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and shock rocker has enlisted four members of KISS — Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer — to co-headline his annual holiday music and comedy benefit gala.

They’ll be joined by many of rock and metal’s biggest stars, including Joan Jett, Rob Zombie, Vince Neil of Motely Crue, Stephen Pearcy of RATT, Tom Keifer of Cinderella, Kip Winger of Winger, and several more guests soon to be announced.

The concert takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at Comerica Theatre. Proceeds from the event directly benefit Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center.

Former “Seinfeld” and “Family Feud” star John O’Hurley will serve as guest host for the festivities. Blue Collar Comedy Tour’s Bill Engvall will be this year’s comedian.

“Although I have played more than 100 shows this year, Pudding is the one I look forward to the most,” Cooper says. “We love bringing people together for Christmas, for the sake of music and dance, and the mission of Solid Rock.”

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njkissexpo.com

Come down to the KISS Mart in Edison NJ this Saturday and pick up a set of the new KISS Dressed to Kill action figures before their official release! The figures landed in the U.S. just today and will start ground shipping to all the outlets shortly. By a special arrangement with the distributor, the NJ KISS Mart is having a shipment FedEx Overnighted to us, hot off the boat, to sell at the NJ KISS Mart event this Saturday, December 7! Come by and pick out a nice set for yourself and have them before anyone else!

In addition to the new KISS DTK Figures, the KISS Mart will have tables and tables full of KISS merchandise, old and new – mostly at discount bargain prices. Credit cards accepted.

The NJ KISS Mart is THE place to meet with your fellow KISS Collectors to view, buy, trade, sell, and talk about all things KISS. A great place to meet friends and have a top-of-the-line KISS shopping experience!

The NJ KISS Mart always has FREE admission!

All info and directions for the NEW JERSEY KISS MART are HERE 

Anthony Smiljkovich | My Fox LA

Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV

Gene Simmons is a football fan and he’s bringing football to LA. He talked to Steve and Maria Wednesday about his new Arena Football team the LA KISS and why he and Paul Stanley are venturing into the world of sports and offering season tickets starting at 99 bucks each.

“If you’re a football fan and who isn’t, you’ve got to mortgage your home to get a season ticket. You’ve got to fight traffic to get into a stadium filled with other fans…what a crime that Los Angeles, the second biggest market in the entire North American continent, does not have a football team…we’re gonna be bringing it to you because Los Angeles deserves a football team.”

Gene says he and Paul are using their fame to showcase what they consider a sport that is too often overlooked.

“We’re calling it LA KISS to bring more attention to arena football which is really much faster, much more aggressive, much more in your face kind of football. It’s classic football on adrenaline.”

Steve also asked Gene about the band not being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“Whether The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or any other institution recognizes us is really not foremost in our mind. I was thinking of buying The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame… it’s well meaning guys, a handful of people who sit behind the scenes and have meetings and they’re good guys but you know…”

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Something Else!

Paul Stanley’s iconic star-themed make up is as much a part of his persona with Kiss as original songs like “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and “Shout It Out Loud.” But it wasn’t always like that.

Stanley actually changed his look for a new concert in mid-1973, switching to a character known as the Bandit that bore more than a passing resemblence to the Lone Ranger. It wasn’t the only time Stanley considered another option, either.

“At one point, I was experimenting,” Stanley tells KLOS in Los Angeles. “I thought about a ring around my eye — like Petey, the dog from the Little Rascals. But, as much of a dog as I was, I felt more like a star.”

And so it has been for decades now, save for a period beginning in September of 1983 when the group performed unmasked through February 1996 — when Stanley resumed his role as the Starchild, one he hasn’t relinquished since.

Even having had that time away from the elaborate on-stage getups, Stanley says he’s never resenting going back to the familiar makeup.

“Never,” he says. “We had, what was it? 14 or 15 years without the makeup? But if you win the lottery, you don’t complain about taxes. If that was what got us to where we were, how could we complain about it? It makes people happy, it makes me happy. I’m proud of the legacy we have.”