Cherise Johnson | Hip Hop DX

Bouer-Griffin

After Gene Simmons said that he’s looking forward to the death of Rap and complained about N.W.A being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, the Kiss frontman now admits that he doesn’t really want Rap to die, The List reports.

In March, he told Rolling Stone that not only was he looking forward to Rap’s decline but that he was also hoping for the return of the melody and song.

“I didn’t mean that mean-spirited,” the Kiss vocalist now says. “I’ve got to watch my words. Of course I don’t want it to die. But it will. Rock dies, rap dies – doo-wop died. That Chuck Berry stuff is gone. Folk rock went. All things will pass. This idea that music will last forever is delusional.”

“I’ve been criticized for saying rock is dead but I stand by my words,” he continues. “From 1958 to 1988 we had Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The [Rolling] Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Queen. From 1988 until today, give me the new Beatles? It doesn’t work, does it? Pretty fucking pathetic. The boy band is alive and well. One Direction is a very big band. The pop stuff is good. You’ve got [Justin] Bieber and Beyoncé. But I don’t know how to tell anybody this, but it ain’t the Beatles. It doesn’t have the gravitas.”

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Blabbermouth

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has taken to Twitter to distance himself from comments that his bandmate, Gene Simmons, made about Prince.

Simmons made headlines earlier today when he told Newsweek about Prince‘s death: “His drugs killed him. What do you think, he died from a cold?”

Simmons added that he still holds Prince in high regard as a musician. “I think Prince was heads, hands and feet above all the rest of them,” he said. “I thought he left [Michael] Jackson in the dust. Prince was way beyond that. But how pathetic that he killed himself. Don’t kid yourself, that’s what he did. Slowly, I’ll grant you — but that’s what drugs and alcohol is: a slow death.”

After Gene‘s comments were picked up by various news organizations, Stanley tweeted: “Embarrassed by cold clueless statements re Prince‘s death. Without all the facts better to say nothing. My apologies.” He also added a link to the Newsweek article containing Gene‘s quotes.

Initial toxicology tests showed the painkiller Percocet was present in Prince‘s body at his time of death, but autopsy and toxicology results aren’t complete, and the artist’s cause of death remains unknown.

Jason Herndon

Podcast Rock City

Loudwire

Jody Havenot

Michael Brandvold

Rolling Stone

It’s been 14 long, drama-saddled years since Ace Frehley played live with Kiss. But the guitarist recently united with former bandmate Paul Stanley for a rendition of Free’s “Fire and Water,” which appears on Frehley’s new covers LP, Origins Vol. 1. Now the duo have joined forces for the song’s video – their first together since Kiss’ 1998 clip for “Psycho Circus.”

Frehley and Stanley open with an alley pep-talk, telling each other it’s been “too many years” but emphasizing they’ve “still got it.” The rock legends hit the stage and perform the hard-hitting 1970 track, backed by flashing lights. “You’ve got what it takes to make a poor man’s heart break,” Stanley sings, flamboyantly pointing straight into the camera.

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Noise 11

Ros O’Gorman

When Gene Simmons named his new album ‘Asshole’ few people would argue it was an inappropriate name. Gene does have a reputation to uphold after all.

Asshole is his first solo in 26 years. Kiss as a commercial product is pretty much about equal parts Gene’s ‘rock star’ to Paul’s ‘pop star’. Extract the Gene component into a solo record and you get a hard rock sound.

Now over to Tim Cashmere to update the story with Gene Simmons.

Tim Cashmere: Hi Gene how are ya?

Gene Simmons: Wonderful! Hold on a second!

Sarah McLachlan: Hello Tim.

TC: Hello, who is this?

SM: This is Sarah. How are you?

TC: I am not bad; I hear you’re chilling out by the pool up there?

SM: We are chilling out by the pool, yes. It’s fabulous, very good. There is no sun, but it’s still very nice.

TC: There is no sun in Brisbane?

SM: There is sun everywhere except at the pool at the hotel. It’s a bad design.

TC: …but surely you can bask in Gene Simmons’ glowing light?

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Podcast Rock City

The KISS Room

PodKISSt.com

Citizens Voice

After suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, former KISS member Ace Frehley has been released from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

According to the musician’s Facebook page on Sunday, Frehley “feels great, fully re-hydrated and has been released from the hospital,” and was on his way home to California.

Frehley, 64, went to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital on Friday night after completing a performance at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.

The musician had to cancel a show scheduled for Saturday in Poughkeepsie, New York, as he recovered from symptoms caused by exhaustion and dehydration, an earlier Facebook post states.

In Sunday’s post, Frehley extended his thanks to the “great” doctors and nurses at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

WAAF

KISS is by far one of the most recognizable bands around. The signature makeup, the outfits, the pyrotechnics, etc. But at their show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the “Race To Erase MS Gala,” there was a noticeable absence. That was because frontman Paul Stanley (aka “The Starchild”) was forced to miss the gig after going under the knife for bicep surgery.

Stanley was eager to update fans on his condition via his Twitter, saying “Tore my bicep tendon. Surgery reattached it with a screw and stitches to anchor in place. not much I can do now!”

Blabbermouth

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley took part in a live interview event with BackStory on March 23 at AOL studios in New York City. The interview was conducted by Brad Tolinski. Best known as the editor in chief of Guitar World magazine for 25 years, Tolinski is a respected journalist and the author of “Light And Shade: Conversations With Jimmy Page”. You can now watch video footage of the question-and-answer session below. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

Ace: “When I listen to the first and second KISS record, they’re so dry… there’s no digital reverb. The production is just… Sometimes I cringe [when I hear it]. But, to me, the biggest advantage of what’s happening now when you record is digital. I mean, the flexibility you have with digital editing and digital recording… I mean, I come from the school in the ’70s, when we had to make an edit, we had to cut it with a razorblade. It was a two-inch piece of tape, and we had to cut it. And I remember, a lot of times, they took little slices of tape and put it off to the side and put it back together, and we’d play it and go, ‘Hey, it doesn’t sound right. Put that piece back in.’ And sometimes it took an hour just to do an edit. But with digital editing, it’s a click of the mouse.”

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ABC News

Former Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley has been hospitalized for exhaustion and forced to cancel a show in New York.

A post on his website and Facebook page says he was admitted to a hospital after Friday’s show at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre (WILKS’-ba-ree), Pennsylvania. The post says his symptoms are due to “exhaustion and dehydration.”

Frehley’s website says he “reluctantly” agreed to cancel Saturday night’s sold-out show at The Chance in Poughkeepsie (poh-KIHP’-see).

The site says he had to cancel a show April 9 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, after a band member was sick.

The 64-year-old Frehley has been touring all month.

Associated Press

Richard Shotwell

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Shoulder surgery has prevented Paul Stanley from performing an intimate show with KISS.

Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Carr donned their classic stage makeup and costumes to play a four-song set Friday to benefit multiple sclerosis research. KISS was the headlining act at the 23rd annual Race to Erase MS fundraising gala held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Former “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson introduced the band and explained Stanley’s absence. Jackson said the lead singer would be recovered in time to tour with KISS this summer.

Other performers at the fundraising dinner included Eric Benet, David Foster and “The Voice” winner Jordan Smith. The event raised more than $250,000 toward finding a cure for the nervous system disorder.

Podcast Rock City

KISSmuseum.com

The long awaited KISS Rock Iconz statues from Knucklebonz. These premium statues follow along in the tradition of this series past releases of such artists as Jimmy Page, Jimmy Hendrix, Dimebag Darryl, Judas Priest, plus many more. Past figures of other bands editions were usually limited to 3,000 and sold out rather quickly. The KISS release is only set at a very low 1,000 and was already sold out from the manufacturer before the release. We were able to get a few dozen sets, but that is all we will ever have for sale. As you can see on eBay, the Knucklebonz figures tend to appreciate in value and the KISS figures should be no different.

Available HERE at KISSmuseum.com

Available HERE at KISSmuseum.com