We were let into the theatre at about 6:30pm and assumed our seat, for about 20 minutes they played classic Kiss songs. Our hosts for the night were two people from Fox's Mad TV, they gave us a run down of the evening. We were told prior to entering that no video or sound recording devices would be allowed, BAH, around me alone I saw at least 5 video cameras! coming soon........They showed the new commercial by Fox for the upcoming Halloween.

Psycho Circus CD World Premiere:

We had Psycho Circus played in its entirety, not only was it played thru a LOUD sound system but it had incredible video footage plaed along as well. The top right of the movie screen displayed the PC logo throughout the song, the song name on the bottom and then the video footage took up the rest of the screen. The video footage shown was from the reunion tour and some from prior tours. There was some footage from the Irvine shows which was nice to see. They had actual video footage from photo sessions from 1996 as well as the PC sessions. It's funny seeing video of the photo sessions, you get to see the interaction of the members more. Kinda like when Gene was humping Peters shoulder! This was some incredible footage. The crowd seemed to quiet down about half way thru the listening, I think everyone was starting to relax after the long day finally! Peters song actually got a very good response from the crowd! During Within it showed what appeared to be Kiss in their Alive outfits walking down a street, but on further review it was 10 year olds made up as Kiss, this was awesome footage, it then showed them playing on a small Kiss stage, these kids were great!

Psycho Circus 3D World Video Premiere:

This is one of the most incredible videos I have ever seen. It's a mix of computer animated graphics, live kiss footage playing to the song inserted with bizarre backgrounds and the infamous Kissette strippers (minimal footage of them) some of the 3d effects are paul reaching up at grabbing at the audience, Ace sticking his guitar "In Your Face" Gene drooling blood in 3d and Peter throwing drum sticks at you. It's very hard to explain the computer graphics, but it left me saying, Finally! Kiss had did something really original that blew me away!!!!! This is something not to be topped or forgotten for a while.

The Photo Session:

After the listening the hosts came back out and bored us somemore and asked if we wanted KISS? well duh!!!!! They played about 3-4 songs off PC again and then the music was stopped and Kiss was announced to the reunion tour opening of the rumble of music and the announcement of "You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best, The Hottest Band In The World......KISS!!!", the curtain rose like in NY to Kiss standing in front of the same logo with some fog on the ground. They posed for about 5 minutes to the music of Psycho Circus then they left the stage. One thing I did notice is that Gene's cod piece didn't look so big in person. All the guys looks in great shape. Pictures forthcoming later today......

The Press Conference:

After about a 2 minute break the curtain rose again and Kiss was sitting at a table, from left to right, Gene, Peter, Ace and Paul. Alot of the questions were the same questions you hear every press conference or Q&A. And the usual, "you guys are my life man, I love you!" Here are the high points I remember. Kiss has joined with "Feed the Children Organization" to donate 30,000 pounds of food for the next 10 months while on tour which would feed about 1 million children. Kiss will be the hosts of MAD TV on 10/31 and show live footage being played from Dodger Stadium. Asked in regard to the show if they would play any songs they hadn't played in prior years. Ace blurted out they were rehearsing Psycho Circus, Into The Void and Within. Paul asked what songs we would want cut out? God of Thunder, everyone yelled "NO!", Shout It Out Loud, everyone yelled "NO!", RARAN, everyone yelled "NO!". So he said they couldn't please everyone and its a hard decision what to play. They stated on New Years they'll be player in Detroit and be on Dick Clarks New Years Rockin' Eve again! Ace talked about the new Kiss ISP and the multimedia content on the new CD. Kiss was asked how then plan on playing at Dodger Stadium with everyone wearing 3D glasses and Ace seeing everyone and laughing his ass off! Ace said he couldn't see the audience anyway! Good answer Ace. Gene talked about the new $75,000 Kiss Car that follows the format of The Prowler. Kiss was asked if they ever go to any of the websites and see whats being said, Gene answered with a "Sure, all the time"

From: KC
This is Mr. K here to tell you a little about the KISS press conference. I got there at 2:15. A friend of mine BOO got there at 7:00 am and got a good spot. I jumped in line with him. I was on the list but wanted to get a real feel for what was goin on. My brother was with me as well. We have both posted a review of the new record for you. The crowd was great. Everyone was haveing a good time. People were playin tapes and singin. At one point all the guys were shouting "show your tits" to all the females who drove by the theater. They seemed to get a kick out of that. Everyone was all smiles. When we got in we had great seats, about 15 rows from the screen and dead center. They played old KISS for about an hour. The fans were goin crazy. A couple of the members of MAD TV talked a bit. They played a promo for the Halloween special. After the promo they played the new album and showed photos and concert footage on the big screen. All of the footage was great. The coolest was slow-motion footage of some photo shoots. One scene was Peter laughing, the house went crazy.
After the album was done there was a pause to let the press in. When all were in there places the lights dimmed and we put on our KISS 3-D glasses and on the screen the 1st ever 3-D video. It was great. I can not tell u how flippin cool it was. It was a mix of shots of the guys performing, a guy in a strait jacket, the"Kissets" as gene called them and a real cool shot of ace's guitar takein off like a rocket. A scene of gene spitin blood was great and my fav, Ace holding the planet earth in his hands and then it slowly flys into your face. A lot of guitars pointing at you. Over head shots of Paul singing up to the camera. It was great stuff, a real treat.
Right after the video you hear a low rumble and the fog rolls from under the screen,"You wanted the best, You got it, the hottest band in the world, KISS!!! The screen goes up, the KISS sign lights up and there they are, in person. They played PSYCHO CIRCUS and the guys posed 4 the press and fans, we were allowed to bring in our cameras. They all were singing along. It was great to see Peter mouthing the words to the chorus. After the song the screen went back down. After a short pause the screen went back up and the boys were sitting at a table -- Left to right, GENE, PETER, ACE, PAUL. They said there hellos and then the press asked a few Q'S. Then Peter said let the fans ask some things. For the most part I think people asked the same old tired stuff. One guy asked Peter about his arm, Peter said thank you for caring and he feels great. He is ready for the tour. Peter also said he is ready to play in KISS till he dies, he is having a blast. Ace seemed a little out-of-it as always, but said "This is better than drugs." Gene and Paul gave the same answers to same old Q'S. Gene says "It is time to raise the stakes." All in all it was a great time. The guys seem ready to kick ass and take names. Hope you can make it to the best flippin costume bash in history.

From: iamakissman@aol.com
Just got home from the KISS pressconfrence. It was great!!!! The wait outside was a long one (4 hours) but worth it. There were two people from Mad TV who hosted the show, they confirmed that MAD TV will have KISS on the night of the Holloween concert, they will also go to Dodger stadium LIVE during the show ( starting at 12am EST ). When the press confrence finally got under way they started by playing the entire PSYCO CIRCUS album ( It kicked ass), then they showed the commercial clips that will be playing on FOX. Then they played the PSYCO CIRCUS video -- AWSOME!! The video was mostly of KISS, and very little of the Psyco Circus girls. There were guitars comming out of the screen, the band members were reaching out to the audience with stuff comming out of their hands, crazy background too..3-D effect was great, dont know if you will be able to notice on a normal TV, but you should get the idea. KISS came on stage right as the video ended, the video screen raised and KISS appeared ( Just like the pressconfrence that kicked off the Alive / World wide 96'-97' tour).
The confrence basically confirmed what KISS ASYLUM has told us. All the guys seemed to rather enjoy themselfs. One thing of note, Gene got tired of the press asking questions after about 5 minutes, he then said "give the microphone to the people who matter, OUR FANS!" Nothing really spectacular cane out of the press confrence. Paul did dodge one question, the question; Is it true that KISS has rented the grounds that the statue of libert is on for a millenium concert.

From: The Space Ace
This is the Space Ace signing in! The Press Conference was a blast! Around 3:45 we got our wristbands and amazingly there weren't 800 KISS fans. WHY IS THAT??? At around 6:45 pm we started moving into the Theatre. It was soo great! The red carpet was drawn out for us with press taking pictures as we walked in. Kiss has new blow up figures in the new Destroyer outfits. They look great but Paul's Star is on the wrong side! They allowed people to bring in cameras and video recorders into the theatre!!! I couldn't believe it! Tower Records was also there and if ya went and bought your Psycho Circus CD at midnight, then you goit this special Limited Edition PC Art. Its the cd cover in full 3d effects the size of a vinyl album. Its pretty cool. Ya know I had to be there at midnight.
So about 7:15 the black guy and Asian lady from Mad TV come out to host the get together. They joke around for a bit and then the Listening Party starts. Up on the screen you have the album on the right side and on the left side you have all these great vintage clips of Kiss going on to the music and also clips from the last tour. It was awesome. So as each song played, they would throw up a new press photo of Kiss as the song started. The best song w/ accompanying video to the side had to be We Are One. Why? Because in the beginning it showed the four guys at a photo shoot messing around and having fun and it was just so great to see the guys like that again. Then it shows these four kids dressed in Kiss attire playing! They had a little miny stage and everything. It was so cute to see this lil kid doing Gene's moves and this lil Paul trying to portray Paul on the stage. I can definately see that as a good music video. Another good one was Peter's Ballad. They played alot of cool clips of just him for the most part.
Around 8:15 the hosts announce to put the glasses for the 3-D video to start. They gave you your pair of 3-D glasses as you entered into the theatre. And then the video starts. OH MY GOD!!!! Only Kiss can do such great work! You see Paul sticking his fingers out at you, Gene sending his Bass as you and swinging his Axe around, A jugler jugling balls right into your face, Peter throwing his drum sticks at ya. Oh wow it was just great but the best part is when Ace's guitar is getting ready to take off like a space ship! It blasts off into space and then into this type of vortex where it eventually becomes Gene's mouth breathing fire! The strippers were awesome in the video. No tops possibly! The guys looked great in the video and its got some awesome animation too. Without a doubt a true masterpiece that every Kiss fan must encounter!
Then right after the Video, the screen rises and BOOM! There is Kiss with their logo from the last conference. So they take photos while playing Psycho Circus plays. After the song is over, the screen comes back down and then up again to see the guys with their table. The conference only lasted for about a half hour and not too much was said BUT KISS is now linked itself with the Feed the Children Organization. They said they would feed kids about 30,000 pounds of food to needy kids for the next ten months while on tour. That got a great reaction. Among other things, a few questions were dodged to say the least such as why they didn't come up with new outfits or whther they would play any new songs from the past. It was a great show and good to see the guys. It looks like they are very happy together right now.
Oh.... one last IMPORTANT DETAIL!!!
KISS will be hosting Mad TV on Halloween Night from 11 pm til Midnight! While then cutting off to the concert during commercials! And the best part of all this comes when Mad TV is over because then FOX starts aring the concert LIVE!!! They didn't say how long they would but this is gonna be great!
KISS also said that they WILL be playing The Pontiac Silverdome for New Year's Eve to also be broadcast on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Show on ABC. Well folks that's about it. Hope you enjoyed it all.

From: Frank Briskie
I just returned from Mann's. Here are some high-lights:
I have the ONLY pictures of Gene and Paul's guitars being placed into the trailer of the KISS Prowler. It's a neat car, but hardly the "hand-made" car they talk about. It's basically a nicely customized metallic gray Prowler. Gene and Paul say it has "over 400hp". Uh-huh, sure it does. And Vinnie isn't bitter!!!! I'll send the pics in the next few days.
The event was VERY well organized. Every step of the event was ahead of schedule. Early on, it looked as though NO recording equipment would be allowed, but by about 6:00, Doc McGhee said to let it all in. Nice touch.....he's a classy guy.
Attendance was kinda poor. As near as I could tell, NO ONE WAS TURNED AWAY. Is this an indicator of current interest in KISS, or just the result of zero advertising?
They played the CD in its entirety. It was well received, with the possible exception of Peter's song. Someone later on asked if it would be included in the new set, and Peter even said that he figures he'll stick with Beth. Good call, Peter!
When asked about a Dec 31st, 1999 show in NY, they dodged the question. Ace talked a little about the PC aspects of the CD, but offered nothing that hasn't been covered here. Interestingly, he claimed credit for the morphing faces on the last tour.
There WILL be circus performers of some sort at the Dodger show and on tour. Apparently KISS got kinda beat-up about the shitty opening acts last tour.
There were new inflatables, and Paul's star was on the wrong side!!!! The woman who made them was there, and when they tried to beat her up about it, she pulled out her paperwork and sure enough, hers showed the star on the wrong side as well!!!
The 3-D video was VERY cool. I wanted it to be good, but was very skeptical. Trust me, it's neat. How they'll do it live is beyond me, but the video ROCKS. The girls, alas, only have a small part in it. Maybe Shannon can get an un-edited version on Playboy TV??????
Someone asked Paul about the extra track being made available in the U.S., and he just danced around the issue. He also said the boxed set would happen eventually, but not right now. He acknowledged that we have a lot of bootleg stuff, but that they have stuff we have never heard, and that they intend to release it....some day.
When asked about mixing in some different songs, Paul said that he's aware that people want to hear some new songs, but that there are so many that seemingly HAVE to be played, i.e., Shout, God, RnR All Nite, Detroit, etc., that it makes it very tough.
Gene made it a point to once again remind us that the more you call 1-900-***-****, the better your chances are to win the car! Gene isn't hiding the bottom line very well anymore.
All in all it was a fun evening, but the lack of attendance left me wondering. I really WANT KISS to be successful this tour, but I just have to wonder what's gonna happen.

From: Alan Mooney
Just got back from the KISS press conference here at Manns Chinese Theater, and boy what an amazing evening. First off the listening party was amazing. I've already heard the full songs on the net, but to here them in full crystal clear CD quality, well let's just say totally justified every track for me. The big screen showed video clips of recent photo sessions as well as live stuff from the reunion tour. I was happy to see some KROQ Weenie Roast footage in there. Plus they had clips of these young kids dressed up like KISS, it was great! The 3-D video for Psycho Circus was absolutely brilliant. The colors were crisp and the 3-D effect was truly mesmarizing. At one point Peter threw his sticks at the camera at it seemed like it was literally gonna puncture your eye out. Easily the best music video I've ever seen. The press conference itself was fairly standard fair hype the tour crack jokes etc. Although 1 nice touch, in my opinion was Gene had a much smaller cod piece on than the recent photos we've seen. But yeah as usual they all looked amazing. The show was hosted by a couple of cast members from Foxs MadTV.
A couple of quick interesting notes. Talked to a producer of "Detroit Rock City," the movie , really nice guy, anyways, I guess the band will be cutting a new version of Detroit Rock City, plus a couple new tracks for the movie. Also Shannon Tweed will be in it, plus the disgusting (lol) lady from Kingpin and Something About Mary, sorry her name escapes me. Plus for a tie in with the Dodger Stadium show TV Guide will have 4 seperate covers for that week of course KISS! I guess the band has been rehersing the show at Irvine Meadows, and so far so good. I guess during Gene's blood spitting with the 3-D effect it looks just like he's spitting it right onto you. I guess the $75,000 "Prowler" KISS car will be given away News Years Eve on Dick Clarks Show. Really cool car with a little traveling trailer that goes with it. Of course tickets go on sale this Saturday for Dodger Stadium. Ticket prices being $75.

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