The best part about Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley performing in full makeup in 2013? We get to pretend they are at the peak of their powers.
Thanks to the magical wonder that is grease paint, they don’t look a day over 30, even though the Kiss cofounders are twice that in actual years. Age notwithstanding, the band behind Beth, I Was Made For Lovin’ You and Detroit Rock City is still youthful and upbeat on stage these days.
That’s good news for fans who want to rock and roll all night (and party every day), because the ageless group is heading back out on the road with a Canadian tour that begins July 5 in Victoria, B.C. The Canadian tour, wrapped around the band’s latest album Monster, includes 19 dates with a show at Regina’s Brandt Centre on July 16.
The 4th Helskinki KISS Expo from earlier this week monday was a huge success with fans from all over Europe and all over the world attending. The expo, among other things, was a launch to the Helsinki KISS concert that same evening! Special guests were the Fabulous Richie Scarlet and the Lovely Lydia Criss. And to top it off there was a KISS fan after-show party that went on well into the wee hours of the morning. Yes, I know it’s the obvious thing to say, but Helsinki truly did Rock and Roll all night and Party Every Day!
Thanks to Petteri Limnell and all the crew at the KISS Army Finland for putting on such amazing events to complement that evening’s KISS show!
Gene Simmons sorts through his stormy relationship with Kiss’ initial replacement for Ace Frehley, guitarist Vinnie Vincent — saying the split had less to do with artistic differences than it did with simple business.
Simmons says they originally met Vincent through songwriter Adam Mitchell, who co-wrote the title track for 1982′sCreatures of the Night with Paul Stanley. “We started writing songs together, and we found out he could play guitar,” Simmons says of Vincent, in the attached video. “He sang, and he was a multi-faceted, multi-instrumentalist. He kept asking to be in the band, and we said: ‘You can’t. You’re smaller, shorter. With the front line, there’s like a thing.’”
Vincent, still going by his real name of Cusano, pressed — and eventually Simmons and Co. relented. He’d eventually be part of three Kiss studio albums, co-writing the hit title track to 1983′s Lick It Up and participating in 1992′s Revenge as well. But this particular marriage, like the one with Frehley before it, was not to be.
“We decided to go on a sold-out European tour without the make up,” Simmons says. “We asked Vinnie Vincent if he wanted to come along. ‘But before you come, you have to sign this contract. It’s not a negotiation. It’s an offer of employment. You must sign it for insurance purposes. If you don’t sign this, we can’t take you.’”
Vincent promised to sign, but ultimately he failed to do so.
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In fact, Simmons adds: “He’s never signed a contract with Kiss. He kept being thrown out of the band. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry — next tour, I’ll sign it.’ And we’d keep going out on tour, with unsigned contracts, and he kept wanting more and more. So, finally, we fired him.”
Attorneys eventually got involved, with disastrous results, according to Simmons. “He’s lost 14 suits, and three sets of lawyers, sued some of his lawyers — one was disbarred. Another one he rehired, and he’s starting on his 15th lawsuit. It’s a shame, because he’s talented beyond most people that you’d meet. But you get to sleep in the bed you make.”
KISS kicked off their European tour in support of their current album, “Monster”, at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday.
Before the show, KISS hooked up with Sweden TV4’s “Nyhetsmorgon” program to discuss a variety of topics, including their longevity, as the band marks its 40th anniversary this year.
“What we do is timeless,” explained Paul Stanley. “Many bands come out and they tell you about how bad the world is and what you can do to help the world. You can do that tomorrow; when you come to see KISS, you get to celebrate…you have a great time. We’re very simple, but it’s also something that’s timeless.”
KISS will play a mixture of headline shows and festival dates across Europe for the next three weeks before launching an extensive Canadian tour in early July.
