Stephen Cooke | The Chronicle Herald

Ted Pritchard

In my days as a young private in the Kiss Army, my favourite commanding officer had to be Ace Frehley, the mysterious Space Ace guitarist of the greasepaint-covered rock act.

For one thing, there was this childhood obsession with astronauts. For another, his image was less likely to cause nightmares compared to demonic, blood-spitting bandmate Gene Simmons. (Cut me some slack, I was nine when Destroyer came out.)

Plus there were some great songs credited to the silver lame-clad rock alien, like Shock Me, Rocket Ride and, the only hit from those ill-fated 1978 Kiss solo albums, New York Groove.

Cut to 30 years after Frehley’s initial departure from the band and Kiss remains a worldwide phenomenon.

Taking its theme park approach to rock ’n’ roll around the globe and bringing its new high-tech Spider stage to the Halifax Metro Centre on Thursday night, Simmons and the band’s Starchild, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, remain the only constants since they first put on the makeup four decades ago.

There’s still a Spaceman in the band, though, with guitarist Tommy Thayer wearing the shiny moonboots since becoming a full-time member in 2002.

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Free Britney | The Hollywood Gossip

Gene Simmons has rekindled his feud with Michael Jackson fans, refusing to dial down his previously-expressed belief that MJ was a child molester.

A fan group supporting Wade Robson – the dancer-choreographer who recently accused Jackson of child sex abuse – reached out to the KISS rocker.

Their Twitter exchange drew the wrath of Jackson fans, but Simmons, who was booted from an MJ tribute concert in 2011, would not back off.

The glam rocker retorted, “In 80s, i went out w/Diana Ross, we visited Michael Jackson. You don’t know me. Don’t make up things about me.”

Simmons then continued, “FACT, He paid a family $22 million to settle one case. FACT, He paid $3.5 mil to another family. I stand by my words.”

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Something else!

Gene Simmons speaks emotionally about the passing of Eric Carr, and Kiss’ last-ditch effort to include him in a video — an appearance that would ultimately be the cancer-stricken drummer’s last.

Carr followed founding member Peter Criss behind the kit, performing with Kiss from 1980 through his death in 1991 after a battle with heart cancer. Carr was just 41.

His final months coincided with Kiss being asked to contribute a song for the film “Bill and Red’s Bogus Journey,” a reworking of a 1973 song by Argent that the group dubbed “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You II.”

“We decided to do it, recorded it with Bob Ezrin, and Eric kept pleading to come in and record,” Simmons says at Fandomfest in Louisville, Kentucky. “The doctors said: ‘Absolutely not. I don’t care what you do, he has to stay in the hospital — whether he’s got a chance to live or not. You have to stay here under observation. The cancer could come back fast.’ So, he’s getting chemo, and staying in the hospital.”

With Carr incapacitated, Eric Singer (Kiss’ drummer to this day) sat in on the soundtrack single, which was to be issued by Interscope. Carr, meanwhile, made a final plea — this time to participate in the music video to accompany the track.

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Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

This week, KissFAQ launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. In conjunction with the first week launch, the site has published an interview with former Aucoin Management Director of Production Stephanie Tudor.

The following are excerpts from Byrd’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate

On Bill Aucoin:

KF: When you were first hired, what were your general impressions of Bill Aucoin?

ST: Oh, he was a genius. He was a fireball, full of energy, full of creative ideas, and he loved what he did. He was a great businessman, a master at merchandising and marketing. And he was really just a joy to be around. He wore many, many hats. He was always considered, at the time, the fifth member of KISS. And he truly loved his artists and just did a fabulous job. I’ve never seen a manager quite like him, then or since then.  And he was my mentor. I was a young girl; I had worked at Columbia Records prior to working for Aucoin. I had never worked on a show or touring — I learned everything I know now basically from the 10 years I spent working under that man.

On Whether The Solo Albums Are A Success Or Not:

KF: In terms of results, Stephanie, do you quantify the KISS solo albums as a success?

ST: Oh, absolutely. I think the project was received very well. I think there was such a buzz about it, and everyone was so excited. And I don’t think there was ever a moment when anyone thought, “Oh, this could really not work.” I think everybody was extremely positive about it. The group was psyched about it. You know, as a project moves along, of course the manager hears bits and pieces of it and Bill was always super positive about what the outcome was going to be. And he was right. And I don’t think it ever took away any of the mystery of the group at all. It stayed intact. KISS went on after the solo albums as a unit and it was just a creative outlet. I mean, there was a huge buzz back then.

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