Chris Czynszak | Decibel Geek

“Original KISS crew member Peter “Moose” Oreckinto joins the Decibel Geek podcast this week for an in-depth discussion about the early days of the Hottest Band in the Land. In this discussion, Moose shares his memories of KISS’ fight to climb the ladder, altercations with other crews (including Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, and Lynyrd Skynyrd), and a series of mishaps that could quite possibly have “family” connections in regards to KISS’ early financing.

You’ll also hear the ins and outs of KISS’ early stage effects and pyro as Moose was one of the key people that brought these shocking stage effects to the masses. There’s a lot to take in so buckle up and enjoy a ride through the early days of a group of face-painted New Yorkers barnstorming the country, and the hard-working crew that helped make it happen.”

*Episode Now Available for Download/Streaming

The Decibel Geek Podcast was launched in June of 2011 by Chris Czynszak, a former rock journalist and webmaster. With co-host Aaron Camaro, the Decibel Geek Podcast is

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Keloland Television

SIOUX FALLS, SD – All four members of the legendary rock and roll band KISS spent time in Sioux Falls to help disadvantaged children learn music.

Frontman Gene Simmons and the gang visited the Brennan Rock and Roll Academy. Four rehearsal rooms were dedicated in honor of each band member.

This isn’t the first time band members visited the academy. Some came to Sioux Falls this past spring for the club’s grand opening. But, this will be the first time all four members are in the city together.

“By the look on the kid’s faces, this is money well spent. Anything to get the kids off the street and from what I can see they love coming here. That’s what you want. To have a place that’s safe, for them to get excited, to do things and get them off the streets,” Simmons said

The Brennan Rock & Roll Academy is a free music education program for kids in the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire. Hear from all four KISS members in an upcoming EYE on KELOLAND next week.

(KISS members with Alice Cooper at last year’s opening)

Betsy Jibben | KDLT News

The famous rock band KISS was in Sioux Falls Saturday. Instead of performing a concert in town, they were here for a different reason.

Old fans, impersonators and even younger generations sported face point and waited anxiously for their arrival at the Brennan Rock and Roll Academy.

“It’s fantastic. I can’t even explain how fun it is to get to see them and go back in time,” said fan Wendi Hogan.

Only this time the band traded in their face paint and stage costumes and catered to a younger generation. They stepped foot on a mini ‘red carpet.’ The band signed autographs and gave high fives to the children of the Boys and Girls Club.

“It’s all worthwhile. You see those kids grin ear to ear. That is priceless. It’s about putting smiles on their faces,” said KISS member Eric Singer.

It’s more than just giving smiles. The band talked highly about the Brennan Rock and Roll Academy in Sioux Falls. It’s a place that provides free music education programs to children.

“Kids need a save environment where minds can soar. Anything is possible,” said KISS member Gene Simmons.

The academy even dedicated four new rehearsal rooms to the band. Each room is designed inside for each band member. They are lined with pictures of that person and other memorabilia representing their personalities. The band said it’s vital to have facilities like these for children to learn music.

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Robert Krulwich | nhpr

It was July 15, 2009, in Ottawa when it happened. You didn’t have to be there, you could have been blocks away. Kiss, the band, appeared on stage and made what some say is the loudest sound ever produced in a live music concert. Their onstage speakers blasted music at 136 decibels, which, says science writer David Blatner in his book,Spectrums, is “the equivalent of standing next to a jet airplane taking off.”

The neighbors complained, and Kiss was forced to turn the volume down.

Turning sound up or down is tricky because decibels are logarithmic; a small change makes a big difference. The standard measuring unit is a “bel.” Nobody uses “bel” (named for the telephone entrepreneur Alexander Graham Bell), instead we use “decibel,” which is one tenth of a bel.

As you can see from this chart, for each additional ten decibels, ten times more power is required, but each step doubles the perceived loudness of the sound.

So you and I can have a normal conversation (about 40 decibels). That is about twice as loud as the sound of a quiet library (about 30 decibels), but the jump requires a thousand times more power. “A large truck driving by,” says David, “can throw 94 decibels, carrying almost a billion (10 to the 9th power) times the power of a whisper.

Decibel changes are inherently dramatic. The Kiss concert in Ottawa was, says David, “17,000 times louder and ten trillion times more powerful than a heartbeat.” So that’s loud.

But there’s louder. Much louder. In his otherwise quiet book, In Pursuit of Silencewriter George Prochnik describes a “dB drag race,” a sport that involves putting as many

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Chris Czynszak | Decibel Geek

A new KISS tribute album is coming out in August. Many KISS fans will let out a collective yawn when they hear this news. But, this time it’s different; for many reasons.

Good friend of the Decibel Geek Podcast and a podcast personality in his own right (Dropping the Needle and Three Sidesof the Coin), Mitch Lafon joins us to discuss project he’s put together that is nearing completion that helps celebrate 40 years of the Hottest Band in the Land. The kicker? It’s all done for a good cause; and the KISS Army has supported it in droves.

A World With Heroes features professionally recorded performances from many artists that warm the hearts of Decibel Geek listeners everywhere. The artists involve donated their

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Jeff Dedekker | The Leader-Post

Tim McPhate | KissFAQ

Exclusive Song Premiere: Heat “What Does It Take” Feat. Vinnie Vincent

Heat — an early ’80s West Coast R&B/rock/fusion collective led by bandleader/principal songwriter Tom Saviano — are set to release “Heat Revisited” in Japan on July 17. In advance of the release, KissFAQ has the exclusive online premiere for “What Does it Take,” an infectious up-tempo rock shuffle dusted off from the Heat vaults. Recorded circa 1981, the track features lead guitar by a then-young hotshot guitarist named Vinnie Cusano, who would later be rechristened Vinnie Vincent in KISS.

The track is available to stream here:

http://www.kissfaq.com/news/Heat_What_Does_It_Take.mp3

More information on the song/Heat here:

http://www.kissfaq.com/forum11/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=88729

In conjunction with the premiere, KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate conducted an exclusive interview with Heat bandleader Tom Saviano.

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Jeff Giles | 103.7 The Loon

Gene Simmons might not seem like he’d have much in common with a veteran adult-contemporary crooner like Englebert Humperdinck, but appearances can be deceiving.

Simmons and Humperdinck are collaborating on a track for the latter’s upcoming duets album, which also includes performances by a number of other surprising artists. Humperdinck broke the news during a recent interview with Noise11, enthusing about the guest list on the record, which is due in October. You can watch the video above.

“Isn’t that something? It is going to be very exciting,” Humperdinck said of the Kiss member’s involvement. “There’sElton [John], there’s Smokey Robinson, there’s Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Neil Sedaka, and it goes on and on and on. It is very exciting names on this particular album. I’m so thrilled that everyone has responded and wanted to work on the album with me, and I think it has been a very exciting project.”

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Jeffrey Thiessen | StarPhoenix

Reviewing a KISS show isn’t the easiest gig in the world. Standard criteria one might use for critiquing a concert doesn’t really apply here, after all.

A KISS show is about the stage theatrics, first and foremost, with the actual music placing a fairly distant second. So, to be serious about trying to analyze a KISS show from an objective level, it’s imperative to become completely immersed in the experience, and view it as a living, (fire) breathing collective organism that all 6,500 fans at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre on Sunday got to be a part of for a single night. This ain’t a concert folks. It’s a circus set to music.

So does it all hold up well in 2013? This is the same act KISS has been parading onto the stage since they slapped on the greasepaint in 1973. This became apparent very early into the show, as there didn’t seem to be much, if any, deviation from what we’ve grown used to over the last 40 years. For their part, KISS did what they were paid handsomely to do: they left it all on the stage, both real blood and fake. It’s pretty foolish to expect a high level of musicianship from a band like this, but it was quite surprising how free the concert was of sloppy-joe playing from any member of the group. Granted, it’s not the most difficult music to replicate live, but there were no real noticeable clumsy riffs or missed cues to be found for the entire two hour set. Love Gun was probably the best moment of the night from a strictly musical standpoint, as the band barrelled through the track with a ferocity that seemed to actually catch the audience off guard (in a good way). War Machine also brought the house down.

But it’s not likely that any sonic aspects existed as a true highlight of any fan’s experience at the concert. It’s also safe to say nobody actually used their seat at any point during the

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Podcast Rock City
 

Four friends brought together by the GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL BAND of all time, KISS, sit down and discuss all aspects of the band and pull no punches on the subject. Fans all their lives, the group consists of musician Leigh “the Goddess of Thunder” from Iron Mullet and formerly of the all-female KISS tribute Black Diamond, artist/musician Nickelbag Rik, musician Trey from Bay City Psychos, and musician Joe from Bay City Psychos.
www.podcastrockcity.com

Autumn MorningSky | Biz Journals

Prairiefire announced Thursday that a new rock star tenant would soon open its doors.

With the help of Merrill Cos. President Fred Merrill, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, members of the band KISS, plan to open their restaurant Rock & Brews Prairiefire in the Overland Park mixed-use development early next year, according to a Thursday release.

Stanley said in the release that the store will be a casual and family-oriented American cuisine with a broad range of craft beers and a rock-themed environment. The restaurant will span more than 6,000 square feet and will bring 100 full- and part-time jobs to the area.

Stanley and Simmons’ co-founding partners, Michael Zislis and concert industry veterans Dave and Dell Furanoare helping the restaurant chain expand into a host of different locations throughout the country. Currently, the restaurant has locations in El Segundo and Redondo Beach, Calif., and one in Los Cabos, Mexico. It’s got another handful on the way, as well, at Los Angeles International Airport, Maui, Agoura Hills, Calif., and Albuquerque.

Master Blaster | Rocket News

Legendary rock band Kiss has been enjoying decades of success both with their infamous live shows and their unbelievably prolific line of merchandise.  Sure you have your Kiss Army badge and Love Gun belt buckle (for the ladies *wink*), but where’s your Kiss Mini Cooper?

If you’re a true Kiss fan do you only play bingo using the official Kiss Bingo set? When you go to Sotheby’s do you take your Kiss auction paddle?  Is your last will and testament set up to have you spend eternity in your very own Kiss coffin or urn?

At this point a Kiss scarecrow doesn’t seem so wild an idea does it?

Okay, clearly this isn’t an official Kiss scarecrow. For starters, it’s a chick, and I’m not totally sure the Japanese rice farmer who made it is even into stadium rock. Perhaps it’s aChinese farmer’s performance art interpretation of an average Japanese woman?

Or it could just be that this particular make-up design proved to be highly effective against birds. If that’s the case, I recommend Mr. Simmons and company get right on it.  Kiss Continue reading →

Francois Marchand

Chris Epting | Decibel Geek

One of the most popular KISS-related shows we’ve done was our GPS: KISS Landmarks episode with special guest host Chris Epting. Chris is well-versed in KISS, pop culture, and travel as he’s written books on all three. He also now hosts a great new music talk show that you can accessHERE.We had such a great response to that episode that we knew we had to do a part 2 for this year’s KISSMAS in JULY. We’re fortunate that Chris was equally enthusiastic about coming back to discuss KISS Landmarks. So, let’s crank up the engine and hit the highway!

1 Washington Blvd  Detroit, MI 48226 – Cobo Hall

A  very pivotal location in KISS’ history. Most well-known for a sold-out 3 night stand in January of 1976, Cobo was one of the hosts of the Alive! album and was a meeting place for the blue-collar faithful that made up KISS’ early fan base.

It’s also worth noting that it was the host venue for 1984’s Animalize Live/Uncensored performance as well as the venue chosen for the kickoff of the Alive 35 tour in 2009.

238 Bagley Avenue, Detroit, MI – MichiganPalace

Another well-known marker of KISS’ early Detroit dominance, the Michigan Palace was built in 1926 as a movie theater and hosted KISS on their earliest American tours.It was also a beneficial presence for KISS’ promotional efforts as it was utilized for the videos for Rock N Roll All Nite and C’mon & Love Me as well as the cover photo for the Alive! album shot by Fin Costello. The majority of the structure was torn down but the ornate ceilings can still be seen above the parking garage that sits in its place today.

Corner of 23^rd & 8^th, NYC – Dressed to Kill Cover site.

The only non-structure on our list, this street corner will always big popular in the annals of KISStory. In 1975, a then-struggling KISS was working on a creative photo shoot with legendary New York photographer Bob Gruen.

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Click HERE to visit the other KISS GPS sites.

Tom Zillich | The Province

Jacob Zin

A Surrey-based charity has been KISS’d with $10,000.

Makeup-wearing members of the rock band were in Vancouver Thursday to hand a five-figure cheque to operators of Sophie’s Place, a facility for kids who have been physically, mentally or sexually abused.

The money will help fund an expansion of the centre, which opened in February 2012 at The Centre for Child Development on 140th Street in Surrey.

The facility is named after Sophie Tweed-Simmons, daughter of KISS bassist Gene Simmons and former Playboy model Shannon Tweed.

In addition to the $10,000, a percentage of profits made at a KISS Army-operated “pop-up” store on Granville Street last week are destined for Sophie’s Place.

“It’s really very generous of them and will make a huge difference in helping us serve kids who have been abused,” Dr. Brian Katz, director of Sophie’s Place, told the Now during a noon press event in Vancouver.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts was on hand to accept the donation, along with staff of the facility.

Simmons said the donation was “a beginning, a small token from us,” with more coming. “(The centre) helps thousands of abused kids every year, and it’s a great place.”

KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley said Sophie’s Place is “a charity we know well and believe in 100 per cent. And we hope everyone here, everyone getting this news-media coverage, does what they can. It’s never about giving until it hurts. You give until it feels good.”

Tweed-Simmons said plans are to open other Sophie’s Place facilities in Canada at a later date. “We’re working on getting this one absolutely perfect before we move on,” she said.

In Surrey, the expanded facility will be roughly four times its current size, Katz told the Now. Construction is already underway.

“It’s in the works, and we’re looking to raise $500,000 for the expansion, to have all of our team members under one roof,” he said. “Research has shown that it’s a better outcome for kids when all professionals are working together and kids don’t have to tell their story over and over again. Each time they do that, it can be traumatizing.”

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Cassius Morris | COTN

Greg Pratt | Nexus

When KISS played the Save-on-Foods Memorial Arena recently, what I really wanted was to get some time to sit down and talk face to face with singer/guitarist Paul Stanley. I even went so far as to jokingly put together a moderately successful online petition (hey, 57 people signed, not bad, if you’re asking me) to help make it happen. But it didn’t happen; management said no, and I was left watching the show, dreams thwarted, still having the time of my life.

KISS know what they’re doing. They played the hits. They played a few new songs that people pretended to enjoy; they pulled out “War Machine,” a killer kinda-deep cut. They’ve been doing this for so long it’s impossible to think of anything negative to say about it that isn’t glowingly obvious. They know what they’re doing, and they did it perfectly this night, just like the night before, and the night after. KISS put on one of the best, most fun and enjoyable concerts in rock music; they did in Victoria and they will continue to.

But, to you, Paul Stanley, I say this: I really wanted to sit down and look you in the eye, and I wanted to have a conversation as two grown men. I wanted to ask what you think of the fact that other grown men consider you a god when you sing kinda buffoon-ish rock songs while wearing funny makeup for a living. I wanted to ask what it’s like living in the shadow of a man like Gene Simmons.

Gene Simmons finally brought all his horribleness to Victoria (photo by Jason Schreurs/Nexus)

Paul Stanley, I wanted to ask about your art, about your musicals; I find this fascinating, that a rock star has this side to him but it’s so rarely discussed.

Paul Stanley, I wanted to talk about the dark spots in KISS’ past, but I know you don’t like talking about that too much. I’m sorry, but I find it extremely interesting; I wanted to ask about how you’re so proud about the current incarnation of KISS but how I don’t really think many people really have too much interest in the current incarnation of KISS. I understand that line of questioning makes you a bit upset, but it’s what would have happened.

You see, Paul Stanley, when I was a kid I was one of those guys who thought you were a god. I don’t anymore. You seem nice, and you seem down to earth, and I kinda feel bad that you have to deal with being in a band with Gene Simmons. I wanted to talk about that.

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