Ultimate Guitar

Founding members of Kiss, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley hope to establish a similarly broad fanbase with their newest project, a partnership with the Arena Football League as owners of an Anaheim-based expansion team known as “LA KISS,” USA Todayreports.

“The whole idea of an alternative to what has perhaps become a corporate sport is very intriguing, and resonates with us,” Stanley told USA Today Sports by phone. “We’ve always tried to be a band that relates to everybody, and the AFL is built on that whole premise.”

Though the band’s logo will be incorporated into the team’s uniforms, and though Stanley and Simmons hope to bring their understanding of live performance to the team’s home games at the Honda Center, the pair emphasized that they aim to create a true football experience.

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Jim Carchidi | Orlando Business Journal

Petey Mangelli brought his 4-year-old daughter Adrianna to her third KISS concert. Mangelli, whose company manages Orlando’s annual Spooky Empire horror convention, is a lifelong KISS fan. – photo credit, Jim Carchidi

As a kid, KISS kinda scared me. At an age when I was just learning about the world through the harsh realities of the grade school playground, seeing the Destroyeralbum cover was enough to steer me away from heavy metal for a couple of years. It wasn’t until I was able to listen toDetroit Rock City all the way through that I was able to understand – these guys weren’t just a bunch of nightmare clowns in ridiculous boots, they were a band.

As I got older, the nightmare clown thing became more appealing. How could it not? But what really blew my mind was the way these guys infiltrated every aspect of pop culture. Not only did they have their likenesses on everything from T-shirts and toys to coloring books, they actually printed a comic where the red ink was mixed with the band members’ blood. And it kept growing. From Gene Simmons’ TV show to a cruise with the band to a coffin.Yes, a coffin.

It figures KISS would be a part of ArenaBowl weekend. The indoor football league’s party atmosphere combined with the “rock ’n’ roll all night and party every day” band would make for a big weekend. Church Street venues like Harry Buffalo and Paradise Island Cafe had their share of KISS fans in face paint and T-shirts making their way through the door. Oddly enough, it didn’t seem like there were many ArenaBowl fans at the show. In fact, none of the people I met were planning on going to the game. Granted, I didn’t talk to everyone there. I even met one guy who wasn’t a KISS fan. He just figured a KISS concert was something everyone had to see at least once in their life.

Hey, if a band can inspire loyalty from people who don’t even like them, I’m shocked KISS isn’t invited to be a part of every major event.

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Ryan Reed | Rolling Stone

Fred Tanneau

Nothing says football like face paint and hard rock riffs, so it’s about time Kiss got into the gridiron game. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have bought their own Arena Football League expansion team, the Anaheim-based L.A. Kiss, which will participate in the league’s 2014 season, ESPN reports.

Q&A: Kiss’ Paul Stanley on New Album ‘Monster’ and Defining Rock & Roll

Simmons tells ESPN that buying the franchise was a logical move, given the similarities between a high-intensity football game and a crazy Kiss show.

“As a fast-paced, high-action band, this partnership with the AFL was an obvious fit for us,” Simmons said. “Attending an L.A. KISS game in 2014 will be similar to a live Kiss show, with thrilling, heart-pounding action.”

L.A. Kiss will use the band’s glammy, iconic logo, and season ticket-holders will be treated to a free Kiss concert. But, as Simmons and Stanley emphasized to USA Today, L.A. Kiss won’t simply function as a cheap band promotional tool.

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