Vincent Bonsignore | Los Angeles Daily News

No seriously, I told my wife Tuesday morning. I really do have to go to the House of Blues on Sunset for a press conference announcing the newest football coach for L.A.’s newest professional football team.

“And Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS figure into all this how, again?”

“They own the L.A. KISS the football team I was telling you about.” I told her.

The skepticism hanging in the air was stifling at this point.

“You know I have the Daily News app, right?” my wife reminded me. “If that story doesn’t show up on your site by tonight you’re in big trouble. I got my eye on you, buddy.”

Welcome to my world, where L.A.’s various entertainment boulevards sometimes cross at the most curious intersections.

And how sometimes explaining your work day and whereabouts to your wife sounds like a precursor to the “Jerry Springer Show.”

Tuesday being a prime example, as professional football was ushered back to Los Angeles by the two front men of one of the most iconic rock bands in music history.

Sounds about right.

I mean, of course Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley would buy an Arena Football League team, name them the KISS, situate them in Los Angeles and welcome new coach Bill McMillen to town at a press conference on Sunset Boulevard where a strange brew of sports reporters, TV personalities and scantily clad beautiful women would gather at a bar at the House of Blues.

All that was missing was Tim Tebow, the banished NFL quarterback who KISS has mounted a very public pursuit of.

Here is guessing the notoriously virtuous Tebow would have been a bit uneasy in the dimly lit settings Tuesday – kind of how he looks dropping back to throw a football, come to think of it.

As for me, I loved every second of it.

It was zany and campy and a bit off the grind, but that’s the allure of the whole thing.

And while I might not rush out to see a KISS game, consider me intrigued enough by the Simmons and Stanley presentation Tuesday to be sure to check them out from time to time.

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Matthew Wilkening | 1037 The Loon

On Sept. 18, 1983, an unthinkable event in Kiss-story took place: the world’s most famous masked band removed their makeup and revealed their true faces.Granted, the news wasn’t as earth-shaking as it would have been if the group had come clean a few years earlier, say the mid-to-late ’70s, when they were undeniably the hottest band in the land. However, by this time, internal tensions and a series of questionable disco and pop-influenced albums had severely crippled their commercial standing.

Original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley had also departed the group, and even the back-to-basics creative triumph of 1982′s ‘Creatures of the Night‘ failed to reignite their career. In his book ‘Kiss and Make-Up,’ Gene Simmons reveals how the band’s other remaining founding member, Paul Stanley, convinced him it was time for a big change while they were recording ‘Lick it Up,’ their 11th studio album:

“‘Let’s prove something to the fans,’ Paul said, ‘Let’s go and be a real band without makeup.’ I reluctantly agreed. I didn’t know if it was going to work, but I heard what Paul was saying — there was nowhere else for us to go. We did a photo session just to see what it would look like. We looked straight into the camera lens. We were defiant. I made one small concession to the fans — I stuck out my tongue, to try to keep something that connected us with the past.”(Nothing small about that concession, when you think about it!)

Speaking of the public unveiling on MTV — which you can see below — Simmons says, “We made the best of it, but I was scared stiff.” Turns out Stanley was indeed right, as the

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Chronicle Live

They were the rock stars dressed like Marvel comic book heroes who took America by storm – and a band which also made waves here in the UK.

Formed in New York City, Kiss combined a modicum of musical talent with a prodigious work ethic to become one of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s – and beyond.

Their stock in trade, of course, would be their outrageous and outlandish stage-wear and black and white painted faces, plus a stunning stage show that featured blood-spitting, fire-breathing, guitars that fired rockets, and pyrotechnics.

Albums like Destroyer and Alive were massive sellers, especially in the US, while singles like Crazy Crazy Nights and God Gave Rock And Roll To You would bring them major hits in Britain.

But on this day in 1983, with their career somewhat on the wane, Kiss appeared for the first time without their make-up on that recent innovation, MTV.

A little over a month later, the foursome were on tour and in the region at a packed Newcastle City Hall.

Our reviewer was impressed, but first up, he dealt with the band’s new look.

“Even without their make-up – or should that be especially without – these guys could never win a beauty contest, but their music is something else.

“Their banks of speakers blasted out exactly what the crowd wanted – some of the sweatiest rock around – so loud that my ears were still numb the next day.”

Despite the new image, it was clear Kiss could still put on a trademark over-the-top show.

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NJKISSexpo.com

Jim Cara, the creator of the line of Gene Simmons personal stage Axe Guitars will be giving a guitar building presentation at the New Jersey KISS Expo coming up next Saturday, September 28. Jim will do an in-depth step-by-step demonstration taking you through the process of how the Gene’s axe bass guitars are designed, constructed and produced. He will have many, many examples of Gene’s axe guitars on display at his huge booth for everyone to see. Jim Cara is one of the top designers in his field and he is adding much to this already amazing KISS Expo!

Info on the Gene Simmons Axe guitars is at GSAxe.com
Info for the New Jersey KISS Expo is at NJKISSExpo.com

Michael Brandvold