La Figa

Shades of Lady Gaga  nearly two and half decades before Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta donned platform shoes and a meat dress. Watch Paul Lynde thanking his

“Little monsters”

at the close of his surreal 1976 Halloween special; it shows a throughline of queer consciousness.

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special is a mash-up of 1976′s culture clashes. Lynde makes jokes about the upcoming election while KISS, Betty White, Donnie and Marie (in an uncredited appearance), Margaret Hamilton, and other surprise guests perform sketches with the Crown Prince of Camp, Paul Lynde.

For many years, Paul Lynde and Liberace [Lee] were the two most visible gay men on television, and Lynde was always cooler than Lee, appealing to a younger generation.  He played sarcastic, practical joking Uncle Arthur on Bewitched  and was also the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares, where his snarky double entendres (and center spot on the game board) made him a favorite. Many jokes on the Hollywood Squares centered around thinly veiled references to Lynde’s sexuality, and I still wonder if my grandmother and her generation got them…

Q: You’re the world’s most popular fruit. What are you?
Lynde: Humble.

Q: What unusual thing do you do, if you have something called ‘the gift of tongues’?
Lynde: I wouldn’t tell the grand jury; why should I tell you?

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Johnny I

Joe Polo

Krazy Knights

Failblog.org

KISSasylum.com

Michael Gallucci | Ultimate Classic Rock

Antonio Marino Jr

Ace Frehley and Peter Criss played together onstage together for the first time in 13 years last night. The former Kiss bandmates were at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City to celebrate the 30th anniversary for radio and TV host Eddie Trunk’s radio show.

According to Blabbermouth, Frehley and Criss were part of an all-star jam band that was on hand to help Trunk, who also co-hosts VH1 Classic’s ‘That Metal Show,’ celebrate 30 years of his rock ‘n’ roll radio show.

Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy was the evening’s musical director. He led the band — which included members of Guns N’ Roses, Twisted Sister and Anthrax – through covers of songs by Deep Purple, Van Halen and UFO.

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I want to buy your KISS COLLECTION

CASH PAID !!!! — No collection too large or too small – Even if you have a $30,000 or larger KISS collection, yes I can pay you in CASH.

I buy all KISS and KISS solo related items spanning 1974 to 2013…I want everything you have…..magazines, newspapers, promo Items, toys, T-shirts, hats, books, concert items, picks, drumsticks, posters, concert posters, paper items, KISS Army items, foreign items, CDs, cassettes, records, picture discs, 45s, official DVDs, signed items, out of print items, non-makeup items, original lineup items, newly released items, tour books, cards, cars, stickers, road crew items, 1 of a kind items, awards, guitars, photography…..EVERYTHING.

I WILL TRAVEL to buy your KISS COLLECTION — I can travel to you anywhere in the United States…East Coast, West Coast, down South, Midwest….I will travel to buy your collection and pay you in cash on the spot.

All transactions and contacts are kept absolutely PRIVATE….No deals will be discussed with anyone….I have purchased items from collectors, former band members, people who worked for the band, and other dealers.

Please contact Ross Koondel at either 267-566-2046 or by email at
RossKoondel@yahoo.com

One of my typical purchases

Sean Michaels | The Guardian

Not even rock’n’roll’s greatest honour could persuade Gene Simmons to reform Kiss‘s original line-up. Describing his former bandmates as “a cancer”, Simmons dismissed the idea of a 40th anniversary reunion, should the band be accepted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Kiss are one of 16 nominees for this year’s hall of fame inductions, vying for a place alongside Nirvana, NWA, Chic, Deep Purple and many more. But even if they do get selected for the gala in April, don’t count on a reunion with Ace Frehley, their original lead guitarist, or Peter Criss, who first played drums.

“No,” Simmons recently told Radio.com. “When you have a cancer in your system, it’s best to cut it out as fast as you can. It used to be a part of your body [but] then it turned intocancer so you gotta cut it out.”

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Roman Fenandez

Miami, FL – Organizers of the twelve hour “KISS KRUISE” Pre-Party to take place on Sunday, October 27th at Will Call Miami, confirm over $18,000 has been raised to benefit Sophie’s Place, Child Advocacy Centre. Sophie’s Place is a program of The Centre for Child Development in British Columbia named after its patron, Sophie Tweed-Simmons – daughter of infamous KISS frontman, Gene Simmons, and Canadian model turned actress, Shannon Tweed.

“We are not certain what the final tally will be yet since the event doesn’t take place until this Sunday”, admits entertainment director at Will Call Miami, Coz Canler, “…but we expect lots more ticket sales in the next few days”.

Sophie’s Place, Child Advocacy Centre is focused on providing specialized services to physically, mentally or sexually abused children in a child-friendly designed setting.

“It’s really important that kids have a place to go where they can be taken seriously, and where they can express what’s happened to them in a safe environment”, says Sophie Tweed-Simmons.

The full day festival will include KISS-related special guests, Q&A’s, meet and greets, raffles, activities, food, themed drinks, and live music. Amongst the special guests are Sophie Tweed Simmons, Alan G Parker, director of the new KISS documentary film in production, You Wanted The Best… You Got The Best!; author of newly released KISS biography, Ken Sharp; KISS producer and studio guitarist, Bob Kulick model and TV personality, Megan McCracken; and recording artist, Lyn Christopher, whose debut album in 1973 saw the first appearance of KISS’s Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on a major record label release.

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ZIP

KISSmuseum.com

After a long absence, the amazing and much sought after Ace Frehley Destroyer Costume is now back in stock. We guarantee Halloween delivery for U.S. orders!

2-Day Air and Overnight Air shipping options available.

Ace Frehley Destroyer Costume available at KISSmuseum.com

KISS Army Argentina

KISS Army Argentina: Hi, Bill. Since some time ago we wanted to contact you and here weare; thank you! First of all, please tell us how you became a KISS fan and, especially, an AceFrehley fan.

Bill Baker: I remember hearing “Destroyer” when it first came out…a friend had the 45 of “Dr. Love”and “Take Me”. We were hooked from then on. I must have been around ten years old when I wasfirst introduced to their music.

KISS Army Argentina: Until the time in which you began to work with Ace, do you remember how many KISS shows you had attended, and how many Ace’s shows (during the Cometsera)?

Bill Baker: I know this is hard to believe, but unfortunately for me, I never got to see KISS or Aceback in the day. I first got to see Ace on the 1992 tour when my friends opened for him at”Hammerjacks” in Baltimore, Maryland. He wore the famous blue leather jacket that night.

KISS Army Argentina: As we know, you met Ace in 1990, in a KISS convention in which youwere selling part of your personal collection of Jimi Hendrix’s items and then investing thatmoney in buying some Ace’s items; is this correct?

Bill Baker: I didn’t meet Ace at the convention, I met a friend of his who was trying to sell Ace’s”Washburn” guitar. We ended up making a trade for the guitar, and I happened to meet Ace the next day when I delivered my side of the trade (Which was a rare “Marshall” guitar speaker cabinet). I was in the process of selling off Hendrix records and memorabilia, and that’s how the subject of Hendrix came up over dinner. Ace told me he had “roadied” for Hendrix once. I had some video from that very show and Ace wanted a copy of it! I gave him my number and to my surprise he called me the very next day and our friendship developed from there.

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K Earth 101

Full Throttle Rock

Put simply, I am crazy for all things Kiss. They have been a ruling force in my life since I was in school. In that time I have seen the band go through many changes, with many degrees of success or failure. One of the bands best decisions was to bring Bruce Kulick into the fold in the mid 1980s, in my view, this move helped the band stay relevant and fresh during this period. By the mid 1990s the original band reunited for a reunion world tour and Kulick found himself on the outer, but instead of moaning and groaning about it, like so many others would, Kulick remained on good terms with the band and move on, forging a career of his own with John Corabi in Union and as a solo artist. So when a member of the ‘Hottest Band In The World’, current or past, wants to give me a call, that is an opportunity I am going to take.

Rock Man: You have had a long outstanding career playing with some of the biggest names in the music industry, could you have imagined your career would take the shape it has?

Bruce Kulick: Well you know, the more I go back and look at all the things I have done the more I realize, while I was doing then, of course I was excited and as professional as possible, but I did not realize the impact that all the things, especially the Kiss years, would ultimately have. Even prior to that the dual lead guitars for Meat Loaf and touring the world for the Bat Out Of Hell Tour, you know, when it first came out, I mean that album is still huge and the version of that record you buy now has a couple of live tracks on it featuring Bob (Kulick) and I. So I am very blessed to be a working musician all these years, could I have imagines it? … not completely, definitely not.

RM: Who are some of the artists or guitarists that influenced your musical upbringing?

BK: Well you know, it all started, I mean, I need the mention The Beatles before anything else, because that was such a huge moment, the Ed Sullivan Show here in America, it was quite remarkable to experience something really magical musically and then their kind of vibe about how it is to be a band and play music, kind of changed our culture and I am very, very pleased, as much as I will be nearing 60 at the end of the year, I am happy that I grew up in that era that I can enjoy that. Because from The Beatles everything else started to fall into place with bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin and Cream and The Rolling Stones and all, and Jimi Hendrix had to go to London to make it, you know, the whole British Invasion was fascinating to me and I was a huge fan of all the bands that came out of that time. And that music is still timeless, I really think there is no mystery why The Beatles is still huge and Hendrix is on the cover of magazines. So strictly guitar hero wise, I will say someone like Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and later on a guy like Eddie Van Halen who kind of supercharged some of the stuff he heard from Clapton and those were the people, Eric Clapton I need to mention of course, being a huge influence on me loving guitar. So it was never a dull moment in my bedroom with what to listen too and what to try and pick up.

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