Bruce Kulick

“Everyone have a wonderful New Year! Be well, be happy, enjoy! Here’s to an amazing 2014!!!”

Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock

Paul Kane

Given the rock n’ roll lifestyle he’s led, we can expect a lot of juicy gossip in Paul Stanley’s upcomingautobiography. But in a new interview, the Kiss singer says that, in the book, he also discusses something a lot more serious, his lifelong struggle with microtia and partial deafness.

“Y’know, my book is about my life starting from the very beginning and certainly a certain amount of adversity and having a birth defect and being deaf on one side and the family that I came from,” he toldPulse of Radio. “Certainly people have had more adversity in their lives — and some less — but I, I would think some people would get a certain amount of inspiration and a sense that positivity and belief in yourself will ultimately lead you to a great place.”

Microtia is a congenital disease where the external ear is underdeveloped. Stanley suffers from Grade III microtia, which has rendered him deaf in the right ear. It is believed to occur in one out of every 8,000 – 10,000 births.

Although it’s not something he discusses often, Stanley hasn’t kept this a secret. He is an honorary director of AboutFace, a Canadian organization devoted to people with facial differences, and has appeared at many of their fundraising efforts over the years.

Stanley’s memoir, ‘Face the Music: A Life Exposed,’ will be published April 22, 2014.

Matthew Wilkening | Ultimate Classic Rock

Kiss will re-issue nine of their old albums on vinyl in March of 2014, and also release their 1998 effort ‘Psycho Circus‘ on the format for the very first time.

Among the nine titles returning to record store shelves on March 18 are the band’s self-titled debut and sophomore ‘Hotter Than Hell’ albums (both from 1974) as well as their double-live 1975 breakthrough album ‘Alive!‘ — which was already reissued back in 2008. Also arriving are 1976′s ‘Destroyer,’ 1979′s ‘Dynasty,’ 1980′s ‘Unmasked,’ 1983′s ‘Lick it Up,’ 1984′s ‘Animalize’ and 1992′s ‘Revenge.’ No further details about bonus tracks or packaging features have been released so far, although the albums are available for pre-order on Amazon.

 you can find a pattern somewhere in those choices, be sure and let us know; to our eyes this looks like a roughly equal blend of properly recognized classics and acknowledged misfires. There’s also some very curious omissions — hopefully there’s a second wave to follow, with ‘Dressed to Kill, ‘Love Gun,’ ‘Creatures of the Night‘ and so on. And are we the only ones who’d like a non-bootleg copy of ‘Carnival of Souls‘ for our collections?

One thing you can’t question is the timing of this reissue campaign. These records will be out about a month before the group is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. Which is also the same month frontman Paul Stanley‘s autobiography is released.

Boy, it’s almost like they knew it was gonna happen…

Krazy Knights

Pagliacci

Eddie Trunk

Cassius Morris

Blabbermouth

KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons will be recognizing their former bandmates at the upcoming Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony next April at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Among the other inductees in the 2014 class are Peter Gabriel, NIRVANA, Linda Ronstadt, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and Cat Stevens. Although Simmons has sworn off ever reuniting with KISS co-founders Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, he tweeted a heartfelt message to all past and present members of KISS congratulating them on the honor: “Congratulations to Ace–Peter–Eric Carr (RIP)- Vinny–Mark (RIP)- Bruce–Tommy–Eric Singer & my partner Paul. And mostly, to The KISS ARMY.”

Seeing as how Simmons thanked former members Vinnie Vincent and Bruce Kulick, many fans are already bracing themselves for a possible performance of all living members of KISS at the Rock Hall. Drummer Eric Carr died in 1991 at age 41 of heart cancer and guitarist Mark St. John died in 2007 at age 51 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone: “KISS is Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. It’s like, if you introduced me to your wife and I go, ‘Wait, where are all the other wives?’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, I was married to them and now I’m here.'”

He went on to say that he was open to performing with Criss and Frehley at the ceremony, stating: “They were equally important in the formation of the band. When you have kids with your first wife, you give kudos. The fact you got remarried doesn’t delete or minimize the important. Hey, ‘You have gave birth to this thing, KISS, with Ace, Peter, Paul and Gene.'”

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Cacey Moffitt | Chicagoist

Peter Cade

Can someone give Jann Wenner a well-being check because we’re not exactly sure how he let his guard down long enough to allow KISS to be inducted into his mausoleum to the spirit of Woodstock aka the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The announcement came from up high this week that KISS is part of the class of 2014 inductees—along with Nirvana, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt, Hall and Oates, Peter Gabriel, Beatles producer Brian Epstein, The E Street Band and Andrew Loog Oldham, the legendary producer and manager of the Rolling Stones’ early career. But for KISS to actually make it past the gate keepers at the Hall was kind of surprising, given Wenner’s apparent distaste for anything that sniffs of hard rock or heavy metal.

KISS has been eligible for induction since 1997 but for some reason this is the first year the band was even nominated. Whether you love them or hate them, when you look at the criteria for induction it’s hard to say that KISS doesn’t meet the requirements laid out by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

How many bands have been influenced by KISS, either musically or in terms of putting together a killer live show? We’re not even going to try to count. The significance of KISS’s contributions to rock and roll certainly can be debated. Let’s face it, KISS is a cheap thrills act. However, people love cheap thrills and if cheap thrills have no place in popular music then maybe we should scrap it as a whole and try to start all over.

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Peter Criss celebrates his birthday at the Capital Centre December 20, 1977.

eBay

For sale now on eBay – a fresh fruit sculpture melon head with makeup drawn by Gene Simmons.

Seller says it is now in her refrigerator and should last about a week, so, our advice – bid early! It may even make it until Christmas!

See the KISS Melon Head on eBay HERE before it’s gone….literally.

ABC News

NEW YORK (AP) – It’s legacy time for Kiss frontman and co-founder Paul Stanley.

Not only are Stanley and fellow band members being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he has a memoir scheduled to come out less than two weeks after the ceremony.

HarperOne announced Tuesday that Stanley’s “Face the Music: A Life Exposed” is coming out April 22.

The publisher says the book will feature rare photographs and candid memories about his wild life with the mega-selling band.

Earlier Tuesday the Rock Hall announced that Kiss, Linda Ronstadt and Peter Gabriel were among the performers voted in. The ceremony is scheduled for April 10.

Amber Lee | 93 Rock

KISS singer/bassist Gene Simmons recently told Rolling Stone that he was open to a reunion performance of his band’s original lineup when the group is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and now ex-KISS guitarist Ace Frehley says he’d also be up for playing with his old band mates at the event.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Frehley commented to Rolling Stone when told that Simmons was agreeable to a reunion.

Asked whether he’d be apprehensive about hitting the stage with Gene and KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley again, Ace says, “Not at all.  I think it will be great.  I think it will be great for the fans to witness and a lot of fun.”

As for how he feels about his old band getting inducted into the Rock Hall, Frehley says, “It’s such an honor,” adding, “It should be a great evening.  I’m really excited and looking forward to the night.”

With regard to KISS having had to wait more than a decade after first being eligible for the honor, Frehley notes, “I had a sense that someday we’d have to get recognized, and that someday has come to pass.”

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From: Chris

This KISS fan actually re-created, corrected and perfected the original Paul Stanley PS10 guitar ad from 1978 and it looks even better than it’s predecessor. The new ad from 2013 is on the left with the original from 1978 on the right. An incredible job well done!

What can I say, the ps10 always has been my ultimate Kiss guitar.

The photo’s from ’70s and the ad’s from Ibanez are burned in my head. I bought the ps10ltd, I thought that that was the ultimate signature model to have and since then I always wanted to bring my guitar back into the ’70s, So I took the ’78 ad and we re-created the shoot with the album covers and the amp.

I alway thought that the amp used in the original ad was wrong and that it should be a Marshall, so we changed that. And also we changed the inner sleeve from Alive II to the album cover of Alive I. I wanted the same feeling but at the same time it had to be different.

Chris

Wayne Parry | The Modesto Bee

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — An adopted son of the Jersey shore is heading into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Peter Criss, the original drummer of the rock group Kiss, has made his home in Wall Township for years. The band was among the Class of 2014 inductees announced Tuesday.

“This is absolutely the best Christmas and birthday present I could get,” Criss, who turns 68 on Friday, told The Associated Press. “This is amazing, that something like this could happen to a kid from Brooklyn.”

Criss said the band always tried to give fans more for their money by adding makeup, costumes, explosives and stage props to the live concert experience. His drum kit, for example, rose 50 feet into the air during his drum solos, which were often filtered through a phase shifter to produce a surreal sound effect.

The big productions Kiss pioneered have been widely embraced by other rock and pop acts, he said.

“When you set someone a strong example and you see it happening with other bands, you know you’ve opened some sort of door,” he said. “We always wanted more, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger.”

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Andy Greene | Rolling Stone

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame officially announced next year’s inductees on Monday: Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt will all join the class of 2014. The E Street Band will be given the Award for Musical Excellence and Beatles manager Brian Epstein and original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldgham will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.

See all of the Rock Hall’s legendary inductees from 1986 to today

The induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 10. It’s the first time the general public will be able to attend the event in New York City. Tickets go on sale in January; HBO will air the event in May.

Artists are eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single.Nirvana, whose first single “Love Buzz” came out in 1988, are entering the institution their first year of eligibility. “That’s really no surprise to me,” says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Joel Peresman. “People see the relevancy of that band. We’re just getting into the creative of the show, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with that performance. They have to figure it out.”

The rock band Kiss, from left, Tommy Thayer, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Paul Stanley in March 2012.

Kiss have been eligible for the last 15 years, but didn’t get the nod until now. “The Kiss Army has descended on Cleveland in recent years,” says Peresman. “And we’ve gotten thousands of letters. They also did extremely well in the public vote.” (In 2012, the band joked to RS, “We’ve been thinking about it and the answer is simply, ‘We’ll just buy it and fire everybody.'”)

A lifetime of Kiss: look back at the group’s rise to the Rock Hall

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Krazy Knights

Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock

This morning (Dec. 14), firefighters in Westchester County, N.Y. were called to a house in Yorktown Heights owned by former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. There are no reported injuries.

Lohud.com is reporting that the stone house was “heavily damaged,” and that “[f]lames burned through the roof.” The Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire Department has posted four pictures of the fire to its Facebookpage, including the one used above.

It is believed that a caretaker, not Frehley, lives in the house. The Red Cross has been enlisted to assist with finding a place for the resident to stay. “We are making arrangements to make sure he has emergency lodging,” Carolyn Sherwin, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross, told lohud.com.

Back in February, U.S. Bank National Association looked to foreclose on the house due to nearly two years of unpaid mortgages. A lien had also been placed on the property due to Frehley owing back taxes, which were paid off in May. The foreclosure issue does not appear to have been settled yet.

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The Guardian

Tania Savayan

A suburban New York house owned by the former Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley has gone up in flames.

The Journal News newspaper reported that firefighters had been called to the stone house in the town of Yorktown Heights late on Saturday morning. The home was heavily damaged, with flames burning through the roof.

The newspaper said the musician had been fighting foreclosure on the property in Westchester county court.

The Red Cross helped a resident with emergency lodging. A neighbour said a caretaker had been living in the home.

It was not clear where the 62-year-old founding member of the famed rock band was at the time of the blaze. He played with the group until 2002, during what was billed as their farewell tour.