Anthony Smiljkovich | My Fox LA
Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV
Gene Simmons is a football fan and he’s bringing football to LA. He talked to Steve and Maria Wednesday about his new Arena Football team the LA KISS and why he and Paul Stanley are venturing into the world of sports and offering season tickets starting at 99 bucks each.
“If you’re a football fan and who isn’t, you’ve got to mortgage your home to get a season ticket. You’ve got to fight traffic to get into a stadium filled with other fans…what a crime that Los Angeles, the second biggest market in the entire North American continent, does not have a football team…we’re gonna be bringing it to you because Los Angeles deserves a football team.”
Gene says he and Paul are using their fame to showcase what they consider a sport that is too often overlooked.
“We’re calling it LA KISS to bring more attention to arena football which is really much faster, much more aggressive, much more in your face kind of football. It’s classic football on adrenaline.”
Steve also asked Gene about the band not being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“Whether The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or any other institution recognizes us is really not foremost in our mind. I was thinking of buying The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame… it’s well meaning guys, a handful of people who sit behind the scenes and have meetings and they’re good guys but you know…”
LA KISS is the newest expansion to the Arena Football League, currently entering it’s 27th season. The team will kickoff at Honda Center April 5th.
Arena football is played indoors in 14 markets across the country. The field is only 50 yards long with no sidelines so it provides fans a more intimate, higher scoring experience e, than the NFL but with NFL caliber players. A fan sitting in the front row can experience players catching balls in their lap. Arena League Teams are comprised of players either coming from NFL rosters or top Division 1 Programs. For ex, LA KISS QB Colt Brennan still holds the NCAA record for most Touchdown passes in a single season.
Season tickets to LA KISS start at only $99 and will include a free KISS concert at Honda Center for season ticket holders. KISS has always been known as a band for the fans and LA KISS will be a brand for the fans, focused on delivering a great experience that is affordable.
LA KISS games will feature high scoring, high intensity, adrenaline football in addition to an all-encompassing entertainment experience that is nothing short of the spectacle that KISS has become synonymous with over the last 40 years!
Gene and Paul have a vested interest in bringing football back to Los Angeles as both have observed AFL games and think that the games are both action packed and an affordable experience for families, fusing the best of the music and sports worlds. Gene and Paul been actively involved in most of the marketing and promotions of the team and will help design the game day environment that fans will experience this season. Paul Stanley has also designed the team’s logo and jerseys.
Yesterday, we launched our LA KISSMAS campaign which will run until Christmas.
We have partnered up with CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) and with every season ticket you buy, we will be donating a Christmas gift to a child at the Hospital. Every Child deserves a Christmas and we hope to make some special dreams come true this holiday season.
Fun Facts About Gene Simmons: (Source: Wikipedia)
1) He is an Israeli-born American rock bass guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and actor. Known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bass guitarist/co-lead vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s. With Kiss, Simmons has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.
2) Simmons became involved with his first band, Lynx, then renamed The Missing Links, when he was a teenager. He adopted the stage name Gene Simmons, after rockabilly performer Jumpin’ Gene Simmons. Eventually, he disbanded the band to form The Long Island Sounds, the name being a pun on the Long Island Sound. While he played in these bands, he kept up odd jobs on the side to make more money, including trading used comic books. Simmons attended Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York. He then joined a new band, Bullfrog Bheer, and the band recorded a demo, “Leeta”; this was later included on the Kiss box set.
3) Simmons is a science-fiction and comic book fan and published several science fiction fanzines, among them Id, Cosmos (which eventually merged with Stilletto to become Cosmos-Stilletto and then Faun), Tinderbox, Sci-Fi Showcase, Mantis and Adventure. He also contributed to other fanzines, among them BeABohema and Sirruish.
4) On January 28, 2011, Simmons was in Dallas, Texas, to host the Aces & Angels Salute to the Troops charity event. While in Dallas, Simmons was presented the key to the city in Dallas, Texas and a street, Gene Simmons Boulevard, was named for him. Simmons and Tweed also visited Ft. Hood to support the Troops as a part of the Aces & Angels event. On June 15 of the same year he was given the key to the city in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 2012, Simmons was awarded the Golden God award by the Revolver magazine.
To signify the launch of the KISSMAS campaign, we have created our own unique KISSMAS TREE which is made entirely out of football helmets. The tree, which is the center piece of the KISSMAS campaign, will be touring around LA and Orange County this month. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LAKISS_AFL, Instagram – lakissfootball, and Facebook – lakissfootball on how you can see the tree at a location near you!
Season tickets are available for purchase by calling one of our ticket representative at 714-462 KISS or by going to www.LAKISSfootball.com
Read more: http://www.myfoxla.com/story/24129337/gene-simmons-wishing-you-a-merry-kiss-mas#ixzz2meDeOpXL