Mitch Lafon

Former Frehley’s Comet/ Peter Frampton bassist, John Regan goes One On One With Mitch Lafon to discuss his new band, Four By Fate, which also includes singer Tod Howarth (Frehley’s Comet/ Cheap Trick), guitarist Sean Kelly (Crash Kelly, Helix) and drummer Stet Howland (W.A.S.P/Lita Ford). The two discuss how the band came about, plans for a new album and tour. John also went through his history with former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley and discussed his time in the band, the making of the Frehley Comet albums, the possibility of a reunion, the vault of unreleased material and much more.

Neil Vazquez | Do You Remember

Contrary to popular belief, Kiss was not just about the makeup—it was the about the pyrotechnics, fake blood and high heels. Formed in 1973, the band made a name for themselves as a part of the glam rock-movement in a similar vein to the androgynous antics of the New York Dolls and Alice Cooper. So how exactly did a couple of guys who look like RuPaul’s Drag Race rejects become the idols of half the male population of the United States? Kick-ass guitar licks and Satan worship, that’s how.

Though they’ve enjoyed commercial success, Kiss has had a rough go of it on the critical side. Luckily, last week they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—alongside Nirvana, Peter Gabriel and Cat Stevens, among others—after a nearly 15-year snub by the exclusive club of aging rock stars. For hardcore fans, the honor was a long time coming for Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter. Here we look at the long career of a band who fused pageantry and theatrics with a hard-rock edge.

On The Mike Douglas Show

Kiss’ second television performance, on The Mike Douglas Show, was also coupled with Simmons’ first on-camera interview. True to his demon character, he scared an uncomfortable audience with his trademark tongue wagging, prompting comedian Totie

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Gus Griesinger | Backstage Axxess

Paul Stanley is in the midst of a book signing for his autobiography “Face the Music a A Life Exposed. He stopped by Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ a day before his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Stanley showed up well over an hour early to sign a whopping 500 pre sold books in Bookends back room. at 6pm sharp, Stanley came downstairs to pose for the media with the book for about 30 or so seconds before diving right into the signing. People started lining up at 5am. For about 3 hours, Stanley signed another 600 books and did a quick pose with book purchasers. We even got his guitar tech Francis Steuber to pose with the book.

Click HERE to see the photo gallery.

Mitch Lafon

MEGADETH bassist, David Ellefson, goes One On One with Mitch Lafon to talk KISS as well as MEGADETH’s 2014 tour & recording plans, ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE (with ANTHRAX’s Frank Bello), AC/DC, and much much more. 

Mark Lore | Paste

KISS has outlived most things its age (and probably more than a few cockroaches), as the rock and roll entity rolls into its 40th year. That means I’ve just entered my 36th year as a member of the KISS Army (does this make me a five-star general yet?). Of course, I’m not alone. KISS fans are as devoted (or gullible, depending on who you ask) as they come.

2014 is shaping up to be a big year for the most divisive band in the world. After 15 long years of eligibility, the four original members—Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley—are finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band is reissuing its entire catalog (complete with cardboard Love Guns and posters) on vinyl. And Stanley—the Starchild and the glue who has held things together all these years—finally penned an autobiography, making him the final of the four originals to do so.

While there are plenty of nuggets about KISS’s early daze, Stanley doesn’t belabor the sex, drugs and minutiae that most KISS fans probably know anyway (although there are points early in the book, where it feels like Stanley whizzes through rock and roll’s impact on him). Instead the Starchild digs deep into the human condition, starting with his upbringing, where his parents were going through the motions themselves and found little time for young Stanley Eisen, who was dealing with his own insecurities (he was born with only one ear, and to this day is deaf on one side).

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ABC News Radio

Larry Busacca

After all the drama leading up to the induction of KISS ‘ four original members into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past Thursday, the feuding band mates behaved civil and friendly to each other while accepting the honor.  Founding lead guitarist Ace Frehley tells ABC News Radio that he was “really honored” to be part of the ceremony, although he did direct some mild criticism toward frontman Paul Stanley , who took some shots at the Rock Hall and the way it goes about choosing inductees.

“I really didn’t like some of the things Paul Stanley said in his speech, because obviously he’s a little aggravated with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” explains Frehley.  “I know he wanted to get other members in the group inducted.”

Ace adds that “there was some political stuff going on,” which led to disagreements about whether KISS would perform at the event.  “Unfortunately we did not perform, even though I was up for it,” he notes, adding, “I try to stay away from politics.  I don’t think politics and music work.  I never did.”

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Strange Ways

Something Else!

There was the long wait, the belated nomination, the vicious back biting and the surprisingly gracious induction. Now that Kiss is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however, it’s time for Ace Frehley to get back to work on a solo album.

The forthcoming Space Invader, due on June 24, 2014 via eOne Music, is Frehley’s first since 2009′s Anomaly — which shot to No. 27 on the Billboard album lists, the guitarist’s highest-charting project since his platinum-selling 1978 eponymous debut.

Here’s what we know: “There’s going to be a real interesting instrumental, there’s gonna be some catchy riff songs, there’s gonna be some straight-ahead rockers and everything in between,” Frehley tells Billboard. “The only real guests I have [are] Chris Wyse from the Cult and my drummer Matt Starr, who I used on my last U.S. tour. And pretty much I’m playing all the instruments and doing all the lead vocals. I’m a one-man show.”

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Alan Smiti

Mitch Lafon

Tom Harper (who was Paul Stanley’s roadie on the Dynasty tour and bass player on the KISS song, Shandi from Unmasked) goes One On One with Mitch Lafon. In this hour long interview, Tom discusses how he became KISS’s roadie on the Dynasty tour, how circumstance led him to play on KISS’ song, Shandi, as well as going on to work with Judas Priest on their Screaming For Vengeance Tour, Hall & Oates, Supertramp and more. Tom also talks about the band members’ relationship in those turbulent days and the Peter Criss Out Of Control tour that failed to launch back in 1980. We also chat about the Eric Carr/KISS drummer auditions of 1980 and Tom’s latest EP, Vintage UK.

Podcast Rock City

Did this show a couple of weeks ago and just didnt have the time to get it out….But I am back to work with the AMAZING Cassius Morris from the CREATURES OF THE NET PODCAST and we are talking ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE!! This is part 1 of a 2 part show….the 2nd part is at Creaturesofthenet.com. So after you listen to this go check out his site!!

Tokyo Journal

Scott Stump | Today Show

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Still fresh off their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday night, the members of KISS took time from rock and rolling all night and partying every day to speak to TODAY Friday about an honor 40 years in the making.

“It was really vindication because the fans have wanted this for so long,” lead singer Paul Stanley told Matt Lauer, as the band joined TODAY on the plaza decked out in their costumes and iconic facepaint. “It may not have meant as much to us, but it meant a lot to them. We were very happy to be there. We have 40 years of legacy, and it’s a proud time for us.”

Stanley was joined by guitarists Gene Simmons and Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer. The lead-up to the Hall of Fame induction was not without controversy, as original drummer Peter Criss and original guitarist Ace Frehley, who both split from the band in the early 1980s, traded shots at Simmons and Stanley in the media. While there was no reunion performance on Thursday, the members were courteous to one another in their acceptance speeches.

“Yesterday is yesterday,” Simmons said. “We’ve never won a race looking over our shoulders in the past. Winners always look straightforward. There are no solutions, there’s only we get to decide who and what KISS is. We love Ace and Peter, and they were very gracious yesterday in accepting the award to be part of the beginning, but we move on. This is a 40-year proud history, and Eric and Tommy make every day on that stage a wonderful, wonderful experience, not just for us. We like being together and bonding onstage, but it’s an experience for the fans.”

KISS announced their 42-city North American tour in honor of their 40th anniversary, where they will be joined by Def Leppard. They also are looking tohire two military veterans as roadies to work their 2014 Heroes Tour as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Capital One’s Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.

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The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Patrick Doyle and Kory Grow | Rolling Stone

Patrick Doyle

The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was packed with surprising reconciliations and all-star turns on the mic. So what went down backstage, when the night’s honorees and speakers got a chance to unwind? Rolling Stone captured the behind-the-scenes vibe from our prime perch:

20 best moments from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2014 induction ceremony

When Stevie Met Bruce
After we talked with Stevie Nicks, she ran into Bruce Springsteen in the crowded hallway. “You sang fabulous,” Bruce told her. “You sang fabulous, and you looked fabulous.” As he walked away, Nicks grinned like a teenage Beatles fan.

Blood Brothers
In the hallway, Bruce also ran into Peter Gabriel. Gabriel said he heard Springsteen was vacationing on a boat in Sardinia, where Gabriel has a house. Gabriel invited Springsteen out there again someday. “There’s a meal waiting for you,” Gabriel said.

“We’re gonna take you up on that!” Springsteen laughed.

“Please do,” Gabriel said. Later, he called it one of his highlights of the night. “That was a nice moment!”

Ace to Face with Ron Delsener

After Ace Frehley made his entrance during Rolling Stone’s interview with Tom Morello, he got situated and took a moment to reflect on his career. “I think we’re probably gonna go down in history as the greatest theatrical rock group in the world,” he said. “I think that’s probably gonna be undisputable fact.” But shortly thereafter a real spectacle broke out, when legendary concert promoter Ron Delsener spotted Frehley and burst into the room. “I don’t remember you standing up like that – we used to have to carry you to the stage, you were so fucked up,” he said, ribbing Frehley about his wilder days. “This guy would come to every show at the Palladium, the Garden, and he’d come with an entourage of people,” Delsener continued. “I thought he was fucking Prince.” Frehley just laughed his famous high-pitched cackle and took it all in stride.

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Kory Grow | Rolling Stone

Michael Loccisano

Almost as soon as Kiss were named as inductees for the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the drama began. Although original guitarist Ace Frehley told Rolling Stone he didn’t see any bad blood between his ex-bandmates, the group’s current original members – Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons – decided that no lineup of Kiss would perform. In the end, the four original members reunited peacefully onstage and were humbled by the award. After their acceptance speeches, Rolling Stone caught up with Frehley – who is working on his first solo album in five years, Space Invader – to find out just how things really went down onstage.

Kiss Forever: 40 Years of Feuds and Fury

How did it feel to finally get up there?
It felt great, you know? Look at the company I’m with. The room is full of celebrities and rock stars. It’s like another milestone in my career. But the body of work that I’ve created over the years has stood the test of time. It’s a very special time for me.

After all the controversies leading up to the induction, how did it feel to be onstage with everybody again?
It felt like I just saw those guys yesterday. We’re brothers in rock & roll. The press seems to amplify the fact that we hate each other, and we really don’t. We’ve had our differences over the years, but every rock & roll band does. Tonight, it felt like I had just left those guys the other day, and they were very gracious considering what we’ve been creating over the last 40 years.

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Bill Aucoin and Roman Fernandez on Broadway (Photo courtesy Roman Fernandez)

Richard Burnett | Montreal Gazette

The four original members of KISS – Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss – put aside their personal differences at the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, at least long enough to say kind words about one another.

But for KISS fans, as well as Roman Fernandez – longtime life partner of Bill Aucoin, the legendary rock’n’roll manager who discovered KISS – it would have been nice to see the fueding stop before the band hit the stage. In fact, it would have been nice to see the original KISS performonstage at the ceremony.

Like former Rage Against the Machine guitarist and KISS fan Tom Morello concluded in his induction speech, “Tonight, this isn’t the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is the Rock And Roll All Night And Party Every Day Hall Of Fame!”

For Roman Fernandez, the night was bittersweet: his life partner Bill Aucoin, who died of surgical complications from prostate cancer in 2010 at the age of 66, was not there to see the band he raised, nurtured and turned into global superstars inducted into the rock hall.

“When I first found out KISS was going to be inducted, it was very bittersweet for me,” Fernandez told me this week. “I was happy, but on the other hand I was upset because it was like a practical joke on Bill, [to induct] a band that was never supposed to get in the hall of fame. Bill and I had talked about that and he was at peace with that. Then three years after he dies, they get inducted. And Bill isn’t here to see it. That still eats away at me. So the induction is a happy occasion but it also rubs salt in the wound. To see [the original KISS members] fueding – those four guys who are lucky enough to have this argument because they are alive. Bill doesn’t have that luxury.”

Still, Fernandez is a loved member of the KISS family, and he attended the induction ceremony to “represent.”

“It’s what Bill would have wanted,” Fernandez says.

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