Author Archives: Steve Stierwalt

‘IT’S OVER’: KISS’ Paul Stanley urges fans to accept election outcome, move forward

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LOS ANGELES (TNND) — Rock star Paul Stanley told his fans it is time for them to accept the outcome of the presidential election whether they like it or not.

He also advised them not to be bitter and to work on looking toward the future.

“IT’S OVER. If your candidate lost, it’s time to learn from it, accept it and try to understand why,” he wrote on X Monday, marking nearly a week since Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

The KISS star went on to note it’s best for people to stop arguing with each other.

“There will be no building bridges to those you don’t agree with by being condescending, insulting, talking AT them or removing yourself. If your candidate won it’s time to understand that those who don’t share your views also believe they are right and love this country as much as you do,” Stanley wrote.

He finished the post by saying it’s time to end the division.

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Gene Simmons Had A Tactic To Prove KISS Was Better Than Bon Jovi And Aerosmith, Desmond Child Explains

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According to Desmond Child, Gene Simmons thought KISS wrote better songs than Bon Jovi and Aerosmith.

“When they made this album called ‘The Elder,’ where they didn’t use any outside songwriters, he [Simmons] said, ‘We don’t need outside songwriters like Bon Jovi and Aerosmith. We can do it ourselves and in fact, we put two guards at the front of the studio door to keep Desmond Child out,’” the producer recalled about his time with KISS.

Child went on, “He didn’t say it once. He said it like a hundred times in a global publicity tour and I started getting… Everybody was sending me this quote. He said it the same way every time and my feelings got hurt. So I called Paul [Stanley] up.”

“And I said, ‘Paul why would he slag, why would he attack someone who puts money in his pocket, who loves KISS? There’s so many enemies of KISS that he could attack. Why me?’ He said, ‘Oh, well you know Gene. I can’t… You know Gene.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t and I don’t understand it,’” Desmond shared the conversation between him and Paul Stanley.

The producer continued, “I said, ‘Paul, you were there when he were saying this stuff. Why didn’t you speak up?’ He said, ‘I can’t control Gene, you know.’ I said, ‘Well, you can tell him to go f*ck himself. All right?’ So, it was not a very nice conversation.”

“Paul wasn’t defensive at all. Well, a few hours later when I got back and checked my answering machine when we had answering machines, there was a four-word message that said, ‘Hi, it’s Gene, sorry.’ Click [laughs], ” Child lastly said.

“I never wrote with Gene Simmons. I didn’t know him until much later. My relationship was always with Paul Stanley, and Paul would bring Gene the songs that we co-wrote. The only time I became aware that he didn’t like ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ was when KISS started doing an album called ‘The Elder,’ produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin,” Desmond also previously said of working with KISS.

The producer worked with KISS on their following albums, ‘Dynasty,’ ‘Animalize,’ ‘Asylum,’ ‘Crazy Nights,’ ‘Smashes, Thrashes & Hits’ and ‘Hot in the Shade.’

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Paul Stanley Feels ‘Kind of Disoriented’ After Farewell Kiss Tour

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Now that Kiss‘ farewell tour is over, Paul Stanley has admitted he feels a bit adrift.

“There’s no way to give that up and not feel a sense of, if not lost, kind of disoriented,” he recently explained on the podcast Rock of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern. 

“It was time [for Kiss to stop touring], and intellectually it made sense, but that doesn’t mean that emotionally, it doesn’t play a part in it,” he continued. “So, yeah, being home, as I am right now, is normal. What’s not normal is I’m not going back out.”

Stanley clarified that he sees a difference between the continuing legacy of the band, as well as his stage persona, and his real life.

“Kiss remains,” he said. “We’re so involved in what’s going on now and the future and this phenomenal, mind-boggling Kiss avatar show. But, yeah, to not be up there — I see video from 10 months ago, 11 months ago, and it almost seems like a lifetime ago, because I’ve kind of come to grips with not doing that again. … Star Child is forever — but me up there, that’s done.”

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Rest In Peace ANDREW FRENCH

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Andrew French performed in multiple KISS tribute bands over the years and even had a role as one of the band doubles in the Detroit Rock City movie. Every time I crossed paths with him, he was always warm and friendly. It’s heartbreaking to share that he passed away this week. Watch him in action in this video clip.

The Led Zeppelin album that changed Ace Frehley’s life

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Led Zeppelin’s monumental influence on rock ‘n’ roll is undeniable. Their legendary series of albums, spanning from their 1969 debut to 1975’s Physical Graffiti, laid the groundwork for heavy metal and solidified the band’s place in rock mythology.

The blend of folk and blues infused their powerful songcraft with a grounded, mystical quality that kept them from veering entirely into the grandiose excesses of progressive rock. Embracing the album-oriented rock (AOR) movement, each record became something of a mystical artefact, acting as a portal to realms far removed from the room where the music was playing.

During an interview last year with Goldmine, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley revealed the ten albums that changed his life. Naturally, The Bronx Spaceman’s list is peppered with guitar-focused records from his youth and during those crazy years of Kiss’ greasepaint classic era. A healthy love of the British invasion is clearly evident. There’s Meet the Beatles!, the American iteration of the Fab Four’s second LP, The Kinks’ conceptual Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, and of course, The Rolling Stones get a shoo-in with their raw classic Out of Our Heads.

One record in particular that made Frehley bestow high praise is Led Zeppelin’s explosive self-titled debut. He elaborates: “I’ve said it before, and I think we all know that Jimmy Page is one of my favourite guitar players. This album greatly impacted me as a kid growing up in the Bronx”.

Frehley added: “I love all of Zeppelin’s records, that’s the blueprint of rock and roll right there. But the first does it for me the most. I covered ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ on my last Origins record as a sort of homage to Page and what he was able to do on that album. Amazing music, a fantastic record, and totally influential to me as a guitarist before I truly knew what I was doing!”

While Kiss never reached the critical adulation that Zeppelin enjoyed (which they never sought), you can certainly hear their influential effect on Kiss’ early records. ‘Cold Gin’, penned by Frehely, struts itself with Jimmy Page’s sense of ballsy big riff swagger, and ‘Black Diamond’ attempts to reach for Zeppelin’s folk touches on the track’s intro. Frehley sticking to his rock guns on the ill-conceived ’78 solo series, it’s his quarter of the shabby quadruple that holds up the best, doing his homework and studying rock’s “blueprint” while Gene Simmons was singing Disney songs (yes, really).

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