670 vintage posters from 24 countries!
Every KISS poster* of magazines from all over the world from 1974 to September 1983
All listed, inventoried, catalogued (issue / year, size, description) in 160 glorious color pages
By the fans for the fans
A stunning Collector’s Guide or just eye candy for any KISS fan!
Amazing Book!
PATCHOGUE, NY — Ace Frehley, the Grammy Award-nominated former guitarist for the glam metal band, Kiss, is set to perform at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on May 1.
Most notably remembered in the 70s and 80s as his Kiss alter ego, “The Spaceman,” Frehley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Guitar World named him in the Top 15 of its 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.
He penned the New York Times best-selling memoir, “No Regrets,” in 2011, according to Wikipedia.
Tickets will run $56 to $106.
Carr’s last public appearance with Kiss was at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1991. Not long afterwards, he suffered an aneurysm and was rushed to the hospital. Several days later, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and never regained consciousness. He died on November 24, 1991, at the age of 41. We celebrate the life of Eric Carr.
In 1990 Ace Frehley discussed his new band, featuring Sandy Slavin on drums and Richie Scarlett replacing Todd Howard. The new album was heavier, focusing on guitars. Frehley mentioned performing classic Kiss songs and covers like ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down.” He reflected on Kiss’s merchandising over-commercialization and his past substance abuse issues. Frehley expressed openness to a Kiss reunion if given equal production control. He highlighted collaborations with Skid Row and the success of his new album and tour. Frehley also shared his health improvement and commitment to making music for enjoyment, not necessity.
Episode 597. Idolator recently shared a new story titled, KISS Finally Admits The Truth About Their Band Name + Other Secret Facts Most Fans Don’t Know. We went through this list so see if there were any secret facts we didn’t know. Sorry, but most of this article is filled with “duh!” moments. But join us and let us know if you learned anything new, any secrets you didn’t know.
The pair wed in 2005, four years after they first started dating, and are parents to three children
Paul Stanley and Erin Sutton have nearly two decades down and “forever” to go!
The KISS frontman, 72, shared a special message to his wife on X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside a throwback photo from their wedding, as they celebrated their 19-year marriage anniversary.
In the snap he shared, the pair could be seen smiling widely as they posed for the camera after saying “I do.” Stanley’s arm could be seen wrapped around Sutton’s — with his new wedding band in focus — as she held her wedding bouquet.
“HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!,” he captioned a photo. “Married 19 years today and I know one lifetime will never be enough.”
The pair wed in November 2005, four years after they first started dating. Since then, they have welcomed three children: Colin Michael, Sarah Brianna and Emily Grace. Sutton is also stepmom to Stanley’s adult son, musician Evan Shane, from the singer’s previous marriage to Pamela Bowen. Stanley and Bowen wed in 1992 and divorced in 2001.
Over the years, the “Detroit Rock City” singer has penned tributes to her whenever they celebrate a new milestone in their relationship. For their tenth wedding anniversary he explained how he viewed their marriage, saying, “Some people say marriage is confining like jail. Mine was my ticket to freedom.”
For their 14-year anniversary, he wrote a sentimental tribute noting how far the pair have come in their relationship. “… I married Erin and found my key to a life filled with gifts I never imagined,” he wrote on Facebook. “My love for her only grows deeper. Find that person you love and who loves you regardless of anyone else’s concept, intolerance or prejudice. Nothing is more meaningful.”
When an ancient evil threatens Earth, the KISS 4K team must use their powers (both supernatural and musical), to replace the Aurora Borealis. If they fail, Santa Claus won?t be able to guide his sleigh and the demons will rule the earth forever. This is a KISSMAS 4K story that could only be told by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Tone Rodriguez.
November 21st, 1975. The birth of the greatest fan club gathering in rock and roll- Happy KISS Army Day!
Bruce Kulick spoke about the “problems” KISS had with Ace Frehley following the classic lineup’s reunion, noting how Tommy Thayer was better suited for the revamped makeup era than him.
After one failed audition, Bruce Kulick joined KISS in 1984 and became a mainstay — and a focal point — of the NYC hard rock trailblazers’ unmasked era. Kulick ended up parting ways with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in 1996, as the famous MTV Unplugged show proved there was plenty of demand for seeing Ace Frehley and Peter Criss return to their Spaceman and Catman costumes.
“I was never fired the first time. It was simply, ‘Well, we’re making all this money. Now we’re selling out from arenas to stadiums in makeup.’ So my era ran its course”, he tells Loaded Radio in a new interview. Asked why he was never approached with an offer to rejoin after Frehley permanently left the band in 2001, the guitarist offered (transcription via Blabbermouth):
“That’s a great question. And not everyone’s aware of some of the backstory. I would hear things about them having problems with Ace and Ace was getting erratic or difficult. And [later KISS guitarist] Tommy Thayer was tour-managing with them; he was on the road with them.”
“Even during my era, he was involved with the band, helping with ‘Kisstory’ and doing things for the group. He wrote some songs with Gene and was always part of the inner circle, shall I say. So from what I understood, there were one or two things that KISS did — not a concert, even though once Ace was almost not gonna make it and they made Tommy get the outfit on. [He had a] similar build — tall and thin — and Ace made it to the show. But there were a couple of other things they needed to do.”
Kulick went on:
“I believe ‘That ’70s Show’, when they were taping, Ace didn’t show up. ‘Tommy, get the outfit on.’ And then I think there was a private gig, too, that no one would really know about — one of those things where you go to an island and play for some rich people. And Ace wouldn’t go. And KISS wasn’t gonna say, ‘All right, we’re not gonna take the gig.’ So if they ever had a thought of me, I think they would have known that that probably would have been a lot harder.”
“Tommy was younger, there already, if you know what I mean, working with them. And Tommy, not everybody knows that he was in a tribute band for fun at times called Cold Gin as Ace Frehley.”
In the end, Tommy Thayer proved to be just as reliable as Kulick was, and the older guitarist notes how Thayer’s playing style was also much closer to Frehley’s. Nevertheless, he admits he would have been tempted by the offer, had he ever received one:
“Had they gone to me, I can’t say I absolutely would have said ‘no.’ I miss being in KISS. I do realize it would have kind of pooped on my era because then I’d have to kind of play the role of the ‘Spaceman’ and shoot rockets and play more like Ace. I was never given that direction from Gene and Paul, where Tommy knew that it actually was more comfortable with his natural style of guitar playing. He wasn’t a Floyd Rose, play-some-flashy-riffs king of the mountain.”
Defending Tommy Thayer & Eric Singer’s work in KISS, Kulick added:
“I never felt like [Gene and Paul] made the wrong choice — ever. I always felt that was the right way to go ’cause then Tommy could assume the role of the Spaceman in the group. Eric sometimes gets some criticism, like Tommy has, but Eric being behind the drums and having five years in the band without the makeup, maybe he gets a little less.”
“Neither of them really deserves criticism because they’re talented players doing a great job. And it was Gene and Paul’s choice to say, ‘And now you’re the Catman,’ ‘And now you’re the Spaceman.’ It wasn’t [Thayer and Singer] saying, ‘Please, I wanna be the Spaceman.’ And to new generations, Tommy is the Spaceman. Even though Eric has a lot of credibility from ‘Revenge’ and ‘MTV Unplugged’ and ‘Carnival Of Souls’ and all the work that we did together for those five years.”
Former Kiss guitarist and Vinnie Vincent Invasion guitarist Vinnie Vincent recently made a post on the Vinnie Vincent Invasion’s social media suggesting users should have to use their real names and show an ID in order to use social media.
Following the original post, Vincent would later clarify that the post was in reference to users using fake profiles, some with the photos and name of other musicians and recognizable notable people.
Vincent left the following comment on the above post:
This was intended for anyone using fake names and rock star photos as their ID. There’s a lot of fakes with multiple bogus IDs coming here from hate groups and I’m stopping it. I’m entitled to protect myself. That simple. ALSO THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE POSING AS ME TO TRICK PEOPLE. The disbelievers that questioned whether it’s the real me, should have departed. Real fan’s are far and few. The real action is in the hate propaganda groups where VV attracks huge audiences whose ritual is mockery and insult. FB and YouTube channels are “approval” based breeding grounds of left/right propaganda where brainwashed back-patting mobs control the narrative. It’s a bully platform to slander and discredit anyone for any reason. These mind controlled mobs attack everyone who disagrees, discouraging real fans to leave quickly. VVI FB was an experiment. It made no difference to me whether I did this or not. I don’t seek approval. My life, my rules. I make no money doing any of this. This was for your enjoyment and to see if there were many real fans left. I was happy to make you happy and I think many of you were. But as soon as I made a normal request, the haters who lurked here showed their fangs.
For those who think you can insult me or show disrespect, Access denied. I trusted no one to run my site. I did this to bring you music and chat and I was in the process of finally uploading good quality tracks for you to enjoy. So the timing to close happened on its own saving me the release of music. I treated everyone with respect and I gave you real answers to real questions. I would think you would enjoy experiencing a personal interaction with the real VINNIE VINCENT which I generally EXTEND TO NO ONE. Just so you don’t misunderstand I decided to close this over the venomous reaction of a good many here of my request for real ID. It no longer matters. It’s a big internet with tons of bands celebs and artists. This bar is closed.
In a recent interview on SiriusXM‘s The Howard Stern Show, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron shared a surprising anecdote from his teenage years involving none other than rock giants Kiss. Cameron recounted how, nearly five decades ago, he and his bandmates in a neighborhood Kiss cover band faced legal action from the legendary rockers.
Cameron reminisced about the early days of his musical journey, recalling his teenage band’s humble beginnings playing local gigs and crafting makeshift stage props in a garage. The pivotal moment came when Cameron, accompanied by his bandmates, presented a photo album of their amateurish Kiss tribute to none other than Paul Stanley himself during a soundcheck for Kiss‘s ‘Alive!’ tour in 1975.
“I was in a neighborhood Kiss cover band when I was 13, 14 or something like that. We played our local high school’s keggers, and whatnot. And my dad was friends with the head of the stagehand union in San Diego. So, when Kiss was playing there — it was during the ‘Alive!’ tour, so that was ’75 — we got to go see Kiss do a soundcheck at the San Diego Sports Arena. So I brought the two guys that I was in the Kiss band with, Tim and Dave Mahoney, to the soundcheck, and we brought our photo album from our stupid Kiss cover band. My mom made my costume, and Tim’s mom made his costume. We built these rickety plywood platforms in Tim’s garage. We made flash pots out of coffee cans and a light socket with a little flash powder inside of it. It was janky, low rent, horrible. So anyways, we took this photo album to meet Kiss frontman Paul Stanley. We got a photo with him. And so, we were sort of, like, ‘Hey man, we’re in a Kiss cover band. Here’s our stupid little photo album.'”
However, the excitement soon turned to shock when, several months later, the young musicians received a cease-and-desist letter from Kiss‘s management company, Aucoin Management. The reason? The band’s audacious decision to name themselves ‘Kiss’ without considering the legal ramifications.
Only a couple available!
Very cool poster on Metallic Paper. Hard to see in the photos but looks amazing in person. Ace signed a few of these for us in a private signing in Jersey City, NJ in July 2021. Measures 13 x 19 inches. Photo does not do this print justice. Includes our Certificate of Authenticity. Fun fact. When signing this Ace told the story that this was the night of his bachelor party.
Remember the hair metal craze of the late 1980s? Well, there was a reason each of those bands almost invariably included an earnest ballad on their albums, usually with the intent of releasing it as a single. They’d seen the examples of so many of their hard-rocking predecessors, who often enjoyed their biggest commercial success when they slowed it down a bit.
For example, KISS, known for their crunching, unrelenting rock anthems, made their highest incursion into the pop charts with the tender “Beth” in 1976. Here’s how the song came to life and, almost against the band’s intent, turned into such a big smash.
Before he was a member of KISS, Peter Criss, the band’s drummer, was in a short-lived New York City group known as Chelsea. One of the other members, Mike Brand, had a wife named Becky. And Becky wasn’t all that crazy about the way that Chelsea practiced to all hours of the night.
It got to the point Criss and fellow Chelsea member Stan Penridge wrote a song mocking the calls this woman made to the studio in almost nonstop fashion. They never recorded the song with Chelsea. But years later, Criss, wanting to add something of his own creation to the KISS album Destroyer, brought the song to the band.
It’s at this point in the story we should inject the details behind the creation of “Beth” have been in dispute pretty much since the song became a hit. Penridge has maintained the version of the story told above, while Criss has claimed his loneliness about behind away from his then-wife Lydia inspired it. (Lydia has also claimed to have helped with some of the lines in the song.)
Meanwhile, both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, who were generally in charge of the writing for the bulk of KISS’ material, have denied Criss had much at all to do with the writing, suggesting Penridge was largely the writer of the original version. Keep in mind that relations between Criss and that duo have long been strained, so it’s difficult to know where the truth exactly lies.
What is certain is that Bob Ezrin, who had gained fame working with Alice Cooper and produced Destroyer, also served as a catalyst for the song’s success, helping with the lyrics and devising the lush orchestral score that would back up Criss’ vocal performance. (Approximately 19 people have claimed credit for changing the song title from “Beck” to “Beth,” so it’s perhaps best we don’t get too far into that.)
“Beth” found its way onto Destroyer to give Criss a showcase, and the band snuck it on as the B-side to “Detroit Rock City,” the third single released from the album. But a funny thing happened: DJs locked onto “Beth” and started playing it in favor of the A-side. KISS realized the opportunity and flipped the two songs in a rerelease, and it led to “Beth” hitting No. 7 on the charts.
