Kim Chaney | Local Memphis

(ELVIS PRESLEY ENTERPRISES RELEASE) – MEMPHIS, Tenn. – May 17, 2017 – The year-long 40th anniversary commemoration of the life and legacy of Elvis Presley continues in Memphis with additional artifacts being added to the recently opened ICONS: The Influence of Elvis Presley exhibit located at the new Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment and exhibit complex at Graceland.

Curated by the Graceland Archives team, the acclaimed ICONS: The Influence of Elvis Presley Exhibit, wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of over 30 music artists and entertainers influenced by the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. The groundbreaking exhibit celebrates Elvis Presley’s status as a music pioneer who paved the way for many of today’s musicians and celebrities by featuring original wardrobe, instruments and artifacts from Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, James Brown, Billy Joel and many more.

Joining the impressive lineup of artists and items included in the exhibit, starting May 17th, 2017, are costumes from one of rock’s most influential bands, KISS. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have released 44 albums and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and are known for their signature stage costumes and now proudly take their place in an exhibition dedicated to Elvis’ influence on other pop culture icons.

Upon the announcement of KISS’ costumes to be displayed in Graceland’s exhibit, KISS co-founder Gene Simmons stated, “Elvis is King. Period.”   KISS co-founder Paul Stanley added, “No one name says more than his… ELVIS.  It roars while others whisper.”

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Blabbermouth

Gene Simmons has confirmed that “some writing” has been going on for a possible new KISS studio album but has once again said that he is “not incentivized” to release another KISS disc unless there are some major changes in the way music is consumed.

KISS‘s last studio effort, 2012’s “Monster”, sold 56,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band’s previous LP, “Sonic Boom”, opened with 108,000 units back in October 2009 to enter the chart at No. 2. This marked the KISS‘s highest-charting LP ever.

Asked by Michael Cavacini if KISS is going to record another studio album or not, Simmons said: “There’s some writing going on. Not too long ago I wrote a song called ‘Your Wish Is My Command’. It sounds anthemic, like something that might have come off ‘Love Gun’, maybe. But I’m not incentivized. The idea that you work your ass off and then someone with freckles on their face decides they want to download your music and file share — that’s not what I work for. How’d you like to be a plumber, come over somebody’s house and work all day to fix their plumbing and then when it’s time to get paid they say, ‘No, I just wanted to say thank you.’ No.”

He continued: “I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, you have enough money.’ That’s what I need: an eighteen-year-old kid telling me when enough is enough. It doesn’t affect me at all. And it doesn’t affect THE [ROLLING] STONES or U2 — a lot of the bands that do well. There’s only a handful, actually. The saddest thing of all is that the next great bands, with the talent Continue reading →

Goldmine

As KISS bassist Gene Simmons told Goldmine, there’s “something about KISS, I don’t want to say it’s timeless, but it connected with a 5-year-old back in the ‘70s and it sure connects with a 5-year-old now.”

It’s what keeps KISS collectible, too. There’s always a new generation of KISS fans wanting all things KISS. And Goldmine is going to increase the fun with a KISS/Gene Simmons Giveaway.

There will be four (4) lucky winners. The Grand Prize is a poster of Goldmine’s January 2017 KISS cover — a rare shot of Gene Simmons on the Dynasty Tour, July 1979 in Florida — autographed by Simmons himself. It’s a VERY cool magazine cover (shown above — lots of kudos from KISS fans on this one). The poster is 21.25″ w x 29″ h.

And if you don’t win the poster grand prize, you have a chance to win one of the three Goldmine magazines autographed by Gene Simmons.

The Gene Simmons autograph on the poster

All you have to do to enter for this “KISS Kontest” is submit your email address in the box below by Wednesday, May 31, 11:59 p.m. You will be immediately entered in the Giveaway and as a bonus you will receive Goldmine’s informative weekly eNewsletter (collecting news/tips and exclusive articles and interviews with your favorite classic artists). We will randomly draw winners from the entrants.

WAAF

Although former KISS drummer Peter Criss might disagree with Gene Simmons on a lot of things, Criss is the next rock legend to echo Simmons’ sentiment on the current state of rock n’ roll.

While speaking with Hi Fi Way, Criss was asked for his opinion on the fate of rock, in which he bluntly replied, “rock ‘n’ roll is over.” Admitting the reason why he feels this way is due to the kind of mainstream music he hears today in comparison to the music he grew up with when he was younger.

“I’ve been around since the day that the Beatles were onstage, I’ve been around when music was Motown … I’ve been around! What’s going on today ain’t my cup of tea,” says Criss. “The ’60s and ’70s were the times to be around. I saw Jimi Hendrix, I saw the real Who, the real Zeppelin, the Beatles and seen the Stones many times now that I know them and we’re friends. Over the years a lot has happened to me and I got to see all these great acts, and what I see today doesn’t rock my cradle and doesn’t do anything for me and I don’t care for a lot of the music.”

Criss believes that breaking into the music business took a lot more hard work, effort and creativity than it does today. “We were early pioneers and no one was doing that when we started out. Now everyone does it, so it isn’t big news anymore,” says Criss. “It’s time for me to get off the train as it’s not a great ride anymore. I don’t go out to concerts much anymore because I don’t enjoy myself because I get constantly harassed, people with phones wanting to take pictures, I can’t really sit and enjoy the concert or have a good time so I’m more of a homebody these days. The world has changed, my friend.”

Jody Havenot

Jason Herndon

Metal Favs

Michael Brandvold

Brian Allen

Jody Havenot | Podcast Rock City

HELSINKI (AFP).- It’s called “Hellsinki” for a reason: Finland’s heavy metal fans on Friday placed masks on four giant statues in the capital city to honour hard rock group Kiss.

State-owned railway operator VR invited four fans of the US band to paint black-and-white Kiss masks for the imposing figures that stand guard outside Helsinki’s main railway station.

The statues, officially called “lantern bearers” but better known among Finns as stonemen, were given their makeover to mark the band’s 10th concert next week in the Nordic country, which has one of the world’s highest concentrations of headbangers.

Kiss celebrated the statue tribute in a video post shared on the group’s Twitter account.

One of the four selected, 46-year-old Sannaliina Kuussaari, said she was 13 when she attended her first Kiss concert and she is planning to take her daughter to see the band on May 4.

“I’m a designer (by profession) and usually when I work, I listen to music at the same time. Kiss is very energising for that purpose,” Kuussaari told AFP as she was preparing one of the masks at the railway station.

She has been an active member of the band’s Finnish fan club, Kiss Army Finland, originally founded by the lead singer of Lordi, a Finnish hard rock band.

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Matthew Wilkening | Ultimate Classic Rock

Former Kiss and current Grand Funk Railroad guitarist Bruce Kulick has teamed up with his wife Lisa Lane Kulick to release a brand-new single, “If I Could Show You.”

The song, which you can hear below, marks the first time the couple has released an original composition together. In an exclusive interview, they talk about the challenges of combining their differing musical styles together.

Although Lisa, a longtime Kiss fan who first saw her future husband perform with the group in 1986, fronted a rock and roll band named Phantasy in high school (favorite songs to sing: “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “One Way or Another”), her tastes run more toward “standards” artists such as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. In fact, she spent three years performing songs like “Over the Rainbow” at one-woman cabaret shows in New York City.

Lisa explains that she was reluctant to perform in front of Bruce at first. “I hadn’t sung in years, and he kept saying, ‘I know you can sing; I’ve heard you sing!’ It took me about a year to sing for him. Since then, we just have fun in our living room. He plays and I sing along. We’ve wanted to do something together for many years.”

As it turns out, the couple’s 2014 wedding provided the spark for their first collaboration together. “She made a suggestion,” Bruce explains. “She played a song for me that Barbara Streisand used at her wedding, called ‘I Dreamed Of You.’” They decided to record their own version to use for the ceremony.

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Ticketmaster

We’d forgotten about this short film and thought this would be a good time to take a look at it again.

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Mountainous

Robert Moseley

Michael Brandvold

Jody Havenot