Smooth Jazz 1059

Founding KISS drummer Peter Criss is best known for his years keeping the beat for the recently inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, but he’s also making a name for himself as a spokesman for breast cancer awareness.  While the disease affects far fewer men than women, the 68-year-old rock legend was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.  Thankfully, he’s been cancer-free going on seven years.

Criss now has been chosen as one of Hard Rock International’s Artist Ambassadors for the 2014 edition of its Pinktober campaign held in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Peter is helping to spread the word that men also can be stricken with the disease.

At a recent New York City launch party for the initiative, the drummer told ABC News Radio that he appreciates the chance to team with the Hard Rock organization to help get the message out there.

“I’m really proud that the Hard Rock is getting involved with this with me, because for a while there, you kind of feel like you’re alone,” he explained.  “You know, you’re out there and you’re trying to get the word spread that ‘guys can get it, guys can get it.’  I feel like I’m with the big guys now.”

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Justin Tedaldi | Examiner

Jody Havenot

Michael Sedon | Staten Island Advance

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — KISS’s Peter Criss is a rock ‘n’ roll legend — a man’s man teens idolize and men want to be.

But for a year, he kept a secret because he didn’t know how fans would view him.

Criss is a breast cancer survivor.

“It was embarrassing to talk about, because it’s not a man thing,” Criss told more than 100 students and faculty members gathered in St. John’s University’s Kelleher Center on Thursday for an event to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

After discovering a painful lump while working out six years ago, he visited his doctor, who initially told him it was nothing to worry about before diagnosing him.

“I was freaked out,” Criss said. “Immediately, I went ‘What? Men don’t get breast cancer.'”

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TMZ

Ken Mills | PodKISSt

We discuss ASYLUM Side 2, beyond the lipstick and the make up, there is some pretty good music there. 1985-KISS release their 13th studio album Asylum. It was the first with the lineup of Gene, Paul, Eric Carr & Bruce Kulick

Mitch Lafon | One on One

Anthony De Lucia, Jr | Alive75.com

Hey there KISS Fans, listen up – This is not just another KISS tribute band…

Alive! ’75 is a live concert concept performance that brings the KISS Alive! album to life within a period-specific 1975 atmosphere. So much more than just guys dressed as KISS playing KISS songs, the overall experience is completely immersive and is designed to take you back to 1975, to see, hear and FEEL what a 1975-era KISS performance was really like.

Think about it – back in 1975, and following almost two years of non-stop touring across the US and Canada, KISS was determined to hit it big. They criss-crossed the country incessantly, playing anywhere and everywhere they were welcome.  And with virtually no radio support to speak of, KISS was finally about to “make it”.  Their double live album Alive!, released on September 10, 1975, proved to be their break-out album.  And now with Alive! ’75 – A Tribute to KISS, you can experience the magic and excitement of this period in rock ‘n roll KISS-tory…

It all starts with the “pre-show” experience.  As you enter the Alive! ’75 theater, you are completely surrounded by elements of 1975.  Blockbuster movie posters and other large-print advertisements and photographs catch your eye.  Classic TV sitcoms, movie trailers and iconic commercials tickle your senses.  The audio-visual displays, wall art, and an overhead soundtrack of “Time Warp – 1975 with Bill St. James” combine to provide a rich sensory sampling of this by-gone era.  And as if that wasn’t enough, character actors provide an additional element of surprise and entertainment to complete the 1975 experience.

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Michael Gallucci | Ultimate Classic Rock

Now that Ace Frehley‘s first album in five years, ‘Space Invader,’ is out and getting tons of buzz, it’s time for the Spaceman to hit the road.

Frehley and band will embark on the first leg of their tour in support of the album with a two-week trip through the eastern part of the U.S. The shows start on Nov. 13 in New Jersey and wind down two weeks later, on Nov. 26, in Pennsylvania. You can see the complete itinerary below.

The former Kiss guitarist’s backing band includes Richie Scarlet, who played rhythm guitar on Frehley’s 1989 album ‘Trouble Walking’ and toured with Frehley during the period, Cult bassist Chris Wyse and drummer Scott Coogan, who’s played with Nikki Sixx’s Brides of Destruction.

A couple weeks before the tour starts, on Oct. 28, a double gatefold 180 gram vinyl version of ‘Space Invader’ will be released. Since the record’s release a month ago, it’s debuted at No. 9 on the album chart, the highest position ever reached by a solo Kiss member. It also marks Frehley’s first Top 10 album since his appearance on Kiss’ 1998 reunion album, ‘Pyscho Circus.’

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Jody Havenot

Join your STRANGE WAYS bros, and special guest DES SHAW from KISSTORY SCIENCE THEATRE for our discussion on The Middle Kids of KISS!! We had a blast taking with Des, and hope you enjoy it, KISS Army!!! This is also the first episode of our new format change..we’re calling STRANGE WAYS WEDNESDAYS!!! We will release a new episode every 2 weeks, on Wednesdays.

So we hope you enjoy this episode, and we’ll see ya in two weeks for our discussion with KEN KELLY!!!

Michael Brandvold

Case Kefer | Las Vegas Sun

Vince Neil finally can exact revenge on behalf of Mötley Crüe.

More than 30 years later, the two rock titans will clash. Neil’s new Arena Football League franchise, the Las Vegas Outlaws, will share a division with the Los Angeles Kiss, owned by Kiss band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.

“That’s the fun thing about this; it’s a natural rivalry, Kiss vs. Crüe,” Neil said. “We’re going to play them three times a year and, of course, we want to beat them every time.”

The bands actually made amends decades ago. They co-headlined a North American tour in 2012, and the Kiss executives, having gone through the same process a year ago, have helped Neil and his partners get ready for their inaugural season.

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Melodic Rock

Universal Music are proud to announce the next stage of KISS’ 40th anniversary celebrations, with the release of a Deluxe Edition of the 1977 U.S. platinum album, Love Gun, on 2CD and digital formats.

The band’s sixth studio recording, Love Gun was the first album to feature lead vocal performances from all four original band members, and the last studio album with the original KISS line-up. Love Gun has since gone on to sell more than four million copies worldwide.

The 2CD / digital edition includes the complete original album re-mastered on the first disc, featuring such classics as the title track ‘Plaster Caster’, the song inspired by Cynthia Plaster Caster, the groupie famous for taking casts of rock star genitalia; ‘Shock Me’, written about Ace Frehley suffering an electric shock during a concert in Lakeland, Florida; ‘Christine Sixteen’, and ‘Then She Kissed Me’, the band’s cheeky, gender-switching cover of the Crystals’ 1963 hit penned by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector.

The second disc is made up of rare, previously unreleased Love Gun demos of ‘Plaster Caster’, ‘Then She Kissed Me’, ‘Tomorrow and Tonight’ and ‘Much Too Soon’. Also, the first four lines of the demo ‘I Know Who You Are’ eventually evolved and became the song ‘Living In Sin’. A glimpse into Paul Stanley’s creative process is demonstrated in ‘Love Gun (Teaching Demo)’ with Stanley talking through the various chords of the song after writing the song with the next version ‘ ‘Love Guun (Demo)’ ‘ being the complete demo performance. ‘Reputation’, the only previously released demo, was originally included on this year’s KISS 40 compilation.

Also included is a 1977 interview with Gene Simmons, as well as three never-before-available live tracks from the KISS show at the Capitol Centre, Landover in Maryland U.S.A. from December 20, 1977 ‘ ‘Love Gun’, ‘Christine Sixteen’ and ‘Shock Me’. The package also includes liner notes written by Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, currently on tour with KISS.

CD ONE – Original Album:
1. I Stole Your Love
2. Christine Sixteen
3. Got Love For Sale
4. Shock Me
5. Tomorrow And Tonight
6. Love Gun
7. Hooligan
8. Almost Human
9. Plaster Caster
10. Then She Kissed Me

CD TWO – Demos, Interview & Live:
1. Much Too Soon (Demo)*
2. Plaster Caster (Demo)*
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NJKISSExpo.com

Check out the photo gallery from last Saturday’s incredible New Jersey KISS Expo! KISS Tribute band KISS Nation rocked the house with an unprecedented FOUR sets throughout the day! DJ Lick it Up took requests and kept things going throughout the day. The incredibly famous photographer Lynn Goldsmith shot photos of KISS fans for her upcoming KISS book. Special guests Lydia Criss, Tod Howarth, John Regan and Ken Kelly were gracious and accommodating to everyone. Fans from all over the world attended and there was more KISS merchandise in one place than anywhere else on the Earth!

Click HERE to see the photo gallery

Nick DeRiso | Ultimate Classic Rock

David Greenwald

There was a personal connection when Kiss played a rare acoustic and no-makeup concert on Monday in support of a military museum in Oregon. And it went beyond wanting to honor those who’ve served. The facility is to be named after World War II veteran James B. Thayer, father of Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer.

Kiss’ concert, held in Lake Oswego, helped raise more than $1 million, according to The Oregonian. Among the items auctioned off was a guitar that Paul Stanley had used since 1989, which fetched $20,000. Tickets were $2,500 per person.

Nikki Ibarra | KOB 4 

Albuquerque just got a brand new restaurant. Some would call it an experience – fun atmosphere, good foods and, of course, good music.

What do you expect when two of Rock & Brews founders are Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS?

KOB Eyewitness News 4 spent the morning with the stars, talking all about their new digs on Montgomery, especially about how hands-on they were with the project.

“We’re going to show you how to make a great pizza,” said Paul Stanley. Yes, Paul Stanley made a pizza for KOB. He considers himself a foodie, and had a major role in designing the menu, which has lots of green chile foods. “You can never use too much of these because these are Hatch green chiles,” added Stanley.

“It is actually a profound pleasure and honor to be in Albuquerque,” said Gene Simmons, who said the Duke City was always on their list.

“It’s always been a place, you know, people stop in if they don’t live here and love the community, because it’s a million [people] so it’s just big enough to be a city. Also, small enough to care about your neighbor,” added Simmons.

That’s why they’ve made it a focus to support local products – especially produce. They’ve even hired more than 130 New Mexicans. “We want to be part of the neighborhood. We want to support,” said Stanley.

Mitch Lafon

Legendary (former) KISS guitarist ACE FREHLEY and Queensrÿche guitarist, Michael Wilton, join Mitch on Episode 49 of One On One with Mitch Lafon. This episode was co-hosted by Creatures Of The Net Podcast host Cassius Morris.

In our first interview, iconic guitarist ACE FREHLEY talks to Mitch about his upcoming tour and new album, SPACE INVADER. The pair also discuss Richie Scarlet re-joining him on his upcoming tour, the recording of KISS’ Psycho Circus album, whether of not The Joker was an appropriate song to cover, his upcoming second book, his upcoming covers album, who was/is the best KISS drummer, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, was the Frehley’s Comet CD Second Sighting really a Tod Howarth solo album, the probability of reforming with Four By Fate’s John Regan and Tod Howarth and much more.

In this episode’s second interview Queensrÿche guitarist Michael Wilton talks about the band’s rights in regards to performing the Operation: Mindcrime album, his SOULBENDER band and upcoming Soulbender II album, the release of a live Queensrÿche album with their new vocalist, writing for the next album and more.

The Hollywood Reporter | Etan Vlessing

KISS star Gene Simmons is headed to MIPCOM to launch his new reality format show Coliseum.

Created by Simmons and Chris Philip, CEO of Sierra/Engine Television, Coliseumchallenges contestants to form rock bands with a winning musical voice and performance. The bankable reality star will motivate evolving acts before they perform in front of an audience.

Simmons, as the Rock Caesar, will ultimately decide with a thumb up or down who goes forward in the competition. “Coliseum is a no-holds-barred competition show between musical gladiators in the arena fighting to survive, fighting to be the champion, fighting to curry the favor of Rock Caesar,” said Simmons in a statement.

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