Michael Brandvold

ES

He may be a rock god, famous for his menacing “Demon” stage persona, an opulent lifestyle and Olympic-level womanising, but even Gene Simmonshas his limits. The Kiss bassist is turning 70 in August and his band’s current tour, which arrives at the O2 on July 11, will be its last.

“It’s time,” he says. “This tour will take three years and I’ll be 72 when it finishes. That’s a good point to get off the stage.

“We’re the hardest-working band in showbusiness, and that’s exhausting,” he adds in his New York tones. “I’m up there every night in 8in platform boots and 40lbs of armour. I did five-mile walks almost every day for a year to get in shape.”

Over the years Kiss have set a high bar for onstage theatrics with their hugely energetic performances, elaborate costumes and fireworks. Simmons believes that the current tour, which began in January in the US, is the best they’ve done.

“I don’t want to say what’s in it — that would be like telling people what their Christmas present is in July. But it shames past shows. We’ve ramped things right up. If you’re running a race and see the finish line, do you speed up or slow down? When I was a kid, bands often disappointed me live. I saw The Byrds and thought, ‘I really like that song, but maybe I could close my eyes and like it even more.’ There was nothing going on onstage. They were just standing in front of their microphones. We’ve always wanted to be the band we never saw perform. To work our asses off and give the fans bang for their buck. Ed Sheeran is terrific and can sell out Wembley with just a guitar. But I don’t want to do that. I have too much energy inside of me. I want to blow up the sky.”

Continue reading →

Pitchfork

Metallica and Kiss are among the 30 highest-grossing touring bands of 2019 so far.

According to live music industry magazine Pollstar, the thrash icons and the shock rock legends have earned $69.7 and $58.1 million worldwide respectively between November 22, 2018 and May 22, 2019.

Also in the Top 10 are symphonic metallers Trans-Siberian Orchestra ($57.3 million), while classic rock linchpins Fleetwood Mac and Bob Seger have raked in $67.7 million and $52.8 million respectively.

Further down the list of the 100 top-grossing world tours of 2019 are Paul McCartney ($40.7 million), Eagles ($24.2 million), Roger Waters ($11.9 million), Disturbed ($11.0 million), Muse ($9.3 million), Aerosmith ($9.2 million), Shinedown ($8.1 million) and Def Leppard ($5.6 million).

The full list of the top 10 highest-earning touring bands of 2019 so far is:

1. Elton John – $82.6 million
2. Pink – $81.8 million
3. Justin Timberlake – $75.5 million
4. Metallica – $69.7 million
5. Fleetwood Mac – $67.7 million
6. Ed Sheeran – $63.6 million
7. Kiss – $58.1 million
8. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – $57.3 million
9. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – $52.8 million
10. Travis Scott – $51.7 million

Mike Brandvold

Blabbermouth

Mitch Lafon

Matt Porter

Metal Head Zone

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has posted a photo of himself with his 99-year-old dad on Twitter, and wrote a special message to him.

Paul wrote:

“Happy Fathers Day To My Dad! 99 Years Young And I’ve Never Loved You More Than Now.”

In addition, KISS bassist Gene Simmons also shared a Fathers Day message as you can read below.

“Happy Fathers Day. To all you Dads out there, love your family, love the mother of your children, love your children. And at the end of your life, that’s all you will have. And if you have that, you will have everything!”

Check out the tweets below.

KISSmuseum.com

We’ve just added over 100 new KISS T-Shirts to our website from a private collector who has a little of everything, specializing in the rare and obscure. Lots of stuff we have never seen before. Most are singles so get them while you can…

KISS T-Shirt Collection at KISSmuseum.com

Anti Music

KISS frontman Paul Stanley says that the door is open for original guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss to appear on the band’s End Of The Road farewell tour.

Stanley was asked about the possibility during an appearance on Columbus, OH radio station 96.3 WLVQ and Paul responded, “Who knows? I have to say that door is open, but it’s nothing that I contemplate daily.

“We’re 45 shows into a sold-out tour, and it’s going to continue. And it’s a celebration, not of any lineup of the band – it’s a celebration of everything we’ve accomplished with our fans. And that’s not limited to any particular people. So whatever happens, happens.

“But this lineup in particular – Eric’s been playing drums for over 25 years, I think, and Tommy’s been in the band for 18 years, so we have a pretty good stability and tenure of this lineup.”

Michael Brandvold

KISSmuseum.com

Some GREAT new additions for June. Guitars, albums, ’70s to the present – something for everyone…

New KISS items are HERE at KISSmuseum.com

The Hog

Loudwire

As KISS wind down their touring career, they’ve had a lot of accomplishments, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2014. But while they’ve rocked and rolled many nights, it definitely wasn’t a party every day en route to the Rock Hall, according to Paul Stanley.

The singer recently reflected on the Rock Hall induction with 95.7 The Hog, revealing that it wasn’t the best experience for the band, though the fans ultimately got their wishes. “It was validation for our fans, who it meant the world to,” Stanley revealed (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “It was vindication in the sense that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame kept us out for 17 years, and were really left with no choice but to begrudgingly let us in.”

The Starchild added, “They treated us like crap, even that night. We had trouble – how about this? – getting into the arena. We had no idea about the rundown of the show or when we were getting onstage. It was disgraceful what they did, but we won. It’s the story of KISS from the beginning – that people who believed in themselves and who were told that what they were doing wasn’t worth anything and wouldn’t succeed came out on top.”

Continue reading →

Jody Havenot

Michael Brandvold