The KISS Thread

[Malcolm]

This is one of the stupidest things ive ever heard  so brace yourselves

Launch Radio Networks reports: Is an all-new KISS on the horizon, one that doesn't have any original members? It's possible, according to the band's manager. According to the New York Times, KISS manager Doc McGhee "has been toying with the idea of recruiting an entire band to...don the band's famous makeup." McGhee said, "KISS is more like Doritos or Pepsi, as far as a brand name is concerned. They're more characters than the individual person. I think (new members) have a legitimate chance to carry the franchise."

KISS singer-bassist Gene Simmons doesn't necessarily disagree with that idea. He told Launch that the concept of original members isn't widely held by fans, and it isn't really accurate anyway. "There's no question that there's a core of fans ? five-10 percent, my sense is ? who believe in original members," he said. "And yet, when you look at original members, THE BEATLES are not original members ? Ringo is not an original member; the STONES ? barely. You know, they've had so many members come and go, but it's the STONES; and AC/DC's aren't original members; and VAN HALEN; and JOURNEY...you go down the list of every ? almost every band you can think of."

[Malcolm]

KISS' official web site has posted the following brief question-and-answer session with current KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer:

Q: What was the toughest KISS song for you to master on guitar?

Tommy: "Most KISS songs come fairly easy because believe it or not I've been playing them in one form or another for almost thirty years since I began playing guitar. The KISS song that stands out today as the most challenging to play is 'God Gave Rock & Roll To You II', hands down. The arrangement and chord changes are more complex than any other song we play and the other guys would probably agree with that."

Q: What KISS song has this lineup never played that if it were up to you, you would add?

Tommy: "For some reason I've always liked 'All Hell's Breakin' Loose', but nobody else seems to want to do it."

Q: When you were playing Portland for the first time with KISS, returning to your hometown where you saw KISS play live back in the '70s. What was going through your mind standing on the stage and you?re now a member of the band?

Tommy: "Well, that kind of thing doesn't happen to too many people; it was an awesome experience. It was special to me personally as well as my family who were attending the show. Coincidentally, it was my mom's 80th birthday and it was a night she won't soon forget either, particularly when Paul [Stanley] announced her birthday to 15,000 screaming KISS lunatics."

Q: KISS has never jammed with anyone onstage until Joe Perry of AEROSMITH. Why did that unwritten rule change for Joe?

Tommy: "Joe has always been a big supporter of KISS and since the 'Reunion' tour in 1996 you would see Joe and his family at most all of our Boston shows. My understanding was that Joe had expressed an interest in putting on on a pair KISS boots and joining us onstage. It is a seemingly unheard of occasion for anyone to jam onstage with KISS, but Joe Perry was the exception. Joe had mentioned to Paul that 'Strutter' had always been one of his favorite KISS songs, so it was a natural to do that one. Toward the end of the 2003 'World Domination' tour both bands were at the same hotel in Chicago. Our last night in Chicago was an evening off so Joe invited my girlfriend and I out for some Japanese food and after dinner we went back to his hotel suite where he had a couple guitars and small amps readied for a short practice session. I showed Joe the chord changes to 'Strutter' and we had a great time running it down several times to get it tight. The next night's show was in Oklahoma City and I remember standing side stage getting ready to go on for our encore and I turned and saw Joe standing next to me in seven-inch platforms looking very KISS. We went on and the crowd went crazy and it rocked. As a matter of fact it was so much fun that we did a repeat performance at our next show at the Forum in Los Angeles."

[Malcolm]

 In response to the announcement of the finalists for this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions, fans of rock group KISS have issued a warning to the Hall: "We're sending in our forces."

Known as the KISS Army, fans of the make-up wearing, blood-spitting icons say they are tired of the lack of respect given to the '70s icons who are still playing to packed stadiums 30 years after their creation.

"KISS has been America's number one gold-record-award-winning group of all time," says rally chairman Paul Carpenter. "Look at their impact on the music industry! Artists from Lenny Kravitz to Garth Brooks have said on record that KISS were the most influential musicians in their lives. The fact that year after year the Hall has failed to place KISS on its list of finalists is not just an oversight but a disgrace."

According to rally co-chair Joe Apple, KISS fans from all around the world are already making plans to converge on the Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland on August 4, 2006 to tell the Hall and the world that KISS deserves a place of honor among the legends of rock & roll. "The KISS Army formed as a grassroots movement by a teenager in Indiana 30 years ago," says Apple. "We're going to mobilize the generations of KISS fans who have enlisted over the years to make this an event the entertainment world will never forget."

[Malcolm]

 According to KissOnline.com, the new live KISS two-disc DVD set, "Kiss - Rock The Nation Live!", will be available in stores on December 6 through Image Entertainment. Shot in High Def, the DVD will feature the hottest songs from the Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach, VA concerts, filmed during last year's Rock The Nation tour. The song list is vast and features a collection of KISS gems, many performed and recorded live for the first time in many years. The DVD will also include KISS Powervision interactive bonus features that include Select-A-KISS, allowing the viewer access to separate channels for each of the four band members. At any time the viewer can watch the main concert program or switch to different cameras focusing just on Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer or Eric Singer. The DVD will be loaded with additional behind-the-scenes, life on the road footage and interviews, giving the viewer a virtual all access pass to sound checks, the famedKISS dressing room and other rare glimpses into the world of KISS.

[Malcolm]

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has responded to recent comments by Carlos Santana in which the Latin rocker referred to the KISS star as "Las Vegas entertainment."

Santana is reportedly appalled by the standard of Simmons' music and insists the rocker hides his lack of skill behind layers of gothic clothing and black makeup.

Santana said, "He's not a musician, he's an entertainer. A musician is (John) Coltrane, Bob Marley. KISS is Las Vegas entertainment, so he wouldn't know what music is anyway. That's why he wears all that stuff.

"A musician doesn't need the mask and the mascara so there's a difference between an entertainer and a musician."

Writing on his official web site in response to Santana's comments, Simmons said, "Carlos Santana is cool. His assessment? I have no problem with it. That's why they make menus in restaurants. Not everyone likes the same meal. I wish him well."

[Timothy]

Sorta seems like Carlos Santana, was gunning for a fued . which would have helped promot his new album .

[Malcolm]

 Plans for a protest rally at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continue after fans of the iconic rock group KISS received a letter from Hall of Fame president Terry Stewart. "Unacceptable!" says Joe Apple, who initiated contact with the Hall by requesting an explanation for KISS's absence on the ballot for Hall of Fame induction. Apple is not only a fan, but the chair of the rally planned for August 5, 2006 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. "We have no intention of backing down," he asserts.

"They really missed the point," agrees rally co-chair Paul Carpenter. "Among other things, Stewart told us that 'candidates are reviewed and discussed relative to their impact on this music that we broadly call rock and roll.'

"What the Hall establishment fails to acknowledge is not just KISS's impact on music, but on rock and roll itself. KISS not only created a musical spectacle, but a culture. For much of the world, the word 'KISS' is synonymous with the phrase 'rock and roll.' KISS reset the bar for other artists when they stormed into the '70s. Three decades later, their influence on show business is everywhere."

Apple and Carpenter have received support for the protest rally from all over the world. "The outreach from fans, performers and volunteers is exactly what we expected ? generous and enthusiastic," Apple says. "We can't wait until August."

[Malcolm]

 According to KissOnline.com, the release date of the new live KISS two-disc DVD set, "Kiss - Rock The Nation Live!" (Image Entertainment), has been pushed back to December 13 from the previously announced December 6. Shot in High Def, the DVD will feature the hottest songs from the Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach, VA concerts, filmed during last year's Rock The Nation tour. The song list is vast and features a collection of KISS gems, many performed and recorded live for the first time in many years. The DVD will also include KISS Powervision interactive bonus features that include Select-A-KISS, allowing the viewer access to separate channels for each of the four band members. At any time the viewer can watch the main concert program or switch to different cameras focusing just on Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer or Eric Singer. The DVD will be loaded with additional behind-the-scenes, life on the road footage and interviews, giving the viewer a virtual all access pass to sound checks, the famedKISS dressing room and other rare glimpses into the world of KISS.

[Malcolm]

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons donated a custom-made casket to the family of Staff Sgt. Jerry Bonifacio Jr., a Vacaville, California resident who was killed Oct. 10 in Iraq, for Bonifacio's burial. According to TheReporter.com, Bonifacio, who loved heavy metal music and comic books, had mentioned to his fiancee, Michelle Baptiste, that he wanted to be buried in such a coffin.

The news was forwarded to James Lubs, the funeral director, who drove to Los Angeles recently to retrieve the special coffin that was Bonafacio's last wish.

Bonifacio was a part of the National Guard's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment based in Dublin.

While working for a Martinez refinery, he was called up in December for deployment to Iraq.

A car bomb explosion killed Bonifacio Oct. 10, while he was manning a checkpoint at the heavily fortified Green Zone, surrounded by a maze of barriers erected to protect American and Iraqi officials.

Bonifacio's funeral was held Friday (Oct. 21) in Vacaville.


The dog tag for Staff Sgt. Jerry Bonifacio Jr., a Vacaville resident who was killed Oct. 10 in Iraq, is tied to the custom made casket donated to the family by KISS rocker Gene Simmons for Bonifacio's burial. Bonifacio was a big fan of the band.

[Malcolm]

KISS' official web site, KissOnline.com, has been updated with the following question-and-answer session with KISS frontman Paul Stanley:

Q: I read that you attended a RASPBERRIES concert recently, the article said they are one of your all time favorite bands. What other groups have been long time favs of yours?

Paul Stanley: "Yes, I did go see the RASPBERRIES. As a band that was clearly influenced by some of my favorites, THE BEATLES, THE WHO, and THE SMALL FACES, I always felt a kinship to the RASPBERRIES from the first time I heard them. It was great to see them back together after so long. Most of my favorite bands and strongest influences were the English bands of the sixties. Besides the ones I already mentioned, THE YARDBIRDS, ROLLING STONES, and THE MOVE are among some of my favorites. At a time when music in America was being made by a bunch of unattractive slobs who looked like they just rolled out of bed, the image conscious philosophy of those great British bands was a much needed breath of fresh air and a wake up call to rock fans everywhere."

Q: As one of rock's greatest frontmen, defining the art of dancing, singing and playing guitar onstage; How did it feel taking the stage recently in Columbus, Ohio, performing a full show after undergoing hip replacement surgery earlier this year?

Paul Stanley: "Another great question! Unfortunately my recovery has been slower and not nearly as complete or successful as I had hoped. It was great to play once again and hopefully most of the complaints about my performance were my own!"

Q: What do you think about reality TV?

Paul Stanley: "Reality TV in reality is a contradiction in terms, or at the very least, misleading. There can be no reality when everyone is aware of the presence of cameras. Besides directors and producers skewing a show the way they think it will best appeal to the viewer, the actual participants are well aware that the opportunity is theirs to create their own 'reality.' In short, reality stops whenever filming begins."

Q: You've written so many great songs over the years, what songwriters do you admire?

Paul Stanley: "Although there are many interesting and talented songwriters, I guess the ones that I ultimately respond to the strongest are the ones who have lasted the longest. I guess at the end of the day its really not about success, but sustained success, that gives a songwriter the opportunity to truly leave his mark. I can say with certainty that it will be a while, if ever, before we know who belongs in the same breath as Lennon/McCartney."

[Malcolm]

Greg Prato of Billboard.com recently spoke to KISS frontman Paul Stanley and guitarist Tommy Thayer about the group's double-disc concert DVD, "Rock the Nation Live!, due on Dec. 13 via Image Entertainment.

Taped this summer in Washington, D.C., and Virginia Beach, the DVD features core members Stanley and Gene Simmons flanked by Thayer and drummer Eric Singer. "We were playing a lot of songs that KISS hadn't played in years, or haven't played at all," Thayer told Billboard.com. "One day, Doc McGhee, the manager, came into the dressing room, and said, 'We really need to film and record this show, because it's so good. It's probably the best KISS performance I've seen.' So we said, 'OK.' That was the spark that got the whole thing going."

"At any moment, a viewer can choose what they want to see, and use different camera angles," Stanley added. "So if you happen to have the good taste to see me, you can watch pretty much solely that. It's really your mix and your version of the show. I don't think we can forget that the band is really in peak form, and that's really shown on this DVD."

"To be able to go out and play every and any KISS song was very freeing," Stanley enthused. "We reached a point where a lot of the tours after the reunion tour were virtually the same set list, and it wasn't because we didn't want to play other songs. Once Tommy and Eric came in, on any given night, we could change the show, and really dig deep into our catalog. A band that's been together this long not only should be able to play 'Rock and Roll All Nite' and 'Love Gun', but [also] 'Two Timer' or 'Got To Choose'."

Regarding the possibility of KISS touring again, Stanley said, "There's definitely talk. I had a hip replacement a year ago, and that unfortunately didn't go as well as it should have, and they did it again, and that also didn't go as well as it should have. So the recovery from that has been longer, although about six weeks ago we did a corporate show for 15,000 people, in Columbus, Ohio. The band is as good and ready to go as ever. The difference is that I have to make sure that I can commit 100% of my energy for a tour, and not just a show."

"Rock the Nation Live!" track listing:

Disc One:

01. Love Gun
02. Deuce
03. Makin' Love
04. Lick It Up
05. Christine Sixteen
06. She
07. Tears Are Falling
08. Got To Choose
09. I Love It Loud
10. Love Her All I Can
11. I Want You
12. Parasite

Disc Two:

01. War Machine
02. 100,000 Years
03. Unholy
04. Shout It Out Loud
05. I Was Made For Lovin' You
06. Detroit Rock City
07. God Gave Rock & Roll to You II
08. Rock and Roll All Nite

[Malcolm]

KISS vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley recently spoke to Greg Prato of Billboard.com about the progress of the recording sessions for his first non-KISS release since his self-titled 1978 album, issued in tandem with solo projects from the other three original KISS members.

"So far everybody that's heard [the album] thinks it's great, so I'm real pleased with it," Stanley told Billboard.com of the as-yet-untitled set. "Again, at this point, if it sells 100 copies or 100,000 copies or 10,000,000 copies, it won't change my life either way. All it's about is doing what I want to do and what I have the freedom to do. That being said, it's a very mainstream album. I don't think I'm going to surprise anybody being mistaken for somebody else. It was important to me to do the album I wanted to do, without any regard for anybody else's opinion or direction."

With regards to how the new CD compares to his solo debut, Stanley said, "It's not 1978 anymore. It's certainly the same mentality, and certainly I'm a better singer today. My perspective and where I'm at in my life at this point, and what I've experienced and seen, brings something else to the table that wasn't there then. But I still look back on that album as a really great snapshot of who I was and what I was doing then."

Joining Stanley on the album are session drummer Victor Indrizzo, guitarist Corky James, former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John5, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick (who plays bass on a few songs) and noted string arranger David Campbell.

"It was great because there's a freedom to also being the director," Stanley enthused. "In the studio, it's called the producer, but in actuality, it's the director ? the person who puts the scene together. It's great to not be limited by having to use a set group of people, because then you have to tailor to their ability or to their taste. So in doing something like this, you have total freedom to not only do what you want, but to bring in the people who can do it well. It's been great."

On the possibility of solo tour in support of the new album Stanley told Billboard.com, "I would love to go out, and my plan is to go out and play."

[Malcolm]

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has posted the following message on his official web site:

"All the best life has to offer to Paul [Stanley, KISS frontman] and Erin [Sutton] on their marriage. Paul has been my partner for over 30 years. I can't think of another guy I admire and care about more. Send your congratulations to Paul and Erin at KissOnline.com."

As previously reported, Stanley married longtime girlfriend Sutton on Saturday, November 19. The ceremony took place at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California.

[jameslofton29]

Did you guys hear about how Kiss's manager and Gene Simmons are considering creating a NEW Kiss with the old makeup and brand new members? As far as I'm concerned, this is the dumbest idea in music history.

[ClintroN]

they think the make up will last forever!!

it'll be a vegas tour, that'll be it

[Evolution]

  Cash hungry

[Genesis]

Kiss reminds me of more of a circus act than a band, with their on stage fire eating and other antics... Their music was nothing great... Only the 'live' album sold well anyway...

[jameslofton29]

Cash hungry

I also think it will permanently stain Kiss's legacy. It would be like Robert Plant finding an entirely new group to be Led Zeppelin. Completely insane!

[ClintroN]

like Santna said, they are not musicians, just entertainers!!

n' Gene took it on the chin

[Evolution]

If he has any sense he will drop it......