All the way back in 1976, a young Gene Simmons caught a show of the even younger band Van Halen. So impressed was Simmons, he offered and did produce the band’s first demo tape. And just last night one of these long forgotten songs came to light at a live Van Halen club performance in NYC. The song, She’s the Woman, is also slated to appear on their soon to be released studio album. You can see the entire list of the ’76 Simmons demo tracks at KISSfaq.com
Antimusic.com
Van Halen returned to live action Thursday night with a rare, media-only club show at New York’s Café Wha?
The event was to help promote their forthcoming new album, “A Different Kind Of Truth,” due February 7; the project’s first single, “Tattoo,” is set for release next Tuesday.
The set list featured mostly hits, with a few classics, and one new track, “She’s The Woman.” The new song has a real history with the band: it was one of the tunes recorded for the Gene Simmons-produced demos in 1976, and it was re-recorded a year later as part of the 1977 Warner Brothers demos. The original version of the song includes riffs that were later found in “Mean Street,” from 1981’s “Fair Warning” album. Check out both versions here.
KISS has had many incarnations. Their faces have graced everything from T-shirts to coffins, even Hello Kitty dolls. One thing they’ve been no stranger to is comics. Besides having their own Marvel series in the ’70s, the band appeared in the ’90s reboot (and accompanying album book) Psycho Circus, published by Todd McFarlane Productions, and, most recently, the wholesome panels of Riverdale in Archie, written by Alex Segura and drawn by Dan Parent. Over the holidays, we caught up with KISS mainstay Gene Simmons for an in-depth conversation on the comic book industry, marriage, and why the band Chicago has a leg up on The Ramones.