The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on tornadoes that touched down in Indiana and Ohio (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

Not even KISS could rock ‘n’ roll all night with tornado sirens blaring.

Frontman Gene Simmons tweeted that the band’s show in Toledo, Ohio, was stopped briefly Wednesday night during a tornado warning.

He says some people went into the arena to seek shelter until the storm passed.

While no tornadoes touched down in Toledo, there was a long line of damage across the northwestern part of the state from the storm that first hit central and northern Indiana.

About six trailers were damaged at a mobile home park near Hicksville in Ohio.

Officials in Van Wert County say at least two tornadoes touched down about 2 miles apart, tearing roofs off homes and flattening barns.

Michael Brandvold

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David Glessner | Austin 360

Sure, the rain threatened Saturday’s downtown Batfest, but at least it wasn’t hotter than hell (or a typical August in Texas). By the time legendary rock guitar hero Ace Frehley landed on stage, the downpour dried and it was all systems go.

At the height of his galactic domination throughout the 1970s, Frehley and drummer Peter Criss were the “party-every-day” half of rock titans, KISS. Now solo, sober and free of the wobbly platform boots and iconic face paint that brought him riches, fame and bad habits, Frehley is still giving his fans what they want.

Opening with the hard-charging “Rip It Out” from his 1978 solo album (the best-selling of the individual KISS solo albums), Frehley prowled the stage with his trusty Les Paul and 24-7 shades. Backed by longtime partner-in-crime Richie Scarlet on guitar (a hair-metal pirate not unlike Keith Richards), bassist Chris Wyse (ex-The Cult) and drummer Scot Coogan (Brides of Destruction), Frehley is as comfortably suited for the small stage as he was for the arenas he once shared with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

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Podcast Rock City

Darren Tromblay | City View

Whether you like the music or not, there’s a certainty that comes with seeing KISS perform live on a big stage: You will be entertained. The pyro, lasers, video, thousands of lights and moving mechanical stage parts are as spectacular as anything a concert-goer will experience. Ever.  And of course, there’s the band — the Demon, the Starchild, the Spaceman and the Catman, characters that are synonymous with the creation of some of the most hook-laden and oft-played rock and roll of the past 40 years that has been enjoyed by a legion known as the KISS Army.

Bassist Gene Simmons, guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer bring the KISS machine to the Iowa State Fair Friday night on its Freedom to Rock Tour. Thayer spoke with Cityview’s Darren Tromblay recently from the road.

CV: The Freedom to Rock tour began on July 4, so you’ve been out awhile now. Tell me about this trek.

Tommy Thayer: We’re doing the secondary markets, which are amazing, actually, because a lot of bands don’t go to Boise, Idaho and Bozeman, Montana. People there love it even more than anywhere else. We love it, too, because it creates a great energy between the band and the audience that we look forward to.

CV: You were in Des Moines a couple of years ago, but it’s going to be a different venue this time, outdoors. Staging-wise what should we expect?

Tommy Thayer: It’s going to be big and bombastic like always. We’re basing the stage on the one we used in Las Vegas (residency). There’s a lot of video, pyro. And even though it will be outside and a little warmer out there (laughs), maybe a little more humid, it will be rocking. We’ll be bringing all the firepower.

CV: Leather, makeup and 100-degree temperatures sound like trouble.

Tommy Thayer: (laughs) We love playing in any condition, but it can be brutal outside in the summer, especially at certain times. The leather, the boots, the makeup, the pyro, all that stuff; combine it and it heats up exponentially, but we can deal with it. Continue reading →

KISS My Wax

KISSmuseum.com

Just released today – KISS Electronic Light-up blinking plastic mini glasses. Each lights up with the corresponding band member’s solo album color. There is no switch, the light comes on automatically when liquid is poured into it and turns off then the glass is empty.

Set of four. 3 inches tall. New in the box.

$24.99 at KISSmuseum.com

Michael Brandvold

The KISS Room

Podcast Rock City

KISSmuseum.com

Brand new KISS Lunchbox designs just released for August 2016! Metal, full-size ’70s-style designs. Plus, we have many more new items in our “New Additions” section as always…

New KISS Lunchboxes $14.95 at KISSmuseum.com

Chuck Nowlin | WZLX

Blabbermouth

Mark Mendoza says that he doesn’t care about Dee Snider‘s war of words with Paul Stanley, explaining that the TWISTED SISTER frontman’s sometimes-controversial opinions don’t represent “the whole band.”

Snider and Stanley stated feuding after the TWISTED singer criticized KISS‘s current lineup, which features guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer in place of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, respectively.

Asked if he is bothered by some of the things Dee says in interviews, the TWISTED SISTER bassist told Zoiks! Online (hear audio below): “Do I like when he does things like that? No. But just like he doesn’t tell me what to say, I don’t tell him what to say.

“I happen to know Paul Stanley very well, because I happened to actually play some gigs with his son, local gigs. I helped out his son a few times, and I spoke to him on the phone. And when it happened, we actually bumped into each other on the phone. And he goes, ‘Really, it has nothing to do with you.’ And I said, ‘Listen, I really don’t care, because in a week or two, no one’s gonna remember it even happened. I really don’t care. If you’ve got a problem with Dee, and you wanna say it’s the whole band, then you can say whatever you want. I really don’t care.’ So he told me… he’s, like, ‘You’re a great guy. You’re a good guy, and I certainly appreciate you looking after my son.’ And there was no problem with it.”

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Sky of Forever

Former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick will appear on Sky Of Forever’s upcoming debut album. Bruce’s exquisite guitar playing can be heard on the album opener, ”Carry On”. 

Sky Of Forever is a Helsinki-based melodic hard rock group. Their self-titled debut album will be released worldwide via Mighty Music on the 14th of October 2016.

“Summer Rain”, the first single from the upcoming album, was released in June 2016. Check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh6ewpDXVt4

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyofforever/

Official website: http://www.skyofforever.com

Randy Erickson | Lacrosse Tribune

As an honorary Kiss roadie at Saturday’s La Crosse Center concert, Danielle Seitz was told they wouldn’t work her too hard. “I told them they could if they wanted to,” she said. “I’m used to it, being in the military.”

Her being in the military was the reason she was chosen for the Roadie for a Day honor. It’s something the band does as a way to honor military service. It’s done in partnership with Hiring Our Heroes, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find employment opportunities.

Seitz has spent a third of her 27 years in the military, joining the Wisconsin Air National Guard at 17. The La Crosse Central High School graduate is now a staff sergeant with the 128th Air Control Squadron, and she served an overseas deployment at an air base at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia from October 2012 to May 2013.

When the chance to be an honorary Kiss roadie came up, Seitz was hesitant, but applied with encouragement from her longtime boyfriend, Josh Luba. When she was chosen, she opted to take him as her “plus one,” a tough choice because her mother, Debra Seitz-Taylor, is a Kiss fanatic.

“The first thing my mom said was, ‘Tell Gene (Simmons) I watched his show, every single episode,’” Seitz said. “She’s a huge fan.”

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Christa Lawler | Duluth News Tribune

Gene Simmons wears 10-inch black platform boots with 1-inch lifts. They are about half as tall as a preteen boy and are covered in horns. There is Velcro around the base, so that a dragon face can be attached.

“The handle of the zipper was a Rite Aid toenail clipper,” said Karen McTavish, who spent 3½ hours repairing a zipper on the KISS frontman’s signature boot before the rock ‘n’ roll band performed Wednesday at Amsoil Arena. “This is the weirdest job I’ve ever had in my life. Funniest and weirdest.”

The boot zipper was going down on its own, said McTavish, the quilter behind McTavish Quilting Studio. She called in help from Claudia Clark Myers — former costume designer for the Minnesota Ballet, the College of St. Scholastica and the Baltimore Opera Company — who came over bearing needles made for leatherwork.

The duo took out the faulty zipper, then used a combination of McTavish’s Bernina Sewing Machine, hand-stitching with 100 percent polyester thread and a special adhesive that works on fabric and leather, said Myers, who claims to be too old to be a KISS fan.

“It was difficult,” she added. “We just did the best we could and I was happy to see a picture on the front page today that it was on his boot and intact and there wasn’t a big headline about Gene Simmons’ costume falling apart in the middle of the performance.”

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Podcast Rock City

Michael Brandvold

Podcast Rock City

Honda