PRweb

Central Virginia’s BOOMER magazine is teaming up with music legends KISS for their August 2012 Summer issue. The upcoming issue will feature exclusive content from the Bristow, VA, and Virginia Beach shows the band has with Motley Crue, and will promote the US Chamber of Commerce’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program – helping US Veterans find employment as they return home from service.

KISS may be known for their huge stage shows, legendary impact on music and the hits “Rock And Roll All Nite,” “Detroit Rock City” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” – but they are also lending their talents and support for US Veterans as they enter the workforce after their service has ended.

It was through KISS and their management thatBOOMER was educated about initiatives from the US Chamber of Commerce and the growing need for US Veterans to find employment.

KISS bassist Gene Simmons appeared on NBC’s Today Show in May of 2012 to promote the band’s very own Hire a Hero initiative for their Summer 2012 World Tour. The band held a contest and chose a US Veteran to work as a roadie on this Summer’s ‘The Tour’ with Motley Crue. The winner, and long-time KISS fan Paul Jordan, was selected LIVE on air with Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Natalie Morales.

“We should all step up and give our heroes, our vets, a job,” says Simmons. “It’s the least we can do.”

It is estimated that over 70,000 US Veterans will be unemployed in the Virginia and Tidewater areas by the end of 2012, according to statistics from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. To raise awareness and promote local area Veteran employment, Central Virginia’s BOOMER magazine will be featuring local companies in upcoming issues who participate in Hiring Our Heroes and other employment programs.

In addition to features and awareness programs, BOOMER will also hold their very own contest to hire a US Veteran to meet and interview KISS before their tour kickoff in Bristow, VA in July 2012. The interview will be featured in an upcoming issue of BOOMER magazine and will be filmed for BOOMER Magazine’s YouTube Channel and Facebook.

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Janet Lundquist | The Herald News

JOLIET SUPERFAN ORGANIZES KISS FAN EXPO. There probably won’t be any fire-breathing or spitting of blood at the Holiday Inn on Larkin Avenue next month — then again, there could be.

The Kiss Chicago Superfan Expo will be held at the hotel, 411 S. Larkin Ave., from noon to 8 p.m. June 9, with everything a Kiss fan could want to see and hear, except for the actual band members.

The expo is organized by Joliet native Jim Frangella, a member of the band’s fan club, the Kiss Army.

“I’ve seen Kiss on almost every tour that they’ve been on through the Chicagoland area. I have met all of the (band) members, with and without makeup,” he said. “There’s no other band in the world like this because they have all the pyrotechnics, the makeup and the stage show and it’s just the most exciting band I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Frangella aims to bring that excitement to the expos he coordinates, including vendors selling Kiss memorabilia, tribute bands, raffles and contests.

The Joliet expo this year is set to include appearances by the Gene Simmons Axe Bass tour bus and its driver, Paul Heyland; Ace Frehley’s stunt double from 1978 television movie “Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park”; Joliet Kiss tribute band, “Psycho Circus”; Kissonline.com webmaster Keith Leroux; and 105.5 “The Kat” radio personality, “Freak.”

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Jasmyne Caldwell | The Guardian Express

Jared McMillen

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – KISS® By Monster Mini Golf®, a unique rock ‘n roll-themed amusement attraction based around the legendary band KISS® gets “Tanked.” The hit show on Animal Planet will feature Wayde King and Brett Raymer, the owners of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM) as they set out to construct and unveil a tank to mimic a mini-rock concert, complete with amplifiers, a light show and the iconic KISS logo. With the rock legends and KISS by Monster Mini Golf owners in attendance, watch the unveiling of the rockin’ KISS-themed tank on Animal Planet, Saturday, June 9 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

“We worked closely with the Tanked crew to design a tank where fish could ROCK! We do not have a fish tank…we have a KISS-tank!” stated Christina Vitagliano, Founder of KISS® By Monster Mini Golf®.

KISS® By Monster Mini Golf® is the first-of-its-kind indoor, glow-in-the-dark, custom-designed, rockin’ 18-hole miniature golf course with a state-of-the-art arcade, a Huge KISS gift shop, A KISS Gallery, the “Hotter Than Hell” Wedding Chapel, a private VIP Room, FANtastic KISS®-themed event rooms and the “Rock ‘n Roll All Nite” Snack Bar.

Spread the Word:
Click to Tweet: @KISSOnline by @MonsterMiniGolf Gets “Tanked” on June 9 at 9 pm (ET/PT) on @AnimalPlanet #Vegas http://clicktotweet.com/46Gvk

Click to Tweet: Tune into @AnimalPlanet on June 9 at 9 pm (ET/PT) to watch as @KISSOnline by @MonsterMiniGolf Gets “Tanked” #Vegas Style! http://clicktotweet.com/C1f69

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Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock

kissonline.com

The event was thrown by Nudist Clubhouse, who were holding their annual Expo (we don’t need to elaborate on what was being exposed, even though that picture says enough) in Sin City last weekend. And as the old saying goes, what happens in Vegas, winds up on Kiss’ website. For a morning, the players gripped their shafts and swung hard as they tried to get their balls in the holes in as few strokes as possible. But we’re not going to speculate on what could have happened on the hole that features Gene Simmons‘ tongue.

According to the band’s website, Nudist Clubhouse had so much fun that they’re already planning next year’s event. Maybe they can bring along noted golfer Alice Cooper. Still, we’re not so sure if this wasn’t an attempt by Gene to start a new photo collection after having been forced to burn his famous portfolios recently.

Langley Times

Boaz Joseph

Tyson Post, 6, gets his picture taken with Nick and Sophie Tweed-Simmons at a meet-and-greet at Fraser Downs Raceway in Surrey on Sunday.

The Tweed-Simmons, son and daughter of KISS member Gene Simmons and model Shannon Tweed, are stars of the reality-TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

Sophie was instrumental in the opening of Sophie’s Place, a centre for child victims of abuse (ages 0-12), located at the Centre for Child Development in North Surrey.

Abby Ham | WBIR

Up in Tellico Village lives an attorney, but not just any attorney. This one has an interesting resume that rivals many hot shot Hollywood lawyers.

Many know the music and style of the band KISS. Most importantly you know their faces. Raymond E. Scott is more familiar with those faces than most. After all, he did trademark them.

“No one had ever registered the face of an entertainer before. As a matter of fact, the trademark office said you can’t do that,” said Scott.

However, the trademark office went through with it after Scott’s argument. He is an attorney, afterall.

“I actually had somebody sit in for Peter Criss, the drummer, and wear the same make-up and nobody knew,” explained Scott.

It wasn’t just the famous KISS make-up. Scott helped Gene Simmons and his bandmates make millions of dollars starting with their first album.

KISS’ manager called on Raymond to set up a recording of a live show.

“As an attorney who is more than willing to b.s. if necessary. Of course I know how to set up a recording. Well, I had no clue,” said Scott. “I had a friend in the business and he said, ‘Oh, you ought to talk to Bob Segar’s manager because he records in Detroit.’

And so KISS Live was born.

“The album went gold in three weeks. It went platinum in five. And that began KISS,” said Scott.

After this he became their attorney and took the band even further with trademarks of all kinds. T-shirts, more albums, the list goes on.

“They started out they were making less than $50,000. I said I can do better and that’s why I was hired. And my first year, I think we did $15 million,” explained Scott.

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CNN OutFront

Alan Stout

Alan K. Stout, a rock music journalist from Pennsylvania, has created an online archive of all of the stories that he’s done on KISS over the years. Stout, who has always been one of KISS’ biggest supporters within the press, has covered music for 20 years and has written more than 40 KISS-related articles. They can be viewed at http://www.alankstout.com/KISS/

New York, NY: May 31, 2012: Ace Frehley has announced four Summer tour dates as well as a three-day appearance at the Days of the Dead event in Indianapolis, IN. The dates are as follows:

July 6: Indianapolis, IN, Days of the Dead Signing
July 7: Indianapolis, IN, Days of the Dead Signing
July 8: Indianapolis, IN, Days of the Dead Signing
July 11: New York, NY, Best Buy Theater (Tix on sale Saturday)
July 13: Jackson, MI, Jackson County Fairgrounds, Thrills in the Irish Hills, (w/Ted Nugent)
July 27: Detroit, MI, GM Renaissance Center, Rockin’ on the Riverfront
August 4: Greenville, WI, Greenville Lions Park (w/Sammy Hagar)

Ace VIP meet and greet packages will soon be offered. Stay tuned to AceFrehley.com for details.

Lassegretland and KISSonline.com

Bruce Kulick

To celebrate the 20  year anniversary of Revenge, all this week I’ll be doing a look back at the album, including my thoughts about each track. Revenge marked the return of KISS in what I consider to be top form. Not that previous albums I was involved in didn’t have highlighs and memorable sons and performances, but Revenge was truly mena to be just that…

– Bruce Kulick

Read Bruce’s brilliant in-depth, track-by-track take on the Revenge album HERE.

Chicago KISS Expo

KISSARMY joins together on Saturday June 9^th 2012 celebrating the KISS/MOTLEYCRUE Tour. School is out for the summer so bring the kids for a fun filled day of KISSTERIA! KISS vendors from all over the Midwest will be on hand with vintage and new KISS merchandise. The Gene Simmons Family Jewels Bus will be on site along with an autographed Gene Simmons Bass that will be up for raffle. Dress up like your favorite KISS member to win The KISS costume contest. Hold on to your seats—KISS fans because the hottest KISS tribute Band in the land “PSYCHO CIRCUS” is playing 2 sets of KISS KLASSIC tunes! KISSONLINE will be attending with Webmaster Keith Leroux along with Paul Hayeland promotional manager for the Gene Simmons Axe Bass Company. “THE KAT”, 105.5 with Freak and the Southland Animals will be there. Prizes, giveaways and much much more! Doors open at NOON-8:00 P.M. It will be held @ The Holiday Inn Joliet IL, 114 S. Larkin Ave. Get your tickets in advance for this fun filled event.

Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock

The eighth season of ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’ kicked off with flames tonight (May 28) on the A&E Network, as the Demon’s new wife, Shannon Tweed, set his prized photo collection of previous sexual conquests on fire.

The episode centered on Simmons and Tweed adjusting to their new life as a married couple. In the opening scene, the couple are in one-on-one sessions with their therapist, Dr. Ann Wexler. Simmons tells her that married life is “wonderful.” Tweed says that Simmons is acting differently, but still has a lot to learn. She still doesn’t trust her new husband, even though he is making strides, which Gene admits is a struggle. “There are cloudy days and there are sunshine days, but every day is a good day,” he says.

Following the session, the Simmons family, including their children, Nick and Sophie, discuss the changes in their relationship, with Nick and Sophie describing their parents’ sex life in awkward detail. Still, their public displays of affection surprises Nick, who makes several smart-aleck remarks about how they’re behaving in the reverse of other couples, who begin hating each other after the marriage.

Simmons brings in a giant blow-up of the photo of the family at their wedding, much to the surprise of the other three. Although they are happy that Gene is showing a commitment to the family like never before, the size of the photo is embarrassing to them and Shannon says that it will not be displayed in the house.

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Mechele Dillard | Huliq

When parents grow older, their children grow older, as well. And, many parents—tho’ they love their children with all their hearts—cannot wait until that day when their kids are grown, hopefully self-sufficient and, one assumes, on their own. Some parents, however, find that they have “empty nest syndrome,” and start to crave the company of another child.

But, what if only one parent of two wants another child at this late stage of the game?

Gene and Shannon Simmons, formerly “happily unmarried” pair on the hit A&E reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, are facing this dilemma: Shannon wants to adopt, Gene has no desire for more children. With such a serious disagreement, who is “right?”

It seems that this is something where there is no “right” answer—it’s just tough. But, someone has to give in, someone has to compromise—and they both have to ultimately be happy.

It is nice, sweet, that Shannon feels she has so much to give to a child—and, on the surface it seems that it is true. But, is it fair to bring a child into an environment of outright hostility to the idea?

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Simply Uneak | Celebrity Dirty Laundry

Gene Simmons and his unconventional family are back tonight with their seventh season of “Family Jewels”. Last year just so happened to be their most successful season ever with 1.8 million viewers; so it’s not so surprised that A&E would bring them back for another year.  Last season Gene married Shannon Tweed, the couple had been together for 28 years.

This season promises to be one of the most explosive ever and it begins with Gene and Shannon tell Nick that it is time for him to “fly the coup” and give him all the money he has earned (which is no small chunk of change), then they tell him he is cut off and on his own from now on.

With the kids finally leaving, Gene and Shannon went away for the weekend and the reality hit in when they returned and nobody was there.  This gives Shannon an idea, she wants to adopt a baby! Not only is Gene against this idea, but so are Nick and Sophie. But, it looks like the “KISS” frontman caves in and gives Shannon what she wants. This adoption causes more harm than good when for the first time in her life, Sophie is going to be at odds with her mother.

Meanwhile, Nick is striving to learn from his father’s good qualities, but can’t avoid the bad ones.

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Steve Newton | Straight.com

When Nick Tweed-Simmons comes to Metro Vancouver—as he will this Friday (June 1) for a concert at the River Rock Show Theatre with his little sister Sophie—things are quite different than they are in his Hollywood hometown. For one thing, as he explained to me in a phone call last week, people get a lot more excited about seeing the costar of Gene Simmons Family Jewels here than they do in Tinseltown.

“We can walk around at night and sneak by,” says the 23-year-old son of rock god Simmons and actress-model Shannon Tweed, “but sometimes we do get swamped, and I’m not quite used to it, actually. ‘Cause I didn’t think that would be the case. I mean, I don’t watch reality TV myself. I do this for a living because it was offered to me at a young age and I enjoy being financially independent, so that was my reason for doing it. But I didn’t think anyone would actually give a fuck about the show, because I do not care about my musical heroes’ family members, you know what I mean?

“Like if I saw Jimmy Page’s nephew, I don’t think I would care,” he adds, “but if I sawhim I would freak out, of course, because he’s the one who made the music that I connect to.”

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Sheila Reynolds | Cloverdalereporter

The kids of KISS frontman Gene Simmons and former Playboy playmate Shannon Tweed are making a special appearance in Surrey next weekend.

Sophie and Nick Tweed-Simmons, who star alongside their parents in A&E’s television series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, will be at Fraser Downs Racetrack and Casino on June 3.

The pair plans to enjoy a day at the races and host a public meet-and-greet that’s scheduled to start at about 2:30 p.m.

Sophie and her parents were in town earlier this year for the opening of Sophie’s Place, the region’s first multidisciplinary child protection centre for kids who have been abused. The centre was named after Sophie when she got involved in the project after meeting with Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts.

Sophie and Nick will be performing at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond on June 1, singing standards such as Etta James’ “At Last” and Dean Martin’s “Sway” as well as some blues and jazz numbers.

Fraser Downs Racetrack and Casino is located at 17755 60 Ave. in Cloverdale.

Military Times

There’s the U.S. Army and there’s the KISS Army.

One is a branch of the United States military while the other is the fan club of the legendary rock band that first rose to prominence in the 1970s.

A veteran of both armies, Paul Jordan can look forward to spending time with the band as a roadie on its 44-city tour with Mötley Crüe.

A lifelong fan, Jordan beat out more than 1,900 other hopefuls who applied for the job as part of the Hiring Our Heroes program. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and NBC News kicked off the initiative in March to help veterans and military spouses find employment.

KISS was one of the organizations that signed up for the program. Bassist and singer Gene Simmons broke the news to Jordan during an appearance on the Today Show on May 23. Jordan served more than 27 years in the Army, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan three times.

Jordan, who will be a carpenter on the tour, shared his experience of looking for work during the Today Show appearance:

“Since I retired, I’ve had a really hard time trying to find a job,” Paul told the Today anchors. “It’s tough for veterans out there sometimes.” He called the KISS roadie job a “dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow … This is incredible!”

The goal of Hiring Our Heroes is to have the business community commit to hiring 500,000 veterans by the end of 2014. To date, the campaign has received more than 181,000 commitments.

Anna Chan | The Clicker

KISS rocker Gene Simmons and longtime love Shannon Tweed finally tied the knot in October after 28 years together, and as the new season of their reality show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” kicks off, it appears the pair’s honeymoon period may already be over.

In an exclusive clip of the premiere episode A&E shared with TODAY.com, Shannon discovers a set of mysterious looking keys and confronts Gene. When her new hubby asks her to sit down, she knows it’s bad news. “It’s a ‘Please sit down’ key? Great,” she mutters.

It seems the rock star has quite a collection of “pretty graphic” photos in a safety deposit box, and is a bit hesitant to destroy them. Check it out:

Naughty photos aren’t all that the newlyweds will deal with in the new season. A trailer for the reality show reveals that Shannon wants to adopt a baby now that her kids with Gene are grown, and the rest of the family isn’t exactly supportive of the idea. Viewers will also see son Nick get cut off financially, and Gene go on tour as a married man.

Want to learn more about the new season? Tune in to TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda Wednesday as Gene and Shannon dish on the new season of “Family Jewels.”

The new season premieres Monday, May 28, with a special one-hour episode at 9 p.m. on A&E.