sambo1974
Gene Simmons on Kiss Makeup Controversy: ‘Why Wouldn’t We Use It?’
Kory Grow | Rolling Stone
Paul Kane
For over a decade, Kiss‘ Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer have both worn makeup associated with the band’s founding guitarist and drummer, respectively. Although the move has sparked some controversy among Kiss fans, singer-bassist Gene Simmons tells Rolling Stone it doesn’t bother him.
“Why wouldn’t we use the classic makeup?” he says. “We own it.”
The subject came up during an interview regarding the 40th anniversary of Kiss’ Destroyer album, when Simmons bemoaned founding guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss’ acrimonious departures from the group within its first decade.
“The saddest thing of all is here we are, top of Mt. Olympus with all this cool stuff happening, really enjoying ourselves, the fans are thrilled, and nobody ever holds up a sign, ‘Where’s Ace and Peter?'” he says. “Anybody that’s in a band goes, ‘Oh, they can’t exist without me.’ They are sadly mistaken. Whether you’re AC/DC or Van Halen or anybody, they can actually not only exist without you. Even if you’re the lead singer, they can actually get twice as big.
Three Sides of the Coin, episode 172 – Track by track review of Ace Frehley’s Origins Vol.1
Michael Brandvold
10 Unforgettable Gene Simmons moments
Podcast Rock City – episode 100 celebration
Podcast Rock City
KISS Phono Record Player in the box – video review of eBay auction ending 4/3/2016
See what an actual MINT condition KISS Phono Record Player looks like in this video review of the eBay auction ending Sunday night on April 3, 2016. Features the original box, box end protectors, original 
warranty card still attached to player and a power cord that has never been unravelled – as complete as can be! Just unbelievable.
See the entire description and dozens of high-res photos on the eBay auction page.
What’s New in KISS Collecting – KISS Metal Tin Series
A great new 2016 collection of KISS Playing Cards, Coasters, Puzzles and Drink Ware – encased in beautiful tin box displays.
See the new KISS merchandise HERE at KISSmuseum.com
Hear Ace Frehley, Slash cover Thin Lizzy’s ‘Emerald’
Daniel Kreps | Rolling Stone
Ace Frehley recently announced his all-star covers LP Origins Vol. 1, featuring his former Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Lita Ford and more. Ahead of the album’s April 15th release date, Frehley has unveiled another Origins cut: a ferocious version of Thin Lizzy’s “Emerald” featuring Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Frehley said he and Slash played “Emerald” live together 15 times in order to get the performance right. “It took me three days to pick the best takes, and I think it came out great.” Frehley said.
Origins Vol. 1 also features covers like the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man,” Led Zeppelin’s “Bringing it Back Home,” Cream’s “White Room,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic,” the Kinks’ “‘Til the End of the Day,” Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” and even three tracks by Frehley’s former group Kiss. On a cover of Free’s “Fire and Water,” Frehley reunites with Kiss’ Paul Stanley for the first time on a studio recording since Kiss’ classic lineup reunited for 1998’s Psycho Circus.
“I’m really thrilled with the whole thing,” Frehley told Rolling Stone of the album. “I’m excited about it, and probably somewhere down the road there’ll be a second volume.”
KISS interview – Stockholm, Sweden November 19, 1983
Three Sides of the Coin, episode 171 – Danny Stanton from Coallier Entertainment shares his KISS stories
Michael Brandvold
ACE FREHLEY Says It’s ‘Ridiculous’ To Think KISS Could Continue Without Any Original Members
During an interview with the “Karlson & McKenzie” show on Boston’s WZLX 100.7 FM radio station, former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was asked about the possibility of the band one day carrying on without any original members, including main songwriter Paul Stanley.
“That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard [Stanley and KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons] make,” Ace said (hear audio below). “I think the only reason they make those statements at this juncture is to try to validate the fact that they have two other guys in the band that aren’t the original members. So they’re trying to rationalize to the fans, ‘Well, you know, we replaced Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer] and we replaced Ace, and eventually we’re gonna replace ourselves. That’s like [THE ROLLING STONES singer] Mick Jagger saying, ‘Yeah, after me and Keith [Richards, THE ROLLINGS STONES guitarist] die, THE STONES will continue on with two other guys.’ I mean, it’s a joke.”
It was back in 2005 that KISS manager manager Doc McGhee first told the New York Times that the group had “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.”
Podcast Rock City, episode 99 – Gene’s Extracurricular activites
ACE FREHLEY: Why GENE SIMMONS Doesn’t Appear On ‘Origins Vol. 1’
Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was interviewed on “The Boris & Robyn Show” on WPDH 101.5 FM in Poughkeepsie, New York. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
Asked why KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons ended up not appearing on Frehley‘s upcoming “Origins Vol. 1” collection of covers, Ace said: “Well, I tried calling Gene a couple of times and I got his answering machine. So I shot him a few different texts. I even went as far as to get ahold of Doc McGhee [KISS‘s manager] and tell Doc to let Gene know I wanted to get ahold of him. And I guess either he didn’t get the message or he was just too busy. So I said, ‘Well, let me reach to Paul [Stanley, KISS frontman].’ I had Paul‘s cell phone [number] in my phone. I gave him a buzz, and he picked up immediately. And from the outset, he thought it was a great idea and would be a lot of fun. It took a while to choose which song we wanted to do. We were originally thinking about DEREK AND THE DOMINOS‘ [version of Jimi Hendrix‘s] ‘Little Wing’, then we were kicking around maybe ‘My Generation’ [by THE WHO]. But towards the end of the elimination process, I came up with the idea for [FREE‘s] ‘Fire And Water’, and he loved it.”
Happy Easter
Chris Medek
Podcast Rock City, episode 98 – KISS Vocalists
Jody Havenot
Three Sides of the Coin, episode 170 – The worst songs from the best KISS albums
Michael Brandvold
Gene Simmons comic book store interview, Cleveland Ohio 1978
PAUL STANLEY, JUDAS PRIEST To Take Part In This Summer’s ‘Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp’
Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp celebrates its 20th anniversary with two amazing summer camps — rock icons Paul Stanley (KISS) along with Don Felder (formerly of THE EAGLES) June 23-26 and JUDAS PRIEST – “Vol. 2: Hell Bent For Hollywood” on August 4-7.
As headliners at Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp, attendees will jam and perform with Paul Stanley and members of JUDAS PRIEST at the Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp facility, as well as at the legendary Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. They will also jam with Don Felder and Mark Farner at the Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp facility on some of the biggest rock and roll songs in history.
Said JUDAS PRIEST in a statement: “We had such a blast last time with the fantasy camp, it’s time for an encore! Four of JUDAS PRIEST are primed to bang out some more metal adventures at this one of a kind experience!”
Over the course of four days, attendees will be placed into bands led by rock star counselors including Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, WHITESNAKE), Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH) and many more. Musicians will hone their stage presence, learn to play some of music’s greatest songs, get tips and hear stories of life on the road from their rock star counselors, attend master classes and jams rooms with these renowned musicians and then perform live with their band in front of a packed house at the infamous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip.
“To be part of Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp isn’t just a fantasy for the people who are here, it’s my fantasy too, it’s really a gift to me as much as anybody else,” said Paul Stanley.
Ace Frehley Isn’t Ruling Out a Return to Kiss
Dave Lifton | Ultimate Classic Rock
Could Paul Stanley‘s involvement on Ace Frehley‘s upcoming album, Origins Vol. 1, signal Frehley’s return to Kiss? In a new interview, Frehley said he’s “not ruling it out.”
On the new episode of the “One on One With Mitch Lafaon” podcast, which you can listen to below, Frehley talked about how he was able to get his former band mate to contribute vocals on a cover of Free‘s “Fire and Water.” After Gene Simmons didn’t respind to his attempts to reach out, “I said to myself, ‘Let me give Paul a call.’ And I called Paul, and he picked up the phone right away, and I told him what I was doing, and he was very receptive from the very beginning about getting on the record. He said, ‘Oh, that’ll be fun.’”
Alberto Rodriguez
After choosing Free’s song over the Who‘s “My Generation,” Stanley tracked his part. However, there was no reunion in the studio. “I didn’t actually see Paul,” he added, “’cause I was busy mixing and overdubbing, and he was very busy at the time, so we just forwarded him the basic tracks, and him and his engineer threw on the lead vocal, and while he was doing that, I was doing something else. And then we got it back, and I took it home with me and threw down the guitar solos. And it just kind of came together. It’s amazing how quickly and painlessly you can work these days with e-mails. You just fly stuff into Pro Tools and it pops up on the screen, and you’re good to go, as long as you know what you’re doing.”
KISS’ Gene Simmons says he’s ‘looking forward to the death of rap’
Luke Morgan Britton | NME
KISS singer Gene Simmons has said that he is “looking forward to the death of rap” in a new interview.
The rock frontman recently spoke to Rolling Stone when he said: “I am looking forward to the death of rap. I’m looking forward to music coming back to lyrics and melody, instead of just talking. A song, as far as I’m concerned, is by definition lyric and melody… or just melody.”
“I’m all for anybody talking,” he added. “‘Wild Thing’ was talking: ‘Wild thing, she makes my heart sing/ she makes everything … .’ There’s no melody there. That’s cool. Napoleon XIV, ‘They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!’ That’s a funny song, but those are novelty records. So was Dickie Goodman and ‘Mr. Jaws.’ These were all hits, by the way. But predominantly, music is about melody and lyric, whether it’s rap or doo-wop, or yeah, even rock.”