Hi KISS & the KISS ARMY!

The licensed Russian version of Sonic Boom CD saw the light of the day just before the Halloween (and happened to be released on the same date as the Sonic Boom fan-party in Moscow). This version consists of one CD only plus the colorful booklet. And the price is less then $10! By the way, the album is already at the first spot in the Media Market selling top!

Alexander Lesnov exclusively for KOL

LETTERS

I Left my Daughter Backstage With KISS

By Jill Cataldo

On Saturday night, I did something that would have been unthinkable during the 1970s. I took my 13-year-old daughter backstage after the KISS concert... and I left her there for three hours.

Before you react and think I'm a horrible parent, relax. Gene Simmons had already left the building.

After KISS's amazing Minneapolis concert, with two very tired preschoolers in tow, parental duties had to come ahead of my inner desires to hang out backstage post-show. (Ahh, the sacrifices we make as parents!) So instead, I headed backstage with our 13-year-old daughter.

She had never been backstage to enjoy that after-show experience, and so upon making sure she was safe and would be hanging with friends who work for the band, and reminding her to leave her cellphone on, I left.

That's right. I left my 13 year old backstage with 3/4 of KISS.

By Rob Williams

Fireworks, concussion bombs, fog and pyro are a normal part of most big rock concerts these days.

For Kiss, it's their introduction.

The New York rock band who helped invent the arena concert spectacle in the 1970s know exactly what their fans want. Say what you will about them - still on the road nine years after their farewell tour - there's no denying they know how to put on a big, flashy rock show.

"There's something about Canada that just brings out the best in Kiss. You're going to hear all the stuff you came for tonight," frontman Paul Stanley told the sold out crowd at the MTS Centre early last night.

He wasn't lying.

Check out this fan-filmed clip of "I Love It Loud" from Saturday night's show at the Target Center in Minneapolis!

By Jill Cataldo

This weekend marked milestones in my sons' young lives -- and in the life of any KISS fan. The boys attended their first KISS concerts. Now, the uninitiated might question whether taking children to a loud, pyrotechnic-filled spectacle is a good idea at all. But when you're a die-hard, devoted fan of the hottest band in the land, and also a parent, it's only natural to reach a point where you'll want to introduce your children to KISS.

At ages two and four, my boys are well aware of their mother's passion for KISS. They've never known a world in which KISS did not exist. And, for our children, KISS is everywhere -- KISS songs rock our car when I'm driving to them to play group each week. KISS magnets hold their artwork up on our refrigerator. KISS's makeup faces are floating on rubber ducks when they take their baths. KISS is emblazoned on their clothes, posted on their bedroom walls, and carried in their hearts.

Ever since the beginning of the tour, as Mom and Dad have jaunted off to various cities throughout the Alive 35 tour, our boys have asked when they could attend their first KISS concert. With two back-to-back Midwest KISS shows over the past weekend, it seemed the perfect time to fully initiate them into KISS World.

KISS,

Just wanted to let everyone see my daughter's costume from this year. She is a HUGE fan of Kiss and especially Gene already (she is 5). This costume was all her idea! She was a huge hit while we were out trick or treating. She definitely stood out in the sea of princesses, fairies and super heroes.

Thanks,
Nickie Brooks

LETTERS

Here's a fan-filmed clip of "Deuce" from KISS's Chicago show at the United Center!

Hi Kiss!

My two sons adore KISS and desparately wanted to be made up and Gene and Paul. We have affectionately called these Baby Gene and Baby Paul. Unfortunately due to my up an coming middle east deployment, I will not be able to take them to see KISS in Dallas, but just know they will still be rockin to their CDs. The best part of their outfits was taking them to a church Halloween festival. The looks they got were priceless, but they stood proud and represented.

Thanks,
Jimmie Graves

LETTERS

Here's a great fan-filmed clip of "Hotter Than Hell" live at Chicago's United Center Friday night!

Rock On Altitude interviewed KISS before their Voodoo Festival concert. Check out this clip!

Hello!

First, I would like to personally thank Doc for giving my little girl Taylor a Paul Stanley Alive 35 guitar pick. Doc approached her and asked her if this was her first Kiss show. My little girl, who is three, knows the classic Kiss intro but only said "All right Minneapolis" for Doc. My wife said he laughed. What a way to top off a special night! Thanks again Doc, your a great man and it's an honor knowing my family met you!

Second, thank you Kiss! Last night was my tenth Kiss show and it was the best I have ever seen! To bill this show anything less than "The Greatest Show on Earth" would be a crime. You were perfect last night! Tight and loud! The best part though was seeing the reaction my little girl had watching you. So, thank you again for always being there. My girl has now been christened into the Kiss Army! I have said it before and I will say it again, the good lord sends us something special once in a lifetime and that something special is Kiss!

Thanks again Kiss and Doc! We love you!

Travis Bierwerth Minnesota Chapter of the Kiss Army

LETTERS

Take your most jaded music snob, who wouldn't give two sneezes for the low-altitude, tried-and-true rock of Kiss. Take any Pitchfork reviewer, who sees the histrionics, fire-breathing, and pyrotechnics as nothing more than a cleverly executed marketing ploy. Scour the music scene for the most adroit, self-assured listener, and you'll illicit at least one honest statement about the 35-year old hard rock quartet: Kiss has a good thing going.

Indeed they do. Saturday's show, which clocked in at two hours on the nose, was everything Kiss fans could expect, and you can take that however you will.

The set began comfortably--a black curtain shrouded the stage, emblazoned with a silver Kiss logo. And at precisely 9 o'clock: "You wanted the best? You got the best! The hottest band in the world!"

There's really nothing changed about a KISS concert in three decades, but yet the band and its fans seem to reinvent themselves each night when showtime arrives. For some, Saturday night's concert was a chance to emulate legendary rock personas with makeup and costumes, and for others the opportunity to sing along to timeless rock classics was more than enough excitement. But for everyone, it was a shared and unforgettable evening of glorious rock and roll.

One quick glance around the Target Center at 9:00pm revealed that the concert was sold out for all intents and purposes, and that full "sold-out sound" arrived when the lights dimmed and guitar tuning could be heard from behind the curtain bearing the band's logo. The chords of "Deuce" hit the crowd like a wrecking ball as Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Tommy Thayer emerged behind the dropped banner in full rock star glory. The lights shined as bright as the sun, while the sound convinced every fan that they were rocking out at the loudest concert that ever came to be. Those first moments of a KISS gig are almost beyond belief as every story, myth, and legend of the band's shows comes to fruition before the eyes of thousands.

ROCKING 'N' ROLLING ALL NIGHT WITH KISS

By Anthony Childress

NORTH LITTLE ROCK - The moment was chock full of emotion.

As the huge black flag with the name KISS stitched on it came crashing down to the front area of the gargantuan stage at Verizon Arena, I glanced over at my son Alec and realized this was a snapshot in time I had dreamed about for literally years and years, even predating his arrival in my life some 18 years ago.

The infamous words that have introduced the legendary rockers to their fans since the early 1970s came through loud and clear - "All right, Little Rock! You Wanted the Best! You Got the Best! The Hottest Band in the World - KISS!"

And that was it.

KISS are featured on the cover of the November/December issue (#227) of Guitarist & Bass Magazine in France!

Thanks to Fredvehert of Diamant Noir for the image!