Letters

Hey KISS, As you can see, my friends and I were finally able to complete our long anticipated KISS Big Gulp cup collection. We've been waiting since the first time we saw on the Facebook page that these were being released September 6th. I am now proud to say after traveling to five different 7-11s within an afternoon and battling through five o'clock traffic in the city, (And I wearing my KISS shirt with pride), we were able to finally acquire the final two cups to complete our collection. Our excitement was tremendous. The picture of the cups is now all four of our profile pictures and we will keep them along with the statuettes of the original four that I purchase awhile back. Thanks for your time, keep on rockin'! Jordan P.S. While I have you here, I just want to remark on how much my friends and I love Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer in the band now. I'm well aware that many people (including quite a few people I know) give them both a hard time, but Eric Singer's drumming is so extraordinary on Sonic Boom, it brings new life to the band, and Tommy's solos and his song, When Lightning Strikes, is just pure gold.

When my 6 year old daughter saw the Dr. Love commercial with Kiss, she was an automatic fan. This made me remember being her age and first seeing pictures of these crazy looking monster type rock stars that really made me fall in love too instantly. So to see her do the same exact thing brought tears to my eyes and happiness to my heart. Last week I took her to a concert to see the Camp Rock Jonas Brothers thing and we both looked up at the banner and at the same time screamed the exact same thing, " OMG Kiss is going to be in San Antonio" haha it was classic. She looked at me and said, " Please can we go mom, please" So I asked her dad and we both agreed and said yes. The second we told her, we took a picture of her with her tongue out and sent to everyone we know. I was so scared I would not find tickets but we did, they were not the best seat, but ticket master said that was all that was available. As soon as we picked them up, we went home and again I looked online and found floor seats wide open, WOW I got them immediately not caring that I spent money I really did not have. But I could not let this go, it is a once in a life time thing and I want Chloe to know she can be one of the few to say," Wow I got to see Kiss live in concert and had floor seats" Tomorrow is the concert and although I will not get to meet Kiss, even though I would love to, I am so happy I have floor seats to rock out with my little girl. We are going to ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT AND PARTY EVERY DAY. I am so excited and in tears right now because this is something not everyone will get to do. I have done my military time in the Navy, I have been to war, I have been in the middle of the ocean for 63 days w/out seeing land, been all over the world, been shot at and picked up dead bodies in a time of war, seeing Michael Jackson in concert, and now I can add, I SAW KISS IN CONCERT WITH CHLOE!!!!! I am so happy and crying right now knowing she is going to be a part of history. Thank you Kiss for coming to San Antonio, Texas and giving me the opportunity to share this with my baby girl. You guys are amazing and I am so happy. PEACE

Kiss has always been my strength and inspiration to live to win. This photo is proof. When did a bariatric surgery, his music was on my mind at the hospital and helped me win Even being in Brazil one day I want to shake hands with you and say thank you and you taught me that anything is possible.

I loved your show!!! It was a first and my neighbors went to your December 6th Concert last year and loved it!! All of us in Houston love yall and hope and know you will have/had more fun here Houston than you will in Dallas! <3 Alexis Richardson P.S. I just started to like yall cuz one guy i liked liked yall and eventually fell in love with yall!!!!!!! AND STILL LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!

I will write this serious letter for the first time. I really can't understand how Gene and Paul, who are always proud of what they do, and even Bob Ezrin, can say that The Elder was a mistake, or even a bad album!!! Maybe for a lot of KISS fans it was a bad album...But to me, The Elder is something MAGNIFICENT!!! Not the usual KISS album...but still an awesome ALBUM!!! It even has one of the best Ace Frehley's solos...The Dark Light's solo is one of Ace's most versatile and fast...My GOD THE ELDER is a UNIQUE album and it is a piece of who KISS was, and it is a Piece of Awesome musical work...It might not be the usual KISS...But it still blows my mind and I'm sorry Gene, Paul and Bob...but THE ELDER is Dark, Eerie, Weird, Soft, Heavy, Mysterious, Evil, Good...but most of all...IT KICKS ASS!!! And it might not be the usual KISS but KISS has always been about kicking ass, so please acknowledge that THE ELDER is a great piece of ROCK AND ROLL!!! BE PROUD OF IT...BE VERY PROUD!!! So any of the fans who have not listened to it, please go and get it NOW!!!

We have ALOT of fans here! You guys Need To come to Oklahoma. :) next tour

I would just like to take this time and tell KISS what an awesome expierance it was seeing them in concert on September 11, in Clarkston, Michigan. Me and my friend tom, for it was his first KISS show, were blown away from the performance that night! It was nice to see that the setlist had some different things added into it as well! Anyone that was not seen KISS before, go see them! It is worth the $$! They really know how to show every other band just how the BIG BOYS do it! Thanks again KISS!!! Dave from Michigan...

I bought (Music From) THE ELDER the day it was released. I know, I know, KISS moves away from it as if it is a stinky diaper. And, most people involved with it look back at it and analyze why it bombed and what was wrong with it. Well, first off, KISS got sucker punched into making a concept album at a time when even Rush was moving away from concept albums. Secondly, KISS already had made one of the greatest concept albums of all time, KISS Alive! (see my letter about that). Beyond all of this, I would like to look at who the album appealed to and why. This is what really puts things into perspective. THE ELDER basically told a story of a young man unsure of himself finding confidence along the way to manhood. There�s the timeless good vs. evil struggle along the way. But, a young man coming of age is the factor which had the most impact. If you were to take a survey you would probably find that most KISS fans who liked the album all along were males in their early to mid teens when the album was released. I was. It is an awkward time in life. You�re a boy and almost a man. Finding your way. Often times unsure of yourself. Going through changes. THE ELDER was something we could relate to. The songs on it helped us along the way. They inspired a newfound confidence. Moving us from �maybe I can� to �I will�. It helped us find and believe in ourselves. This was the very small market for the album. As a KISS fan, and a male, it was very hard to share this album with most other people, except for songs like �I� and �Escape From The Island�. We were at an age where it wouldn�t be particularly cool to share our insecurities with other people openly. To express the truth. The day I bought the album I had listened to it a couple of times before my friend showed up with two girls. All I can say about it is, good things happened with the newfound confidence inspired by that album. It had immediate results. The impact was that profound. That day I became a man, of sorts. OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ALBUM: Bob Ezrin was a genius to have included �Escape From The Island�. KISS fans knew Eric Carr from the �Kids Are People Too� episode. We did not know anything of his drumming. This was Eric�s first album with KISS. �Escape From The Island� laid out what Eric could do and what we could expect from him. What kind of a drummer he was. The song is a hallmark and is a KISS classic. I always wondered if �Mr. Blackwell�, the evil character, was named after Mr. Blackwell the fashion critic who was always slamming Cher and Diana Ross (both ladies Gene had dated). Ace�s solo on �Dark Light� rocked. I would pick the needle up and play the solo over and over. I had often wished it was longer. In later years I found it he had recorded a longer solo. This is where Bob Ezrin was not such a genius having cut that solo. Although, I have never heard the full solo and maybe there is a good reason he cut it. �Odyssey� was a very well written song. It painted a picture in your mind and Paul�s voice was second to none. The Kings, a rock band from Canada known for their segue hit �This Beat Goes On/Switchin� To Glide� sang background vocals on parts of the album. In case you read the credits and wondered who �The Kings� were. Some releases may not credit them. The album I had bought the day of the release did. �A World Without Heroes� (Like �When You Wish Upon A Star�) is Gene opening up his heart. It goes to his core and you can feel it. It�s the kid in him. Much different than the alpha male persona he usually projects. This album will be a movie some day. It has to be. Maybe not in the way originally intended, but in some way. Maybe in the way it appealed to us and why it did.

HI � just thought I�d share this superb KISS moment with you !! On September 11th ROCKESTRA was held here in Malta (Europe) � a concert by the 65 piece National Philharmonic Orchestra (accompanied by a massive choir) covering rock classics !! Myself, from rock band RUG, as the Star Child along side Paul, front man of rock band Fakawi as The Demon and Kenneth, front man of rock band FIRE, as The Spaceman closed off the performance with 2 KISS classics � I Was Made For Loving You and God Gave Rock & Roll To You. The audience � 10,000 of them - went MAD and rocked the roof off !!!!! This was probably my best KISS moment ever !! I hope I made the boys proud !!! KISS 4 EVER Gianni Malta

Hey Kiss, Hey my name is Justin and on the September 24th show in Phoenix, AZ I am taking my dad to see Kiss for the first time ever. He had a chance to go last year with my brother, but my mom was admitted to the hospital and I went instead. I felt guilty because he been a fan since the 70s and this wasn't the first time he had missed out on a Kiss show. I told him "If Kiss comes back to AZ, you're going to that show" Then a little bit later, you schedule a show down at Phoenix. Then I ended up buying him and myself a ticket, so he can finally experience you guys live... I wanna thank you guys so much for putting on great shows and I expect a great one coming up on the 24th... Sincerely, Justin Bryan