Kiss News

Posted By: Amy Harris

The Hottest Show on Earth tour which kicked off July 23 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and will be hitting Cincinnati Friday, July 30 at Riverbend Music Center. The boy are back with a tour that is bigger than ever and they are attracting whole new generations of fans.

We caught up with Ohio native, Eric Singer aka "CATMAN", drummer for the infamous band, to discuss local sports and the show on Friday.

CB: First question, how do you feel about Lebron leaving?
Eric: I get asked that obvious question a lot because everyone knows I am from Cleveland. We are all in a business. I am in the music business and he is in business as well for himself. I just tell people that there are good ways and not so good way to do these things. I think the way he chose is not the best way and not a good choice. He is trying to market himself and be his own brand like Jordan and he has been pretty successful. The best analogy is like you go on national TV and tell your wife that you are going to divorce her and that you found a new girl in Miami. He should not have done that. He should have done it like a typical announcement through an agent. I read that when Michael Jordon decided to re-up his contract with the Bulls that he just sent them a fax to tell them. He didn't go through some big announcement and make a big deal about it. I believe he knew well in advance and did not just decide that day like he said he did, but I guess only he knows. I am not saying it is a disloyalty thing because he was a free agent. It was just the way that he did it was not appropriate.
Posted By: Amy Harris

The Hottest Show on Earth tour which kicked off July 23 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and will be hitting Cincinnati Friday, July 30 at Riverbend Music Center. The boy are back with a tour that is bigger than ever and they are attracting whole new generations of fans.

We caught up with Ohio native, Eric Singer aka "CATMAN", drummer for the infamous band, to discuss local sports and the show on Friday.

CB: First question, how do you feel about Lebron leaving?
Eric: I get asked that obvious question a lot because everyone knows I am from Cleveland. We are all in a business. I am in the music business and he is in business as well for himself. I just tell people that there are good ways and not so good way to do these things. I think the way he chose is not the best way and not a good choice. He is trying to market himself and be his own brand like Jordan and he has been pretty successful. The best analogy is like you go on national TV and tell your wife that you are going to divorce her and that you found a new girl in Miami. He should not have done that. He should have done it like a typical announcement through an agent. I read that when Michael Jordon decided to re-up his contract with the Bulls that he just sent them a fax to tell them. He didn't go through some big announcement and make a big deal about it. I believe he knew well in advance and did not just decide that day like he said he did, but I guess only he knows. I am not saying it is a disloyalty thing because he was a free agent. It was just the way that he did it was not appropriate.

CB: Did you see the owner's reaction?
Eric: Oh yes, I did. I am a huge NBA fan. I am on NBA.com everyday. I am actually a huge Lakers fan and even though we were on tour in Europe I did not miss any of the playoff games. The games would start at 3 am and I would watch every other day. My body clock was so out of whack. I would stay up all night watching. Everyone on the tour would ask why I looked to so tired and it was because I stayed up until 7 am watching basketball.

Eric: You are in Cincinnati. I saw that you just signed Terrell Owens.
CB: Yes we did, what do you think about that?

Eric: I think it is a great thing. Obviously, I am a Cleveland Browns fan being from Cleveland.

CB: We won�t hold that against you.

Eric: No, I have always rooted for the Bengals. My Dad had season tickets to the Browns in the 60's and he would take me to all the games. My Dad was also a musician and he knew Paul Brown personally. I think Paul Brown coached at Ohio State so we also loved the Buckeyes so Ohio State Buckeyes are always my college team of choice.

My Dad was always a huge Bengals fan because he loved Paul Brown. Basically I root for all the AFC teams except the Ravens for obvious reasons. I cannot stand the Ravens like most Cleveland fans. I always root for the Bengals. Overall I think it was a good pickup. T.O. is a personality but at the end of the day he is a great talent and is a great receiver. The Bengals may make some noise this year. I don't look for much from the Browns this year to do any damage. I just want them to improve over last year. They have had so many changes with management and quarterbacks. I think that it would be nice to give the people of Cleveland something to look forward to versus focusing on the Lebron situation.

CB: The sentiment here in Cleveland doesn't seem as bad as I thought it would be about Lebron based on what I had heard in the media.
Eric: Of course, they showed the same 2 guys on TV burning their Lebron jersey in the streets over and over. It was a slow news day. At the end of the day, it is just a game. I think it becomes an obsession with some people. I am a huge Laker fan. I stay home every night during the season and watch every game. I get upset when they lose but at the end of the day, it is just a game and they are not curing cancer. I play drums in a band and it is important to me because it is my livelihood, but at the same time I keep a reality check about what I do.

CB: It is not solving world hunger.
Eric: Exactly. Some people get too serious about it in my mind. Some people hate their 9-5 job and they have passion about a sports team or a band and that is what they look forward to doing. I understand their passion, but you have to keep it in perspective.

CB: I have talked to a lot of drummers this week. I have kind of had a week of drummers, culminating with you.
Eric: That sounds like it could have a double entendre. "I just had a week of drummers." You gotta watch how you say that. (Laughing)

CB: What is the longest you have gone without playing the drums?
Eric: Oh I have gone awhile. Probably a few months. I am 52 years old. I have been touring every year for 26 years straight and been drumming for 42 years since I was 10. It is like a car. I have a lot of drumming miles on my body. I find that when you go away from something, it renews your interest and enjoyment in it. You enjoy it more when you come back. My whole life can't be about drums and KISS. I am not one dimensional. You have to have other interests. As much as I know that you have to have focus because that is important if you want to have success along with hard work, sometimes you need to step away from it. It makes it feel fresh when you get away and then come back. Even though I have played some of these songs a hundred times, after I get away from it for awhile it feels fresh and lets my body heal.

CB: It is an extreme sport.
Eric: It is very much like athletics. Rock and roll drumming is different than playing in a lounge band. It is hitting hard objects and absorbing all that shock. As I have gotten older I have had to learn different ways to approach it. I have massages all the time to take care of my body and keep my body stretched out and loose because it is a necessity at this point.

CB: Do you do any weight lifting or activities to condition for it?
Eric: Sometimes. Lately to be honest I have been lazy. Usually when we are off tour, I will go to the gym and try to condition with cardio and keep my stamina up at least a few times a week. That makes it not such a shock to your body when you go back to hitting things after you have been away for awhile.

CB: Have you ever been star struck?
Eric: No, not really. When I first moved to LA in 1983, I used to go to the Beverly Hills Diner after rehearsals. This is when I first realized that I lived in LA and when you go to a Denny's or a diner that you will see musicians and actors. The first time I was sitting there and Lionel Richie came in with Irene Cara, who had a big hit at the time. He said hello just like you were a normal person. That kind of set a precedence for me with a guy who was a huge star at the time on MTV and making hits and he is just a regular guy who comes in here and says hi to me. I always remembered that whatever you do may be special or unique, but it does not make you better than someone else. I remember him and think it was a good attitude.

CB: That is a good attitude.
Eric: I am a big fan of many bands and I met Jimmy Page this year in London. That was kind of cool because I had never met anyone from Zeppelin, but I am around these guys all the time. I have played in some big bands KISS and with Queen. I played a Nelson Mandela benefit with Bono and Annie Lennox a few years ago. I have gotten to play with people and meet them this way. I met Dwyane Wade the other night on Jay Leno and that was cool because I am such a big NBA fan. I like to meet people that I have a lot of respect for and admire what they do. I don't get star struck because I have been doing this a long time and realize at the end of the day they are just people.

CB: They go home and put their pants on one leg at a time.
Eric: Exactly, one thing I have learned that once you really get to know people you find that there is a common thread that runs through all of us.

CB: I interview people and have found that the big bands like yourself are the most down to earth and normal. Many of the newer bands that are just starting out seem so arrogant at times and it bothers me and I always think that won�t work and they are not going to make it like that.
Eric: You are right and that is a great observation. That is what I find as well. Usually people who are doing it at a bigger level, they don�t act like that. I don�t know if it is a confidence or mindset but they don�t need to do that. I live in LA and there a lot of people who are posers. They go to clubs and dress the part and think they are important. They go out every night and dress up and locals think they are in the band, but they are big fish in a small pond and they are not the real players. You are right, the people that have more fame act normal and don�t need to pretend to be anything and they are usually more cool.

CB: What can we expect from the show on Friday?
Eric: �The Hottest Show on Earth� is great. The one thing I always admire about our band is that we are always trying to improve and make it bigger and better. We are always trying to make a bigger visual spectacle. That is what we are known for and putting on a big show. I always say it is like Rock-n-Roll meets the circus. It is about being entertainers and being entertained. Anyone who saw the tour last year, we have changed the songs around and changed some of the visual things in the show. It is probably the biggest show that we have ever done with visual and screens and pyro. It is a big undertaking to take this tour around the country. There are 15 or 17 trucks that move this stuff around. A few of them have our faces on the side with the new Dr. Pepper adds, so you may see 5 or 6 of them rolling down the road in Ohio this week so you will know it is KISS on tour. I am not saying this because I am biased and in the band, but everyone must see a KISS show in their life.

Eric: We are playing Riverbend on Friday right?
CB: Yes
Eric: I remember Riverbend. We have played there before and I actually went to a concert there before. I was on a tour in 1987 with Gary Moore and we saw Huey Lewis in the News there. They were huge at the time.

CB: I actually saw them this past weekend at HullabaLUH in Louisville.
Eric: Really, one of my good friends is their guitar player, how were they?

CB: They were amazing actually and sounded the same. It was surreal to see bands ranging from Bon Jovi to Al Green all in one place.
Eric: Did you see Al Green?

CB: Yes I did and he was FANTASTIC! He made me smile!
Eric: I went to see him a few years ago with Gene after we played a show in a casino on a night off. Al Green sings amazing. Gene is a huge 50�s doo wop fan and so we went to the show.

CB: He was spot on and blew my mind.
Eric: Did all the ladies come up and give him flowers?

CB: No he had bundles of roses he was passing out.
Eric: A lot of the older women still love him. He is old school and a real swooner, but he sings his ass off.

CB: I have had a phenomenal week of music and I am hoping to top it off with KISS on Friday.
Eric: You are right it is like a Cherry on Top after all that great music this week. It is great music on top of a great show. You must go see it and be converted and see it in the flesh. You will be converted to Kisstianity. There is no band like KISS and it is a dream come true to be in the band since I was a huge fan from the beginning. I was a fan from day 1 and saw them in Cleveland in 1974 when they opened up for the New York Dolls.

CB: It is like a religion.
Eric: The kind of drummer that I always want to be was to be a visual and show type drummer and I can do it all in KISS. I couldn�t be in a more perfect band.

CB: I hope to get religion on Friday.
Eric: You have to.

CB: Before we wrap up, tell me about the Wounded Warrior Care project that you are supporting.
Eric: It is the Wounded Warrior CARE project. We have gone to visit the soldiers in their facility. A dollar from every ticket sold goes to this project. Those people have gone and sacrificed their life. Regardless of people�s political views, these people go and do this on a volunteer basis to protect our rights. They have given their life so we have to make sure that there are people when they get home to help them get their life back and that is what this project is all about. You may disapprove of war, but you need to respect these people regardless of your views. You are able to say whatever you want in this country because these people go out and fight for your rights. We want to help them be able to get their lives back.

Eric: I also need to say KISS is a great family value this summer. Kids under 14 get in free on the lawn with the purchase of an adult lawn ticket. Up to four children per valid adult (21 and over) lawn ticket. Valid for Live Nation amphitheatres with lawns only. These also must be purchased on the day of the show and are subject to availability.

We know that times are tough for some people economically and we know there is no better way to get their mind off their troubles than to go and see a band like KISS. It is our way of trying to give something back to those who have supported us over the years. Everyone needs to see KISS at some point in their life.

CB: You may as well start early as a kid right?
Eric: Exactly.

Guitarist Thayer aces KISS' 'Spaceman' role

By Paul Clark

The classic metal band Kiss will play tonight at Riverbend, featuring founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley along with drummer Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. We talked last week with Thayer, who replaced Ace Frehley eight years ago as the band's "Spaceman" character.

Question: You came to Kiss by way of the band Black 'n Blue and after playing with a Kiss tribute band, and you actually started with Kiss as a kind of "Man Friday", is that correct?

Answer: All of the above. I'd been with Black 'n Blue in the '80s, and we were lucky enough to open for Kiss. The relationship evolved from there, through all the ups and downs.

* Take our KISS quiz

Q: You're a better musician than Ace is - do you think beneath all the face paint you've carved out your own identity?

A: When I came in, in 2002, I had big shoes to fill. Ace had a legacy and really helped established what Kiss was. It's a slow process, but I'm the guy now.

Guitarist Thayer aces KISS' 'Spaceman' role

By Paul Clark

The classic metal band Kiss will play tonight at Riverbend, featuring founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley along with drummer Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. We talked last week with Thayer, who replaced Ace Frehley eight years ago as the band's "Spaceman" character.

Question: You came to Kiss by way of the band Black 'n Blue and after playing with a Kiss tribute band, and you actually started with Kiss as a kind of "Man Friday", is that correct?

Answer: All of the above. I'd been with Black 'n Blue in the '80s, and we were lucky enough to open for Kiss. The relationship evolved from there, through all the ups and downs.

* Take our KISS quiz

Q: You're a better musician than Ace is - do you think beneath all the face paint you've carved out your own identity?

A: When I came in, in 2002, I had big shoes to fill. Ace had a legacy and really helped established what Kiss was. It's a slow process, but I'm the guy now.

Q: Tell us about Wounded Warriors, the war veterans' charity your band helps support.

A: For each ticket bought on this tour, we donate $1 to Wounded Warriors. We have great appreciation for all our servicemen and women who protect our liberties. My dad's a retired brigadier general, I don't know whether people know that.

Q: Do you support the war?

A: Are we getting political?

Q: We don't have to.

A: It's really not something I want to get into.

Q: Gene Simmons recently called critics "an unnecessary life form." Do you think the negative criticism for Kiss is unfair, and maybe irrelevant?

A: I don't go as far as what Gene says. Some have been negative over the years but we've received lots of favorable reviews for (this year's European tour) and for (new album) "Sonic Boom." It's all good to me.

Gene Simmons talks about the marketing of a rock 'n' roll behemoth KISS

By Scott Mervis

Photo by Sebastian Willnow

When Gene Simmons makes reference below to the Kiss Kasket, he isn't kidding.

The iconic hard-rock band actually took its marketing to the extremes of a casket emblazoned with the Kiss imagery.

Price: $4,500.

Big smiles at the funeral: priceless.

"I love livin'," the bassist known as The Demon once said, "but this makes the alternative look pretty damn good."

Kiss never could have imagined a Kiss Kasket -- could it? -- when it formed in 1973, but the concept from day one was that would be not just a band but a brand. Three and a half decades later, Kiss just might be the most recognizable rock institution in the world.By Scott Mervis

Photo by Sebastian Willnow

When Gene Simmons makes reference below to the Kiss Kasket, he isn't kidding.

The iconic hard-rock band actually took its marketing to the extremes of a casket emblazoned with the Kiss imagery.

Price: $4,500.

Big smiles at the funeral: priceless.

"I love livin'," the bassist known as The Demon once said, "but this makes the alternative look pretty damn good."

Kiss never could have imagined a Kiss Kasket -- could it? -- when it formed in 1973, but the concept from day one was that would be not just a band but a brand. Three and a half decades later, Kiss just might be the most recognizable rock institution in the world.

Last year, the band built on its empire by turning the release of "Sonic Boom," its first album in 11 years, into a merchandising bonanza at Wal-Mart, complete with Kiss Potato Heads. For its current tour, up to four children will be admitted free with each adult purchasing a lawn ticket, meaning that adult is advised to bring a big wad for shirts, toys and other items.

The fire-breathing, blood-spewing bassist, who, at 60, doubles as a reality star of "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," is the perfect man to rule over this empire in that he is completely unapologetic about the band's intentions.

In an interview last week, he talked, in his calm melodious voice, about the state of the Kiss Army.

So you guys are about to go on tour?

Actually, we've been on tour for 21/2 years, on and off. We started in Melbourne, Australia, to 80,000 people. We went through stadiums in South America, then did the outdoors in Europe over a year ago and did a run of America and Canada. We just finished a second European leg and went to places we hadn't been before -- 90,000 in Nuremberg just to give you a sense. We're coming back to America again, playing places we hadn't before.

We've taken over promoting ourselves at the shows -- in other words, every ticket that's bought there, we take it all. What that also means is we can do something that's never been done before. At almost all the shows, with the exception of two, if you're 14 or under, if you come with one adult, the four of you will get in for free as our guest. We can only do that if we promote the event ourselves. We're taking a buck out of every ticket and going directly to Wounded Warriors, our servicemen who are coming back.

I guess Kiss has become a family show -- it wasn't like that in the '70s.

It's grown full circle a few times. When we first started there were a lot of 14-year-olds and they grew older and became moms and dads, and guess what, their kids liked us, too. They grew up and they had kids. It's been 36, 37 years since the first tour. We have three generations of fans.

I imagine that's a great merchandising opportunity for you guys?

You're right. We have 3,000 licences, everything from condoms to caskets. That also means the oldest American beverage, Dr. Pepper, also decided to present the shows and also do these commercials.

You were just at the Arena in December -- that building might not be there much longer. I don't know if you know that or not.

I didn't know. I didn't know it was going to go away.

There's a new arena that's opening with McCartney in August. They tried to get a big final show for the dome, but it ended up being James Taylor and Carole King.

No, that's not the right last concert. We closed the Cobo Hall in Detroit. You could say we closed it with a bang.

I bet. Anyway, how will this show be different than the one in December. Will there be a different focus?

Different songs. We're adding "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You," "Beth," "Crazy Nights," three songs off "Sonic Boom." A good chunk of the show is songs we hadn't played before or barely played. New technology, new effects.

How would you assess the Wal-Mart/"Sonic Boom" experiment?

Fantastic. It if wasn't for Wal-Mart, we would not have made the album because you don't want to go to work and do it for free and neither do we. This is not a charity. It actually is called Music Business, not Music Friends. Working your butt off for months to write songs and record them and then have some kid in college think he can download it for free is not my style. In the same way that he goes to work at the end of the week, he wants his pay check, he doesn't want me to say, "Hey you worked all week -- that money is mine."

Yeah, well his paycheck is much smaller these days.

Well, then, much worse.

Seems like from the start it doesn't seem like Kiss was a band that shied away from being too commercial?

We were the only one. Everyone else lied. Any band that doesn't want to be commercial is actually lying. What it actually means is, "[Expletive], I wish I could be in Kiss instead of Radiohead." Not the musicality, but for the pure unadulterated fun -- of going out there and seeing someone who's 4 years old and doesn't know about music or anything else who wants to sleep with the Kiss teddy bear or something. And to someone who's 50 or 20 and goes to the Kiss Coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach. When a band can rise to the level of brand, yes songs are important, we hope you like the song, but that's it? That's not enough for me.

Well, don't you think people get into it for different reasons?

Who cares? If you go see "Avatar" and see it for the special effects and don't care about the story, that's fine. If someone goes because they love the love story, that's fine. If you go in because you think the story is poignant, how the white man beats up the natives, that's fine too. Come for your own reason. Clearly there's a cultural thing going on around the world when people name their children after our songs, get tattoos of our faces and there are Kiss tribute bands, including Mini Kiss.

You got some good reviews on "Sonic Boom." Has critical favor ever been important to you?

Not really. When you're a teenager and you're hanging out with your guys and running around, you love your mom and respect her, and she goes, "You know, I really like your friends." "That's nice, mom," but that's not why you do it. Critics are failed human beings, actually. There are no credentials for becoming a critic. You just are. You never have to have done anything, so there's no experience, there's no resume. If you asked me to critique new bands I would have a qualified opinion. I've been in a band, I've written songs, I've done that.

You're in a whole industry where no one needs credentials.

Well, yeah, except the doing it. You don't have to read music, but when you get the for-the-people, by-the-people who anoint you successful, that is its own credibility.

You were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but weren't selected ...

The bands that were selected were LL Cool J, Madonna and a few other disco acts.

This year was the Stooges, Genesis, The Hollies ...

Listen, we love the Stooges but if you walk up to any kid on the street, the masses we're talking about, and mention the Stooges, they'll go "Yeah, I love Curly, I love Moe." They don't have a clue what the [expletive] you're talking about. The fact that Grandmaster Flash or LL Cool J or Madonna is in the Rock Hall makes it a sham [editor's note: LL Cool J is not in it]. By the way, we wish you well, but it's backroom politics. Fifteen guys get together and decide who gets in. They asked us to put our outfits in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I said, "What's our slice of the ticket price?" he said, "No, no, you don't understand, it's promotion." I said, "I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll have the Kiss of Hall of Fame and we'll put your stuff in and you won't get a penny."

It's been 36 years and you're a good deal older than when you started, how difficult is it to run around in those costumes and fly up to the rafters and stuff?

Oh, physically, it kicks your [behind]. A strange fact of life is, 20-year-olds in bands mean nothing. The biggest bands in the world are, you know, 55 and over. U2, the Stones, McCartney.

That's odd because when you were a teenager you weren't going to see guys who were 55 years old.

Well, rock 'n' roll itself was a new thing. Before the late '50s it didn't even exist, so it's a very young thing. It ain't classical music. It hasn't existed for hundreds of years, so the rules are changing every year. So is country. When I was a kid, they didn't look like Keith Urban.

I get this feeling that Kiss is such an enormous institution...

That's pretty accurate.

... that it might exist after you guys aren't in it anymore? Even after you and Paul are 80 years old and retired, I can envision a Kiss tour.

With somebody else -- you got that right. And we'd be happy if it did. Of course.

Kind of like Lynyrd Skynyrd is doing right now ...

No, not the same. You're talking about iconic imagery that transcends generations and invades all of American and world culture. Skynyrd does music. There's no imagery and iconic sense of it.

They do have imagery ...

What is the imagery?

Long hair, beards and biker garb, with a Confederate flag.

On Halloween, I've never seen anybody dress up like that.

So it would be called "Kiss," not "A Tribute to Kiss."

No, it would be called Kiss if we sanction it. When a king takes over a country at the behest of the people, he's called King, not the tribute king. You anoint, you crown.

Have you been impressed by the stage spectacle of any other acts?

I like Lady Gaga. The rest of the rock world is pretty pathetic. Musically, I like Muse. There are a lot of English bands that are interesting to me. Melodically, Keane is interesting. But what can rise to the level of iconic imagery where even little kids sit up and take notice? The test of time is the ultimate test.

Have you met Lady Gaga?

You mean has she met me? We spoke last week. ... That's all I can tell you.

By Michael Machosky

It's not easy to step in and replace a legend.

When Tommy Thayer was asked to assume lead guitar duties for KISS -- replacing the legendary Ace Frehley -- those were some big boots to fill.

Big, shiny silver platform spaceman boots.

"When I came into the band eight years ago, I was well aware of that," says Thayer. "And I like to say to people, 'Good things take time.' I didn't expect to win over the world the first concert out. But I've always been confident and I know KISS inside out."

The KISS combination of fist-pumping hard rock and catchy pop melodies -- combined with outlandish costumes, makeup, pyrotechnics, fire-breathing, blood-spitting, etc. -- has worked since 1973.By Michael Machosky

It's not easy to step in and replace a legend.

When Tommy Thayer was asked to assume lead guitar duties for KISS -- replacing the legendary Ace Frehley -- those were some big boots to fill.

Big, shiny silver platform spaceman boots.

"When I came into the band eight years ago, I was well aware of that," says Thayer. "And I like to say to people, 'Good things take time.' I didn't expect to win over the world the first concert out. But I've always been confident and I know KISS inside out."

The KISS combination of fist-pumping hard rock and catchy pop melodies -- combined with outlandish costumes, makeup, pyrotechnics, fire-breathing, blood-spitting, etc. -- has worked since 1973.

When Frehley left the band, Thayer was the obvious choice to step in.

"It's the rocker's dream position," says Thayer. "I was very much a KISS fan growing up. They were one of my favorite bands. I got the first KISS record for Christmas in 1974. I even have me in the spaceman makeup for Halloweein in 1976. I've always been a huge fan. That's why it's such a joy to be in KISS. It's in my blood, and has been for a long time."

Thayer had a band in the mid-'80s called Black 'N Blue that did fairly well, and ended up on tour opening for KISS. KISS' main man, Gene Simmons, produced a few of their records.

Simmons and Paul Stanley are the only original members left. But Simmons' larger-than-life personality tends to draw most of the attention his way.

The makeup helps add a little anonymity to a rock star's life, as well.

"People don't immediately recognize you when you walk into Starbucks or something," says Thayer. "On the other hand, the way I look, I'm almost 6-3. I have long dark hair. People look at me and ask, 'Okay, who is that guy? He's in one of the bands.' "

Even a member of KISS has to have a hobby, something to fill the downtime between packed arenas. Thayer's into golf.

"Next week, I host my own celebrity pro-am golf tournament in Oregon," he says. "Gene and the 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' (his reality TV show) will be shooting an episode at my golf event next week, which should be very interesting. Actually, a Pennsylvanian native friend of mine, Rocco Mediate (of Greensburg), will be there to help Gene learn how to play golf. Rocco's been a good friend, and he's a huge music fan. His two favorite bands are Rush and KISS."

The show in Pittsburgh tonight at the First Niagara Pavilion should deliver the goods that KISS fans have come to expect, claims Thayer.

"Well, there's surprises, but every tour we push the limits and try to make it bigger than the last," he says. "I won't describe it, but it's pretty over-the-top. This one tops them all. The pyro is, believe it or not, bigger than ever. The video presentation has really taken over the stage. We have a massive video wall that's probably bigger than anyone's ever had on tour. It goes from one end of the arena to the other."

"It's a bit over the top, but that's what we do."