Kiss News

By Matt Silk

SONIC BOOMS

Gene and Paul's memories of some classic Kiss albums:

KISS (1974) - Gene: I no longer had to work for a living. I went on salary, I became the richest person in the world. Not only was I in a band, doing everything I wanted - I was getting $75 a week! Favourite track: Deuce.

HOTTER THAN HELL (1974)- Paul: Difficult second album? No, we were all piss and vinegar - "If you didn't like the first album, here's another!" We were releasing them every eight months. Favourite track: Hotter Than Hell.

DRESSED TO KILL (1975) - Gene: It was produced by Neil Bogart, our record company president, who couldn't produce. We started attracting lots of groupies. Mostly, I remember lots of girls. Favourite track: Two Timer.

ALIVE! (1975) - Paul: A sonic souvenir of the live show. Was it enhanced? You bet! Who wants to hear a guitar string break every time they put on a song? One week it was gold, the next platinum. Our rollercoaster ride had begun.By Matt Silk

SONIC BOOMS

Gene and Paul's memories of some classic Kiss albums:

KISS (1974) - Gene: I no longer had to work for a living. I went on salary, I became the richest person in the world. Not only was I in a band, doing everything I wanted - I was getting $75 a week! Favourite track: Deuce.

HOTTER THAN HELL (1974)- Paul: Difficult second album? No, we were all piss and vinegar - "If you didn't like the first album, here's another!" We were releasing them every eight months. Favourite track: Hotter Than Hell.

DRESSED TO KILL (1975) - Gene: It was produced by Neil Bogart, our record company president, who couldn't produce. We started attracting lots of groupies. Mostly, I remember lots of girls. Favourite track: Two Timer.

ALIVE! (1975) - Paul: A sonic souvenir of the live show. Was it enhanced? You bet! Who wants to hear a guitar string break every time they put on a song? One week it was gold, the next platinum. Our rollercoaster ride had begun.

DESTROYER (1976) - Gene: A coming of age, or perhaps just a coming. (Renowned producer) Bob Ezrin kicked us in the butt and made us do a record we couldn't do on our own. They were our songs and performances, but he brought it out of us. Favourite track: God Of Thunder.

ROCK AND ROLL OVER (1976) - Paul: Many said Destroyer wasn't raunchy enough for them. So we decided to go back to something a little more basic. It's a great album but, sonically, the songs didn't sound like they should have. Favourite track: I Want You.

LOVE GUN (1977) - Gene: Eddie Kramer produced but he was more an engineer so we took more control for this one. Ace and Peter started to become very difficult as alcohol and drugs began to take over. Favourite track: Love Gun.

CREATURES OF THE NIGHT (1982) - Gene: The (huge!) drum sound was my insistence. If any track led to that huge sound, which was recorded in a hall with doors open and the mics on a slight delay, it was I Love It Loud. I love the title track too. Favourite track: I Love It Loud.

LICK IT UP (1983) - Paul: Creatures was better, but we finally took the make-up off and Lick It Up sold three or four times as many copies. The first step in establishing another persona for the band. Touring without make-up was invigorating. An exciting time. Favourite track: A Million To One.

ANIMALIZE (1984) - Gene: I like a lot of the record but I was pre-occupied with Hollywood, doing my first movie, Runaway, for Michael Crichton. My songs weren't stellar. Favourite track: Heaven's On Fire.

REVENGE (1992)- Gene: One of my favourites. We reunited with Bob Ezrin, and it's a very different time from Destroyer. I finally felt comfortable in my own skin. I stopped playing the Paul game, trying to look pretty with nice hair - I was never very good at that. Favourite track: Unholy.

SONIC BOOM (2009) - Paul: A culmination of everything, good and bad that went before it. It's a pure, honest album and I couldn't be more proud of it. We found our way home. Favourite tracks: Modern Day Delilah and Say Yeah.

SONIC BUSTS

And here the pair recall some, er, not so classic ones:

UNMASKED (1980) - Gene: My fault. It was a strange period, with pop and dance dominating, and we lost our way. It was also the end for Peter Criss. Anton Fig's playing drums and the main memory is of protecting the fans from the news Peter was gone. Favourite track: You're All That I Want.

MUSIC FROM 'THE ELDER' (1981) - Paul: We all bought into Stonehenge and truly thought we were making a masterpiece, but we weren't - we were masturbating. A bloated, overblown, pompous piece of pap. Favourite track: I - because that's the last one and the album's over.

CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1997) - Paul: Tuning down to D and singing about the darkness of the world while living in mansions in Beverly Hills was a little absurd. We were no more from Seattle than from Saturn. Favourite track: I Will Be There.

By Matt Silk

THIS week SFTW goes to Minneapolis to meet rock legends Kiss. We hang out with God Of Thunder Gene Simmons and experience their Alive 35 tour, celebrating the three and a half decades since they first emerged - an explosive taster of what the UK can expect this spring.

"Go ahead, touch it - I won't tell anyone..." I'm in a Minneapolis hotel room with a true rock legend, the fire-breathing, bloodspitting demon bassist of Kiss - Gene Simmons. And the man they call the God Of Thunder, who claims to have slept with more than 5,000 women, is inviting me to squeeze his thigh.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to have heard that line.

No cause for concern though. Iron-thighed Gene, 60, is proudly demonstrating the condition he needs to be in for the gruelling extravaganza which is the Kiss live experience.

The Alive 35 tour celebrates three-and-a-half decades since this incredible outfit first emerged from New York city.

"We're gladiators in the arena. There's a physicality to what we do that nobody does," says Gene.

"When you hit that stage, the adrenalin hits your veins, you physically become bigger and thicker. I become stronger and less susceptible to pain. But I come off-stage and I'm black and blue from the armour I wear banging in to me."

The 16,000-odd fans who packed out the city's Target Arena the previous night -- many of them in their teens and early twenties and a fair few sporting make-up while tottering on 7-inch stack heels -- wouldn't be surprised by Gene's battle scars. They're probably still recovering themselves.By Matt Silk

THIS week SFTW goes to Minneapolis to meet rock legends Kiss. We hang out with God Of Thunder Gene Simmons and experience their Alive 35 tour, celebrating the three and a half decades since they first emerged - an explosive taster of what the UK can expect this spring.

"Go ahead, touch it - I won't tell anyone..." I'm in a Minneapolis hotel room with a true rock legend, the fire-breathing, bloodspitting demon bassist of Kiss - Gene Simmons. And the man they call the God Of Thunder, who claims to have slept with more than 5,000 women, is inviting me to squeeze his thigh.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to have heard that line.

No cause for concern though. Iron-thighed Gene, 60, is proudly demonstrating the condition he needs to be in for the gruelling extravaganza which is the Kiss live experience.

The Alive 35 tour celebrates three-and-a-half decades since this incredible outfit first emerged from New York city.

"We're gladiators in the arena. There's a physicality to what we do that nobody does," says Gene.

"When you hit that stage, the adrenalin hits your veins, you physically become bigger and thicker. I become stronger and less susceptible to pain. But I come off-stage and I'm black and blue from the armour I wear banging in to me."

The 16,000-odd fans who packed out the city's Target Arena the previous night -- many of them in their teens and early twenties and a fair few sporting make-up while tottering on 7-inch stack heels -- wouldn't be surprised by Gene's battle scars. They're probably still recovering themselves.

Kiss's show has always been the stuff of rock folklore - with ridiculous levels of fireworks, flame and confetti, set-pieces including vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley gliding on a zip-wire from the stage into the middle of the arena, Gene flying up to the gantry and Tommy Thayer's rocketfiring guitar.

Despite a muddled post-Seventies history of line-up shuffles and direction changes, this is THE Kiss experience rock fans my age grew up dreaming of witnessing. Except... except it's probably even better than it was back then, even more of a spectacle -- and those classic songs have never sounded better. An extraordinary achievement after all these years.

Among all the rock 'n' roll fantasy on stage, there's a new element -- all four are clearly having a whale of a time up there. Gene says: "If God gives you the opportunity to be Gene Simmons -- what the f*** are you gonna do with that? Are you going to quit after ten years because you have all the money and chicks you could ever need? Or are you gonna ride that pony and see how fast it will go until it drops?"

Paul adds: "We do have fun and that's the difference. We also have a lot of pride when we're up there. We have a good time and really enjoy each other and that's, er, new!"

The singer is referring to bad times that came shortly after the 1996 reunion of the band's original line-up, marking the return of drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley after nigh on 16 years.

Paul says: "From there it was really downhill. There's magic in people seeing the original line-up but, outside that, if you listened to it objectively, it grew old quickly."

Paul and Gene were watching a re-run of the late Seventies, as drink, drugs and egos tore the band apart again, leading to their farewell tour in 2000.

"All of the b******t we had to go through with the drugs and booze and lack of self-esteem that Ace and Peter had just sucked the life out of us," says Gene.

"It's been a thorn in my side for a long time. Even the phrase sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll -- what a loser's phrase that is! Why isn't it just sex and rock 'n' roll? How did drugs become cool?

"You can't win a marathon high, you just can't. Don't get me started, it makes me furious."

Some old-school fans have a hard time accepting the line-up now, seeing it as Gene and Paul with two hired hands (despite drummer Eric Singer having been on board for 17 years and guitarist Tommy for nine). You only have to see the chemistry between the four, on and off-stage, to realise that is not the case.

Paul says: "Hired hands? Ridiculous. That does the band such a disservice. The truth is, when I have questions most of the time I go to Tommy, not Gene. When I want feedback I go to the others.

"And anybody who thinks we could have made (new album)Sonic Boom with another line-up is out of their mind."

Ah, Sonic Boom. A blistering and long, long overdue return to form for what, for a good few years in the Seventies, was the biggest rock band in the world.

The new album's success (it entered the US chart at No 2) will see more new tracks included in the live set by the time Kiss arrive in the UK for their spring tour.

Old Blighty holds a special place in the band's hearts and the feeling is mutual -- extra dates have been added after the initial Wembley and Glasgow shows sold out.

Paul says: "I'm an Anglophile and the roots of everything I do are there. Led Zeppelin came out of there -- what more do you need? That makes it the Holy Land!

"Whatever we did there in 2008, which was damned good, is dwarfed compared to what we're doing now. You ain't seen nothing yet. Not because the show is that much bigger but because WE'RE that much bigger. We're pretty lethal - and proudly so.

"We're that much surer in our boots - and these are big boots."

They certainly are.

TourBusLive.com Road Diary, Volume 16 :: San Diego Sports Arena November 27, 2009, San Diego, California

Writing & Photography TourBusLive.com

On a chilly October day in 1977, my paltry savings in hand, I walked into the store on the Air Force base in Montana where my dad was stationed and bought my first KISS album. From the moment I gently put the needle in the first groove of that vinyl disc, my life was never the same again. On that day, I became a KISS fan.

For those who never understood what the big deal is with KISS, let me try to explain: It's widely accepted that KISS music isn't exactly the most intricate (although I've heard that performing their songs is a little more difficult than we novices are often led to believe), and KISS lyrics aren't necessarily the most complicated (who can forget the 7th grade dance staple "Beth"), but KISS music means everything to their fans. KISS music makes us rock. KISS music makes us happy. And, to their devotees, known as the KISS Army, KISS music takes us to a world where we believe we can be or do anything.

Marketing geniuses well ahead of their time, these four super-heroes (yes, a 1977 Marvel comic book featured KISS, even using authenticated blood from each KISS member in the vat of red ink used to print the issue) permeated our lives, our lunch boxes, our bed sheets, and even our underwear. KISS became our fantasy: Every guy wanted to be them; every girl wanted to be with them. Their image became an escape from our mundane lives. At a time when there was little choice other than disco on our radios, KISS became something this fan (and fans like me all over the world) could sink our rebellious teeth into. KISS was (and still is) rock and roll.TourBusLive.com Road Diary, Volume 16 :: San Diego Sports Arena November 27, 2009, San Diego, California

Writing & Photography TourBusLive.com

On a chilly October day in 1977, my paltry savings in hand, I walked into the store on the Air Force base in Montana where my dad was stationed and bought my first KISS album. From the moment I gently put the needle in the first groove of that vinyl disc, my life was never the same again. On that day, I became a KISS fan.

For those who never understood what the big deal is with KISS, let me try to explain: It's widely accepted that KISS music isn't exactly the most intricate (although I've heard that performing their songs is a little more difficult than we novices are often led to believe), and KISS lyrics aren't necessarily the most complicated (who can forget the 7th grade dance staple "Beth"), but KISS music means everything to their fans. KISS music makes us rock. KISS music makes us happy. And, to their devotees, known as the KISS Army, KISS music takes us to a world where we believe we can be or do anything.

Marketing geniuses well ahead of their time, these four super-heroes (yes, a 1977 Marvel comic book featured KISS, even using authenticated blood from each KISS member in the vat of red ink used to print the issue) permeated our lives, our lunch boxes, our bed sheets, and even our underwear. KISS became our fantasy: Every guy wanted to be them; every girl wanted to be with them. Their image became an escape from our mundane lives. At a time when there was little choice other than disco on our radios, KISS became something this fan (and fans like me all over the world) could sink our rebellious teeth into. KISS was (and still is) rock and roll.

The original members - vocalist/ rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley, vocalist/ bassist Gene Simmons, drummer Peter Criss, and lead guitarist Ace Frehley (the unlikely target of my early teen infatuation) - formed KISS in New York City in 1973. Shortly after, they stumbled upon the value of making themselves a virtual show - masking their identities in make-up, wearing costumes to alter their personalities, and portraying these characters whenever in public. Other than scant glimpses of their eyes or chins, the �70s KISS fan never really saw the actual faces of the band members, which added to the mystery and intrigue of KISS.

Today, of course, the band has long-since been unmasked (Simmons even starring in motion pictures and television shows), but KISS still chooses to reapply their make-up when going on stage to please their long-time admirers. I guess the KISS Army prefers the fantasy over the reality.

But what continues to really thrill old fans, and what makes new fans, is the live KISS show. This time around, the band is touring in support of their latest album Sonic Boom, calling the tour "KISS Alive 35", as they celebrate their 35th year of traversing the globe to bring their music to the world.

We caught up with KISS in San Diego on this night, beginning with an unprecedented opportunity to meet the band in costume...leaving me a tad bit overwhelmed, squealing like a teenager and overcome by tears while I found myself consumed in the arms of The Demon (Gene Simmons), who pulled me close to him, firmly against his immense armored chest, while he propped my original copy of his 1978 solo album on the top of my head and signed the cover for me! Witness to my personal triumph were the other fans at this pre-show mind-blower, including a group of locally-stationed (and recently returned from a tour in Iraq) U.S. Navy combat photographers who were there as guests of KISS. The band, especially Simmons, took several minutes during the pre-show mayhem to sincerely thank each of these men for their service to our country.

Quickly finding our seats, it was time for the show! KISS took the stage to a flourish of pyrotechnics - more than any stage should ever have (so much fire that I swear I got a tan). The band literally lit up the night as they took the fans on this modern, but very familiar, ride through their ever- expanding song catalogue. Appearing larger than life (it helps that the guys sport seven-inch-tall platform boots), Stanley, Simmons, current guitarist Tommy Thayer, and current drummer Eric Singer didn't stop rocking for nearly three hours while we watched them do what they do best. Amid the fire breathing, the blood spitting, exploding guitar solos, drum solos, a snowstorm of confetti, Gene taking flight (via wires) straight up to the rafters to sing "I Love It Loud", and Paul later flying right over the crowd to a mini-stage at the back of the venue to sing "Love Gun", KISS performed songs mostly from their 24 gold albums that span more than three decades. KISS delivered exactly what their fans came to see...a rock and roll show we won't soon forget.

CLICK HERE to check out additional great photos from the show!