Kiss News

Message from Paul Stanley:

Gene's mother Florence Lubowski has passed away. I knew her as long as I've known Gene. Beyond her fierce love and pride in her only child she was his inspiration to live up to being worthy of the sacrifices she made in a very difficult and at times horrific life. A holocaust survivor she fought for all she had and her fierce protection and pride in Gene made her someone to be feared, admired and loved. I will miss her laugh and smile. Let us all say a prayer for her, Gene and his family.

From: tass.com

Legendary American glam rockers KISS want to leave the stage at the top of their form, making their final shows their best

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Legendary American glam rockers KISS want to leave the stage at the top of their form, making their final shows their best, the band’s guitarist Tommy Thayer said in an interview with TASS.

The band’s farewell world tour titled the End Of the Road is to kick off in January 2019, performing on June 11 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, and on June 13 at the VTB Arena stadium in Moscow.

“Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and myself, we decided that while the band is still very good and we are doing the best shows, we have been doing…in the history of the band, that we wanted to go out when we’re in top form and do a final tour,” he explained.

He went on to note that when comparing the shows of such rock stars as the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney, KISS’s performances are far more “physically taxing” due to all the group’s gear and the “physicality of the show”. If the band continues to do it, year after year it will be difficult to keep it up.

Thayers explained that the two founders of the band - vocalist Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons are about 70 years old now and want to end their career.

He admitted that KISS had already done a farewell tour in the early 2000s and after that tour, the two other original members - guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Kriss left the band. However, this time the farewell is real.  

“It is not a gimmick, it is legitimate. This will be the final tour of KISS. The shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg will be the last KISS is going to play there,” Thayer vowed.

The rocker predicts that the coming tour will become the biggest in KISS history. The show will use new pyrotechnics, and the set list will include the best songs of the band’s 45-year career.
Will Thayer rock on?

Thayer said that he is not going to retire from music business after the tour ends.

General on sale begins today, Monday - 12/3 at 10am local.

Visit http://KISSonline.com/Tour  for full dates and info.

By Ken Sharp / www.rockcellarmagazine.com

8AM October 31st, Halloween … The massive Norwegian Jade ship is docked in the port of Miami and the silence is deafening. There’ll be a new kind of “deafening” soon: the noisy “Rock & Roll All Nite and party every day” kind, as in a few hours passengers from 37 countries will embark on KISS Kruise VIII.

Organized by leading music cruise company Sixthman, this year’s KISS Kruise, slated for excursions in in Key West, Florida and Nassau, the Bahamas, draws a multi-generational array of members of the KISS NAVY from all corners of the globe: Russia to Brazil, France to Argentina, Spain to England, Germany to The Netherlands, Japan to the USA and more.

11AM, Port of Miami, Miami, Florida

The first few hundred passengers begin to converge on the port and excitement begins to build. It’s like a meeting of the rock and roll United Nations — men, women and children of all ages and nationalities, most looking like they stepped out of a KISS department store, resplendent in new and vintage KISS t-shirts, hats, and sweatpants, many showing off some skin emblazoned with colorful KISS tattoos. High fives and hearty hugs are commonplace as the passengers walk onto the ship ready for another trip of a lifetime (or the first, for KISS fans taking their maiden voyage with the Hottest Band in the Land).

This isn’t just a rite of passage, oceanic and lifestyle-wise, to hang out and experience KISS in intimate setting with 2300+ members of your closest friends, but a tight bond of family and renewal of friendships crossing language barriers. “I’ve been on every KISS Kruise since they started putting this yearly event on,” one fan observes. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I save my money up all year so I can swing it — I’ve also taken on a second night job at as a security guard at Walmart for a few months so I’m able to afford to come each year and also buy as much KISS swag as possible. Year in, year out, it’s the highlight of my year!”

KISS Kids Rock! 

8 year old Harry baked gingerbread cookies for KISSmas. Thanks Hampus Grönberg for sharing with us.