Check out Ernest Hummingbird storybook app w music by Tommy Thayer, narrated by Darius Rucker, worldwide release on Nov 14.
Full details at www.facebook.com/ErnestHummingbirdsings
By Mike Mettler / www.palmspringslife.com
Even after 40 years, KISS subscribes to the self-proclaimed maxim, �you wanted the best, you got the best whenever they perform live,� and guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley says they are not about to stop delivering the goods anytime soon.
�From the very beginning, we did what we had to do, and we knew, sooner or later, everybody was going to see things our way,� says Stanley, a.k.a. The Starchild. �Whenever I hit the stage, I try to make sure I can live up to what my heroes did, and live up to what the fans expect.�
KISS are on tap to play their heaviest-hitting hits � including Rock and Roll All Nite, Deuce, Lick It Up, and Detroit Rock City � Oct. 30 when they storm the Morongo Casino Resort Spa in Cabazon.
During a short tour break, Stanley discussed why he loves Southern California, what to expect in the band�s set that night, and why KISS will always endure.
Do you recall the very first time you came out to Southern California?
Paul Stanley: �Yes I do. It was for the launch party for the release of the first [self-titled] KISS album in February 1974. We were put up at the Chateau Marmont [in West Hollywood]. All of us in the band shared, I believe, a Chevrolet Nova, so we all had to decide, as a group, where we were going, so nobody could take the car on their own.�
�The clubs I was going to seemed to treat anybody who could play the guitar like royalty, so it was quite a change. I spent many years coming out here � not only to play musically, but also to �play� on a daily basis.
I really found myself in a recreational mode out here. And then in 1990, I uprooted, and came out here for good. I think California has amazing things to offer. You can�t beat the weather, and the quality of life is fabulous.�
You�ve spent some time in Palm Springs over the years.
PS: �Yes I have. The beauty and the tranquility there is pretty special. We often live in chaos, so it�s great to find a place like that where you can depressurize and unwind. It�s always been that to me.�
Did you ever cross paths with Frank Sinatra in Palm Springs?
PS: �No, no. Frank was of a somewhat different generation, but also a different lifestyle and tempo from ours. I do remember meeting Sammy Davis Jr. � a lovely guy, and very funny. Once I was at a show of his, and he talked about a close, personal friend of his being in the audience. I was thinking, �Gee, who is he talking about?� And lo and behold, I was that close, personal friend, and didn�t know it! That was terrific.�
That launch party for the first KISS album was thrown by Casablanca Records at the L.A. Room at the Century Plaza Hotel. It was a pretty big extravaganza, right?
PS: �It was, and I take pride in knowing that when we hit the stage, we cleared the room. We weren�t what most of the record industry or the Hollywood B-Listers or C-Listers were expecting, so we played to a really small audience. Had it been a fire drill, it would have been a big success!�
What can we expect to see in the set you�ll play at Morongo Casino? Will we get any super-vintage tracks during that show?
PS: �I�m a big believer that many songs that are obscure are obscure because they�re not as good or as popular as the others are. The idea of taking away something that is more well-known or something more popular to put something in for a handful of people really doesn�t serve the purpose of this band, which is to make the most people happy, and to live up to what they�re expecting. That being said, we just did 40 shows in 10 weeks, and the set list was just great. I imagine a lot of those songs will be in the set list this time.�
Do you see more people in the audience dressed up as members of KISS whenever you play close to Halloween, or is it about the same at every show?
PS: �I really can�t tell you. I can�t tell you whether there�s more or less. The beauty of KISS is we�re not a band where people come to relive the past, or to be nostalgic. The thing I love about the band is, from my asking the audience, I find 60 to 85 percent of the people who come may never have seen us before. They are there because of the legend of the band. They are there to see if what they heard of the band is true � and they find out it is. It�s amazing to be up there and be as ferocious and on top of things as we are, and know that we�re considered classic rock. That�s rarefied air. Bands that are considered classic are bands I�ve always looked up to.
�I�m grateful to hear people say I�ve been an influence on them. My fingerprints seem to be on a lot of artists, but I didn�t invent the wheel. I was a huge fan of Robert Plant, Rod Stewart, Pete Townshend, and Jimmy Page. I took a lot of what I loved in some of my inspirations, mixed it all together, and added something else to make it new. It�s really reached a point now where any band with money can do a KISS show, but no band can be KISS.�
KISS, 8 p.m., Oct. 30 at Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, 800-252-4499, www.morongocasinosresort.com
KISS will bring their Freedom To Rock show to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT this Saturday, October 29th! This show is part of Mohegan Sun�s 20th Anniversary Celebration.
Written by Rick Austin / www.fortressofsolitude.co.za
Storyline: A
Artwork: A+
The rock band KISS have had a long history with comic books. Starring in them, they´ve hung out with Howard the Duck, the X-Men, Archie Andrews and more. Outside of them they made a film in which they were superheroes, and had their own blood mixed in with the ink at the Marvel printers´ however, apparently it´s really only Gene Simmons in the band who´s a huge comic book fan. But what kind of comic book should fans expect from the rockers now?
Based on this first issue, a damn good one.
In an absolute switch from what anybody was probably imagining, the world above has been ravaged by wars and the human race´s capacity for self-destruction. In the subterranean city of Blackwell, over two million people ´ the last survivors of humanity "e; live in a society of order, presided over by the unseen elders. Four familiar symbols are everywhere: The Demon, The Catman, The Starchild and The Space Ace. Yet there´s dissent amongst some of the youth, in particular the twins Eran and Noa, who question why nobody may travel to the surface.
Acquiring a map which they believe may lead them out, and joined by their friends Adi and Alex, and discover that there´s more happening in their society than they ever could have imagined. Seeing images on the tunnel walls of four people wearing makeup depicting the symbols of their society, they explore further. Soon they find an agricultural area and a monastery containing an ancient computer, and soon the answers they seek will be revealed.
Event Details:
KISS by Monster Mini Golf @ Rio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
December 3, 2016
2pm- till�
Featured Guests:Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer
Join us for an afternoon of festive rock, fun & organized chaos as we celebrate the first holiday season in our new venue here at The Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas.
All ages, entrance is FREE.
Private 5pm VIP party with Tommy and Eric is available for 50 special guests. CLICK HERE to Reserve your spot now!
Tommy and Eric Q & A in the late afternoon (exact time TBA).
Tommy and Eric will be offering personal merchandise, autographs, and photo opportunities for sale at the event.
and�.KISS Kringle will be dressed Rockstar fashion ready for photos with cool boys & girls of all ages!
Best UGLY KISSMAS Sweater WINS Limited Signed & #�d Tommy & Eric 45RPM Vinyl Souvenir Records.
By DAN FERGUSON /www.langleytimes.com
Gene Simmons of KISS gave a $100,000 boost to the Gala of Hope fundraiser for The Centre for Child Development and Sophie�s Place Child and Youth Advocacy Centre held at the Newlands Golf and Country Club in Langley on Saturday night.
In addition to the donation, Simmons also auctioned off a �blade� guitar.
A total of $280,000 was raised by the gala, the centre said.
Simmons was there with his wife, Canadian model and actress Shannon Tweed, to show support for their daughter, Sophie Tweed-Simmons, who lent her name to the Surrey facility.
Since 2012, Sophie's Place has assisted abused children up to the age of 18 by providing a safe space where they can talk about their experience of physical, mental or sexual abuse with trained staff and law enforcement professionals.
In a statement issued by the centre, Tweed-Simmons said the team at Sophie�s Place conducted more than 200 interviews with abused children over the past year.
�It�s really important that kids have a place to go where they can be taken seriously, and where they can express what�s happened to them in a safe environment," Tweed-Simmons said.
The Centre also operates satellite offices in Langley that provides a number of professional services for children with special needs including: physiotherapy, communication therapy, occupational therapy, and services for children and families affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder.
The Langley location is also home to the centre's fundraising arm, the Child Development Foundation of British Columbia.
For more information, visit www.the-centre.org or phone 604-584-1361.
The countdown is officially in the single digits! Just 9 days until Kiss Kruise VI sails away!
By Lara McCaffrey / DiscoverSD
In November, legendary rock band KISS will play Tijuana, Mexico, for the first time, to the delight of both the band and the country. The Nov. 19 show will be held at the Estadio Gasmart, the stadium of the Toros de Tijuana baseball team that has a seating capacity of nearly 17,000 people.
Gene Simmons, bassist and KISS co-founder, said he is looking forward to playing Tijuana.
�We�ve been coming to Mexico for 30 or 40 years,� Simmons said. �We�ve hit most of the large cities, played the stadiums there and it�s always been a lot of fun. At the stadium it�s been mania � people were doing all kinds of things. Publicly, well, I would say going to a KISS concert is as much fun as you can have with your pants on.�
Simmons has fond memories of performing in Mexico during KISS� decades of touring worldwide and selling millions of records. One concert in Mexico City years ago stands out to him: It all started when, to the dismay of security, an audience member tossed a monstrous sombrero onstage.
�I stopped the security and said, �No, no it�s OK, it�s OK!� � Simmons said. �They didn't understand what I was doing so I took the sombrero off the floor � And then I put it on and the place went nuts and everyone started singing the Mexican national anthem right in the middle of the show. So we stopped and we let them sing it.
�The fondness Simmons feels for Mexico has been reciprocated throughout the years. It�s apparent in the Los Premios MTV Latinoam�rica award statues, �Lenguas" � the pink tongue-shaped trophy inspired by Simmons� large, iconic tongue. Mexico�s love for KISS is also evident in the nationwide response when concert promoter agency Royal House Society announced they were helping bring KISS to Tijuana.
�It�s gone viral throughout social media for the agency,� said Fernanda Mancillas, Royal House Society marketing director. �People from all over the country have been buying tickets.�
According to Mancillas and others at Royal House Society, the decision to hold the concert in Tijuana shocked Mexico. Concerts for huge acts like KISS historically have been held in larger cities, such as Monterrey, Guadalajara or Mexico City.
The KISS show at Estadio Gasmart, which is located in the southeast area of the city, will be monumental for Tijuana.
�This is the first time that we have a concert of this magnitude in our city, and we are ready,� Mancillas said. �We have the infrastructure to have this kind of concert here.�
Estadio Gasmart was chosen because it has the capacity for a massive crowd and production. Royal House Society expects the band to bring their usual pyrotechnics, confetti and signature glam-rock costumes. Simmons didn�t want to reveal details of the band�s highly produced concert in Tijuana ― it�s a surprise, he said ― but he guaranteed that the show will not disappoint.
�What we do is sort of a July Fourth fireworks show with, oh, some songs,� Simmons said. �We make sure that everyone in the stadium is having the time of their life, and that�s what we intend on doing.�
Tickets for KISS� Tijuana concert range from 965 pesos (about $52) for general admission to 4,565 pesos (about $245) for VIP. Buy tickets online through boletosmx.com or by phone at (855) 756-1816.
