Kiss News

08/29/2016

JUST ANNOUNCED! KISS at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, OK

KISS will rock the Global Event Center stage at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, OK on February 24, 2017!

An Exclusive KISS ARMY Fan Club pre-sale will take place on Wedsnesday, August 31st at 10am local time.

If you are not a member of the KISS Army, join now at www.kissonline.com/kiss-army to get access to Wednesday's pre-sale.

General public tickets go on sale: Friday, September 2nd.

Visit www.winstarworldcasino.com/event/kiss for more information.

08/28/2016

Photo: Freedom To Rock in Erie, PA

Here's Paul Stanley leading the crowd in the Pledge Of Allegiance during KISS' salute to our Military and Veterans at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, PA.

08/27/2016

KISS brings the party back to Erie Tonight!

By Dave Richards / www.goerie.com/

Everyone remembers their very first Kiss, whether it was fist-pumping anthem �Rock and Roll All Nite,� their ecstatic ode to �Detroit Rock City� or another classic-rock staple. But how close are we to the last KISS?

Gene Simmons hinted the end is in sight, when asked if KISSwill rock on like blues greats do, not to mention Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones.

�No, no, no,� said Simmons, 66. �We are the hardest-working band in show business, period. I run around on stage on seven-inch platform shoes, spit fire, wear 50 pounds of armor. We love Jagger and McCartney, but those gentlemen couldn't do what I do. Physically, you'd pass out.

 �No, no, we can't do this into our 70s, nor would we want to. We have to be convincing at doing what we're doing. But I'd like to think in the future there's going to be four well-deserving young men who are willing to put in the time and the effort to wear the crown.�
 

So KISS might sanction younger players to carry the torch and wear the masks?

�Why not? Simmons said. �Why should the party end just because one or two guys leave?�

Simmons and Paul Stanley, of course, have kept the Kiss party alive since the departures of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. All four original members did reunite for a massively successful 1996 tour, but Simmons said that's not likely to happen again.

�Ace and Peter, God bless them, have been in and out of the band three different times,� Simmons said. �I mean, how many strikes do you want before you're just out of the game? And the physicality of what we're doing, with all due respect, the guys couldn't do it.�

Simmons said he trains to stay in shape for KISS' demanding tours.

�I do hikes up and down mountains, as many as six to eight miles,� he said. That keeps him primed despite his onstage rigors, which included a challenging opening night on the current Freedom to Rock tour. KISS played outdoors in Tucson on a 108-degree day

For Simmons, that's part of the job, and when the job is KISS one thing matters above all: Giving the fans what they expect and deserve. That's why the 2016 KISS tour is hitting smaller cities, including Erie, which they first played in 1974 at the Erie County Fieldhouse (they famously singed the roof on their next visit).

�We're avoiding New York, Los Angeles, Paris and all those other big cities and visiting the cities that gave us our start,� Simmons said. �It's our way of giving back to the heartland, to the cities that put us here in the first place.

�Giving back is something we've always tried to do; never mind the fact that we've always been dedicated to giving the fans bang for the buck,� he added. �You'll never walk away from a KISS show, even if you hate the band, and say, 'They cheaped out on the production.' The opposite is true.�

�You're going to get the whole bells and whistles, all of it,� Simmons said. �We're bringing along extra surprises. We're going to play some nuggets. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and KISS teamed up, and we're going to give local vets jobs. They're going to help our road crew put on the greatest show on Earth.�

HEAR IT

KISS and the Dead Daises play Saturday, starting at 8 p.m., at Erie Insurance Arena. Tickets range from $37.50 to $123. VIP tickets with meet and greet, photo with the band and preshow acoustic soundcheck also available. Call 452-4857 or visit the arena box office or www.erieevents.com. For more on Kiss, visit www.kissonline.com.

GIVEAWAY

We have a copy of the DVD/CD "KISS Rocks Vegas" to give away. For a chance to win, send your name, address and daytime phone number in an email (subject: KISS Giveaway) to [email protected] or on a postcard to Showcase, c/o Erie Times-News, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534. Deadline: Aug. 30.

BEHIND THE HITS

Gene Simmons plugged into the Way Back Machine for Showcase and reminisced about three classic KISSsongs.

 

�Deuce� (1974)

 

�I remember hearing 'Bitch' by the Stones. I don't know if you remember the lick, but it goes (hums the song). Listen, a good song is a good song; I don't care if it's Abba. If it's constructed well and it's memorable, that's called a good song. I remember being struck by how simple the song was, that you had a riff like 'Sunshine of Your Love' and you get that riff and then over it, you've got the melody and the lyric. I always wanted to write something like that. So, 'Deuce' was inspired directly by 'Bitch' from the Stones, although if you play it on guitar or bass, it bears no resemblance. It's not even in the same key. But the idea of it was certainly the same. And I actually wrote 'Deuce' on bass.�

 

�Cold Gin� (1974)

�When Ace (Frehley) joined the band, he originally just wanted to be the guitar player, the lead guitarist. We said, 'Well, we have a different kind of a band. We're closer to the Beatles, conceptually, than the Stones, where only one guy sings. In the Beatles, everybody sings, everybody gets to be a star.'

 

�That was the idea behind KISS, so we encouraged Ace to write. Of course, they say (to) write what you know, so Ace � loving spirits, and I don't mean ghosts; I mean the kind you drink � came in with the first piece that he wrote called 'Cold Gin.' Even though it says Ace Frehley on the songwriting, the middle section with the riff, it was my contribution. We encouraged him to sing, but ... unfortunately he declined. Paul suggested he sing it, then Ace said, 'No, I want Gene to sing it.' That's why, every once in a while, we still do the song.� 

 

�Detroit Rock City� (1976)

 

�'Detroit Rock City,' Paul wrote. By the time he did that demo, we'd already played Detroit and were bowled over by this idea that more people are showing up there and we couldn't figure out why or what it is about Detroit. Then, we started hearing fans would get in their cars from the outlying areas and would drive in to the city, and that was the inspiration for it. Then, it was Bob Ezrin who arranged the song when we recorded it.

08/27/2016

KISS dazzles Covelli with fireballs, explosions

By Guy D'Atolfo / www.vindy.com

Photo by Keith Leroux

YOUNGSTOWN

It was the storm before the calm.

KISS kicked off back-to-back major concerts at Covelli Centre Friday night with a show that was as dazzling as billed. Fireballs shot from the stage, explosions shook the hall, and a giant screen was lit up like the Vegas strip.

Things should be more subdued tonight at the arena when pop legend Lionel Richie performs. Tonight�s show is sold out, and KISS� concert was just a few seats shy.

When it comes to KISS, it�s never boring. The Rock�n�Roll Hall of Fame band delivers a concert like a blockbuster superhero film. It�s about holding nothing back.

A few fans got in on the act, wearing the recognizable face paint of their favorite band member.

The all-ages crowd might have skewed toward the 40s to 60s set, but there were a lot of parents and kids, too � a testament to KISS� timeless act, and its ability to unite generations.

Theresa Simones and her son, Christian Simones, of Newton Falls, were there together for their fifth KISS concert in seven years.

�I turned him into a fan by accident,� said Theresa, of her son. �{They were playing at an amusement park we visited (Dorney Park) and I wanted to see them. He loved them.�

Jennifer Ring, and her stepfather, Bob Staggs, came from Wooster. �I�m a diehard KISS fan,� said Ring. She bought a pair of VIP tickets for $372 apiece for herself and Staggs. �We�re going together and it�s a special night for us,� she said.

Ring is a long-time KISS fan but this was her first time seeing the band. What got her hooked? �I love the costumes and the makeup and especially the music. I was captured by the band since I was a little girl,� said the 41-year-old. �My daughter, who is 6, loves them too.�

Canfield residents Rocco Corbisello and his son, Valentino, 15, were at the show.

Rocco, who had seen the band in the 1970s in Cleveland, said �I�m taking my son to his first rock concert,� although Valentino said he�s more into rap.

KISS � Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer � started the show with the driving �Detroit Rock City� and never let off the gas.

�The last time we were in Youngstown was 1974,� Stanley told the crowd. �This tour is about going back to the places that took us in first.�

The band played the long-gone Tomorrow club in its first visit. It�s hitting smaller markets this tour, but is sparing no pyro.

The set list included �Shout It Out Loud,� �Lick It Up,� �Black Diamond� and �Rock and Roll All Nite� as part of the encore.

The band also hit the highlights from its earlier tours. Simmons introduced �God of Thunder� with a demonic bass solo while a mess of his signature stage blood emanated from his mouth. Moments later, Thayer showed off his guitar chops on �Shock Me.�

It was just part of a concert that neared two hours with never a dull moment.

08/27/2016

KISS dazzles at Youngstown's Covelli Centre

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers deliver rock 'n' roll spectacle

By BJ Lisko / www.cantonrep.com

KISS frontman Paul Stanley sauntered his way to the microphone with the trademark Starchild strut. The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were approaching the end of their near capacity concert Friday night at Youngstown�s Covelli Centre.

�What you hear is all four of us,� Stanley said. �There are no tracks here, �cause we�re a rock �n� roll band.�

Damn straight.

The KISS Army attended in full force to see the iconic theatrical group blow off multiple pyrotechnics, fireballs and confetti as well as breathe fire, spit blood and fly up and through the arena in what is still arguably the best live rock show going. Underneath the wildly entertaining spectacle, however, was as Stanley said: A rock �n� roll band, and a very good one at that.

KISS performed nearly two hours of its most well-known songs including �Detroit Rock City,� �Deuce,� �Beth,� �Rock and Roll All Nite,� �Lick It Up� and �Love Gun,� among others. Musically, the band (comprised of guitarist/vocalist Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist/vocalist Tommy Thayer and drummer/vocalist Eric Singer) is as tight as its ever been. Vocally, Stanley doesn�t quite hit all the notes he once did, but the group�s band mentality was on full display with Simmons, Thayer and Singer joining in on nearly every song to help cover KISS� familiar melodies.

More than 40 years of singing and stage banter will do that to a person, but Stanley also ably sang his way around the original notes he couldn�t quite hit by occasionally altering the delivery, and judging by the ecstatic response, no one seemed to mind.

At one point in the show, Stanley asked the audience, �How many people are seeing Kiss for the first time?� Surprisingly, more than half of the crowd raised their hands � a testament to the fact that KISS� music and message continues to resonate, inspire and garner new followers.
�That�s OK,� Stanley replied. �Everyone remembers their first KISS.�

Friday�s show was another on the band�s �Freedom to Rock� tour, which according to Stanley, has raised more than $150,000 for military veterans. The tour also focused on bringing the KISS spectacle to cities it hadn�t played in more than 10 years or at all. Friday�s Youngstown show marked the first time since 1974 that KISS had performed in the city.

As the band played the final bars of �Rock and Roll All Night,� confetti covered more than half of the Covelli Centre, while Simmons and Thayer were lifted high above the audience, practically to the ceiling. Simmons looked down, flashed his giant tongue and his blood-stained lips curled into a smile.

�Is it OK if we come back, Youngstown?� Stanley asked.

Given the reaction he got, it would be a shock if the band didn�t.

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