Kiss News

07/16/2016

KISS & the spectacle of it all - Bozeman, Montana Tonight!

By Rachel Hergett / www.bozemandailychronicle.com

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers KISS, known as much for on-stage spectacle and face make-up as the band�s melodic hard rock, will stop in Bozeman on Saturday, July 16, as part of the �Freedom to Rock� tour. The tour focuses on smaller markets around the U.S., like Bozeman, most of which the band hasn�t visited in over a decade. As you will read in this interview with vocalist and bassist Gene Simmons, the band considers these places the source of their success.

The Bozeman show is in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at 8 p.m. on July 16 and features opener Caleb Johnson. Tickets are $55-125 at the Fieldhouse box office, Rosauers, the Ask Us Desk and online at www.ticketswest.com. For more information, visit brickbreeden.com/events/kiss/.

I had a long list of questions for Simmons, compiled using the help of more knowledgable friends online, when I got 15 minutes on the phone with him back in March. I didn�t get to most of them. Before we were connected, I was warned by Simmons� publicist to stay on the topic of the tour. So I started there, hoping to get time to go deeper toward the end. Simmons, however, is a rambler. Still, we had the chance to talk about the tour, comic books, what to expect from the stage show, the music business and the band�s disco-inspired �Dynasty� album.

�Rachel Hergett

What can a long-time fan expect to see at a KISS show today?

Well, we�ve always been committed, which is why people want to put us into a nuthouse. You see what I did there? These are semantics, but I�m not anti-semantic. That�s two in a row. Oh! You�re killing me. Stop. You know, we have a decidedly different point of view than perhaps some of the other big bands and it goes something like this: There is no reason why anyone in Bozeman should be getting in their cars or their jets and flying five hours to Chicago or New York just to see their favorite band. We cut our teeth in the back of station wagons and our road crew and we went down the caravan of the highways of America and took our case to the people town by town, one after the other. And most of the towns we never heard of. The first time we ever played in Bozeman, I�d never heard of Bozeman. So what? Cool people will come from all kinds of places. You have to remember flight, flying through the air, an American invention among others, was not invented in New York or California. It was invented in Kitty Hawk, in the middle of America. And so we�re all about that. We became enormous in middle America way before New York or LA or Europe or Japan got wind of us and there is a, I think we have an affinity to places like Mankato (Minnesota) or Green Bay or Bozeman because you guys don�t give a squat what�s popular in fashion. You really don�t. In New York and LA � that�s neither good nor bad but it�s an accurate reflection � everybody is looking over their shoulders. What�s popular? What length of skirts this year? Who�s going out with who? What�s the gossip saying and what�s Kim doing with the selfie? And, you know, stuff that makes me want to hang myself. I mean that in a nice way.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interview.

07/16/2016

KISS COOKIES!

Thank you, Spokane Arena for these great KISS cookies!

07/15/2016

KISS still ready to rock and roll

By Nathan Weinbender  / http://www.spokesman.com

Asked if Kiss plans to release new music anytime soon, Paul Stanley, one of the legendary band�s founding members, responds with a long sigh.

It�s been four years since the band�s last album, 2012�s �Monster,� and Stanley�s band mate, Gene Simmons, has expressed to reporters his desire to get back into the studio. Stanley, on the other hand, isn�t so sure.

�I�m of the mindset now that I�d do another album if it wasn�t just a rehash of (�Monster�),� Stanley said during a recent phone interview. �I�d want to do something with a little more scope. � If we pushed ourselves away from what we�d do instinctively or most easily, and if everybody�s on the same page and it works, I could see going into the studio.�

Stanley�s outlook seems to be that if it ain�t broke, don�t fix it. After all, Kiss, which performs at the Spokane Arena on Friday, has been a hugely popular touring act for more than 40 years.

�Bands are classic because you know what they�re going to do and you love it,� Stanley said.

Known for outrageous stage antics and its makeup-and-leather aesthetic, Kiss is as much a brand as a band, with likenesses of its members adorning everything from comic books to pinball machines. There�s even a Kiss-themed arena football team.

The band last came through Spokane in 2011, and Stanley says the group patterned this tour after its 2014 Las Vegas residency. Dubbed �Freedom to Rock,� the show promises all the pyrotechnics and power chords you�ve come to expect from a Kiss concert.

�It�s a big, awesome show, and the band is big and awesome,� Stanley said. �Anybody can pattern their show on what we�ve done in the past, but you�ll never be us. That�s why we�re Kiss, and that�s why we�ve been around 40 years.�

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interrview

 

07/15/2016

KISS brings their spectacle to Broadmoor World Arena

By: Jen Mulson / http://gazette.com

7:30 p.m. Monday, The Broadmoor World Arena, 3185 Venetucci Blvd., $39.50-$125.00; 520-7469, ticketswest.com

He's 66 years old and Gene Simmons says he's finally grown up.

In real life, that is. On stage he still struts around like the timeless performer he is.

Simmons, the longtime wearer of demoniac face paint and the owner of a preternaturally lengthy tongue, has been a much recognized name for more than four decades as the bass player, singer and most outspoken member of the hard rock band KISS. He also starred for seven seasons in the A&E reality show "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" with his wife, Shannon Tweed, and their two children.

The "KISS: Freedom to Rock Tour" will be at The Broadmoor World Arena on Monday.

Both age and a first marriage at age 62 to his longtime love have softened Simmons. "When a guy's young, the last thing he wants is to get married and have a woman tell him what to do," he says from Beverly Hills, Calif. "He just escaped mom. But all the stupid feelings we had about being domesticated are exactly what we should be doing a lot earlier. We're not mature enough to understand. Testosterone courses through our veins like Jekyll and Hyde. Later on you realize kids are the most important things. See? Women have been right all along."

One could say he has an excuse for not coming to his epiphanies sooner - an immensely successful career that began in the early 1970s after co-founding KISS with Paul Stanley. Since then the band has released 44 albums and sold more than 100 million albums packed with rock anthems, including "Rock and Roll All Nite," "Detroit Rock City," "Shout It Out Loud" and "Love Gun."

It also didn't hurt that the job came with adoring female fans and scads of money. On a memorably awkward episode of National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" in 2002, he told host Terry Gross why he got into the business: "Initially to make money and get laid."

"You've got this crutch around you - fame and fortune - telling you yes," he says now. "You're aware that the ultimate American aphrodisiac is fame and fortune. We don't make kings and queens - it's not royalty. Our royalty is celebrity. More women are attracted, it seems, to fame and fortune. You could be ugly as sin like Gene Simmons, but they could still come running from the hills."

These days Simmons does his best to stay at the top of his game - physically, mentally and emotionally. His wife and kids pull him out of bed at the crack of dawn for hikes and he works on feeling positive about where he is in life.

"The last thing you want to do is get on stage with America's No. 1 gold record, award-winning band and have the audience hear tuba music when you come out," he says. "The best self-care is not outside, it's inside - how you feel about yourself, the rest of the world be damned. If you're too tall or too short, everybody's got complaints. But if you've got a good head on your shoulders and feel good about yourself nothing else matters. Self-empowerment - it's not just a big word. Rich people complain all the time about how miserable they are. Poor people are thrilled to death to get up in the morning and smell oxygen."

07/15/2016

KISS never keeps it simple, stupid, says Gene Simmons

By BRUCE R. MILLER / siouxcityjournal.com

There�s a reason many classic bands don�t retire, Gene Simmons says. �It�s the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd. There�s nothing more seductive than being wanted.�

Still, the work most bands do in their golden years doesn�t begin to approach what KISS has to pull off on a nightly basis.

�We love Crosby, Stills and Nash,� Simmons says. �I could do that into my 70s and 80s. What I do is backbreaking work.�

Wearing elaborate heavy metal costumes, boots with sky-high heels and sweat-inducing makeup, Simmons says he, co-founder Paul Stanley and bandmates Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer are determined to create an experience, not just perform the group�s greatest hits.

�I would love to be Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones,� the 66-year-old rocker says. �They put on T-shirts and sneakers and they�re lucky to break a sweat. I put on my 50 pounds of armor and high-heeled boots and we work harder than anybody.�

Fire-breathing, pyrotechnics and chest-thumping sound prove KISS isn�t just phoning it in.

�Every night we get off the stage drenched in our own sweat and wonder if we can do it again,� Simmons says. �It beats you up. Paul has had two knee and shoulder operations. And, at the end of the tour, you think, �That�s it.� You don�t think you want it, but it�s really hard to go, �OK, I�m just going to go and watch.��

There�s a sense of pride, Simmons says, that goes back to the beginning when fans �wanted the best, not �kind of� the best or �kind of� good. They wanted the best. And that was our war cry.�

The makeup? �That has a relation to those American Indians who put the paint on and danced around the fire all night. It�s a battle cry.�

Neither Simmons nor Stanley, he adds, wants to cede the stage to someone else.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interview with Gene.

 

07/14/2016

They Love It Loud! KISS in Spokane Friday

By  / http://www.inlander.com

Even if he didn't breathe fire, spit blood and flap his stupendous serpentine tongue constantly on stage, Gene Simmons would still have one of the most famous mouths in rock.

The KISS co-founder and brains behind their over-the-top marketing ploys � getting buried in a KISS Koffin? Thank Gene � loves to talk. In a short phone conversation, he does a lot of talking:

� About his band's success: "We have more gold records than any other group in American history."

� About the evils of alcohol: "I've never subscribed to the romantic notion of 'Wow, look at that guy, he's cool. He's wasted.' No, he's a loser, he's wasted."

� About why he and Paul Stanley are the two original KISS members still going 43 years in: "Ace (Frehley) and Peter (Criss) were terrific in the beginning. We were all-for-one and one-for-all. And then a few years on, when all the big money and fame and chicks come along, no one says 'no' to your face. And self-destruction happened."

This summer, the band renowned for monster-size shows full of lights and pyrotechnics is hitting smaller towns than typical. Simmons says it's a return to the band's roots.

"It's how we cut our teeth," he says. "When we first started, we went to places that the rest of the world never heard of. Ypsilanti. Mankato. They're real cities, real cool people live there. And where you're born and where you live is every bit as cool as London, Paris, New York, except they get all the headlines."

The hits will come fast and furious � "If I see the Stones and they're not playing 'Satisfaction,' I get pissed off" � so longtime fans can expect to hear classics like "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Detroit Rock City." And even though Spokane Arena is no Dodger Stadium, the show won't lack its typical explosive eye candy. "We're bringing the full kit and caboodle," Simmons says. "Your girlfriend's been lying all these years, size DOES count, and we're bringing all of it."

Subtle, right?

Still, there's no denying the entertainment value of a KISS show. Stanley and Simmons, along with guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, put in a hard night's work when they hit the stage. And while it doesn't seem like KISS will ever slow down, Simmons, now 66, admits that the end is in sight.

"Let's not kid ourselves," he says. "Although (Mick) Jagger and Charlie Watts and those guys are 73 or 74, and I think (Paul) McCartney has got to be 73, 74, I can't do that. I love McCartney to death, but imagine McCartney at 73 in KISS, putting on the dragon boots � that's seven inches � wearing 50 pounds of armor, spitting fire and flying through the air. He would pass out in the middle of a show." ♦

KISS and Caleb Johnson � Fri, July 15, at 8 pm � $39.50/$59.50/$89.50/$125 � Spokane Arena � 720 W. Mallon � spokanearena.com � 279-7050

07/13/2016

Review: KISS Brings Their Freedom to Rock Tour to Kennewick

By  / www.seattlemusicinsider.com

Legendary rock & roll band KISS, whose current lineup consists of Paul Stanley (vocals / guitar), Gene Simmons (bass / vocals), Tommy Thayer (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums), is currently on tour playing smaller cities and venues throughout North America during their �Freedom To Rock� tour.

As the sold out crowd waited impatiently for the band to hit the stage, Led Zeppelin�s �Rock N Roll� pumped through the PA system, priming those at the Toyota Center in Kennewick for one of the greatest rock and roll shows to take place at the venue.

The house lights dimmed and fog machines filled the arena. An announcement comes over the PA: �You wanted the best, you got the best!� KISS hit the stage full throttle with �Detroit Rock City.�  Stanley had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. While Simmons lurked over the crowd, Thayer ripped out riff after riff, and Singer pounded on the drums. The band went right into �Deuce� with Simmons now on vocals. Fans who grew up listening to KISS, many of whom brought along their children who are also fans (some dressed up in the band�s signature makeup), were ecstatic and sang along as Stanley and Simmons belted out �Shout It Out Loud.�

Stanley thanked the crowd for coming out on a Sunday evening. He went on to explain that the band decided that they wanted to bring their music to cities that may not get large concerts or national acts, proclaiming �Playing to large cities is awesome, but all cities deserve the right to rock!� The band then jumped into �Creatures of the Night� and �Flaming Youth,� which led into Gene Simmons� trademark of fire breathing at the conclusion of the song.

The band then played songs from early in their storied catalog, from classics such as �Strutter� and �Shock Me� to songs later in their catalog such as �Lick It Up� and �Psycho Circus.� Each song was complemented with amazing theatrics, such as Stanley flying over the crowd during �Love Gun,� to Simmons soaring into the lights during �I Love it Loud� and a large number of pyrotechnics.

Stanley also took time to let the crowd know that that on each of the United States stops on the tour, a local military reservist or National Guard member is to be selected as �roadie for a day�.  Stanley then introduced PFC Dakota Musick and KISS proceeded to donate $150,000 to the Hiring Our Heroes organization.  Stanley then introduced the mayor of Kennewick, Steve Young, who proclaimed that July 10 would now be known as KISS Day. With a US Marine Color Guard present on stage, the band played �The Star Spangled Banner� before ending the evening with �Rock and Roll All Night�.

The support act opening the all of the shows on the tour is American Idol alum Caleb Johnson.

CLICK HERE to view a full gallery of KISS concert photos

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