Kiss News

by SithVampireMaster27

Welcome back to Rock and Roll March on SithVamp Reviews! Since last time I looked at a movie starring the Beatles, now I�ll spotlight a movie featuring another one of the World�s greatest Rock Bands: KISS. And no, it�s not KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, it�s a Scooby-Doo movie: Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery! Is it a rockin� animated experience or just WB Animations trying to cash in on KISS� popularity? Let�s find out as we dig into Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery!

Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery came out last year, in 2015. The movie opens at a KISS-themed amusement park called KISS World. Here, we see two workers testing the roller coaster. Suddenly they get attacked by the Crimson Witch, who looks like if Big Barda fused with the Scarlet Witch, the Shredder and Thor. The Scarlet Witch appears and she keeps saying: �Give Me Rock!� and she traps the workers in the roller coaster. The workers manage to get away and they try to tell their boss, Mr. Manny Goldman about the Witch, but he pretends not to believe them. It turns out that Mr. Goldman actually does know about the Witch, because as the workers leave, he calls

Then we cut to the Scooby-Gang: Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, voiced, like most of the time, by Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard and Mindy Cohn, driving to KISS World in the Mystery Machine for KISS� Halloween concert. Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Velma are dressed in KISS cosplay, but Fred isn�t. Fred says that he was part of a band named the Ascot 5 (whom Fred thinks are better than KISS), but the others don�t seem to care about it. Oh, and the Ascot 5�s music sucks. Fred is also jealous, because Daphne has a crush on one of the members of KISS: Starchild.

Anyway, the Scooby-Gang arrives at KISS World, but they see that people are fleeing from the theme park. The security guard of KISS World, Delilah Domino tells the Scooby-Gang to go away too. It�s also revealed that Daphne didn�t get Mr. Goldman�s call, she only came because KISS is giving a concert. A little later the Scooby-Gang secretly sneaks inside KISS World and as they hide, Delilah is talking to Mr. Goldman and she insists that she can solve KISS World�s problem alone.

Fred, Daphne and Velma take a peek inside Mr. Goldman�s office and they see him arguing with one of his investors, Chip McGhoo, who�s trying to sell KISS merchandise, and he hopes that the park closes down so he can sell his KISS merchandise. And BTW, you better get used to Chip, because all he does throughout the movie is advertising KISS stuff. The Scooby-Gang soon gets discovered by Mr. Goldman and Delilah, but then KISS themselves show up and the opening credits start rolling, while the song �I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night� is playing.

After the opening credits, the Scooby-Gang meets KISS: Starchild, Demon, Spaceman and Catman, voiced by the actual members of KISS: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. The Scooby-Gang, except for Fred, are happy to see KISS, and the band says that they too are mystery solvers. Demon says that he and KISS can solve the mystery alone and they don�t need the Scooby-Gang�s help, but Starchild tells him and the others that they could use some help. In the end, KISS (and Demon reluctantly) agrees to work together with the Scooby-Gang.

Later, KISS and Mr. Goldman tell the Scooby-Gang about the Crimson Witch and Daphne thinks she�s looking for a rock, considering how she keeps screaming �GIVE ME ROCK!!!� while wreaking havoc. The Scooby-Gang and KISS decide to look for clues, except for Demon, who goes off to have dinner, and since they�re hungry too (like always), Shaggy and Scooby join him (much to his annoyance). So yeah, Demon, Shaggy and Scooby step off for dinner, while Fred, Daphne, Velma, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman start searching for clues.

Shaggy and Scooby try to get past Demon to get his food, but he catches them and chases them off. Since they can�t eat, Scooby and Shaggy decide to go on some rides. Demon rejoins the other members of KISS, and they, along with Fred, Daphne and Velma, find the roller coaster, where the Crimson Witch�s last attack happened. After they magically change costumes, KISS takes a break and the Scooby-Gang meets another employee of KISS World: a young scientist named Shandi Strutter, and Fred starts fancying her.

Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby are still walking around the park, but suddenly the Crimson Witch attacks them and starts chasing them, and as we see the chase scene in one of the KISS rides, the KISS song �Shout It Out Loud� is playing in the background. After the song ends, the Crimson Witch keeps chasing Shaggy and Scooby, but they are saved by KISS, who turn out to have superpowers! By using their powers, KISS fights the Crimson Witch and they manage to save Shaggy and Scooby.

Scooby and Shaggy pass out, but the Scooby-Gang revives them with a stick of Churro. After they wake up, Shaggy and Scooby tell the others about their encounter with the Witch. They also tell the others about KISS� superpowers, but they don�t believe them. This is when another employee of the park enters: Chikara, the Fortune Teller, who acts a little crazy. Chikara warns KISS to stay away from the Scooby-Gang or the Crimson Witch will get them.

Velma is suspicious about Chikara, so she and Spaceman go to ask her how much she knows about the Crimson Witch. Meanwhile, Daphne, Fred and Starchild go back to the scene, where Scooby and Shaggy were attacked by the Crimson Witch to find more clues. Oh, and Fred is still jealous. Since they annoy him, Demon disappears, leaving Catman to look after Shaggy and Scooby.

We then see Fred, Daphne and Starchild looking for clues and Daphne asks Fred to take a picture of her and Starchild. Since he�s jealous, Fred covers out Starchild�s face with his finger on purpose and this turns into an art-off between him and Starchild (who calls Fred �Frank�). That is, until Daphne finds a trap door. This must be a clue, so Daphne, Fred and Starchild go down the ladder under the trap door and into the catacombs under the park.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the review.

Thanks to Tessa Helleman for sharing her great drawings of Paul,Eric, Tommy and Gene with us! We love them!

These ukiyo-e prints will appeal to more than just fans of the band!

Preston Phro / Rocket New 24

Have you ever woken up in the morning, looked at your wall and thought, "You know, I bet that wall would look a whole heck of a lot better with an ukiyo-e style print from hard rock band KISS?" We imagine not, since most people don´t equate KISS with Japanese art, but once you see one of these prints, you may very well have an odd urge to buy one.

As for the contents of the print, the cursive script at the top is apparently a translation of KISS´s song "Rock and Roll All Nite," and the man gazing at himself in the mirror is bassist Paul Stanley. If you´re wondering where the other band members are, take a look at Paul´s jacket, where you can find Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer.

This is actually the fourth ukiyo-e print to feature the band, but it probably won´t be an impulse purchase for most of us "the print pictured above is available on the KISS Army Japan Store for 108,000 yen (about US$965). And if you´d like a version signed by the band members, it´ll more than double the cost, setting you back 237,600 yen (around $2,123).

Now, to be fair, each print is hand-made individually, so you´re getting an authentic piece of ukiyo-e art made by real ukiyo-e artists using traditional techniques. And only 200 prints (100 signed, 100 unsigned) will be made, so these will be rare, unique items.

All of the prints were made in conjunction with Ukiyo-E Project, an organization that seeks to preserve and revive ukiyo-e while bringing it to the global stage. Their main method for achieving this goal seems to be setting up collaborations between "pop icons of today" and traditional artists, which is actually a pretty cool idea. We also wonder if that means we´ll get to see a version of The Dream of the Fisherman´s Wife featuring Lady Gaga some day

The Ukiyo-e Project has also shared a video of woodcarver Yusuke Sekioka crafting one of the woodblocks. Sekioka works with a sort of quiet beauty that seems totally at odds with the images eventually produced!

If you´re interested in ordering a print and you´re in Japan, you can head over to the KISS Army Store Japan and do just that! If you´re outside Japan, you´ll want to use the Ukiyo-e Project website to order, though it looks like it might cost you a bit more, when you consider the exchange rate.

We stand once again united with the victims of heinous acts of terrorism. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all in Belgium. There will be justice but nothing will undo the unspeakable damage done.

KISS is Everywhere!

Thanks to George Taylor for sharing the photo with us!

Here's Paul and Gene at today's LA KISS Football scrimmage game at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

 April 2nd can't come soon enough!

www.LAKISSFootball.com

KISS is Everywhere!

Thanks to Timothy KIlkenny for sharing with us!