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Career-Spanning Exhibit and Special Appearances by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley

In celebration of Grammy Week, on Saturday, February 13th from 6 to 8 PM, Morrison Hotel Gallery at the Sunset Marquis Hotel will honor KISS with a career-spanning photographic exhibit, and debut the first edition pieces from the KISS + UKIYO-E Project. From 6:00 to 6:30 PM, KISS founders and rock n� roll icons Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will make a very special appearance.

Morrison Hotel Gallery salutes the Grammys and the legacy of the seminal rock band with an exhibition that will feature iconic and revealing images of the group along its journey from fiery upstarts to megastars. The exhibit will also include the debut of the KISS + UKIYO-E Project which showcases a unique selection of stunning multi-colored wood block prints, representative of one of Japan�s most revered traditional genre of art. The KISS Ukiyo-e are first edition prints, limited to only 200, and are signed by the band. The �KISS Ukiyo-e� project started in fall of 2014 as the first of its kind collaboration with a team of Japanese master artisans, and has culminated in these wonderful pieces of fine art being displayed here in their first comprehensive international feature exhibit. Widely popularized during the 1600s in Edo era Japan, Ukiyo-e famously depicted current events and often illustrious entertainment industry figures and scenes, and thus this contemporary collaboration with KISS is the perfect modern day continuation of the Ukiyo-e tradition.

The photographers that are a part of this exhibit have shaped the careers of many artists, and have become pop culture legends in their own right. They include Bob Gruen, Danny Clinch, Lynn Goldsmith, Neal Preston, Norman Seeff, Patrick Harbron and Travis Shinn. The images display the group dominating the stage, captured by Patrick Harbron�s anthemic perspective, Norman Seeff�s snapshots of the bloodthirsty young band, and Neal Preston�s playful holiday shots. Also included are select images from Lynn Goldsmith�s catalog, which span the glory years of 1977 thru 1980. Danny Clinch and Travis Shinn contribute more recent images, showcasing KISS in a victorious elegance as international ambassadors of rock n� roll. Representing KISS�s worldwide adulation is a series of Japanese prints that marry the traditional art of Ukiyo-e with KISS iconography for a dazzling cross-cultural exchange.

The slogan �You wanted the best, you got the best!� has become synonymous with the rock band KISS right before they hit the stage. For 43 years, the band has delivered on the promise of defying trends and weathering lineup shifts to consistently provide anthemic rock n� roll, performed and packaged with majestic brilliance.

Grammy week is a time to reflect back on achievements in music, and to celebrate the artists that have made those achievements. No band around today has a history, or rather, a KISS-tory, like KISS. They were nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1999 for Psycho Circus.

By Brittany Woolsey / Los Angeles Times

KISS frontman Paul Stanley is taking on a new musical style that might shock some fans of his hard-rock band, but it's one that he insists helped shape the face-paint-wearing, pyrotechnic group, which has been around since 1973.

Teaming up with a dozen other musicians, Stanley, who sings and plays guitar in KISS, is dropping the instrument, makeup and theatrics to sing covers of Motown and soul classics in a new group called Soul Station, which he is bringing to Orange County this month.

"Anything is more toned down than KISS," Stanley said, laughing, of the group made popular by hits like "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Detroit Rock City."

"As soon as you do something, it's more toned down than what we do, but the power of something like Soul Station can take the top of your head off," he said. "It's very powerful, and I walk off stage drenched. It goes back to something that's stripped down, but by no means is it laid back. It's like a steamroller.

"You can't have a 13-piece band with horns and backup singers and not bowl somebody over. It's big, it's loud and it's fun. You don't usually assemble something like this and play a club. But that's part of what makes this so fun."

The band, which performs hits by groups like The Temptations and Jackson 5, is kicking off a short Southern California tour at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Feb. 26. The group will also play shows in Agoura Hills and Pasadena.

In forming Soul Station, Stanley rounded up musicians, including KISS drummer Eric Singer, who have played with artists like Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder and John Mayer.

He said he began thinking of forming a group like Soul Station three years ago when he started doing private events and found himself singing soul and Motown songs.

Now was the right time because of a break in KISS' touring schedule, he noted.

"I've found some time to slot things in," said Stanley, who when he is in KISS mode wears white face paint and a black star painted over his right eye. "I can't juggle a lot of things. My belief is always that you can't give your everything if you're doing multiple things 100%. You start to divide up your time, and you start to give something 30% and something else 70%.

"There's enough of a break now that I can dive into intensive rehearsals with Soul Station and do shows. To do these songs the way we do them takes a lot of time, love and respect."

He said the songs that Soul Station performs, including "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" and "Just My Imagination," helped inspire KISS, which was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Psycho Circus" at the Grammy Awards in 1999 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

"KISS isn't the product of metal bands," Stanley said. "KISS is a product of everything from the Beatles to Beethoven and Motown. It's all in there. For me to pay tribute to some of my roots other than rock 'n' roll is a powerful thing. I'm just lucky that other people want to hear it because I would be happy to do it just for me. To hear these songs live is just such a treat for me."

Stanley said his goal for the group, which made its debut in a concert at the famed Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles in September, is to "pay tribute, respect and reverence in arrangements" to the music of that time, in contrast to how the songs of today seem only to sample the songs as background beats.

"This music has really unfortunately become almost a footnote or a source of sampling for computerized beats with some nursery rhyme on top of it," he said. "We're living in a time now where the norm is Auto-Tuned vocals and computerized music.

"This harkens back to music that is really the foundation of what many people are doing today. These songs are in the fabric for what everybody does, and for us, the most important thing is to do them properly and to make sure we reproduce them better than most people who are out there."

He said that because the covers that Soul Station performs are so popular, audiences frequently join in. He said he hopes to record the songs in a studio and eventually do longer tours.

"They sing along and it's not because I ask them to," Stanley said. "It's because these songs are important and everybody remembers them, even if you think you don't."

*

IF YOU GO:

What: Soul Station featuring Paul Stanley of KISS

Where: Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 26, doors at 6 p.m.

Cost: $58

Info: thecoachhouse.com

Thanks KISS ARMY South Dakota! We had a great time at the Badlands in Sioux Falls last night. 

Photo by Keith Leroux

KISS by Monster Mini Golf Guitars on the move to new venue Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. Grand Re-Opening will take place in late spring 2016. 

What a cool place! The sound was amazing!

By popular demand! We have added the new ‪‎KISS‬ t-shirt design - The Thunder Awakens to the official KISS store!

The saga of The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman, and the Catman continues.

Pre order now at http://bit.ly/1KHH12j

Don Jorgensen / http://www.keloland.com reports:

Get ready to Rock n Roll all night! The legendary band KISS will be performing at Badlands Pawn Thursday night, unmasked and unplugged.

KISS is already in town and KELOLAND News caught up with them this afternoon to talk about a softer side to these hard rockers. 

We all see the band members of KISS on stage.  But what most of don't see is the generosity hidden behind the makeup and costumes.

The band members, who've been to Sioux Falls many times, talk highly about the Brennan Rock and Roll Academy where they interact with some of the kids from the Boys and Girls Club, who come here after school to learn to play music from volunteers.

"To start a music academy that keeps kids off the streets and takes kids from school directly here, there's no gray area of getting into trouble," Paul Stanley said.

All four KISS members credit Chuck Brennan, who grew up in Sioux Falls and went on to be a successful businessman, for starting the music academy.

"If nothing more to be off those streets, it's a terrific place, we're big fans, that why we come here," Gene Simmons said.

While here, KISS took time to autograph several guitars they've donated to the Rock N Roll Academy and meet with a few of the kids with the Boys and Girls Club who may one day aspire to be a musician.

"With so many school music programs being cut these days, I think a lot of kids aren't getting the opportunity to learn music and express themselves in that way, that's why this is important," Tommy Thayer said.

"As we get older, I think we need to realize there's no greater obligation than to the next generation and that we lead by example," Stanley said. 

KISS performs Thursday night at Badlands Pawn. Tickets are still available. 

'Origins Vol. 1' also features appearances by Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Slash, Lita Ford and more

By Kory Grow / Rolling Stone

Ace Frehley is beginning the new year by looking back. The former Kiss guitarist's new LP, Origins Vol. 1 � due out April 15th � finds him covering songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy and other artists that have inspired him over the years. His heavy-hitting take on Cream's "White Room" is premiering here. The LP also features his first recording with Paul Stanley, an impassioned interpretation of Free's "Fire and Water," in nearly two decades. Other guests on the record include Slash, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Lita Ford and Rob Zombie guitarist John 5.

"I'm really thrilled with the whole thing," Frehley tells Rolling Stone. "I'm excited about it, and probably somewhere down the road there'll be a second volume."

"White Room" holds a special place in the guitarist's heart, since he attended Cream's New York City concert debut when he was about 15 � one of Frehley's first concerts. "Eric Clapton has always been a big influence on me," the guitarist says. "They were opening up for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. The Who was on the bill, too. Clapton had a big afro then and that painted guitar. It was pretty cool and different. I always liked 'White Room.'" Frehley's drummer, Scott Coogan, joins him on vocals for the song.

Frehley shrugs off any residual tension between himself and Stanley. "We've always been friends," he says. "The press seems to amplify negativity. I guess it makes good copy."

Both founding Kiss members were fans of Free and the song "Fire and Water," the title cut of the "All Right Now" group's 1970 LP. Frehley had wanted to do a version of it since the Seventies, so he recorded the backing tracks with his band and sent them to Stanley about a month ago, with the Kiss singer sending his recorded parts right back.

"I thought Paul did a fabulous vocal on it," the guitarist says. "He jumped at the chance to do this because it's something that's outside of Kiss and his character in Kiss, and it gave him a chance to, you know, sing. With Paul, you usually think of him singing in a slightly higher register and on 'Fire and Water,' he's singing deep from his diaphragm, and it's a real cool vocal. Everyone's who heard it was just thinks it's the shit."

Frehley also enjoyed lining up his other guests on the album. McCready plays on Kiss' "Cold Gin," a tune Frehley wrote, but Gene Simmons sang originally. "I've been a big influence on Mike, at least that's what he tells me," the former Kiss guitarist says. Slash plays on Thin Lizzy's "Emerald," and he contributed to the recording by suggesting both he and Frehley play live at the same time, something they did 15 times. "It took me three days to pick the best takes," Frehley says, "and I think it came out great."

Lita Ford joined him on the Troggs' "Wild Thing." "It has almost a garage-band flare to it," the guitarist says. And finally, John 5 wowed Frehley with his playing on Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Music" and Kiss' "Parasite," another Frehley-penned song he's singing for the first time on Origins. "John 5 was amazing to watch," he says. "He inspired me and obviously I inspire him. It was a lot of fun."

Frehley will be supporting the new record with a North American tour. See the dates below the track list.

Origins Vol. 1 Track List

1. "White Room" (Cream)
2. "Street Fighting Man" (Rolling Stones)
3. "Spanish Castle Magic," feat. John 5 (Jimi Hendrix)
4. "Fire and Water," feat. Paul Stanley (Free)
5. "Emerald," Slash (Thin Lizzy)
6. "Bring It on Home" (Led Zeppelin)
7. "Wild Thing," feat. Lita Ford (The Troggs)
8. "Parasite," feat. John 5 (Kiss)
9. "Magic Carpet Ride" (Steppenwolf)
10. "Cold Gin," feat. Mike McCready (Kiss)
11. "Till the End of the Day" (Kinks)
12. "Rock and Roll Hell" (Kiss)

Ace Frehley Tour Dates

February 26 - Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
February 27 - San Antonio, TX @ Fitzgerald's
February 28 - Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
March 2 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
March 4 - San Miguel, CA @ The Ranch
March 5 - Beverly Hills, CA @ Saban Theatre
March 6 - Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas
April 1 - Ponte Vedra, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
April 2 - Clearwater, FL @ Capitol Theatre
April 3 - Sunrise, FL @ Markham Park - Rockfest 80's
April 5 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
April 7 - Danville, VA @ Carrington Pavilion
April 9 - New Hope, PA @ Havana New Hope
April 11 - New York, NY @ BB King's Blues Club
April 12 - New York, NY @ BB King's Blues Club
April 13 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
April 15 - Wilkes Barre, PA @ The F.M. Kirby Center
April 16 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance