02/10/2016

Buena Park Rock & Brews teams to send special needs kids and adults to summer camp

http://www.oc-breeze.com

The new Rock & Brews at 7777 Beach Blvd. in Buena Park (just north of Knott�s Berry Farm is teaming) with other Los Angeles-area Rock & Brew locations and The Friendship Foundation to give their customers an opportunity to send special needs kids and adults to summer camp.

Rock & Brews locations in the Los Angeles area have partnered with The Friendship Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the South Bay, to raise funds to help send special needs children and young adults to summer camp. The rock-inspired, family friendly restaurant co-founded by Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and KISS front men Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will be collecting donations through April for Camp Got Friends, a camp run by The Friendship Foundation that offers social, educational and recreational activities for special needs children and young adults.

Camp Got Friends attendees experience new and fun activities throughout the week, including music class, arts and crafts, cooking, sports, science experiments and field trips all over Los Angeles. Each camper is paired with a student volunteer, and together they share the experience and learn from each other.

Guests interested in making a donation can ask their server to add a dollar to their bill in support of Camp Got Friends.

About The Friendship Foundation

The Friendship Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children with special needs and their families by providing social-recreational programs in the homes, schools and communities of the South Bay and surrounding areas. The foundation offers programs at little to no cost to encourage all families to become part of the Friendship Foundation community.

Through a peer-to-peer model, student volunteers are paired with children with special needs to engage in dynamic and fun activities. The children with special needs gain valuable social developmental skills while student volunteers gain leadership skills and an awareness of the special needs community.

The foundation exists to bring joy and friendship to all children who participate and empowers them to maximize their potential.

About Rock & Brews

Rock & Brews is a one-of-a-kind, rock-inspired restaurant and entertainment concept designed to engage people of all a ages with quality comfort food and local favorites, a broad selection of craft and international beers, and an energized environment that is reminiscent of being at a family-friendly music event.

Founded by rock icons Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, along with partners, restaurateur Michael Zislis and concert industry veterans Dave and Dell Furano, the first Rock & Brews opened near Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California in April of 2012. Each location boasts a backstage environment showcasing a �Great Wall of Rock,� iconic rock art, concert trusses and lighting and multiple flat screens sharing some of the greatest rock concert moments of all time. Most offer a play area for kids and many are dog friendly.

For more information, please visit www.rockandbrews.com.

02/10/2016

Gene Simmons: 'Intimate' KISS show will be 'something special'

By Kelley Simms / Gannett Media

Sioux Falls, you wanted the best, you got the best. KISS!

The iconic rock band, KISS, will be playing Badlands Pawn on Thursday for a rare unmasked and unplugged concert. It�s the first time the band has played in Sioux Falls since 1997 at the Sioux Falls Arena.

�Obviously, we play in arenas and stadiums, this (Badlands Pawn) is a totally different thing,� Simmons said. �But if we brought all our equipment, there wouldn�t be any room for people. We obviously can�t bring bombs and big pyro because it�d literally blow the roof off. It�s certainly not the biggest place we�ve played. In fact it�s close to the smallest, but (owner Chuck Brennan) wanted something intimate. The idea was to do something special.�

That something special includes the band unearthing selected gems that they haven�t played in a while or have never played live before.

�We�re going to be playing pretty obscure stuff,� Simmons said. �It�ll be the stuff that fans haven�t heard and may want to hear, but we don�t get a chance to play at the usual shows. So yes, there will be some real nuggets.�

A KISS concert is normally a spectacular audio and visual event jam-packed with theatrics, explosions, lasers and loud music. KISS shows are always meant to be a spectacle. And even for an intimate, unplugged show like this one, the band treats each performance with pride, Simmons said.

�We�ve been rehearsing for three days straight, a few hours each day,� he said. �The reason for that is you don�t want to get too relaxed, and you don�t want to go through the songs and start adding parts. The worse thing I hear is when you can barely recognize a song played by a band that doesn�t sound like the record. We don�t use any backing tapes. What you see is what you get, and we pride ourselves on that.�
The height of KISS's popularity

KISS was massively popular in the mid-�70s. The band produced comic books, pinball machines, KISS dolls and other merchandise, as well as performing countless TV appearances and thousands of concerts. There was even a movie in 1978, �KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park,' which debuted on NBC on October 28. The made-for-TV movie was torn apart by critics yet remains a cult favorite among KISS die-hards.

�If you were a kid and you saw �Phantom of the Park,� then I guess it was part of your childhood and the memories are good," Simmons said. "But I tell you what, �Kiss Meets Scooby Doo� (actually �Scooby-Doo! And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery�) introduced KISS to an entire new generation of little kids. It was a massive hit.�

Simmons also said that there are two new upcoming KISS movies, but he won't spill the beans just yet.

After 42 years in the band, Simmons, 66, is showing no signs of slowing down, as KISS is constantly touring all over the world. But there hasn�t been a new KISS album since 2012�s �Monster.�

�It�s difficult to be on tour and do a new record,� Simmons said. �We�ve been celebrating our 40th anniversary, but we�re approaching our 42nd year now. We�ve been running all over the world and we�re certainly not slowing down any time soon. And we�re doing lots of extra stuff; concentrating on other areas that we really hadn�t had a chance to do, like the Vegas and Broadway shows. Everything takes time.�
Simmons on politics

With caucuses, primaries and the media storm that comes with a presidential race, it's hard to avoid opinions on American politics right now. Though Simmons, who identifies as patriotic and has been vocal politically, doesn't view opinion-making as his role.

�It�s important for people in America to have a choice, and the most important thing I can say is when you get into that voting booth, that you vote your conscious, whoever it is you want,� Simmons said. �Let the people speak. The last thing I want to hear is some rock star/actor telling us why you should vote his way, which I think is arm-twisting. That�s the wrong way to do it. Listen to what everybody has to say, and then vote your conscience.�

KISS isn�t currently on tour, so the Badlands show is truly something special. Simmons promises that he and the band will be ready to rock.

�We�re looking forward to it, we�re going to have a lot of fun,� Simmons concluded. �Every day we get a chance to get up on stage and do what we do is a privilege. It�s important for everybody to know who�s reading this, that the only reason we tour is because we like doing it. We like to see the faces of the fans and we know it means something to them, but we want everybody to know that it means a whole lot to us as well. Clearly without the fans, we wouldn�t be here.�

IF YOU GO

What: KISS Unmasked and Unplugged

When: 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11

Where: Badlands Pawn, 1600 W. Russell St.

Ticket info: General admission is $175; VIP Table for 6 is $3,000; KBAD VIP Deck is $1,000; VIP Suite for 20 is $10,000

02/10/2016

THIS DAY IN KISSTORY 1977

On this day in KISStory - February 10, 1977, KISS won the People's Choice Award for the single "Beth" in the Best Song category.

02/09/2016

Rock Cellar Magazine Cover Story: Soul Star Man

Written by: Ken Sharp / Rock Cellar Magazine

Hard rock to country, pop to jazz, electronica to hip-hop, folk to blues, the real measure and value of music is whether it succeeds in connecting with the listener. In that way, all music that taps into that emotional vein is soul music.

In the past 40 + years, as lead singer/front man of KISS, Paul Stanley has delivered on that promise, infusing the group�s brand of anthemic, atomic powered hard rock with passion, swagger, and yes, soul.

Listen to the James Brown-inspired vocal grit that fuels Anything For My Baby from 1975�s Dressed to Kill album or Got To Choose, its riff inspired by Wilson Pickett�s Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won�t Do) or the soul/pop flavor of Easy As It Seems from 1980�s Unmasked for examples of Stanley�s joyous immersion into the sonic signposts of classic soul/R&B.

Away from KISS, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee has introduced an exciting new musical project, Paul Stanley�s Soul Station, which launched with its premiere show at L.A.�s Roxy Theatre in September 2015.

Backed by  a commanding 10-piece ensemble�Rafael �Hoffa� Moreira (guitar & backing vocals), Sean Hurley (bass), Alex Alessandroni (keyboards), Ely Rise (keyboards), Eric Singer (drums & backing vocals), Ramon Yslas (percussion), Jon Papenbrook (horns), Nelson Beato (backing vocals), Crystal Starr (backing vocals) and Laurhan Beato (backing vocals)�Paul Stanley�s Soul Station offers a vibrant tribute to the most sublime R&B/soul music of the �60s and �70s with a rich repertoire culled from the likes of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations, Al Green, The Stylistics, The Spinners and Blue Magic among others.

CLICK HERE to read the res of the story.

02/09/2016

THIS DAY IN KISSTORY 1999

On this day in KISSTORY - February 9, 1999 - the Playboy issue featuring the 'Girls of KISS' was released. Gene Simmons graces the cover of the magazine, and the entire band appears in the photos with the 'Girls of KISS,' who are all wearing KISS Makeup...and not much else!

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