Kiss News

CLICK HERE to listen to Gene Simmons' interview with WKLT

CLICK HERE to listen to Paul Stanley's interview with WKLT

By John Gonzalez | MLive.com

Gene Simmons of KISS said he vividly remembers his band's Cadillac experience � just like it was yesterday.

In 1975, the legendary rock band was busy touring when they got a request from football coaches at Cadillac High School, who used the band's music to get them pumped up for games.

And it worked. The teams in 1974 and 1975 were on a roll.

KISS traveled to Michigan for what would become a Cadillac KISS Army.

"We never imagined the entire town would dress in KISS make up. And the street would be renamed KISS Boulevard," said Gene Simmons in a recent interview with MLive.

"It was almost as if we were on a KISS Spaceship and landed on Planet KISS."

Now, 40 years later, "The Day KISS Came to Town" is being remembered again during Homecoming. This year's festivities include a KISS Monument Dedication, as well as a tribute band performance.

Gene and Paul Stanley hope to return soon, but their busy overseas tour keeps them from attending festivities the weekend of Oct. 9-10.

But he's never far from Cadillac High School, Simmons said.

As rumored for more than a year, the concert and whole experience is being made into a movie, called "Cadillac High," he said.

"It will happen, for sure," said Simmons of the movie, which will be produced by Mark Johnson ("Breaking Bad, "The Notebook" and "The Chronicles of Narnia").

"These things take time," he added. "Movies are very fragile."

Jim Neff, who was an assistant football coach at the time, and who was instrumental in making it all happen, said the band and the city will forever be connected.

"We're just so proud in Cadillac to have this association with KISS, and Gene and Paul and the whole KISS organization has just been so wonderful to us over the years," he said.

"And it's a really great honor for my 15 minutes of fame to last 40 years."

"I don't know what Gene thinks, but there is this love affair between Cadillac and KISS that never seems to stop."

"I would say it's a testament to Cadillac," Simmons said.

As for the movie, Simmons said "the story is not going to concentrate on KISS, trust me."

"It's really about how a small town, even though it's just a blip on the map ... actually had a bigger heart than the big metropolitan cities," he said.

"And for one day, the world stopped."

The movie would be "huge for us," Neff said.

"Our little town has really gotten a lot much recognition thanks to Gene, Paul and KISS. This would be just icing on the cake."

By  Simon Collins /  The West Australian

Gene Simmons first realised the commercial potential of the Kiss brand back in the �70s.

The iconic rock band was between tours and Simmons was hanging out in New York�s West Village, taking in the colour of a Halloween parade in the city�s gay stronghold.

�The streets were full of all these outrageously dressed people,� the 66-year-old recalls from his Beverly Hills home.

Behind men dressed as Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross and Cher, Simmons says, casually reeling off of names of women he�s either managed or managed to sleep with, he spotted four guys dressed as Kiss. Full make-up, black costumes and towering platform boots, but no instruments.

�I was so taken aback by it,� Simmons chuckles. �I realised �Wow, this is bigger than a rock band, this is culture. This has become iconic imagery�.�

He jokes that while four buddies might try to go to a Halloween party as the Rolling Stones, it�s going to be tough for whoever has to dress as Charlie Watts.

That moment in New York sowed the seed for the apparently limitless range of products adorned with the Kiss logo.

While they�re not the only band with pinball machines, baby onesies or branded booze, Kiss truly broke fresh ground when they released their own coffin, the Kiss Kasket, in 2001.

More recently Kiss introduced a limo service, built an indoor mini-golf course in Las Vegas and established LA Kiss, a team in the nascent Arena Football League.

And then there�s the Kiss Kruise. The fifth instalment sets sail from Miami for Jamaica in October, after the band completes the Australian leg of its 40th anniversary world tour. Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer previously played Perth Arena in February 2013.

Kiss Kruise V co-stars hard rockers Steel Panther, Fozzy, Lita Ford and Aussie tour support act the Dead Daisies. There�s also tattooists, magicians, face painting and other activities to float the boat of diehard fans.

�Marriages happen on there,� Simmons adds. �We sometimes do �em. Marriages happen right there on the ship and some divorces too.�

Is there anything Kiss won�t put their name to?

�Crack,� the entrepreneurial rocker growls. �Even if they said �Crack with a K�.�

Known as The Demon and God of Thunder on stage, offstage Simmons is the ultimate salesman. He plays a hands-on role with Kiss� various businesses. The current tour kicked off in June last year, and even on the road he spends hours working on projects.

Born Chaim Witz in Israel and raised in New York City, the rock god says he got his work ethic from his Hungarian Jewish mother Florence, a Holocaust survivor who raised the family single-handedly after being abandoned by his father.

The thing Simmons sells harder than caskets, cruises and gridiron is Kiss, insisting that even 40-odd years after they first donned the greasepaint they still serve up the best live show on the planet.

�We introduce ourselves with �You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world, Kiss�,� he says. �Either those words mean something or it�s just show business.

�And for us, it means something. It�s a call to arms. When we get up on stage, it�s electric church, for the glory of rock�n�roll.�

Do Simmons and fellow founder singer/guitarist Stanley ponder how much longer they can do it?

�We think about it all the time, because unlike the Stones or (Paul) McCartney, we�re not going to be doing this into our 70s,� says Simmons, who still breathes fire, flies through the air and stalks the stage on 20cm platform heels while wearing well over 20kg of �armour�.

�Sometimes I wish I was in U2 or the Stones where you can stick on a pair of jeans and sneakers and a T-shirt, and you�re ready to go.�

Does Chaim Witz ever curse The Demon, his alter ego damned to eternity in a rock show that�s hotter than hell?

�No, it is glorious,� Simmons laughs. �Women have this thing too. It is torture for women to put on make-up, do their hair and put on the little black dress, but when they go out � va-va-voom.

�We�re the band, because of the make-up and everything, that outsells the Beatles and Elvis combined. We have 5000 licensed products, our own Kiss golf course, our own football team... we�ve gone where no band has gone before.�

KISS play Perth Arena on October 3, supported by the Dead Daisies. Tickets from Ticketek.

In the cockpit of the A380. What an amazing piece of technology and a GREAT crew! Let�s GO!

Off to Melbourne� 17 HOUR FLIGHT! Worth it! Ready to rock!

The KISS ARMY Rocks!

KISS‬ - Not finished yet but look at this! My first tattoo! Brandon Basque

Listen to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley share their memories about Cadillac.

Join the WKLT morning show crew and Cadillac's Jim Neff as they reminisce about the KISS visit to Cadillac in 1975 and look forward to the 40th anniversary in 2015.

The Gene Simmons interview will air at 8:15 am on Tuesday, September 29. The Paul Stanley interview will air on Wednesday at 8:15 am on Wednesday, September 30.

Listen to WKLT in Northern Michigan on 97.5 and 98.9, online at www.WKLT.com, on TuneIn Radio, and on the WKLT app. Both interviews will be available on podcast later in the week.

Entertainment Earth Convention Exclusive! What�s the next best thing to seeing KISS live in concert? It's having their official action figures rock out on a replica stage to your custom playlist of course! That dream is now a reality thanks to the KISS Alive II Stage with 1:20 Scale Action Figures - Deluxe Box Set #1 - Convention Exclusive from Bif Bang Pow!.

A mini KISS concert experience! Complete with 4 actions figures with accessories, an Alive II inspired stage, a wireless speaker, and temporary tattoos. Get your limited edition today at http://bit.ly/1MvUxeI

This one-of-a-kind set features each of the KISS band members in 1:20 scale form. Each action figure has 9 points of articulation and they are wearing their character-specific outfits. The Demon even comes with a fabric cape! The Demon, Starchild, and Spaceman each come with a guitar while The Catman comes ready with a pair of drumsticks and a premium paper-craft drum set!

Like any great concert, the centerpiece of this incredible set is the stage itself that measures approximately 13 x 11 wide x 9.5 inches and includes manually adjustable platforms on each of the lower corner stage panels. In addition, the center stage platform is removable to allow for placement of the included mini wireless speaker so you can stream the classics to the stage (music not included)! Also, the stage�s backdrop feature graphics inspired by the band�s Alive II album and if that wasn't enough, the prominent KISS logo is animated and lights-up for the ultimate mini-concert experience!

Every set includes a full sheet of reproduction of KISS themed temporary tattoos, similar to the ones that came with the original KISS Alive II album. Last but certainly not least, the set comes packaged in a deluxe box with Alive II album artwork with a 4-color wrap with distressed artwork. This is a limited edition of 1,500 pieces and each set is individually numbered with a holographic sticker. Fans and loyal supporters of the KISS Army alike will want to Shout it Out Loud with this incredible collectible inspired by one of the world�s most renowned rock groups! Prototyping by 3D Systems and Gentle Giant. Ages 14 and up.

This collector�s set contains all of the following items (subject to change):

1x The Demon action figure (variant with horned cape and blood spattered mouth!)
1x The Catman action figure
1x The Spaceman action figure
1x The Starchild action figure
1x KISS Alive II inspired stage
1x Mini wireless speaker
1x Full sheet of reproduction KISS themed temporary tattoos

KISS is a hard rock band founded in New York in the early 1970s. Known for their outrageous makeup and costumes, each member of the band adopted their own unique comic book style persona. The KISS lineup features The Demon on bass guitar and vocals, The Starchild on rhythm guitar and vocals, The Catman on drums and, The Spaceman on lead guitar. However, their look isn�t the only thing they�re known for. Since their formation, KISS has put on very extravagant live performances that include fire breathing, blood spitting, levitating drum kits, rockets and other crowd-pleasing pyrotechnics.

A mini KISS concert experience! Complete with 4 actions figures with accessories, an Alive II inspired stage, a wireless speaker, and temporary tattoos. Get your limited edition today at http://bit.ly/1MvUxeI

The KISS ARMY Rocks!

Hi there!

A few years ago when my friend convinced me in doing the Strongman Run races all over Europe, I convinced him that there was only one way to do them and that's with style...KISS style!!!

Andrea Sisti

The KISS ARMY Rocks!

Loved the Japanese style KISS artwork....had to get it done!

Keith Paynkewicz