Kiss News

By Shane Pinnegar / 100% ROCK MAGAZINE

There�s two Tommy Thayers. There�s the all-American chisel-jawed boy from Oregon who played in garage bands during high school and started the band Black n� Blue with best friend and classmate Jamie St James, before going on to work in video production and tour manage his ex-producer�s band. And then, there�s Tommy Thayer, the successor to the role Ace Frehley created in KISS � The Spaceman.

That producer was Gene Simmons, KISS bass player and singer, and after the bottom fell out of the hard rock industry in the mid-90s, Thayer found ever-increasing work with Simmons and KISS, first as a session guitarist, then co-ordinating a lot of their video releases (including the KISStory series), road managing the band during the reunion tours with the original line-up, and finally, as part of the band. Since slapping on the greasepaint as an official member of KISS in 2002, Thayer has played countless shows as lead guitarist, made two albums with the band, and even made his singing debut.

Suffice to say, we have plenty of questions�

100% ROCK: Hey Tommy, thanks for your time today � it�s much appreciated.

Tommy: I sure appreciate your time as well, and I look forward to talking a little bit about what�s going on with me and KISS.

100% ROCK: Of course we�re always excited when KISS comes back to town, and you�ve got the huge Spider stage set coming this time around, which just looks magnificent.

Tommy: It�s a fantastic stage. Before I did any interviews, I double checked with our management people and our production managers, just to make sure that we are, in fact, bringing the Spider stage to Australia � because I was doing some interviews before we went to Europe this summer, and I was saying, �Yeah, we�re bringing the Spider stage,� and then I found out later that we weren�t even bringing the Spider stage to Europe!

Yes, the Spider stage� it�s really very cool. You just have to see it � it�s all-encompassing. It�s huge. We come down on it. It moves constantly through the show. It�s a great visual and it�s probably one of the coolest stage sets that KISS has ever toured with.

100% ROCK: I�ve seen some of the photos, and it really does look magnificent, but between that thing moving around and all the pyro going off, is it dangerous to be up there? Do you have to really be careful you�re not in the wrong spot at the wrong time?

Tommy: There�s no doubt about it, you have to absolutely be careful. We rehearse the show [so] we know where everything�s going off. We know where the pyro spots are and where they�re placed. It�s well-rehearsed, and we�ve got a very professional pyrotechnics team with us, so fortunately, we�ve never had any mishaps in the long history of KISS and certainly while I�ve been around. Hopefully we�ll keep it that way. Again, it�s very professionally done. We know where everything�s going to be going off and where it�s positioned and where it�s placed. There�s a lot of preparation and work that goes into it in advance, and it�s, like I said, very professionally done [so] we�re in good shape.

100% ROCK: Looking forward to seeing it. KISS has got such a huge back catalogue, not only of hits, but of much beloved album tracks as well. How hard is it, when you start a tour, to sit down and pick a set list?

Tommy: When we�re getting ready to tour, it�s very difficult to pick a set list. As you know, with forty-plus years of albums and songs, it�s just difficult to decide what to do, especially when you have to keep in mind the classics. 99% of the people that are coming to the shows are expecting to hear certain songs, just like if you go see The Rolling Stones, you want to hear Satisfaction, you want to hear Jumpin� Jack Flash, etc. It�s the same with KISS, so we try to make sure that we please as many people as we can, but it�s sometimes a no-win kind of situation, as well, because you have die-hard fans out there that are saying, �Well, we�re tired of hearing this song. We want to hear something obscure.� We try to take that into consideration to a point, but the way you judge this is when you get on stage and the way the crowd reacts and the energy, and if you throw an obscure song in there, usually the crowd dies down and it gets very quiet out there. I think that affects the show, so you�ve got to be careful with that sort of thing and stick to, really, what most of the people want to hear.

100% ROCK: That makes a lot of sense. We�re taking our 8 year old daughter along to see the show, and she is beside-herself excited � it�ll be her first time seeing KISS. There�s just no generation gap at all with KISS, is there?

Tommy: Not anymore. I think when KISS started out in the early-to-mid �70s, it was about a teenage rock thing, but it�s evolved over the years, and today, 40-some years later, like I said, it�s not exact to a certain generation at all. It�s everybody. It�s all generations. There�s multiple generations. I don�t know how many generations, but many, and it�s all ages. It�s like going to see the circus. It�s anybody from 5 to 65, and probably beyond that. We have all ages. It�s a communal gathering of everyone, and everybody, period. It�s interesting, because a lot of bands are more defined to a certain age group or a certain niche or a generation of fans, and KISS is all generations, all niches, all races, all creeds, everybody. Everybody�s at a KISS concert.

100% ROCK: When you had Gene produce your band Black �n Blue way back in �85, I think it was, you can�t have had any idea that fast-forward thirty years, you�d be in the band, up there in the makeup and everything � so you must have made a good impression on him, I would imagine.

Tommy: That was a long time ago. Think about it, that was thirty years ago, really, because I met those guys in 1985, 30 years ago, when Black �n Blue was on tour with KISS during their Asylum tour. It�s interesting, thinking back now. Gene was interested in bands, and at the time, we had done our second record with Bruce Fairbairn. We wanted our third record to be more of a raw rock n� roll album. We thought Gene would be perfect to do that, so that�s why we basically hired him.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interview with Tommy Thayer

Note from Gene Simmons:

I was proud to stand alongside iconic and legendary Spanish designer Francis MONTESINOS yesterday, to launch our fashion line at the Madrid Mercedez Benz Fashion Show.

And behind the scenes, David Sabin � a giant in his field, is setting up high end retail.
The introductions to both Francis and David Sabin were initiated by Sheila Lamb, of the Matt Lamb Foundation. Thank you.

CLICK HERE to view more photos

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Here's KISS on the cover of the Fall 2015 Anniversary & Music Issue of Westlake Magazine.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the KISS Alive! Tour, Paul Stanley will add some Gibson Flying Vs into his arsenal of stage played guitars during both KISS Kruise V Alive shows!

Eric Shirey / www.examiner.com

For millions of fanatics, September 18th, 1983 was the day their rock 'n roll super heroes KISS showed their faces to the world for the first time in dramatic fashion on MTV. It was a moment that could only be compared to Batman, Spider-Man, or the Flash coming on the national news and removing their costumes and masks on camera. Although Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had already left the band, new members Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr had spent the better part of a year hiding their identities behind faces painted up to look like the Ankh Warrior and Fox, respectively.

What many don't realize is that cable TV wasn't as widespread as it is now in 1983. Many millions of people didn't have MTV or pay television and therefore didn't see the big unmasking. I was one of those unfortunate souls with no access to MTV or a ride to the store to pick up their album, "Lick It Up," which had come out that same day. Many devotees wouldn't get our first glimpse at KISS sans the makeup until the next day when the newspapers picked up the story and ran articles with the picture of the bare-faced band used for the cover of their "Lick It Up" album.

You see, there was no internet in 1983. We didn't have the instant gratification you get today with dozens of different websites running their version of the same story. We common folk had to wait a full twelve to twenty-four hours before our first look at KISS without their trademark makeup.

At the time, I was living outside of Austin, TX in a suburb called Cedar Park. On September 19th, I was eleven years old and getting ready for school that Monday morning. My stepfather always got up early to read the local newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, before he headed to work. He silently slapped the paper down in front of me at the dining room table. I remember looking at the picture of the four members of KISS without their war paint and reading the blurb, which named each member from left to right.

I didn't find it too hard to pick out Paul Stanley's slightly pursed lips and Gene Simmons with his tongue protruding from his mouth. Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr were recognizable mainly because of the shapes of their faces and through the process of elimination after picking out Stanley and Simmons. It was a monumental moment for millions of KISS fans and remains a pivotal point in rock and roll history and the career of the Hottest Band in the World.

On a personal note, I always laugh thinking back on that day. After reading the article, I exclaimed, "Wow." My stepfather pulled the paper back to himself. With a straight face, much like that of Red Forman's on "That 70s Show," he proclaimed, "They should've kept the makeup on." The ridiculous things old people say.

Ready for a stage production called �The Spider�, moved by 38 computer controlled winches, featuring 220 automated lights, weighing in at 43,000 kgs, incorporating 900 pieces of pyrotechnics and powered by 400,000 watts of sound?   

Get your face paint ready Australia and New Zealand because Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer are on their way Down Under in October as part of their 40^th Anniversary world tour. 

October 3    PERTH Arena

October 6     ADELAIDE Entertainment Centre

October 8    MELBOURNE Rod Laver Arena

October 9    MELBOURNE Rod Laver Arena

October 10  SYDNEY AllPhones Arena

October 12    NEWCASTLE Entertainment Centre

October 13   BRISBANE Entertainment Centre

October 16   AUCKLAND Vector Arena

CLICK HERE for tickets.

It�s 40 years this month since KISS released Alive!, the album that made them stars. A few weeks earlier, Creem�s Jaan Uhelszki had joined them � to be a member of KISS for one night only. Read her account, in this piece from Rock�s Backpages

By Jaan Uhelszki / The Guardian

I dreamed I was on stage with Kiss in my Maidenform bra � well, not exactly my idea of the perfect fantasy, but I was curious about life on the other side of the footlights. Armed with an abundance of determination and a tight pair of Danskins (Danskins aren�t only for dancing), I approached Larry Harris, the vice-president of Casablanca Records, with my plan: �How about if I join Kiss for a night?�

No answer, and then nervous laughter. Obviously, Larry thought I just wanted to know what it was like to mouth-kiss a vampire. Sure, they were eager for a feature on the band, but this scheme was a little bizarre. I pushed the point, and they told me disturbing tales of other fresh-faced females who were transformed into raging teenage nymphs after attending a Kiss concert. �But I don�t want to see the show, I want to be in it!� I persisted. Reluctantly, the Casablanca crowd conceded (only after making me promise not to call KISS a glitter band), assuring me I could join these contorted Kewpie dolls on stage for one number or four minutes, whatever came first, on the following Saturday.

On Thursday, I decided to drop in on the Detroit rehearsal to see what kind of atrocities I�d be in for. Soon after I arrived, I found some of the band lounging on the side of the stage, so I walked up and asked what they thought of the idea of me being a Kiss (Kissette?) for a night. They all looked at me vacantly, and I realised that NO ONE HAD TOLD THEM! I felt like a Rockette who gets told �no, thanks� at the open call before she�s had a chance to do her dance. Undaunted, I fumed at the executive-in-residence, and demanded he explain the plan.

I returned to a seat in the empty hall and watched the band rehearse, to �pick up some tips�. A stage hand divulged that bassist Gene Simmons had accidentally set his hair on fire while practising the fire-breathing segment of the show, which I admit made me squirm and fear for my own charred remains. My visions of stardom were quickly evaporating like warm Jell-O. During their break, Simmons came over and pulled out the few strands of singed curls, assuring me that �it was nothing�, but I couldn�t prevent myself from biting the Lilac Frost off my nails. I was beginning to have misgivings. I think Ace Frehley did, too, because he just stared over my left shoulder. But Peter raised a comradely drum stick when Paul Stanley pointed to the empty stage and stated: �Saturday night, that�s you up there!�

What am I going to pack to become a Kiss? I ponder over breakfast, wincing at the memory of last night�s show. What if that geekish bass player bites my neck, oozing red blood-goo on my shoulder? Anxiety knots my stomach so much that I can�t even force a single piece of Sugar Crisp down my throat, so I return upstairs to case my closet. One leotard (black), one pair tights (black), and one pair six-inch platforms (also black). I zip up my Samsonite and hurry out the door.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this story now

KISS is Everywhere‬!

Thanks to Peter Goldstein for sharing this with us!

DELIRIUM magazine is ready to dive in for a ninth round of wild features, weird editorial and eerie imagery! In this special jam-packed issue, we�re lighting the torches, igniting the flashpots
and spraying the blood as we welcome the one and only Gene Simmons to our pages � and our cover � to talk about his other passion: horror movies...