CLICK HERE to buy this awesome new KISS Tee now!

Charter A were recently lucky enough to look after KISS for their private helicopter transfer to the Download Festival. Check out this great video, courtesy of Mike Kaufman, showing the band, the helicopter complete with Kiss livery, and a few words from the band themselves.

Recognized As One of the Top 10 Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains

Recognized as a 2015 "Break Out Brand" by Restaurant News earlier this year, and recognized as #7 of the "Future 50: The Fastest Growing Small Chains in America" in Restaurant Business Magazine this month, Rock & Brews, co-founded by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, is tapping the franchise community to support its "world tour" expansion plans.

Today, Rock & Brews CEO Mike Reynolds (a 30-year restaurant industry/franchising veteran) announced that the company will experience a more than 45 percent growth by year end, and double its revenue by mid-2016.  The brand has secured four new multi-unit franchisee partners to develop large territories in the United States, and letters of intent have been signed with partners for expansion into Canada and Australia.  By the end of the year, Rock & Brews will grow from 11 highly successful locations in the United States and Mexico to 16, with several others in various stages of development.  

"We have built a solid foundation for our continued growth and with our existing multi-unit franchise partners and others who have the credentials and experience necessary, we are poised for rapid expansion into new areas in the United States and beyond," said Reynolds.  "We attribute our success to the uniqueness of our family-friendly and dog friendly concept that has the ability to adapt to nearly any location."

Rock & Brews has three distinct design concepts to date - free standing restaurants, airport restaurants and a stadium/arena concept.

The company has established a new world headquarters in Manhattan Beach, Calif. and, has numerous commitments for both debt and equity financing. With this growth capital there are plans for more company owned stores in addition to franchise opportunities.

By most standards, Rock & Brews would be considered a toddler in the restaurant world, having opened its first restaurant just three years ago.  However, the brand's unique, family-friendly dining, tremendous craft beer selection, hand crafted American food offerings and entertainment formula has attracted a significant amount of industry attention, beginning with snatching the cover of Franchise Times in May 2012.  In addition to recent nods from Restaurant News and Restaurant Business Magazines, Rock & Brews is standing out at major industry shows.  Simmons served as the Keynote speaker at the Restaurant Finance & Development Conference in Las Vegas in 2014, and this September, he will serve as the keynote speaker at the MUSFO (Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators) conference in September in Dallas. 

About Rock & Brews
Rock & Brews is a one-of-a-kind, rock-inspired restaurant and entertainment concept designed to engage people of all 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 LAX in the beach community of El Segundo, 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.

By Jennifer Wolfe

Legendary superstar rock band KISS will welcome the current # 1 Pop Sensation in Japan, Momoiro Clover Z (MCZ,) a singing group comprised of five young girl singers, to Los Angeles during the week of June 29th, concurrent with the 2015 Anime Expo. As part of MCZ�s Anime Expo activities, the group will perform live during a special concert at the Microsoft (formerly Nokia) Theatre on July 2, with KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley introducing the group. To be held at the LA Convention Center, the Anime Expo is the largest and most popular convention in North America for fans of the anime and manga artforms, and of Japanese pop culture. Over 100,000 people are expected to attend.

Tickets for this special Concert are available now and only to Badge Holders for attendance to the Anime Expo. Tickets can be purchased at www.anime-expo.org/momoiro-clover-z-ticket-sales-opening-up/ under �Latest Updates.�

In addition, KISS will receive the prestigious 2015 �Special Commissioner�s Award� from Japan�s International Short Shorts Asian Film Festival, one of Asia�s largest and most popular international short film festivals. KISS is receiving this award for the music video they produced in 2014, entitled �Samurai Son,� in which they appear together with MCZ. The award will be presented to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on July 2nd at the Nokia Theatre, prior to the start of the MCZ concert that evening.

This �EAST MEETS WEST� cross-promotional campaign is the direct result of KISS� decades-long affection for Japan and the Japanese culture, along with an unprecedented recent collaboration between KISS and MCZ. In early 2015, MCZ�s release of the Paul Stanley written song "Yume no Ukiyo Ni Saitemina,� (�Samurai Son,�) along with MCZ�s cover of the KISS classic �Rock N� Roll All Night,� were both included on MCZ�s # 1 EP in Japan. This # 1 EP concurrently marked KISS� first # 1 record in the band�s 40-year history. The # 1 EP was listed on Japan�s Oricon Chart and Japan�s Amazon Pop Chart. MCZ appears on King Records.

Between February 23 and March 3, 2015, KISS performed to over 1.3 million fans during the band�s five-date tour of Japan (at venues in Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Sendai.) On March 3rd, KISS performed at the Tokyo Dome to over 30,000 fans. To mark the end of that show, KISS welcomed MCZ on-stage to perform two encores: MCZ performed their smash hits �Yume no Ukiyo Ni Saitemina� and �Rock N� Roll All Night.� The Video of this Performance will make its World Premiere during the MCZ Concert on July 2 at Nokia Theatre.

During their performance at the Nokia Theater on July 2, MCZ will also perform songs from the upcoming feature films Dragon Ball Z: Ressurection F, produced by FUNimation, coming to U.S. theaters in August, 2015, and Sailor Moon, which will be released in the U.S. later in 2015.

From its very start in the 1970s, KISS paid tribute to the Japanese influence of Kabuki as evidenced by the famous makeup worn by the four members of the band: Starchild, Demon, Catman and Spaceman. KISS has adopted Japanese iconography into its DNA, and has now become Uykiyo-e, a 400-year old art form whose master woodcarvers total only nine living artists! Ukiyo-e, the world renowned Japanese traditional woodblock printing culture, is struggling to survive in the modern world. Through KISS� involvement, the �UKIYO-E PROJECT� has created brand new Ukiyo-e artwork prints inspired by the four KISS characters. The hopes of this Project are to resurrect this amazing art form and to help pass these techniques to the next generation. So far, there have been two KISS Ukiyo-e designs released. KISS and MCZ collaborative Ukiyo-e artworks will be revealed at the Anime Expo.

�Ukiyo-e, that�s Nippon, that�s tradition, that�s history, that�s Kabuki, that�s deep, deep culture,� says Gene Simmons. �We respect it.�

KISS and Momoiro Clover Z postage stamps, recently issued through the Japanese Postal service, will also be on display backstage prior to the MCZ Concert on July 2nd.

Thank you ‪Madrid‬! You were Awesome! What an amazing night. Such a great way to end our 2015 European Tour!

Here's the KISS ARMY at BarclayCard Arena in Madrid, Spain last night.

Photos by Matt Giles

KISS Rocks Europe!