Kiss News

01/15/2015

THIS DAY IN KISSTORY 1982

On the day in KISSTORY - January 15, 1982, KISS promoted 'Music From The Elder' on ABC TVs weekly late-night live comedy show, Fridays.

01/15/2015

PHOTO: KISS AND RICK FOX IN VEGAS

Former NBA star Rick Fox stopped by to visit with KISS in Vegas last week. Eric Singer had a great time talking basketball with the former LA Laker!

01/14/2015

KISS opens Oviedo's Rock & Brews restaurant

By Allison Walker, Entertainment Reporter/Anchor

Oviedo has new rock-star status.

KISS frontmen Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have opened their very first East Coast Rock & Brews restaurant. The rock legends held a special luncheon for more than 100 veterans, wounded warriors and active military, followed by a meet-and-greet.

In between sips of brew and bites of beignets, we chatted with the two, who could charm the pants off a barstool:

ALLISON WALKER: So, Paul, if I were to eat just two things at Rock & Brews, what should I pick?

PAUL STANLEY: Ah, me! Um, actually, all of the food is just off the hook! The fish tacos are great. There's great protein, great salmon, great mahi mahi. There are 56 beers on tap, including a lot of local breweries, and then another 80 beers.

We tried to set something up that would be an homage to classic rock. But this isn't any other place, where you might see some rock stars' pajamas hanging on the wall. This isn't that kind of place. This is a very cool, hip place where you can have a great meal and hang out with your friends.

AW: Gene, I do something called Chef's Kitchen�

GENE SIMMONS: In front of everybody?

AW: I do, and it's the sexiest dish that a restaurant has to offer. So, at Rock & Brews, that would be what?

GS: It's the beignet. It's pastry, and it's chewy and crispy. You have to put it in your mouth. It's got powdered sugar, a little caramel sauce, and then when you bite into it, hot chocolate squirts into your mouth.

AW: I'm envisioning you both in the test kitchen, getting down and dirty with the food. Yeah?

PS: Yeah! If I wouldn't eat it, why should you? So, I really make sure everything is top flight. The food here could be on fancy china at another restaurant where you'd wear a suit and tie. But this isn't about that.

GS: We want to make sure that people here in Oviedo know that Scott, who's our general manager here, lives here, sends his kids to school here. So, there's a real commitment to community. It's a local place.

AW: You know a thing or two about business, as KISS has what, 3,000 licenses of KISS branding?

GS: Yeah, we have over time. But, honestly, sooner or later, it comes down to quality, not quantity. So, we've been [scaling] back quite a bit, and the things we want to be involved with are terrific things, as opposed to huge numbers.

[To Allison, arm still around her] It's very hard to talk to you when I'm this close to you.

AW: And speaking of fabulous feelings, I have to know about this KISS Kruise.

GS: Yes, every Halloween. This is going to be our fifth, I think, KISS Kruise. Relationships are made, relationships are broken, babies are born there. Every room comes with its own pole, so you can [imagine]�

PS: The KISS Kruise is really crazy. I mean, [in 2014] we had over 3,000 fans from over 33 countries. It's nuts. We're really, really proud of it.

AW: Some people might not have known this, but Paul, you were the Phantom in a sold-out run? That is so rad.

PS: I was. I was Phantom of the Opera and had to audition in New York. They said, "You're it!" They sent me up to Toronto, where the show had run 10 years, and I was the final Phantom up there.

I don't want to have rock 'n' roll define who I am. I want to define what rock 'n' roll is. I want to do exactly what I want to do, and that's what rock 'n' roll is supposed to be. It's not about living by the rules. So, if somebody says, "Why do you have a restaurant?" Because I can!

Meanwhile, Gene does the tongue thing for Allison. Yep, it's a must-see. For that visual � and for language we weren't allowed to air on TV � Click here to watch the extended interviews in the VIDEO section.

01/13/2015

KISS immortalized in plastic as 3 3/4-inch action figures

By Eric Shirey / Examiner.com

Toymaker Bif Bang Pow is bringing the first ever 3 3/4-inch KISS action figures to life. The Rock �N Roll super heroes will join the ranks of thousands of comic book and movie characters who�ve been preserved in the classic plastic form. �Star Wars� and Kenner made the size and style the norm in 1978.

KISS has been immortalized in the past on posters, coffee mugs, glasses, lighters, t-shirts, hats, underwear, lunch boxes, and even a coffin. Pantera guitar player Dime Bag Darrell was buried in one. They�ve even had several other sizes of action figures manufactured for them. If you were a child in the 1970s, there�s no way you don�t remember their first line of 12-inch dolls which featured synthetic hair and clothing. Let�s just say Ken had no chance with Barbie after she�d seen these rock icons.

The Starchild, Demon, Spaceman, and Catman all come dressed in their costumes from the KISS �Alive II� album. They�ll also come with guitar, bass, and drumsticks as accessories. I can�t think of a better era to preserve in 3 3/4-inch plastic than this one. I spent many hours listening to that record while gazing at the gatefold cover and wishing I was at one of their concerts.

No release date for the action figures has been set. Bif Bang Pow did release an image of the concept artwork for them. I�ll finally be able to pit Darth Vader and Boba Fett against Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in an epic battle my six-year-old self would�ve smiled in glee over.

01/12/2015

Patcast by Pat Monahan Episode 76: Paul Stanley of KISS

This week on the Patcast, one of the biggest rockstars of all time joins us for a conversation--it's KISS's Paul Stanley! He tells us what it's like to start a band that becomes a phenomenon that becomes a legend, and we announce the winners of the Sail Across the Sun cruise giveaway! - Pat Monahan

01/12/2015

KISS SIGHTING: COVER OF NORWEGIAN COMIC

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Check out the Demon at the Doctor's on the cover of a Norwegian comic magazine, Rutetid.

Thanks to Morten Hellem‎ sharing this with KISS!

 

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