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By Paul Adkins / www.LoganBanner.com
Let me start by saying that I�ve never really been much of a fan at all of the Arena Football League, reality TV or of the 1970s/80s rock band KISS.
The new AMC reality show �4th and Loud� is made up all all three but it has got me hooked.
It is now TIVO�d.
I�ve set it up for a season pass.
Done.
For those of you who might be unaware of the reality TV show, �4th and Loud� gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the Arena Football League�s expansion team, the LA Kiss, which is co-owned by KISS band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
The docu-series, which debuted on Aug. 12, chronicles the struggles of a cobbled-together expansion indoor football team through a rough first season.
Stanley and Simmons and the team�s management offer up their vision of a business start up: a unique and eclectic mix of football and a KISS rock concert blended into one at Anaheim�s Honda Center.
The LA KISS play on an unusual silver football field.
With the loud rock music, the flashing lights and the pyrotechnics you would think you were at a KISS concert.
That�s the idea.
Then there�s the women.
Eat your heart out XFL cheerleaders.
The LA KISS cheerleaders are not cheerleaders in the classic sense. They are dancers. Scantily-clad in black leather skirts, fishnet stockings and black boots, the women perform their dance routines and entertain the crowd at each home game. If it were 1979, the LA KISS Girls might have been KISS roadies.
�We have great dancers, and they�re not cheerleaders,� Stanley tells Entertainment TV. �Cheerleaders have almost become adolescent. We wanted to have girls who were women. And they�d better dance. I don�t want the girl next door, I want the girl you wish were next door.�
At one point in one of the early episodes, the LA KISS kicker seems to be distracted by one of the beautiful blonde cheerleaders, um, dancers. He misses four kicks in a game and the following week the team holds open tryouts at kicker.
He�s told not to fraternize anymore with the dance team member.
The kicker�s girlfriend also catches wind about the lovie-dovie-ness between the two and is not thrilled.
The LA KISS kicker, though, outperforms his rivals, stays away from the dancer (for the most part) and keeps his job.
Fourth and Loud, however, is about football.
Stanley and Simmons, however, make no qualms about it.
They are not big football fans and their knowledge of the game is very limited but they seem to care about the players and they, of course, want to win.
The band members go to visit an injured LA KISS player, who the week before had torn his ACL and would likely be out of action for more than a year.
�Make sure he gets everything that he needs,� Simmons says upon leaving.
But at the same time, the band members are also businessmen and are very blunt.
A team marketing director shows Simmons and Stanley KISS bobbleheads which would be given away at a game the next night.
The KISS members don�t care for the likenesses, or lack of.
�The design elements are horrible! Do you know what�s interesting? We never saw these until now,� Simmons said.
Stanley and Simmons have branded their KISS name on a product, a team, a form of entertainment and have stuck their neck out so losing is no option.
Continued losing could hurt ticket sales and the buzz created about the whole endevaour could fade away.
�(Losing) is very disheartening,� Stanley said. �For somebody who was not from a sports background, look, in life I don�t like to lose. There are parts of this that are completely out of my hands, so you have to be able to let go. Losing is disappointing. But winning is exhilarating. I would love for us to win, and that will take longer than we thought.�
Often times in the series, LA KISS head coach Bob McMillen, himself a former Arena Football Player and a member of the AFL Hall of Fame, butts heads with the team�s front office and many times fears for his job as the losing mounts.
After this week�s episode, we know the LA KISS are 3-9 with six more games to play.
Stanley and Simmons are thrilled after the LA KISS beat Portland at home.
But we know this wild excitement will only be short lived.
We know (SPOILER ALERT) how the rest of the season went.
The LA KISS finished a woeful 3-15, losing their last six games, and tied for the worst record in the league.
Despite the bad season, Stanley and Simmons seem to be on board for another season in 2015.
Always the savvy businessmen, the KISS band members have the ultimate gimmick � a smart one at that � a free KISS concert at season�s end for season ticket holders.
This year�s free concert is October 29, the team�s website says. Another is planned at the end of the 2015 season.
The TV show offers a little bit of everything.
For football fans, it�s about the struggles of putting together a winning team.
For reality show fans, it�s fun and interesting to watch.
For KISS fans, it�s a chance to see Simmons and Stanley in a way you have never seen them.
Yes, the makeup is off.
This may be a shameless plug but here it goes �
Fourth and Loud can be seen at 10 p.m. on Tuesday nights on AMC.
Shout it out out loud.
KISS IS EVERYWHERE!
Terry Fox Run today! KISS cancer good bye!
Thanks,
Desiree
Paul Stanley is offering up to 25 members of the KISS Navy a very special Guitar + Q&A opportunity aboard KISS Kruise IV!
The guitars are on sale now at www.paulstanleyguitars.com/guitars_2014_kkiv.html
Here�s what you get:
- A Paul Stanley Limited Special Custom KISS Kruise IV Washburn Starfire Guitar autographed to you, in person, by the Starchild!
- An intimate Q&A session aboard the KISS Kruise IV with Paul Stanley. This event is open ONLY to buyers of this guitar and their guests. You are allowed to bring up to 3 guests to attend the Q&A.
- A photo with Paul and your new guitar! (If you�d like your guests in the photo too, they�re welcome to join you!)
Meet Gene Simmons in Person! Gene Simmons Bass Experiences Now
Available For KISS Kruise IV Call 310-994-0566 or for more info. http://genesimmonsaxe.
From Def Leppard's site:
As many of you know, I�ve been scheduled to start a stem cell transplant and as soon as I got home from tour I began the necessary tests and preparations. I�ll be admitted to hospital soon for all the yucky bits, so in the meantime I�m headed to Target to stock up on cozy pajamas, fresh underwear, and a sackful of car-porn.
Unfortunately, this means that I won�t be able to perform with the band on the upcoming NFL broadcast on Sept. 28th, nor will I be able to do the shows scheduled for Oct/Nov.
While I can�t say that I�m looking forward to the process ahead, I�m very much looking forward to what I feel will be a most successful outcome. Next year will be very busy for Def Leppard with a new album and a world tour, and frankly, I don�t think they would sound as loud without me, so I have no intention of letting the team down!
See you all (with hair!) in 2015. - Viv
Photo by Frazer Harrison, Getty Images
The ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER Openly Discusses an Eclectic Array of Topics Such As His Views on Life, Love, America, the State of Music, the Magic of KISS, and More
Two legends go head-to-head on AXS TV, as celebrated musician, author, entrepreneur and Rock N� Roll Hall of Fame inductee Gene Simmons sits down for an in-depth discussion with award-winning newsman Dan Rather for a special edition of THE BIG INTERVIEW, on Tuesday, September 30, at 8pE/5pP.
Rather pulls no punches during the hour-long episode as he takes viewers on a journey into the unprecedented life and career of the outspoken musician and business man, from his life and loves, to his views on the music industry and his passion for America. In an emotional account of his childhood, Simmons reflects on his youth in Israel, surrounded by war and poverty, with no electricity and lacking amenities like toothpaste. Opening up about his mother�s time in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, Simmons reveals the profound impact that she had on his life, and the powerful experience of watching her be sworn in as an American citizen when he was eight-and-a-half years old.
Simmons is in rare form throughout, allowing Rather to get surprisingly personal, and eliciting a side of the superstar that isn�t often seen on stage or television. From his father abandoning the family when Simmons was just seven years old, inspiring his decades-long fear of commitment and reluctance to have children; to his high-profile liaisons with Cher and Diana Ross; as well as his marriage to Shannon Tweed, the issues they�ve overcome, and the decision to open up his life, home, and children to the world on the hit reality show GENE SIMMONS FAMILY JEWELS which airs on AXS TV. No stone is left unturned.
While Simmons may have finally settled down as a family man, his career, both as an entrepreneur and a founding member of KISS, has, arguably, never been hotter. With the band�s blockbuster 40th anniversary tour well underway, Simmons delves into the origins of KISS, their refusal to play the pop music game, and their commitment to being completely authentic and original as they smashed through the �70s folk scene and changed the face of the industry forever. For him, the rock is his religion, the stage is his church, and the show is two hours of pure magic fueled by sweat, fire, and fake blood.
It�s this same drive, what Simmons describes as �the working man�s ethic,� that has helped him build a multi-million dollar empire that includes a record company, restaurant chain, race horse operations and an Arena Football team, and earned him a lifetime achievement award from Forbes Magazine in 2012. The best-selling author�s newest book, ME, INC., designed to help people unleash their inner rock god in both life and business, is due out later this Fall.
�Gene Simmons has never been shy about delivering the straight truth as he sees it, and this episode of THE BIG INTERVIEW is no exception,� said Michele M. Dix, AXS TV�s senior vice president, programming and development. �But what sets this particular segment apart is Dan Rather�s unique ability to dive head-first into his subject, setting the rock star bravado aside and cutting to the core of the man underneath the makeup and the carefully cultivated �Demon� persona.�
Here's Tommy Thayer jamming on RUSH' "Working Man" with Alex Lifeson, Robby Krieger, Sebastian Bach, and the ALLSTARS to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
CENTURY CITY, CA - SEPTEMBER 23: Honoree Doc McGhee (C) accepts the Music Industry Achievement Award from musicians Gene Simmons (L) and Paul Stanley (R) of KISS onstage during the Spirit of Excellence Awards 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on September 23, 2014 in Century City, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for T.J. Martell Foundation)
Check out this cool video of Mauricio Cavalheiro getting his new KISS tattoos. Thanks for sharing the clip with us, Mauricio! The KISS Army Rocks!
