KISS Online :: News

08/26/2014

PROVES WHY THEY ARE KINGS OF NIGHTTIME WORLD

All photos �2014 AWELDINGPHOTO and Pittsburgh Music Magazine

We have heard it so many times, but for the KISS fans it never gets old, �You want the best you got the best�KISS!� As soon as that curtain goes down there is absolutely no band in the world that can follow KISS in showmanship, there should be a guarantee on the ticket for the show of your life.

No matter how many KISS shows that this writer has been to, original members, and non-originals, it still amazes me how entertaining these guys are each and every time. Last night, August 24, 2014 in Pittsburgh,PA was no exception. Paul Stanley sounded better than ever and was in fantastic shape vocally and physically. Gene Simmons was bigger than life and spitting blood and making demonic faces with abandon, entertaining the hell out of the crowd. Tommy Thayer keeps proving why he went from road manager to tour de force as the Starman, cranking out the hits with his Les Paul. And of course Eric Singer on drums is a tremendous talent that is such a great addition to the KISS family. From the very first to last note the band keeps you going in an array of greatest hits candy and visual stimuli overload that�s just enough to hold you over until the next time they roll into town.

If Paul Stanley has anything to say about it, they will do just that for a long time to come. Just after he invited a young child to join him on the stage, Paul stated, �We were here for your parents and we will be here for you!� Showing no signs of slowing down, KISS fans can only hope Paul keeps his promise. After witnessing so many shows, one would thing that the same gimmicks would get tiresome. But not with KISS. These are the things that a KISS fan cannot wait for: Gene breathing fire at the end of �War Machine�, when the band goes into �Won�t get Fooled Again� from The Who in the middle of �Lick It Up�, Gene�s bass solo when he flies in the air and spits blood, when Paul flies into the audience for �Love Gun�, Tommy�s guitar shooting sparks, and of course all the fire, smoke, and fireworks that could ignite at any moment. These are the moments every KISS fan lives for and keeps coming back to see and KISS knows it and delivers. There is great reason as to why this is their 40th Anniversary Tour. I for one hope they keep it going and plan to be there for the 50th.

08/26/2014

KISS ROCKERS CHRONICLE AFL IN 4TH AND LOUD

KISS rockers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley chronicle their Arena Football League venture in '4th and Loud'

Longtime experts in hype add touches like fireworks, dancers and stunt-bike riders to indoor football franchise

With all the promotion that now surrounds professional football pretty much year-round, it�s not a big surprise that the quarterbacks of the rock band Kiss would get in on the action.

No band has ever promoted itself more flamboyantly than these rockers who started in the �70s, and now original Kiss-ers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are presenting an AMC show called �4th and Loud,� about their adventures running the Arena Football League team the LA Kiss. It airs Tuesday nights at 9.

They do say they rejected the idea of having the team wear the face paint that has long been a stage signature of the band.

�There are some pragmatic reasons why our great athletes should not be wearing the Kiss makeup,� says Simmons. �For one thing, you�ve got to earn it. Secondly, it�s got to be real football, not stuff going into everybody�s eyes while they are running on the field and getting tackled. Not a good idea.�

Elsewhere, though, there are Kiss touches all over.

�We wanted to create something that was very much in keeping with Kiss,� says Stanley. �We want to envelope you and pummel you. We want BMX bike riders. We want pyro.�

That�s why, instead of cheerleaders, Kiss games feature provocative �dancing girls.�

�We wanted to have girls who were women,� says Stanley. �We wanted to have not the girl next door. We wanted the girl we wish was next door.�

Simmons said he thinks the flair of the Kiss brand will not only make some money and headlines for himself and Stanley, but help enhance the visibility and image of arena football in general.

What the team and the show are not, however, Simmons and Stanley say, is a vicarious thrill for a couple of middle-aged guys who wish they could be star jocks themselves.

�I had a transcendent moment when I was in my early teens and playing sandlot football,� Stanley says. �I was always a fairly sturdy, strong kid. But somebody tackled me and when I finally ceased to be airborne and landed on my stomach and had the air knocked out of me, I decided that a guitar was much safer.�

08/26/2014