Kiss News

By Eric Shirey, Yahoo Contributor Network

2014 is a landmark year for the Hottest Band in the World. KISS started the year off by being inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame and announcing a tour that will take them across the United States. Not a bad way to kick off the celebration of forty years of makeup, mayhem, and magic. The group now releases a new compilation album featuring one song off of every studio, compilation, and live album. They top it off with a few commercially unreleased tracks that will get their army even more heated up and ready to party with the band in a concert venue somewhere.

The songs off of their different albums aren't always the ones you'd expect the group to choose for "KISS 40." This just shows the guys thinking outside of the box again. Known for "Deuce" off their debut album, this time we get "Nothin' to Lose." Instead of the title track, we get "Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll" from "Hotter than Hell." "Reason to Live" is the cut of choice from "Crazy Nights" versus the title track we got on past greatest hits collections.

I noticed quite a few softer songs were included on "KISS 40." There's plenty of room in a double disc set to commemorate the sensitive side of the band as well as the red-blooded macho one. Some good examples of this are "Shandi," "A World without Heroes," "Forever," "Beth," "Hold Me, Touch Me," "Nothing Can Keep Me from You," and "Reason to Live."By Eric Shirey, Yahoo Contributor Network

2014 is a landmark year for the Hottest Band in the World. KISS started the year off by being inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame and announcing a tour that will take them across the United States. Not a bad way to kick off the celebration of forty years of makeup, mayhem, and magic. The group now releases a new compilation album featuring one song off of every studio, compilation, and live album. They top it off with a few commercially unreleased tracks that will get their army even more heated up and ready to party with the band in a concert venue somewhere.

The songs off of their different albums aren't always the ones you'd expect the group to choose for "KISS 40." This just shows the guys thinking outside of the box again. Known for "Deuce" off their debut album, this time we get "Nothin' to Lose." Instead of the title track, we get "Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll" from "Hotter than Hell." "Reason to Live" is the cut of choice from "Crazy Nights" versus the title track we got on past greatest hits collections.

I noticed quite a few softer songs were included on "KISS 40." There's plenty of room in a double disc set to commemorate the sensitive side of the band as well as the red-blooded macho one. Some good examples of this are "Shandi," "A World without Heroes," "Forever," "Beth," "Hold Me, Touch Me," "Nothing Can Keep Me from You," and "Reason to Live."

The real excitement for "KISS 40" is the unreleased tracks. All three of the live cuts are from concerts throughout the 2000s with Tommy Thayer on lead guitar and Eric Singer playing drums. The band sounds powerful and full of newfound energy and charisma. "Deuce" was recorded for an "Instant Live" CD in 2004. "Cold Gin" was captured off the Alive 35 tour from 2009. "Crazy Crazy Nights" is featured from their Sonic Boom over Europe run in 2010.

One track in particular off "KISS 40" raised my level of enthusiasm even higher than it already was. The chance to get my hands on an unreleased demo from 1977 entitled "Reputation" had me in overdrive. The song perfectly reflects what the band was doing at that time in their career. The background vocals are reminiscent of the ones heard on "Tomorrow and Tonight" and "Got Love for Sale" off of "Love Gun." It goes without saying the song was obviously written to be included on that album since the years match up. The lead guitar is made up of the great melodic lines Ace Frehley was laying down at that time. Gene's vocals mirror those of "Plaster Caster" and "Christine Sixteen" as well.

"KISS 40" is a well-rounded example of a band that has withstood the test of time and soldiered on through thick and thin doing things their own way. It features great examples of the band's live performances over the years. The album also stands as a testament to the different band members who came, went, and are still playing with the group. Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Bruce Kulick, Mark St. John, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer are all well represented here. "KISS 40" shows the power of a band whose legend will endure for decades to come.

Written by Scott Mervis

Paul Stanley of KISS is a on conference call right now with the print media. Here's what he has to say about his book, "Face the Music: A Life Exposed," and tour with Def Leppard, which stops at the First Niagara Pavilion on Aug. 24.

Changes for this tour: "I believe this is the greatest and the best stage that we�ve ever had... We call it the spider stage, because the light are in shape of a spider and legs dangle down to the floor."

Residency in Vegas?: "Time tells all."

On Def Leppard: "Always tried to have great bands on tour with us. We want to make sure people get their money�s worth. A night of great music, songs that you know, that you connect with personally. Huge catalog of hits that all mean something."

Refreshing to be back to that after drama with Rock Hall?: �[Hall of Fame] was not much more than a mosquito buzzing around my ear... no small organization with a big name can call the shots ... Hall of fame is ultimately what the people decide is in the Hall of Fame. It was an interesting divergence of what we do.�
Written by Scott Mervis

Paul Stanley of Kiss is a on conference call right now with the print media. Here's what he has to say about his book, "Face the Music: A Life Exposed," and tour with Def Leppard, which stops at the First Niagara Pavilion on Aug. 24.

Changes for this tour: "I believe this is the greatest and the best stage that we�ve ever had... We call it the spider stage, because the light are in shape of a spider and legs dangle down to the floor."

Residency in Vegas?: "Time tells all."

On Def Leppard: "Always tried to have great bands on tour with us. We want to make sure people get their money�s worth. A night of great music, songs that you know, that you connect with personally. Huge catalog of hits that all mean something."

Refreshing to be back to that after drama with Rock Hall?: �[Hall of Fame] was not much more than a mosquito buzzing around my ear... no small organization with a big name can call the shots ... Hall of fame is ultimately what the people decide is in the Hall of Fame. It was an interesting divergence of what we do.�

New book - Were you happy about how it turned out: �I would have to be happy about the way it turned out, because I wrote it ... It was great to document something that I believed could inspire other people.�

Loyalty of fans: �You can�t have the kind of dedication we have from fans unless they sense the same dedication [from the band]... We may not always do what makes every fan happy, but we stick to our guns. ... More people than I can count that have Kiss tattoos. That�s like being a lifer in the army... Kiss Army started on the street. No army like a Kiss army.�

Nashville: "I love what Nashville has grown into, which is an embrace of all music."

On the Information Age: "I think that certainly in all walks of life, there�s a certain mystique that is gone ... Not sure kiss could have accomplished what we did in this time ... We could make sure that photos weren't available ,,, we could create this mystique which was not unlike the mystique of Hollywood."

Tom Morello: "Saw him about 10 days ago. It was his 50th birthday. Tom was Moses in terms of having us inducted, or indicted. Tom did a stellar job."

Visit Hall of Fame?: "Up until now, I wanted little to do with it. " He said "it was an annex that wanted our memorabilia to [make money]. At this point, I would love to see it."

Fans and band: "We have outlived [the critics] and in essence have taken over."

Military: "Can't say enough about the people who served on our behalf... There's nothing corny about patriotism... You only see people going under the borders to get into this country."

Age ranges: "Source of pride for us that we can have a 6-year-old, a 16-year-old and a 60-year-old."

On loss of anonymity: "You don't complain about taxes if you win the lottery. It never was a source of stress or point of contention, but we in some ways are so much bigger now. Now we are Superman and don't have hide behind Clark Kent."

Kiss songs: "All of these songs as songs of victory, songs that celebrate our winning. That we are are here 40 years later is a source of incredible pride... These are the songs of a battle won."

Arenas vs. Sheds: "We try to be observant of low-flying planes ... It doesn't change anything because what we do comes from the heart. ... Being outside during the summer is a terrific dichotomy/contrast to what we do. We've been doing this for 40 years, the reason why people still buy tickets to see the classic acts is you know we will deliver the goods."

On autotune acts: "You know damn well they will not be able to put on a show.... Don't want to hear this nonsense that it's impossible to dance around and sing. It didn't stop the Temptations, Tina Turner, James Brown."

How big a factor was the spectacle in Hall of Fame induction: "I'm not here to defend what we've done or what we've accomplished, but it is unanimous and resounding ... countless artists were influenced by us, musically, not in terms of a stage show.... [mention Jann Wenner losing his passion for music and sarcastic intro -- "he's embarrassing himself, the joke's on him"] ... Nobody will ultimately buy for decades music that isn't good."

Hall of Fame: "It was vindicating for us, and vindicating for the fans. .. for every clueless music exec there are musicians, be it Tom Morello or Joe Perry or a list that literally is a who's who of music, those are the people who got us in.... It was the pencil pushers who wanted us out."

When Woodfield, KISS and the '70s collided

More images at www.dailyherald.com

By Eric Peterson

Forty years ago this week, Schaumburg's Woodfield Mall became the national epicenter of 1970s pop culture with a combined celebration of KISS and PDA (public display of affection).

The "Great Kiss Off" was both a promotion for fans to come and meet the world's most theatrical rock 'n' roll band, as well as a kissing contest that took an epic 114 hours and 1 minute to settle.


The couple that outlasted 10 others from across the nation were Louise Heath and Vinnie Toro of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where the coast-to-coast radio promotions leading up to the Schaumburg finale began.

The band KISS was there in full makeup, to meet with fans and sign autographs.When Woodfield, KISS and the '70s collided

More images at www.dailyherald.com

By Eric Peterson

Forty years ago this week, Schaumburg's Woodfield Mall became the national epicenter of 1970s pop culture with a combined celebration of KISS and PDA (public display of affection).

The "Great Kiss Off" was both a promotion for fans to come and meet the world's most theatrical rock 'n' roll band, as well as a kissing contest that took an epic 114 hours and 1 minute to settle.

The couple that outlasted 10 others from across the nation were Louise Heath and Vinnie Toro of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where the coast-to-coast radio promotions leading up to the Schaumburg finale began.

The band KISS was there in full makeup, to meet with fans and sign autographs.

Jane Rozek, local history librarian at the Schaumburg Township District Library, has thoroughly researched the event but found no evidence the band actually performed.

Her longtime colleague at the library, Jane Davey of Hoffman Estates, was there with her 4-year-old son, Patrick, and a neighbor boy wearing a KISS belt buckle.

Davey is amused that two such young children were drawn to the event when her three teenagers were not. "I had no idea what the draw was -- I guess it was the costumes," Davey said.

Rozek's research found that the event began at noon on Saturday, June 8, with a big kickoff by WCFL radio and "Superjock" Larry Lujack.

Even at the start, some contestants fully anticipated the event would last more than 100 hours. The kissers got only a five-minute break every hour.

Over the course of days, couples began to drop out from a combination of exhaustion and feeling physically ill.

Even falling asleep wasn't necessarily a disqualifier, though, as long as couples could find a way to do so without their lips parting. Jeff and Sherry Moore of Charlotte, North Carolina, strapped their heads together with a pink plastic belt while they slept, according to the Daily Herald article of Monday, June 10.

The contest continued to draw an audience of thousands as the days went by, states a Daily Herald article dated Wednesday, June 12, 1974.

"I feel like I'm watching a bad film," said one woman with a mock look of guilt on her face.

"They ought to hold another contest, to see how long someone can watch it," said then 21-year-old Keith Steinleil of Schaumburg.

The runner-up couple of Duane and Doris Boudreaux of Houston, Texas, finally conceded to Heath and Toro at 6:01 a.m. on Thursday, June 13.

The winning couple had victory in their sights from the start, believing their yoga discipline, determination and a diet of shrimp, oranges and an occasional french fry or two would see them through.

"We'll be here as long as it takes," Heath told the Daily Herald on the second day.

The promised prize was a trip to Acapulco.

But Heath and Toro instead took the cash equivalent of $1,000.

When WCFL learned that Heath and Toro were donating their winnings to friends who'd just lost their New Jersey home in a fire, the radio station donated another Acapulco trip, Rozek said.

The nationwide contest began as a fundraiser for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Rozek said that according to the book, "And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records" by Larry Harris, record company officials encouraged the crowd to donate money for the kids and spectators began throwing paper money from the upper level overlooking the center court of the mall.

People on the ground floor picked up the money, crumpled it up and threw it toward the stage.

In the end, about $5,000 was raised for the hospital.

Whatever happened to the relationship between Louise Heath and Vinnie Toro? Alas, we do not know. Neither could be reached for this story.