Kiss News

State Fair: It's KISS. It's Motley Crue. For these brothers, it's destiny.

By Ross Raihala

Tim Meyer was "blindsided" by the news.

"I was completely shocked," he said. "I had goosebumps. Within seconds, I called my brother."

What was the fuss? Two of rock music's most flamboyant bands -- Kiss and Motley Crue -- had just announced a joint summer tour, with a show booked at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

"It felt like nothing else mattered now," said the 36-year-old welder from Plymouth. "There's nothing that can top this concert."

For Tim Meyer and his older brother Brian, it won't be just another night of music under the stars. Instead, it's a rare convergence of the men's near-lifelong passions. Brian, 41, fell for Kiss as a second-grader growing up in Faribault. A few years later, Tim discovered Motley Crue.

"We shared a bedroom and I put up my Kiss posters on one side, and he put his Motley Crue pictures on the other side," Brian said. "We wanted to cover all the walls, and when we did, our mom said, 'OK, pick one and the rest go down.' "

But that wasn't the end of the Meyer brothers' obsessions. If anything, it was just the beginning.

Brian now lives in Owatonna with his wife and 18-year-old son. Not only did he hold on to all the Kiss memorabilia from his youth, he continued to add to the collection. He bought his current house in 2001, specifically because it had room for him to create a Kiss museum in the basement.State Fair: It's KISS. It's Motley Crue. For these brothers, it's destiny.

By Ross Raihala

Tim Meyer was "blindsided" by the news.

"I was completely shocked," he said. "I had goosebumps. Within seconds, I called my brother."

What was the fuss? Two of rock music's most flamboyant bands -- Kiss and Motley Crue -- had just announced a joint summer tour, with a show booked at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

"It felt like nothing else mattered now," said the 36-year-old welder from Plymouth. "There's nothing that can top this concert."

For Tim Meyer and his older brother Brian, it won't be just another night of music under the stars. Instead, it's a rare convergence of the men's near-lifelong passions. Brian, 41, fell for Kiss as a second-grader growing up in Faribault. A few years later, Tim discovered Motley Crue.

"We shared a bedroom and I put up my Kiss posters on one side, and he put his Motley Crue pictures on the other side," Brian said. "We wanted to cover all the walls, and when we did, our mom said, 'OK, pick one and the rest go down.' "

But that wasn't the end of the Meyer brothers' obsessions. If anything, it was just the beginning.

Brian now lives in Owatonna with his wife and 18-year-old son. Not only did he hold on to all the Kiss memorabilia from his youth, he continued to add to the collection. He bought his current house in 2001, specifically because it had room for him to create a Kiss museum in the basement.

"My collection was getting so huge, there was nowhere to put it all," said Brian, who works in a glass-fabrication plant. "I'd put up a poster, and my wife would say: 'I don't want this. Not in our bedroom.' So I said, 'OK, let's buy a bigger house.' "

Over the past decade, Brian not only has continued to add to his Kiss stockpile, he has hunted down retail display cases and spinning magazine racks to properly exhibit his booty. "The stuff in the cases is what I cherish the most," he said. "The dolls, the puzzles, the Halloween costumes, the original lunchbox, the Kiss Army newsletters. All that great stuff."

Kiss posters cover the walls and Kiss throw rugs decorate the floor. A clothing rack displays Brian's various Kiss T-shirts, each of which comes with its own story. His Kiss telephone doesn't ring -- it plays "Rock and Roll All Nite." The nearby bathroom is even decked out in Kiss swag, with each of the four walls devoted to a specific band member. Items range from valuable rarities (a 1975 high school newspaper published after Kiss played a homecoming concert in Cadillac, Mich.) to common keepsakes (confetti he collected from various Kiss concerts he has attended).

Tim had a similar room devoted to Motley Crue but was forced to dismantle it after he lost his house. Now, his collection lives partially in storage, but it's no less impressive.

"One of my absolute favorite items is Tommy Lee's snare drum," Tim said. "He only had one drum set from 1981 to 1983, and that's the snare drum I have. I've also got Vince Neil's left-handed black leather glove that says 'Crue' on the black Velcro strap. It was used and abused from 1981 to 1984, from videos to concerts to photo shoots. You can only imagine the things it has seen."

The Meyer brothers never thought of themselves as rivals and have continued to share their musical passions as well as other mutual pursuits, such as the Minnesota Vikings.

"We've always been buddies," Tim said. "When I discovered Motley Crue, it was like, 'This is my Kiss.' That's exactly how I felt. He's gone to concerts with me, and I've gone to concerts with him. We've always been bonded together."

Come Wednesday night, the Meyers will have yet another mutual milestone to celebrate.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, something that will probably never happen again," Tim said. "We'll still be talking about this in 10 years. We'll still be talking about it until the day we die."

KISS and M�tley Crüe team up for an 'intensely sweltering' tour

BY DANIEL DURCHHOLZ - Special to the Post-Dispatch

Maybe Kiss should have christened this tour �Hotter Than Hell Revisited.�

The band�s current set of shows, a co-headlining bill with M�tley Crüe, has been playing outdoor venues in blistering heat. Given the legendary group�s penchant for pyro, pancake makeup and leather outfits, the concept of rocking and rolling all night long seems physically challenging, to say the least.

�Every night has been intensely sweltering,� says Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer. �I think the hottest was in Phoenix a week or two ago. It was a 105, 110 degrees when we were onstage. ... It was just the hottest, most intense show I�ve ever played, and everybody else in the band thought the same thing.�

And yet, Kiss has persisted, prodded on somewhat by a friendly rivalry with the Crüe.

�It�s a healthy competition,� Thayer says. �And it�s not even a competition. It�s just a healthy vibe. We�ve all known each other for a long time. So the spirit is high, and everybody�s lovin� it.�
KISS and M�tley Crüe team up for an 'intensely sweltering' tour

BY DANIEL DURCHHOLZ - Special to the Post-Dispatch

Maybe Kiss should have christened this tour �Hotter Than Hell Revisited.�

The band�s current set of shows, a co-headlining bill with M�tley Crüe, has been playing outdoor venues in blistering heat. Given the legendary group�s penchant for pyro, pancake makeup and leather outfits, the concept of rocking and rolling all night long seems physically challenging, to say the least.

�Every night has been intensely sweltering,� says Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer. �I think the hottest was in Phoenix a week or two ago. It was a 105, 110 degrees when we were onstage. ... It was just the hottest, most intense show I�ve ever played, and everybody else in the band thought the same thing.�

And yet, Kiss has persisted, prodded on somewhat by a friendly rivalry with the Crüe.

�It�s a healthy competition,� Thayer says. �And it�s not even a competition. It�s just a healthy vibe. We�ve all known each other for a long time. So the spirit is high, and everybody�s lovin� it.�

Funny: �Healthy� is not a word often associated with M�tley Crüe.

�I know,� Thayer says with a laugh. �But surprisingly, these guys are great, and they�re all on top of their game right now. Their show is incredible.�

As for Kiss, the challenge is in trying to top the larger-than-life spectacles the band has put on in the past.

�That is a challenge,� Thayer admits. �Everybody knows that the Kiss show has its classic elements and songs. And if you don�t do those things, people are upset. So the challenge is to bring out a whole new stage show that�s exciting and more over-the-top than last time, but keep those classic elements in there, too.�

One new element to the show is the song �Hell or Hallelujah,� the lead single from Kiss� forthcoming album, �Monster,� which will be released in October.

�We�ve been tempted to play more, but we don�t want to give it away,� Thayer says. �This is the YouTube age.�

The album is a �100 percent band album," Thayer adds.

"We wrote all the songs � no outside writers," he says. "It�s like �Sonic Boom� (2009), but this one takes it to another level.�

Thayer is still technically the new guy in Kiss, though he�s been playing with the band since 2002 and was with the organization even before that. Drummer Eric Singer first signed on with Kiss in 1991.

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have fronted the band since its beginnings in the early '70s. Thayer admits he still can�t believe his good fortune in being asked to play with his heroes.

�When I�m going over to Paul�s house to write songs, I kind of pinch myself,� he says. �It�s like, �I�m writing songs with Paul Stanley!� �Cause I grew up as a fan.�

As for Kiss�s blustery bassist, Thayer makes a case for the Simmons most people don�t know.

�Well, he�s a very, very interesting guy, to say the least,� Thayer says. �He�s been a great person in my life and has given me a lot of opportunities. ... At the core of it, he�s a good guy, and he�s got a good heart. But he puts up a barrier and a wall with his shtick. He�s actually a very kind person, but most people don�t see that.�

KISS WITH MÖTLEY CRÜE

When 7 p.m. Monday - Where Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 14141 Riverport Drive, Maryland Heights

by Chris Epting

Just one band could pull this off � the biggest book in the land, KISS! The KISS Monster Book, that is.

This new large-size (three feet long by two-and-a-half-feet wide) limited edition collection features 40-years of KISS with an intimate collection of 127 photographs by world-renowned rock photographers, including rare and never-before-seen images sourced from the band's own archives.

The massive book is a collector's goldmine, with just 1,000 copies available and individually signed, dated and numbered by the four members of the current lineup. Printed in high-definition links by one of the world's finest limited-edition and large format printers, each copy has been hand stitched-and-bound in Italy, by the same binder used by The Vatican.

As vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley joked recently, "This book is way beyond my expectations. The photos are incredible at this size. It's not a coffee table book, it's a coffee table!"by Chris Eptingby Chris Epting

Just one band could pull this off � the biggest book in the land, KISS! The KISS Monster Book, that is.

This new large-size (three feet long by two-and-a-half-feet wide) limited edition collection features 40-years of KISS with an intimate collection of 127 photographs by world-renowned rock photographers, including rare and never-before-seen images sourced from the band's own archives.

The massive book is a collector's goldmine, with just 1,000 copies available and individually signed, dated and numbered by the four members of the current lineup. Printed in high-definition links by one of the world's finest limited-edition and large format printers, each copy has been hand stitched-and-bound in Italy, by the same binder used by The Vatican.

As vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley joked recently, "This book is way beyond my expectations. The photos are incredible at this size. It's not a coffee table book, it's a coffee table!"

So big that all four band members appeared at the Viper Room in Los Angeles this week (Aug. 21) while on break from their wildly popular trek across America to unveil the massive tome. KISS took some questions from the stage, discussed the making of the book, and their commitment to the Wounded Warriors organization among other things.

After the press conference, Noisecreep had the rare opportunity of sitting down exclusively in a room with all four members � Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer - to talk at length about the book, the band and the legend that remains one of the most successful, inventive and hard-working bands in history. Together in a small dark room, as they are onstage, this is a band of brothers.

What sorts of memories were triggered in putting this package together? What did it take you back to?

Paul: We originally did the band because we loved doing it � that's it. Through all the trials and tribulations of playing in empty clubs or whatever, you always have to think, or at least we did � this will be a great memory someday. You don't see the negative side � you look at it in wonderment. It's just a part of the journey. That said, we were on a crusade from the beginning and we weren't going to quit until everybody fell beneath our boots.

Back in the early days, as depicted in the book, you guys pasted your own flyers around New York � you basically wrote the book on how to promote an unknown band.

Gene: We were forced into it, we cared about the band, we did things that hadn't been done before, but we didn't know that! We just thought � this is the way it should be done. The logos, the look, the makeup, the posters � we had to do it all ourselves because we didn't even have a manager. We didn't have anything. We did it all ourselves. We did our own mailers, put together our own press kits � but the impression was � 'these guys have a lot of money and a big organization.' We had nothing. We called ourselves "Heavy Metal Masters." This was barely when the term heavy metal even existed. We were nobody. So in a very real way we took the tact of, "We're only going to get the respect we demand." We created our own buzz.

Did this feel like an important time in band history to create something this elaborate and inclusive?

Paul: In a way it did. But musically, we reached a point where we needed to do more than celebrate our past and what we had accomplished. We needed to stake our claim to the future. And that's when we went in to do Sonic Boom. And now Monster. It was about using everything that we had built to this date as the foundation for continuing to build this monument that is KISS. So it's great to have all these great songs and the accolades in our history � but we have to be more than an oldies act. We have to stake our claim � and that's why our audience isn't necessarily just people in the sixties or fifties. It goes literally from like five and six-years-old, because what's behind KISS and always has been is the preaching of self-empowerment and the idea that if you believe in yourself and you're willing to work hard, that's nothing's impossible. We're the proof of that. It's heady stuff- but it's also timeless. When people would see us in the early days, they thought the songs were trite and juvenile. They thought that bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer � that was "great art." Put them on today and put on our first album, and which sounds contemporary? We do � because the simple truths are the real ones. When you sing about celebrating life, then that will last forever. Singing about saving the whales? Next!

Tommy: Oh yeah. I'd say about 90% of the photos are previously unseen. Real special archive stuff. We've got vast archives and pulled some just unbelievably rare stuff. The most ardent fans will say, "I've never seen most of these shots." It's amazing.

Eric: For me, seeing the sheer size of the book is really impressive. Some of the pictures fold out bigger than posters, four or five feet � it's just amazing.

Tommy: Right, you see a different dynamic and emotion when it's blown up that big. You look into the eyes of those shots and you see more depth than you've ever imagined.

Tommy, what's it like playing new songs you helped write versus the old songs onstage?

Tommy: It's a great feeling, although I love playing the classic KISS songs � I get off on that every night. But the new stuff is especially exciting and fresh and I enjoy it � because I've had a lot of input on it.

Gene, back to the book � what did you learn about, or were reminded about Kiss in putting it together?

Gene: Our perspective goes back almost 40 years. You take a look at where we are now, and there are recent photos of the band in the book of course - the present lineup. And then you take a look almost 40 years ago when we first started. The thought I had looking at it from my vantage point was, "This band is either f---ing insane, or they know something the rest of us don't." Because when we first stepped up onstage, in front of Argent and Manfred Mann and all these other bands � you've got to remember the times � about the wildest thing anyone would wear, were tie-dyed t-shirts. We decided to change the game and completely ignore everything and in the very first song, BOOM, flash pops are going off. We were third on the bill! Our logo's hanging above the stage blinding people and the headlining acts were not even smart enough to take the logos down so when they'd come on, the people would still see "KISS" glowing in their eyes, when they closed their eyes! We didn't know anything. But, when you get into a fight with a madman, it's not a good idea. They'll kill you. So we had this kind of madman thing. Our road crew, too. They wore leather jackets with this sense of pride � they were like a biker gang. Nobody picked fights with these guys. Then the KISS Army � the fans. We didn't call them the Kiss Army. The fans did that themselves. They got it. They understood.

I remember a very early TV apperance on The Mike Douglas Show in 1974 that brought you into the living rooms of America for the first time. What a brilliant idea to use daytime TV to shock the country.

Paul: We can take credit for being geniuses and having great foresight. But the fact of the matter is, we would go on any television show back then that would have us. And we were lucky enough to have some connections to Mike Douglas and were thrilled that we could get on because most shows wouldn't have us. Not too long after that, Dick Clark became a champion of ours. And to the very end he remained someone we could go to for advice. In real life, he was even bigger than the legend. You remember the people that helped you in the beginning. Not just the ones that helped you when it was fashionable.

On this recent tour with M�tley Crüe, you've played through some brutal summer heat. But nothing seems to stop this band.

Paul: In all the sweat and all the hard work and toil, there was a basking in the glory of being KISS. Through all the sweat and all the agony of playing in that kind of weather, there was something to revel in � something to stand there and say about � "This is glorious. We are KISS."

And for newer generations, Tommy and Eric are just as much a part of the band as Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were.

Gene: You're only as good as those you share the stage with. Eric and Tommy have revitalized the band in spirit, in musicality, in stage presence � since the inception of the band.

Paul: Not only revitalized the band, but revitalized us � Gene and me. There's a vitality and a joy that Gene has and that I have that had been sorely lacking for longer than I can remember. And longer than the public will ever know. We've always tried to paint a picture that, in some ways, emulated what we grew up loving, which was the Beatles, the idea of four guys who loved each other, who lived together, who ran down the street together � that was mythology. And perhaps in the same way, we created a mythology that came back to bite us in the ass because it wasn't all true. And unfortunately, some of the people who were part of the story actually believed it.

Head over to www.KISSmonsterbook.com for information on the new book.