Here's an advertisement for KISS' appearance at the Kollen Summer Festival in Oslo, Norway.

KISS will headline the 2nd night of the Kollen Summer Festival in Oslo, Norway on Saturday, June 30th, 2012. The concert will take place at the Holmenkollen National Arena - the roof of Oslo - made world famous by its iconic ski jump that can be seen from all over the capital. This new two day festival will feature 26 artists on three stages!

”KISS Saturday on the big stage at Kollen is a dream come true. To really experience a band like KISS you need a stage that justifies the greatness of the band, and Kollen is the only festival in Norway that can provide just that. It’s flat out extremely cool to be able to give Oslo an exclusive concert with the worlds largest rock ’n’ roll circus as the grand finale on the first edition of Kollen ever.” – Pål Jakobsen, head of booking Kollen.

Visit www.kollenfest.no/ for more information on the show, or www.billettservice.no/ to purchase tickets.

by: Karen 'Gilly' Laney

When KISS shipped their 1974 debut album out to radio stations, it included a little something extra in the form of a full color poster of the band. Nearly 40 years later, that one-time freebie courtesy of Casablanca Records & Tapes has a collector’s value of at least $1500, based on the one that recently sold on eBay.

This poster goes to prove that branding has always been important to KISS. Though Gene Simmons and company have since taken that idea to extremes, KISS has always been exceptionally clever in marketing themselves. Can you imagine a disc jockey or record store owner in a remote town opening up a promo package, finding a white label promo album that included this poster with it? This poster could have very well been the first image they saw of the band, and chances are they wanted to hear what these four boys in make-up sounded like. Mission accomplished.

Due to the way it was originally shipped, the seller notes that every copy of this poster has crease marks in it — in fact, if it doesn’t, it’s likely a reproduction. This particular poster was purchased at a KISS convention in the early ‘90s and though it does have the fold lines, it’s been in a frame since that purchase date. The listing notes a few minor flaws but overall this rarity appears in very good condition. Good enough to pay $1500 for? Apparently!

KISS BLOOD ADDED TO MARVEL COMIC BOOK

On this day in KISSTORY - May 26, 1977, KISS announce their debut KISS Marvel Comic book and deposit their own blood in the comic book ink at the Marvel printing plant.

Gene recalled the event:

As the KISS comic book project moved along, someone came up with the idea of putting real blood in the ink. It wasn't me - maybe it was Bill Aucoin. We got in the DC3, one of those big prop planes, and flew up to Buffalo to Marvel's printing plant, where they pour the ink and make comic books. A notary public actually witnessed the blood being drawn.

Thanks to Bruce Kulick for sharing this photo and note a fan sent to him!

Hey Bruce,

KISS is everywhere. Last week I was on vacation in South Carolina for bike
week in Murrells Inlet. One of the nice bartenders had her back painted with
KISS Kittys. Very nice. Hope you could forward this on.

Thanks
Rick Fiaschetti

LETTERS

KISS AT ROCK HONORS

On this day in KISStory - May 25, 2006, KISS closed ROCK HONORS, which also featured Queen, Def Leppard and Judas Priest as inaugural honorees of "VH1 Rock Honors." "VH1 Rock Honors" was launched by the network to pay homage to the gods of hard rock! The event took place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and included live performances by each of the bands.

KISS performed "Detroit Rock City," "Deuce," "Love Gun" and an unscheduled "Makin' Love." Right before the KISS set, an ALL STAR band featuring Ace Frehley, Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee, Scott Ian, Gilby Clarke and Slash ripped through a brutal version of "God of Thunder" honoring KISS.

Here's "Love Gun" from Rock Honors.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Hey guys!

I have been a huge fan of KISS since high school. I saw this wall mural in a store called "CENTRO' located in Taksim, Istanbul. I would so much appreciate if you posted it on your Facebook page, so other fans can see it as well. Hope you guys are coming to Serbia soon.

Respectfully yours,
Emina Zenovic

LETTERS

Part of U.S. Chamber’s Hiring Our Heroes Program

Gene Simmons Makes Exclusive Announcement Live on NBC’s ‘TODAY’

As part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program, world-renowned rock band KISS hired a veteran to serve as a roadie on its 2012 concert tour. Gene Simmons made the announcement this morning live on NBC’s TODAY.

“We should all step up and give our heroes, our vets, a job,” said Simmons on TODAY. “It’s the least we can do. They volunteered for us. Our heroes go and represent us on the field of battle, voluntarily. Then they come back and we throw them back out here, good luck, get a job. They should have guaranteed jobs, and you out there, get off your behinds and give our heroes a job. This is in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce.”

Army veteran and longtime KISS fan Paul Jordan was selected after a review of 1,900 applications received by Hiring Our Heroes. Jordan, who is from Buford, Georgia, served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He will start in July as a tour carpenter on the 44-city KISS tour. “It’s a dream come true,” said Jordan on TODAY. “I’ve always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow. I mean, I’ve been a fan since I was four years old. And wow, this is incredible.”

KISS made the commitment to hire a veteran for its upcoming tour on March 28, the day Hiring Our Heroes, the National Chamber Foundation, and Capital One announced the “Hiring 500,000 Heroes” campaign. The goal of the initiative is to engage the business community in committing to hire half a million veterans and military spouses by the end of 2014. In less than two months, the campaign has received more than 181,000 commitments.

By Julieanne Smolinski

Back in March, NBC News teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to launch Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative to get veterans back into the workforce. Among the many organizations to step forward and pledge to hire vets and military spouses was the rock back KISS.

KISS's job opening was for a roadie to work their upcoming summer tour with Motley Crue, and more than 1,900 hopefuls applied. And this morning on the plaza, The Demon himself, Gene Simmons was on hand to give veteran Paul Jordan a big surprise: He had been chosen to the new KISS roadie!

Paul has logged in over 27 years of military service, and served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has had even more service as a veteran in the KISS Army (with a tattoo of Simmons to prove it), having been a rabid fan of the band since he was 4. So when Simmons told him on-air that the coveted job was his, Paul was ecstatic – particularly since he'd been looking for work for a year and a half.

"Since I retired, I've had a really hard time trying to find a find a job," Paul told the TODAY anchors. "It's tough for veterans out there sometimes." He called the KISS roadie job a "dream come true. I've always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow ... This is incredible!"

Simmons, whose reality series "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" is starting a new season, said that hiring veterans "is the most important thing that we can do," and warned: "If you don't give him a round of applause right now, I'm going to find out where you live."

Factory Entertainment is releasing a 2012 Convention exclusive scaled half-size version of their full-sized Mount KISSmore collectible at half the price!

The KISS Mount KISSmore Polystone Sculpture Scaled Edition is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all time. KISS! Featuring the Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman and The Catman, this polystone monolith is handcrafted in granite effect resin and can be displayed free standing or wall mounted. A handy desktop size, it measures 7” wide x 5” tall.

Supplied in a full color branded window box, this 2012 Convention Exclusive is a limited edition of only 500 pieces.

Shipping after the convention. While supplies last.

The KISS Mount KISSmore Polystone Sculpture Scaled Edition is available for pre-order now on their website for non-attendees (shipping after the show).

CLICK HERE to pre-order now.

Here's the letter that Paul Jordan submitted along with his resume when applying for the KISS Roadie gig.

"I retired on November 1, 2010. My last job was a Squad Trainer at the Basic Officer Leader Course. I was an Infantry Squad Leader on the two deployments to Iraq and was a marksmanship instructor on my short stint in Afghanistan. This job would mean the world to me. To be able to stand off stage and point to the greatest, legendary rock show of all time and say that I helped create it, is more than I can put into words. I have been a fan since I was four years old(1975). A neighbor kid came over and snuck the KISS Alive! album under his jacket and into my room. He pulled it out and we played it on my little plastic record player. Back then, parents considered KISS dangerous for kids to like. But I was hooked and that is all I ever asked for at Christmas and birthdays. I have seen them six times, including their 1997 Reunion Tour in Budapest, Hungary. I also have Gene Simmons tattooed on my chest(see enclosed pic). This would be a dream job for me."

Gene appeared on the Today Show this morning to announce the winner of KISS' "Hiring Our Heroes" contest! KISS is hiring a veteran to join their road crew for the summer tour. Paul Jordan was brought out under the guise that he would be announced as a finalist... and Gene revealed that not only was he a finalist, he is the WINNER! Congratulations, Paul!

Get Ready to Rock for $50,000 with KISS® Scratch & Win!

With over $1.9 Million in prizes, KISS® Scratch & Win will rock you! Get your tickets at any lottery retailer in British Columbia now!

Check out the promo clip below that Paul and Gene filmed for these new scratch off tickets.

KISS DYNASTY ALBUM RELEASED

On this day in KISSTORY - May 23rd, 1979, KISS released their DYNASTY album.The album features KISS' first international top 5 smash hit, "I Was Made For Lovin' You". This song was the first collaboration between Paul Stanley and Desmond Child for KISS. Though known for that great disco song, other more rockin' DYNASTY tracks included "X-Ray Eyes", "Save Your Love", "Magic Touch" and "Hard Times". The album is filled with some of KISS' most melodic and catchy hooks. Led by the success of "I Was Made For Lovin' You", DYNASTY spent 25 weeks on the charts peaking at #9 and was certified Platinum by July!

Except for Peter Criss's sole appearance on "Dirty Livin", which featured his lead vocals and drumming, it was Anton Fig who handled the drums on all other songs on DYNASTY.

KISS released two promotional videos for DYNASTY, "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and the great Paul Stanley pop rocker "Sure Know Something".

DYNASTY Track Listing:

I Was Made For Lovin' You / 2,000 Man / Sure Know Something / Dirty Livin' / Charisma / Magic Touch / Hard Times / X-Ray Eyes / Save Your Love

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Hi KISS & the KISS Army!

I saw this poster in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, which is the hometown of Andy Griffith. The coolest show on TV meets the coolest rock band!

Jeff Thomas

LETTERS

Tune in to NBC's The Today Show tomorrow morning between 8:20 and 8:40 am for a very exciting announcement for a very special American hero as KISS announce the Veteran they will hire to be a roadie on their upcoming summer tour. The band chose this Veteran out of over 2000 resumes that were sent in! KISS is proud to support the national HIRING OUR HEROES program.