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.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

By Kyle Anderson

In the song ”Blood Brothers,” from her most recent album, Human Again, Ingrid Michaelson sings about the deep-rooted connections between people: “We’re all the same under a different name/We’re all blood, we’re all blood, blood brothers.”

It’s only appropriate, then, that the video for the song features her getting under the skin of some of her favorite pop icons — including David Bowie, Gene Simmons, and Amy Winehouse.

The clip shows Michaelson not just as the stars, but in transit to becoming each one of them in the makeup chair. (It’s a pretty cool effect, though it must have been murder on her pores.)

CLICK HERE to watch the video at EW.com

All Star Salute to the Oregon Military...

The "All Star Salute to the Oregon Military" gala raised over $400K, kicking off the two-year, $6.5 million Oregon Military Museum Capital Campaign last Friday evening May 18, at the Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, Ore. The museum will be named in honor of Retired Brigadier General James B. Thayer Sr., one of Oregon's finest military and civic leaders and father of KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer. In attendance were Honorary Co-Chairs, Oregon Governors Vic Atiyeh (1979-1987) and Ted Kulongoski (2003-2011), as well as special guests Robert Waxwell (Congressional Medal of Honor recipient), Master of Ceremonies Peter Jacobsen (PGA star), Bill Schonely (Basketball Hall of Fame), Doc McGhee (KISS manager) and Patrick Lamb (Grammy-nominated Jazz musician). The evening featured film documentaries on BG James B. Thayer Sr.'s career, and the History of the Oregon Military. A live auction that included a KISS-autographed guitar and KISS Concert package raised over $185K. The night culminated with a live performance by the Patrick Lamb Band that featured KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer joining in on several songs.

Visit TommyThayer.com to view more photos from the event.

Here's a KOL sneak peek of the new Paul Stanley '1974' action figure. The figure pictured is a prototype that was submitted for approval. The KISS '1974' Figures will be released later this year by Figures Toys.

Stay tuned to KISSOnline for more details on upcoming KISS Action Figure releases.

The 2012 Chicago KISS Fan Expo will take place at the Holiday Inn at 411 So. Larkin Ave. Joliet, IL 60436 on Saturday, June 9th.

Come out and join KISS fans & friends from all over the Midwest and share your love for all things KISS.

KISSOnline will be attending the event with the latest Official KISS merchandise! We look forward to seeing everyone!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

- KISS Tribute Band “ Psycho Circus” live performance
- New and vintage KISS merchandise for sale all day
- Drawings, contests, and prizes
- The Gene Simmons Axe Bass tour bus will be on site
- Eric McKenna of Boogie Street Guitars

CLICK HERE for tickets and more information.

The 2012 Chicago KISS Fan Expo is a fan produced event. By the fans, for the fans!

On this day in KISSTORY - May 20, 1980, KISS released Unmasked, their eighth studio album. The artwork featured Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, although Criss actually had no involvement with the recording of the album. Anton Fig (uncredited) played all drums on the album.

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 30, 1980.

UNMASKED Track Listing:

Is That You? / Shandi / Talk To Me / Naked City / What Makes The World Go Round / Tomorrow / Two Sides Of The Coin / She's So European/ Easy As It Seems /Torpedo Girl / You're All That I Want

Here's the music video for "Shandi."




Check out this commercial for the KISS "Unmasked" album.

KISS ROCKED AMERICAN IDOL FINALE

On this day in KISSTORY - May 20, 2009, KISS rocked over 25 million Americans with Detroit Rock City and Rock and Roll All Night as the band was front-and-center on the American Idol finale show performing with runner-up Adam Lambert.

- KISS was just about the best thing on Idol ALL SEASON LONG. - Rolling Stone

- a jaw-dropping, fist-pumping, pyro-enhanced performance with legendary rockers KISS. - MTV

- KISS Blow Up American Idol. Now that's the way to rock the house! - Associated Content

- It was a night to remember for all those members (including me) of the KISS Army. - WBAL Radio

- Carlos Santana had the unenviable task of following the act. He strummed out some of his famous licks, which felt very slow-paced after the unbelievable energy KISS brought to the theatre. I was actually screaming to see more KISS by this point. - TV Envy

Here's an excerpt from yesterday's Montreal Gazette story - "We want your opinion: Jimi Hendrix? KISS? Which musicians, bands should make Top 10 in our series Who wrote the book of rock?"

By Bernard Perusse, Gazette Music Columnist
Photograph by: Kevin Winter/ , Getty Images

Some of our readers have weighed in with their thoughts on who should make the Top 10 list. Here’s a cross-section.

KISS belongs in your Top 10 list.

They revolutionized music MARKETING. They took the plain old concert tee and turned it into a billion dollar industry.

Perhaps Jimi Hendrix defined rock guitar playing and the Beatles define an era, but KISS changed the marketing of music, and their lessons helped create MTV (visuals being important to music). Madonna stole from their book.

– Mitch Lafon

KISS PERFORMED AT MAGIC MOUNTAIN

On this day in KISSTORY - May 19th, 1978, KISS performed a free concert at Magic Mountain Amusement Park in Valencia, California to film the concert scenes for the "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park." The concert took place in the parking lot of Magic Mountain. Tickets were distributed through a California radio station and approximately 10,000 fans attended the show. KISS performed a full regular set list and then lip-synched "Love Gun" and "Shock Me" for the movie. Between the concert and filming the extra scenes, the shoot lasted several hours and the band members interacted with the crowd through out the event.

Paul on the concert and film shoot:

"I remember it all like it was yesterday. Doing a film and a concert in a band where some were barely speaking to each other and others not speaking at all was even weirder than the script! I still can't figure out the end of the film."

KISS Meet & Greet and VIP packages for 'THE TOUR' are selling quickly! Only a limited number of packages remain for most shows. Act now if you plan on having the ultimate KISS experience!

The following cities are either SOLD OUT or only have a few packages remaining.

Virginia Beach (7/21), Atlanta (7/25), Charlotte (7/25), Birmingham (7/31), The Woodlands, TX (8/3), Dallas (8/4), Englewood (8/8), Las Vegas (8/11), Irvine (8/14), Tulsa (8/26), St. Louis (8/27), Cincinnati (8/31), Indianapolis (9/1), Detroit (9/5), Chicago (9/7), Toronto (9/13), Mansfield (9/16), Camden (9/19) and Wantagh (9/22).

Here's your chance to have the ultimate KISS experience on "THE TOUR" 2012 tour! Enjoy a KISS VIP Tour package, or a KISS Meet & Greet package that includes exclusive access to KISS' preshow soundcheck!

KISS and Motley Crue will bring "THE TOUR" to the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on Aug. 1.

General public tickets for the 7 p.m. show go on sale today at 10 a.m. and are $151, $96 and $66, reserved. There is a ticket limit of 8 per person for the first day of sale. Tickets may be purchased at the KFC Yum! Center, the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center ticket offices. Tickets may also be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets.