KISS HEADLINED COBO HALL FOR FIRST TIME

On April 16th, 1975, KISS headlined Detroit's Cobo Hall for the first time. The show before a sellout crowd of 12,000 plus, was part of the seventy-two date Dressed To Kill tour. It was also the first of five shows that KISS recorded for their classic album, KISS ALIVE! The famous photo on the back cover of ALIVE!, featuring KISS fans Bruce Redoute and Lee Neaves holding their hand drawn KISS sign, was taken at this concert.

Paul Stanley comments on the Cobo show and Detroit:

"This concert and the release of "Alive!" marked a pivotal giant step towards achieving domination in the 70's. "Detroit Rock City" was written as a salute to the people who championed us as a headliner when others still saw us as an opening act. We can never forget them. We decided, that was the only place we would start the Reunion Tour."

KISS BILLBOARD IN DETROIT ROCK CITY

Hi KISS & the KISS ARMY,

Four KISS billboards have popped up in the Detroit Metro area to promote the Windsor Canada show on July 11 - just across the Detroit River from Detroit Rock City!

This one was taken on Interstate 696 in Warren, Michigan. There are other billboards on I-75, and I-94 near downtown Detroit.

If this sign doesn't pump you up for the show...I don't know what will!

Best, Eddie Golatka

LETTERS click here

KISS FEATURED AT HENRY FORD MUSEUM

Get ready for a second dose of the 'tour of cool' with Rock Stars Cars & Guitars 2, an all-new summer installation on display May 16 to September 7, 2009 at Henry Ford Museum. This explosive exhibit features more than 20 cars, more than 50 guitars and a wide array of rock memorabilia, including iconic costumes and guitars from KISS!

Visitors to Rock Stars Cars & Guitars 2 can get an up-close look at:

- Star guitar, circa 1980: formerly owned by Paul Stanley and used on the Unmasked / European/Australian tours, 1980.

- Axe bass guitar, circa 1983: formerly used by Gene Simmons on the Creatures of the Night tour.

- Starchild costume worn by Paul Stanley on the KISS Alive Worldwide Reunion Tour in 1996.

- Demon costume worn by Gene Simmons on the KISS Alive Worldwide Reunion Tour in 1996.

- Spaceman costume worn by Ace Frehley on the KISS Alive Worldwide Reunion Tour in 1996.

- Catman costume worn by Peter Criss on the KISS Alive Worldwide Reunion Tour in 1996.

The exhibit is free to members or with Henry Ford Museum admission.

CLICK HERE for more info on the Exhibit.

PAUL'S FRIDAY MEDIA SCHEDULE

Paul will be appearing on several Philadelphia media outlets on Friday. Below is the schedule of appearances:

1) FOX-WTXF TV / Morning News @ 8:35 am 2) WMMR-FM Radio / The Preston & Steve Show @ 9:20 am 3) NBC-WCAU TV / The 10! Show @ 10:30 am

DEMAND-IT ULTIMATE KISS FAN CONTEST

Show the world why you're the ultimate KISS fan and a meet and greet with KISS and tickets to a show during the band's upcoming tour!

Think you're the wildest, craziest fan of the hottest band in the world? Create a video showing why you're the ultimate KISS fan, and you could be a winner!

Fan video finalists will be shown on the video screens in each city on KISS's tour roster, and five (5) Grand Prize winners will receive a pair of concert tickets for the city of their choice, plus a meet and greet experience with the band!

Rules: -Submit a video to this group to enter the contest. -Winners will be chosen based on creativity and enthusiasm, so don't hold back! -Videos must be one minute in length or less. -Be sure to include your city as one of the tags. -Contest ends on 6/30/09!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE DEMAND-IT ULTIMATE KISS FAN CONTEST.

PAUL'S WEEKEND ART SHOWS

Wentworth Gallery is pleased to present two art exhibitions by artist, rock icon and legendary KISS frontman Paul Stanley. Paul will make two special appearances at Wentworth Gallery in May.

Friday – May 15 - 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Saturday – May 16 - 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Wentworth Gallery The Court at King of Prussia 690 West Dekalb Pike King of Prussia, PA

For details on the VIP Reception with Paul Stanley or to RSVP please call 610-337-8988 or 800-732-6140

AP Photo (Chris Pizzello): Paul works on a commissioned portrait in his home studio in Beverly Hills, California.

KISS TO ROCK CALIFORNIA!

The California Mid-State Fair announced Thursday that legendary rock and roll band KISS has been signed to perform at the 2009 Fair on Tuesday, July 28.

KISS, one of the most influential rock bands of all time, will be performing in the Main Grandstand Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m. There will be a KISS ARMY presale..stay tuned for details.

You can buy tickets at the California Mid-State Fair box office, online at www.midstatefair.com, any Vallitix outlet, or charge by phone at 1-800-909-FAIR. In addition, a special phone number has been added to better serve ticket buyers: 866-872-2007.

Read...

REVENGE RELEASED

KISS released their critically acclaimed REVENGE album May 14th, 1992. With producer Bob Ezrin at the helm, a ferocious KISS delivered one of their heaviest and best albums ever! All the band members shined on this release! Ever reliable Paul Stanley was on top of his game here, delivering impassioned vocals through out the album. Even the Demon returned and proved what a committed and focused Gene Simmons is capable of! New drummer Eric Singer' power and intensity added to the KISS assault and Bruce Kulick recorded what many consider his finest KISS guitar work. REVENGE debuted at #6 on Billboard and remained on the charts for twenty three weeks. The album was certified Gold on 07/20/92.

REVENGE, which was dedicated to Eric Carr, also featured 'Carr Jam 1981,' an instrumental track written by Carr that Ezrin discovered from The Elder recordings. The song featured a thunderous Carr drum solo as the centerpiece and was a fitting tribute to the beloved drummer.

KISS released four music videos for REVENGE, 'Unholy', 'I Just Wanna', 'Domino' and 'Everytime I Look At You'. A video for 'God Gave Rock And Roll to You' was released in November 1991 to support the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey movie soundtrack.

REVENGE Track Listing:

Unholy / Take It Off / Tough Love / Spit / God Gave Rock & Roll to You II / Domino / Heart of Chrome / Thou Shalt Not / Every Time I Look At You / Paralyzed / I Just Wanna / Carr Jam 1981

KISS FANZINE PHENOMENON

Ken Sharp is helping put together an official KISS book unlike any you've ever seen. This one will chronicle the history of the KISS fanzine phenomenon. Our intention is to honor all of your fanzine editors, your fanzines and of course all the KISS fans who read and enjoyed them.

What we need from you...

If you did a KISS fanzine, please send us the name of the fanzine, how many issues/years of service. Also, send us a page bio about yourself, how you became a KISS fan, why you decided to put together a KISS fanzine, and share a most memorable KISS experience. And please feel free to send us a photo of yourself that we can possibly use as well.

Please email your KISS fanzine info and text submissions to:

sharpk@aol.com .

Photos:

If you send a photo, please be sure to provide complete information on the back with your name, address, phone # and name of your KISS fanzine

You can also send a disc with a scanned image; again, please provide your name, address, phone # and name of KISS fanzine. Also, be sure to follow the scan specs listed below:

300 DPI minimum size : 5' x 6'

In addition, we're looking for KISS fanzines from the '70s. If you ran your own KISS fanzine during that time or have copies of '70s KISS fanzines, we need your help and would greatly appreciate being sent copies as we'd like to use in the book.

Send materials (fanzines/photos) to:

Ken Sharp 16946 Burbank Blvd # 211 Encino, CA 91316 USA

By submitting photographs and materials (the 'Materials') you are not relinquishing any ownership rights that you may have in the Materials or in the underlying intellectual property rights in the Materials. However, by submitting the Materials, you are granting to KISS Catalog Ltd. ('KISS') the right to use the Materials for any purpose in connection with the KISS Fanzine book project (the 'Book'). KISS will have the right to use, publish, alter, or modify the Materials in its sole discretion and does not guarantee that it will use them in the Book. Submitted Materials will not be returned to you and you will not receive any compensation except for inclusion in credits and a statement of appreciation to contributors whose materials are used in the Book. By submitting the Materials, you are representing that you own the Materials and have the legal right to permit KISS to use them in the Book.

FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR

On May 13th, 1976 KISS played their first ever UK show at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. The show before a sellout crowd of over 2500 was the beginning of KISS' first European tour. In addition to shows in England, KISS performed in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Germany where the Scorpions were the opening act. KISS wrapped up the tour with a final show on June 6th at Ontmoetingscentrum in Harelbeke, Belgium.

Gene recalls KISS' first visit to England:

"On the way over to our first English tour, I was struck by the notion that this was the Land Of The Beatles. To me, the English Kings and Queens never meant anything. I have always looked at it as an archaic and rather silly posturing about past glories. But as cultural oddities, I suppose it had its own innocence.

Still, I was nervous to set foot on Holy Ground. We got off the jet in full makeup and the fotogs were waiting for us. We came through customs and jumped on street cars at the airport for foto ops.

I was aware it was drizzly and grey. I was hoping that would change in the next few days to sunshine. It didn't.

We had a female chaperone/record company person with us. And, she showed us the sites. I thought the least I could do was return the favor. I did.

We visited the Palace and posed with street Bobbies (the English police) and were soon to hit the stage in front of an English audience. Would they like us? Truth was, we never thought much about it. We had a job to do and that was to punish the audience. They had, for too long, stood still for sub par live bands.

It was our job to show them that there was at least one band who had the balls to introduce themselves with: YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST...THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE LAND, KISS."

Set List for the Manchester show:

Deuce / Strutter / Flaming Youth / Hotter Than Hell / Firehouse / She / Nothin' To Lose / Shout It Out Loud / 100,000 Years / Black Diamond / Detroit Rock City / Rock And Roll All Nite / Let Me Go, Rock And Roll

PAUL INTERVIEW ON JOHN DEBELLA SHOW
Here's Paul's interview with John DeBella on Philadelphia's classic rock station 102.9 WMGK. Paul discusses his art, the new KISS album and the KISS Demand It! Promotion.