'KISS' race to victory in Beaconsfield stretcher race

By Lawrence Dunhill

FOUR wannabe heavy metal stars clinched victory in the 'world's fastest pub crawl' – as thousands flocked to Beaconsfield to honour an old tradition.

The stretcher race, with 18 teams in fancy dress costumes, was the centre of attention at the Beaconsfield Country Fayre in Windsor End yesterday.

Teams of stretcher bearers raced between pubs in the Old Town, each carrying a 'casualty' while downing a half pint in every drinking hole.

The starts were staggered so teams were racing against the clock, which meant a nervous wait before 'KISS' were announced the winners.

Dressed as members of the American rock band, the team of Beaconsfield friends finished with a time of 11 minutes 33 seconds.

Captain Rich Power, 43, said of the costumes: “We just really like rock music and we live on the edge.”

He added: “We did the race last year as mummies but didn't do so well. I think the difference this year was we were a bit more prepared. Everyone was more match-fit and we new the route a bit better.”

Helping carrying Rich's ten-year-old daughter Molly, were David Kennett, 39, Charlie Murray, 39 and James Andrews, 43.

Thanks to Wojtek Szenfeld for sending KOL this "KISS IS EVERYWHERE!"

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Dear KISS,

This year's Stevenson High School's halftime show theme is "Road Trip", with songs based on locations around the USA. Of course, one of these is "Detroit Rock City". When we go up to band camp every year, we do karaoke, and this year the trumpets rewrote the lyrics to the song to have marching band-related lyrics! To top it all off, halfway through the song, four of us came out dressed in full KISS outfits and makeup! (Eric Riedel as the Space Ace, Emily Moran as the Catman, Ryan Perry as the Starchild, and myself as the Demon). We were definitely the highlight of the evening!

-Alec de Leon

LETTERS

Here are some of the many great fan photos sent to KISSOnline recently!

Keep them coming, KISS Army...we love seeing them!

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Thanks to David Cohen for sending KOL a photo of this KISS Pez artwork he spotted on a T-shirt in TEL AVIV, ISRAEL.

The article is also featured in the October, 2011 issue of Golf Magazine, just out on the newsstands.

You're the lead guitarist in Kiss and the band's only golfer. Do the other members tease you?

They used to make jokes when they saw me reading Golf Magazine, saying things like, "Hey, how's your stiff shaft?" Now I think they're jealous because I'm at charity events with cool stars, and I play places like Medinah, Winged Foot and Augusta. Gene [Simmons] came to my charity event last year, but he doesn't have the patience for golf.

That's probably for the best—it's bad etiquette to spew blood during someone's backswing. What similarities are there between playing golf and playing guitar?

A lot. Golf and guitar are both very Zen, very in-the-moment. In golf, you don't want too many technical thoughts. It's the same playing in front of 10,000 people. I'm not thinking, "I'm moving my fingers this way, and now I'll go over here on the stage." No, you just let go. I'm an 11 handicap. I've been playing since I was 12, and it took a while to learn that. Be in the moment.

Surprising Success and a Cool Job

First Ever KISS Kruise Launches October 13

By Paul Motter

Most of us have to work hard for a living, but Andy Levine gets to run Sixthman Productions , and he might have a little more fun than workers stuck behind a desk all day.

His company was just named as one of the nation's 500 fastest-growing companies by Inc. Magazine and was rated at number 87 overall, and the leader in the travel category. But calling Sixthman a travel company is like saying Eric Clapton is just a guitar player.

Sixthman Productions specializes in one particular kind of theme cruise: live rock 'n' roll concerts on cruise ships. Two of my favorite things are live music and cruising, combine them, and they’re magic.

How does Sixthman work? First it charters a cruise ship that holds 1,600 to 3,600 passengers. Chartering an entire ship means Sixthman gets total control of the cruise: where it sails and stops, food selections and who provides the entertainment. Naturally, they scrap the cruise line's usual production shows like “Karaoke Live!” and instead offer live concerts with headliner rock 'n' roll bands.

While the process sounds fun, it's not as simple as it sounds.

Sebastian Bach has been given a boost after Hurricane Irene destroyed his home - he found a priceless KISS album in the wreckage.

The former Skid Row rocker was devastated after his New Jersey house was destroyed by the storm, causing him to lose irreplaceable mementos and one-of-a-kind rock memorabilia.

But his spirits were lifted on Wednesday (31 Aug 11) after he discovered his childhood copy of KISS Alive! in the carnage.

Bach posted a picture of the record on his Facebook.com page, writing, "Ripped today from the clutches of Irene... this is the exact copy if (sic) KISS Alive! that my dad gave to me when I was 10 years old. Years later Gene Simmons was cool enough to sign it for me... This was yanked out of Irene's soggy clutches... & ynow (sic) what? Fuck you Irene!" Can the Gargoyles be next?

The star is now planning to relocate to Los Angeles to start afresh.

Gene Simmons will marry his girlfriend of 28 years, the actress and former Playmate Shannon Tweed, in an October ceremony, his representative said on Thursday.

The wedding will put a traditional twist on a decidedly untraditional relationship between the hard rock icon and the model that, since 2006, has been chronicled in the reality TV show "Gene Simmons: Family Jewels" on cable network A&E.

The Israeli-born Simmons and the Canadian-born Tweed have two adult children together, Nick and Sophie.

An invitation for the wedding, which will be held on October 1 in Los Angeles, was created that contains drawings of the family done by Nick Simmons and a message by Sophie Simmons.

"There will no longer be a Team Tweed or a Team Simmons but instead a Team Tweed-Simmons," the message read.

Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte / Reuters
Photo: Charley Gallay/AMA/Getty Images for AMA

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

National Museum of American History

Thanks to Neil Cohen for sending this photo of his kids in the KISS merchandise section at the National Museum of American History gift shop.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Women from Atlanta pose with Gene Simmons lookalike Peyton at the annual DragonCon parade in downtown Atlanta.

Photo by Jason Getz / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Check out these funny KISS mini-posters that are being released with the new set of KISS Potato Heads. One random poster is included in each KISS Potato Heads Box Set. Obviously, the posters are based on KISS' Dressed To Kill, Solo Faces and Rock and Roll Over artwork.

These are the KISS Nebraska Lottery Stand-ups that are being used to promote the new KISS Scratch Game.

Nebraska knows there is a part of you that wants to Rock and Roll All Night, and maybe even Party Every Day. That part may be way down, deep inside of you, but it’s just aching to come out and play.

Nurture your inner-rock star by playing the Nebraska Lottery’s $5 KISS Scratch Game. Each time you scratch, you have a chance at winning the top prize of $50,000. And if you don’t scratch a winner, we’ll give you an encore chance at fame and fortune. Just enter the KISS Second-Chance Giveaway.

Nebraska Lottery MVP Club Members may enter two non-winning $5 KISS Scratch tickets for a chance to win one of two Grand Prize trips to Rock’n’Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles, California, and other prizes.

Tickets may be entered online from August 26, 2011, to October 31, 2011.

* Grand Prize: Paid enrollment for one individual to attend Rock’n’Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles, California, November 10-13, 2011, featuring Paul Stanley of KISS. Package includes camp registration, flight, hotel and $1,000 spending cash. Prize also includes a compact disc copy of Destroyer by KISS;
* Second Prize: $1,000 cash and a compact disc copy of Destroyer by KISS; and
* Third Prize: $500 cash and a compact disc copy of Destroyer by KISS

http://www.nelottery.com/article.xsp?aid=2570

Pictured: Here is the promotional poster for the new KISS Nebraska Lottery Scratch Game.