KISS LAUNCHED REUNION TOUR

On this day in KISStory - June 28, 1996, the KISS Alive Worldwide Reunion tour kicked off at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI, before a sellout crowd of over 43,000! The mammoth 13-month tour included 200 shows in 26 countries, playing to over two million people and set a record for the top-grossing tour of the year.

The Tour was the first tour of all four original members - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, since the Dynasty Tour in 1979.

Set List for the Tour:

Deuce / King Of The Night Time World / Do You Love Me / Calling Dr Love / Cold Gin / Christine Sixteen / Love Gun / Shout It Out Loud / Watchin' You / Firehouse / 2,000 Man / Strutter / Shock Me / Rock Bottom / God Of Thunder / New York Groove / Let Me Go, Rock And Roll / Rock And Roll All Nite / Beth / Detroit Rock City / Black Diamond

KISS also performed the following songs at various shows on the Tour:

100,000 Years/ C'mon And Love Me / I Stole Your Love / Take Me / I Was Made For Lovin' You / Shandi / Watchin' You

THE KISS COFFEEHOUSE GRAND OPENING

On this day in KISStory - June 27, 2006 - the KISS Coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach held it's Grand Opening! Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons attended the event, signing autographs for thousands of fans, who came from as far away as Japan, the Middle East and Europe! Police on site estimated that over 5000 people attended the opening!

Here's a sneak peek of the first two pages of Paul Stanley's interview from KISS: Monster—The Official Album And Tour Magazine, which hits newsstands everywhere today!

If Gene Simmons is KISS’ fire-breathing, Cro-Magnon wraith, Paul Stanley is its gallant dragonslayer. With his iconic, romantic makeup design, flamboyant costumes and seductive stage swagger, Stanley not only defined hard-rock glamour fantasy in the 1970s, he coupled that otherworldly visage with one of the greatest howls in music history, a primal scream of such depth, range and power that he is rightly regarded as a master.

But like the band whose thunderbolt block-lettered logo he has stood in front of KISS for almost four decades, Stanley has evolved—as a songwriter, an artist, a businessman and a human being. When KISS hit hard times at the dawn of the 1980s, when the band removed their makeup and tried to become something else, when Simmons’ attentions wandered to Hollywood and sold-out arenas became half-filled stadiums, it was Stanley’s passion for the baby he helped raise that kept its pulse racing.

And even in those darker times, he was still learning how to better use the brush, writing songs that were structurally even better than KISS’ output in their early years. Stanley eventually parlayed his persona into a successful stage career, playing the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera, and constantly pushed his own creative and personal boundaries. He even found himself the late-in-life father of four children, perhaps one of his
most challenging and rewarding roles yet.

Instructions for BOOMER's Hiring Our Heroes Voting

Read the following individual "Notes" below. Each Note represents a US Veteran who is a finalist to meet and interview rock band, KISS, in July for BOOMER Magazine.

We had an overwhelming amount of entries and need YOUR help to determine our hire. Share your favorite Notes with your friends and family on Facebook, and encourage them to "like" their favorite entry. The US Veteran's note that has the most Facebook "Likes" on this page will be selected by BOOMER Magazine for the job.

www.facebook.com/BoomerMag

KISS Finalist F: William R - Indianapolis, IN

I have been a huge KISS fan since I was in High School some 35 years ago. When I served in The Marine Corps in the 1980's, I had to rebuy all of my KISS music because I was unable to take my albums with me. So I had to get cassette tapes to listen to in my squad bay, and then in my two-man rooms when they were finished.

In the past 3 years, I have seen KISS at the Indiana State fair, on 8/9/10, and at Springfield, Ill, on 7/18/2011 and I have tickets for their concert on 9/1/2012 in Noblesville. I have been to the last 2 KISS expos here In Indianapolis, and gotten my picture taken with Eric Singer twice and with Tommy Thayer once this year, and I was able to talk with Tommy because I am originally from the state of Oregon and found out that Tommy has relatives from my hometown.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE...AND WINNING!

A few weeks ago a contest was held in a very important film magazine from Argentina, which consisted of telling "how it would name the movie of your life," and the prize consisted of a poster of it specially illustrated by an artist. The winner was Fernando Daniel Adrados with his movie name "I'M KISSERO." Here is an image of Fernando with his award. This shows the passion that the public feels for KISS in Argentina.

www.lacosacine.com

Walter Tracanna

LETTERS

Here are a few pages from the next issue of the new KISS Comics. Issue #2 will be released in July. Stay tuned to KOL for more details soon.

Ths is the artwork for the KISS "Hell or Hallelujah" digital single that will be released on July 3nd in the US.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Hi Guys!

I found this KISS Sighting in a chocolate advertisement in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I´m sure you´ll find a very well known font on it, plus the face painting design. There are at least 2 different versions of it. Take care!

Marcelo Burstein

LETTERS

The Brazilian magazine BASS PLAYER presents: GENE SIMMONS – O BAIXISTA POR TRÁS DA MÁSCARA (The bassist behind the mask)!!! In its issue # 9 (June/2012), BASS PLAYER features Gene Simmons on the cover plus an 18 page article inside with an exclusive interview made by the reporter Henry de Souza. Gene talks about his bass lines, signature bass and many other subjects.

Marcio Siqueira

LETTERS

General Public Tickets for the KISS / CRÜE show in Mountain View, California go on sale today, 06/22/12 at 10:00 AM PDT.

Visit Livenation.com to buy tickets.

KISS AND MÖTLEY CRÜE have added a San Francisco Bay area show to 'The Tour!' The show will take place on Wednesday, August 15 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.

THE TOUR 2012: KISS AND MÖTLEY CRÜE
Shoreline Amphitheatre
One Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043
Wed, Aug 15, 2012 07:00 PM

KISS TOPPED 1977 GALLUP POLL

On June 22, 1977, Gallup Poll named KISS the number ONE band in America!

KISS MY ASS TRIBUTE ALBUM RELEASED

KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved was released on June 21, 1994. The tribute album, features a variety of artists covering KISS classics. The album spent 13 weeks on the Billboard chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA.

ARTIST & TRACK LISTING:

1. Lenny Kravitz/Stevie Wonder - Deuce 2. Garth Brooks/KISS - Hard Luck Woman 3. Anthrax - She 4. Gin Blossoms - Christine Sixteen 5. Toad The Wet Sprocket - Rock And Roll All Nite 6. Shandi's Addiction - Calling Dr. Love 7. Dinosaur Jr. - Goin' Blind 8. Extreme - Strutter 9. The Lemonheads - Plaster Caster 10. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Detroit Rock City 11. Yoshiki - Black Diamond 12. Die Artze - Unholy (Track included on US Vinyl / International Release only)

'Hard Luck Woman' was performed by KISS themselves with award-winning country singer Garth Brooks on lead vocals.

'Calling Dr. Love' was performed by one-off band Shandi's Addiction, featuring members of Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and Faith No More.

Canadian, Japanese and Australian copies of the album have their respective flags in place of the American Flag of the U.S. version.

KISS album cover artist Ken Kelly will hold a Meet & Greet and autograph session at the KISS Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas on August 11th and 12th. Kelly painted the classic KISS Destroyer and Love Gun album covers!

by Doug Zawisza

"KISS" #1 has the benefit of being the first KISS comic book I have ever read. The band members (referred to as a "band" in a gathering sense rather than musical) appear in their famous stage make-up and modified versions of their costumes, but are not equipped to rock the house. Instead, they are dropped into the lives of "ordinary" people and become super-powered avatars of the Elder.

Admittedly, I picked this book up mostly for Jamal Igle's artwork. His clean lines, powerful figures and detailed backgrounds are an instant draw for me. This issue is absolutely no exception. Igle really delivers some great art in this issue. Putting the Demon, the Starchild, the Celestial and the Catman on the streets of Depression-era Chicago opens up a world of visual non-conformities that make for compelling comic book images. Gene Simmons in full Demon regalia waggling his tongue at passersby on the streets of Chicago comes just pages after a gangster fires a gun that is loaded with savage, demonic spidery things. Igle is unleashed here and shows that whatever any story calls for, he can certainly handle it.

Chris Ryall's story has a deceptively simple premise: KISS in 1920s Chicago running afoul of a gangster named Wicked Lester. Yes, it's odd and contrived and heavy-handed, but Ryall farms some iconic KISS concepts with that premise. In doing so, he certainly wins favor with members of the KISS Army. Playing more along the fantastic and absurd, Ryall imbues a quartet of artifacts with the ability to transform four people into avatars of the Elder. Those four people become the black-and-white (and silver) faced characters, resplendent with powers to help them in their battle against Wicked Lester and his Destroyer-powered forces. Recognizable as the beloved band, but empowered as superheroic beings, KISS is set into conflict against a menacing foe.

Ryall coats the story concept in thick -- sometimes too thick -- explanation, giving the most uninformed comic book reader equal ground to stand on as those most devoted members of the aforementioned Army. There's a lot of information in this comic, a decent story with an intriguing cliffhanger, some great art and a nice hook for a neophyte like me. For more informed fans of the band, this book is littered with subtle and not-so-subtle winks, nods and homages. Taken as a comic book, this is a story unlike anything else that's going to be on the stands this week. Taken as a "KISS" comic, this is exactly what fans of the band have been waiting for: KISS fighting the good fight and looking stellar in doing so.