Excerpted from an article by by Melissa Ruggieri / Atlanta Music Scene

In case you thought there was one industry that KISS hadn’t cornered, well, keep looking.

Last fall, the band’s new slot machines debuted at the Borgata in New Jersey and have now made their way into the Las Vegas casinos.

This isn’t the first time the quartet has been immortalized with their own row of reels, but the visuals and multimedia elements that accompany this latest incarnation are impressive – and no doubt the timing of their release was to coincide with the band’s robust new album, “Monster.”

Since I had zero luck when I first played the game in Jersey in November, never experiencing the all-important bonus round that truly shows a slot’s entertainment value, I was wary of feeding the beast more money at the Venetian in Las Vegas last week.

But, I’m glad I did, as this machine was much more accommodating, frequently rolling into bonus rounds where players pick a “Backstage Pass” bonus that awards free spins and other incentives. A breathy-voiced female might also bring you to an “encore” round if you’re (financially) lucky and you can only hope to get a row of Gene Simmons’ snaking tongues, which turn wild and can be lucrative.

What is most engaging about the slot – as it should be for something dedicated to KISS – is the music. An innovative feature is the cassette tape (ha) at the top of the screen that allows you to choose a background song while you play. If you get tired of “Detroit Rock City” after a few minutes, just touch it again and you might land on “Rock and Roll All Nite” or “Calling Dr. Love.”

Also cool? The characters showcase the original foursome with plenty of nods to classic album covers.

DEAN SNOWDEN’S BEEN WORKING WITH KISS SINCE A LONG TIME AGO. HE HAS MANY DUTIES WITH THE BAND BUT HE LIKES TO CALL HIMSELF “THE KISS AMBASSADOR”. READ THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND YOU’LL FIND OUT WHY...

KISS Army Argentina: Hello, Dean, thank you for your time for this interview. It is an honor for us.

Dean Snowden: First off thanks for having me in a KISS Army interview.

KISS Army Argentina: KISS has had a very busy year, and as usual, your work has been essential. You do lots of things and your duties are extremely important when it comes to spreading what the band does. Having said this, how would you describe a typical day with KISS on tour?

Dean Snowden: My duties with KISS are important, but we all know that anyone can be replaced so everyday we stride to give the fans what they have come to expect from the Hottest Band in the World.This includes Band and Crew. A typical day for me is to wake up on the bus and go right to work usually about 17 hours, this is probably after we have loaded out in last nights city, slept while traveling to the next city, and prepare to entertain the KISS Army again.

Interview: KISS Guitarist Tommy Thayer Discusses His Signature Epiphone "Spaceman" Les Paul

by John Katic

It's hard to imagine that 10 years have gone by since Tommy Thayer officially took over as the “Spaceman” in Kiss.

It seemed only fitting that the Spaceman should don the Les Paul. However, as fate would have it, Thayer has been a longtime Les Paul player, even back in his days in Black and Blue.

Thayer's 10th year in Kiss — and the band's 40th year in business — is commemorated by Epiphone's release of its Tommy Thayer Signature Edition "Spaceman" Les Paul. Featuring an eye-catching silver-sparkle top and top-of-the-line components, and made as a limited edition of 1,000 guitars, this model is sure to become a must-have for Kiss fans around the globe.

We recently caught up with Thayer to discuss the new model in detail.

Story from KISS: MONSTER - The Official Album and Tour Magazine #2

By Chris Alexander

Gene Simmons changed the rules of rock and roll when he created The Demon, a hulking, nightmarish blood dribbling, fire monster with a sex drive, as intent on demolishing cities a la Godzilla as he was destroying bass lines and deflowering your daughters.

Indeed, The Demon is a villain, that dark part of Simmons culled from his child-like love of Lon Chaney, weird fantasy and four color pulp fiction. So, when KISS drifted into the 80’s and lost their make-up and element of visual phantasmagoria, where was Gene to channel all that darkness?

Well, onto the silver screen of course.

While KISS sourced new line-ups and Paul scrambled to keep them relevant, Gene rolled the dice and made a series of genre romps, many of which called on him to be morally checkered and in most cases downright evil. Time has filed away many of these pictures and a serious look at Gene’s excellent work (in most cases, his presence is what made the films) in them is long overdue. Here then, is a look at five undervalued movies that saw everyone’s favorite Demon chew scenery and freak out his co-stars.

RUNAWAY (1984)

Late writer/director and all around visionary Michael Crichton (JURASSIC PARK, COMA) directed this vaguely futuristic action thriller that saw Tom Selleck (TV’s MAGNUM PI) as a cop out to stop an evil genius named Luther (Simmons, natch) who has created an army of killer robot spiders and smart bullets. Tightly wound and played straight, RUNAWAY has plenty going for it, chief among its attributes is Simmons’ well tailored, dead eyed, criminal mastermind, his first on-screen role since 1978’s KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK.

Spin Magazine Stops Printing: These Were Its 20 Best Covers

Excerpted from a Business Insider article by Christina Austin

After 27 years, Spin ended its print publication last month. It joins Newsweek and SmartMoney, which also decided to end their print editions last year.

Lest we forget, we've gathered images of the 20 best covers in Spin's history.

Paul Stanley of KISS was featured on the August 1996 cover. Four different covers, each showing a different Kiss member, were released that month, in a move that paralleled the band's famous solo albums. The issue was one of the best-selling in Spin's history.

Paul Stanley's Washburn guitars are now on sale for the 2013 KISS MONSTER Tour. You can own one of the most collectible KISS guitars of all and meet with Paul before the show!

2013 MONSTER TOUR GUITAR OPTIONS:

- 'SMASHED' Starfire
- Stage-Played Starfire
- Autographed Starfire
- Stage-Played Flying V
- Autographed Flying V
- Acoustic Meet & Greet show guitar

All options include a personal meet-and-greet before the KISS show with Paul for you and one guest!

Your guitar will be autographed / personalized with the inscription of your choice.

For more information visit www.paulstanleyguitars.com .

Here's your chance to purchase Gene Simmons' actual, live, stage-played AXE or Punisher bass, given to you right from the stage after the Demon himself bleeds, sweats and spits on it!

Meet Gene on the 2013 KISS MONSTER Tour at a backstage meet-and greet... then watch as Gene rocks your bass from the stage! Don't miss this opportunity to purchase one of the most unique KISS collectibles ever!

For more information visit www.gsaxe.com .

Check out these great KISS photos from RockinHouston.com

RockinHouston.com is an online photo exhibition featuring 40 years of mostly unpublished original photographs from concerts in Houston and the surrounding area as well as tickets, posters, handbills, backstage passes and other memorabilia. The site includes KISS photos from various tours between 1974 and 1985.

Click here to view the RockinHouston's KISS photo galleries.

Story from KISS: MONSTER - The Official Album and Tour Magazine #2

Paul Stanley wore a different kind of disguise on stage as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

By Chris Alexander with Tim Sullivan

The year is 1999: a significant year in KISStory as it saw the release of the feature film DETROIT ROCK CITY itself coming hot on the heels of the band’s 19th studio album PSYCHO CIRCUS and several sold out world tours. But for Paul Stanley, 99 marked an even great personal achievement, that of his starring role as the Phantom in the long running Toronto production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash stage musical THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

Stanley’s turn as The Phantom played out night from May to August, returning in September to October on the stage of the historic Pantages Theatre (now the Cannon) on Toronto’s Yonge Street and as this writer can attest, no previous incarnation anywhere of the play commanded such a unique response. Show after show, a diverse group of Phantom-philes, curious tourists and most uniquely, hardcore KISS fans in full make-up, many of whom flew in from all corners of the globe to see their hero sing The Music of the Night, descended upon the Pantages. It was the ultimate hybrid of higher culture and flamboyant rock and roll.

How do I know? Well, I was an usher in that very theatre. A KISS fan thrilling to this bizarre and brilliant turn of events, every evening. Years later, myself and filmmaker/DRC co-producer Tim Sullivan ventured to Paul’s Hollywood home to discuss KISS, the success of SONIC BOOM, the planning of MONSTER…and here, in this portion of our chat, his memorable turn as the tragic, disfigured genius committing murder in the name of love in the bowels of a Paris opera house.

Our close friend and former bandmate Bruce Kulick has announced his engagement to his girlfriend Lisa!

We wish them all the best for a great future together.

New this year for the KISS KRUISE III: Meet and Greet just for Kids!

- A Family Mini-Suite option to give families more room to stretch out for an affordable rate
- Improving the Stardust seating and allowing guests to select their own seat when booking
- KISS will be hosting a Meet & Greet JUST FOR KIDS (2-14, no parents allowed)! Each child will get ONE item autographed along with a large group photo with the band.

For more details, visit the KISS KRUISE III website at www.thekisskruise.com! And, if you didn't sail with us on a previous Kruise, you can still sign up for the general presale at this link.

The KISS Slot Machine is starting to appear in casinos. I was in Las Vegas for the last couple of days and found it at both Paris and Flamingo. I'm an avid slot player and have been looking forward to playing this machine ever since it was announced! WMS really did a great job on this game! It looks great and sounds amazing with surround sound speakers built into the seat. Even slot players who aren't necessarily KISS fans will really enjoy this game since it has tons of features and different bonus games that are very entertaining and fun to play. (The big bonus for me was that this was one of the machines I won a lot of money on! : ) As a big fan of both KISS and slot machines, this is a match made in heaven!

Gary Guzman Chicago, IL

LETTERS

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Here's The Holy Rollers N.Y.B., which is part of the Philadelphia Mummers New Year's Parade that marches down Broad Street for the popular annual event. This year the club did a KISS theme called "KISS it!"...I had to share this with everyone in the KISS ARMY!

Nicolino Maiellano


Parade photos are from PHL 17. CLICK HERE to view more Parade photos at PHL 17.com.

There has never been an American rock and roll band like KISS, recognized around the world for their hard-rockin' and spectacular stage show. Over the last decade, while many of their colleagues have struggled to keep an audience, KISS has enjoyed a renaissance with sold out tours around the world, great record reviews, and a renewed spirit.

Much of that can be attributed to lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. Thayer had been a behind-the-scenes member of the KISS family since 1985 working as a songwriter, guitarist, and even a video producer. But in 2002, Thayer joined KISS full time as the legendary "Spaceman," giving the rock legends an explosive new sound and attitude. Now, Epiphone is proud to present the Ltd. Ed. Tommy Thayer "Spaceman" Les Paul Standard Outfit, a beautiful Les Paul Standard in a one-of-a-kind Silver Flake color finish that's worthy of KISS's 21st century "Spaceman." Epiphone spoke with Thayer about his Les Paul, joining KISS, and his first trip to Hollywood in the early '80s.

Tommy, thanks for speaking with us and congrats on your Ltd. Ed. Tommy Thayer "Spaceman" Les Paul Standard. Epiphone fans have been very excited about this guitar. What when through your mind when you realized that you could design your own guitar?

The top-rated German TV show, RTL's Chart Show, has chosen KISS' "I Was Made For Lovin' You" as the #1 biggest party hit of all time!