Essay by M
Photograph by Jessica N. De Santiago (Apples)
Excerpted from EP Culture Beat

"We all came here to escape from the world tonight," yelled Paul Stanley, lead singer of KISS, before the group launched into "Rock and Roll All Night."

KISS brought their fiery rock and roll show to the Don Haskins Center on Wednesday night. The platform shoe wearing rockers played a set consisting of KISS classics like set opener, "Deuce," "Strutter," "Dr. Love," "Love Gun" and "Lick it Up."

KISS is one of those bands that incite weird and very disparate feelings in people. Some say, "f*ck KISS," but other's say, "F*cking Awesome." People that say the latter are either super fans of the group or they were lucky enough to catch the blood and thunder of their theatrical live performances.

Here is a pic of 5-year-old drummer Logan "Robot" backstage with Eric Singer! Thanks Eric for always being so cool to Logan! For Halloween a few weeks ago, Logan dressed up as Eric and we took this video of him playing along to his favorite new Kiss song 'Modern Day Delilah'. As you can tell from the video, Logan has already seen his fair share of Kiss shows - and he'll be seeing a few more this weekend in TEXAS! Enjoy the video!

Best,
Kevin Gladden

By Doug Pullen
Excerpted from El Paso Times


It's easy to think of Kiss as a mere branding opportunity. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and company practically pioneered blatant self-promotion in rock 'n' roll, selling everything from underwear to caskets with their distinctive brand on it.

But there's another, more vital role that the men in tights and black-and-white makeup have played in our world these past 36 years.

"We all came here to escape from the world tonight," Stanley announced more than midway through a 2-hour and 15-minute performance Wednesday before a sell-out crowd at UTEP's Don Haskins Center.

KISS at Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Hi KISS,

My family and I visited the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in London over Thanksgiving. My kids, Chris and Ally, found this unique display of the Demon. Why is it unique? It is made out of Cow Manure!

Thanks,
Raymond Law

LETTERS

By John Dingwall

HALLOWEEN is well past but somebody forgot to tell timeless rockers Kiss as they continue their world tour ... complete with make-up and spandex.

The American rock band, who formed in New York City in 1973, are back on the road and heading to Scotland.

Picture the scene as their fans dig out the six-inch platform boots in a bid to re-live the first time they caught Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons stick out their oversized tongues while noodling on guitar and bass.

Along with musicians Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, the heavy metal gods will wreak controlled havoc at Glasgow's SECC on May 9 next year.

On the second night of the Detroit shows that opened the Alive 35 tour, the historic KISS banner shown on the back cover of KISS Alive! returned to Cobo Hall. Here's KISS holding that banner... 35 years later.

KISS is the featured artist in the December 2009 issue of Kerrang's Gig Guide!

By Larry Rodgers
Photo by Emmanuel Lozano

Kiss sounded better in Glendale than the 35-year-old band has in several years, hinting that the drama-filled exits of two founding members may have benefited things in the long run.

Longtime co-leaders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons kept a healthy-but-not-sold-out crowd at Jobing.com Arena on its feet with two hours of classics and a handful of songs from the band's new "Sonic Boom" album on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Kiss purists no doubt lamented the absence of guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, but the band sounded sharper and more energetic as replacements Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer settled into their permanent status with the group.

The band, nominated this year for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, continues to stage one of the most over-the-top shows in rock.

The Glendale crowd, which included a number of children with faces painted to match their parents' heroes, ate up the extra-large helping of pyrotechnics, fireworks and acrobatics by bassist Simmons and singer-guitarist Stanley.

As if anyone needed reminding, master of ceremonies Stanley pointed out that Kiss concerts are all about escaping from the pressure of the outside world for a few hours.

Here's a fan-filmed clip of KISS opening last night's Glendale, Arizona show with "Deuce!"

Here's a clip of KISS from the German television show "Leute Heute" ("People Today") filmed at last week's Anaheim show.

Fox News recently aired a segment on KISS's current tour, Sonic Boom, and their 35-year career. Watch it here!

By David Glessner

Ask a rock star to confess an addiction, and you're likely to start feeling dirty. Or not.

"I worship cake and cookies," said KISS bassist Gene Simmons when pressed for a guilty pleasure. "If women were made of cake, it would solve all my problems. I don't care about pasta and steaks. I don't eat lobsters or crabs; to me they're cockroaches. I tolerate food, but I dream about cake."

Not to be confused with Cookie Monster, 60-year-old Simmons is the larger-than-life, blood-smeared, fire-breathing demon of kabuki rock gods KISS. Celebrating 35 years as the self-proclaimed hottest band in the world, KISS brings its dynasty of spectacle to Texas this week, with a concert at Austin's Frank Erwin Center on Friday, followed by shows in Houston and Dallas on Saturday and Sunday.

Not to be confused with Cookie Monster, 60-year-old Simmons is the larger-than-life, blood-smeared, fire-breathing demon of kabuki rock gods KISS. Celebrating 35 years as the self-proclaimed hottest band in the world, KISS brings its dynasty of spectacle to Texas this week, with a concert at Austin's Frank Erwin Center on Friday, followed by shows in Houston and Dallas on Saturday and Sunday.

Among KISS' caboodle of famous tricks and treats, of course, is Simmons' serpentine lollipop licker. "When I was a kid in seventh grade, the girls all used to say, 'Hey Gene, show us that trick you do,'" he said. "So, I'd stick my tongue out and start wiggling it, and they'd all start giggling like turkeys to the slaughter."

My Favorite Street: Via Roma, Scarperia, Italy

By Jayne Haugen Olson

During 35 years as frontman for the hard-rocking, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-nominated band KISS, Paul Stanley has traveled the world over... and over. Coming off the fall release of its new album, Sonic Boom (which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200,) the band wraps its North American tour this month before Stanley settles in for the holidays with his family in Los Angeles.

Having played the world, is there one place that stands out to the dynamic rocker? "This past year after we finished a European tour, I had my whole family -- my kids, my wife, my parents and her parents, fly to Italy. We stayed in a Medici villa in a little town called Vicchio, in the Mugello region," Stanley says. "While we were there, we visited a little town called Scarperia. This street [Via Roma] was just so terrific -- a pizzeria on the corner and gelato and pastry shop up the street. What else do you need?"

"There's a building called II Palazzo dei Vicari [built in the 14th century,] something between a museum and a city hall and a government building -- a fabulous, fabulous building, where you can learn about the Medici family and see family crests and all of these great artifacts."

The town's mayor gave Stanley special access to a precious historical archive within II Palazzo dei Vicari.

On Monday night's episode of Lopez Tonight, George Lopez mentioned that KISS is one of his favorite bands, and guest Katey Sagal went on to share a story about her friendship with Gene Simmons. Check it out!

CNN International's Alan Duke interviewed KISS backstage before their Los Angeles show for an episode of "Backstory." Here's the clip!