KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Rockin' the cover of the new issue of Aardschok magazine in The Netherlands.

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By Andrew Daly / GuitarWorld.com

KISS’s longest-serving guitarist looks back on growing into his onstage role and eventually writing one of the band’s standards, and what lies ahead after the rock institution’s final shows

 Tommy Thayer befriended Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons while his band, Black N’ Blue, toured as openers for Kiss on their Asylum road trip in the mid-’80s – but he couldn’t have known he was setting the stage for a future in the rock behemoth.

And when he lent his electro-acoustic licks to 1989’s Hot in the Shade – on Betrayed and The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away – he couldn’t have foreseen it would be the first of many Kiss adventures. 

When he took a job with Kiss in the mid-’90s, Thayer still couldn’t have dreamed it would lead to an ever-evolving role, which saw him become  tour manager, editor and producer of their longform video releases such as The Second Coming and The Last Kiss, and a session player for hire while recording 1998’s Psycho Circus.

That all led up to the most breathtaking moment of all: in 2003, he would officially wear Ace Frehley’s iconic Spaceman makeup on stage, leading to a 20-year stint that would see Thayer clock out as Kiss’s longest-tenured lead guitarist.

He’s now able to catch his breath after the conclusion of the band’s End of the Road farewell tour. Between the highs – which include packing arenas and stadiums – and lows – such as warding off armchair critics – Thayer looks back with his usual even keel.

On this day in KISSTORY - January 10, 1978 - NBC News first aired the documentary The Land Of Hype and Glory featuring KISS.

On this day in KISSTORY - January 9, 2002 - We presented the Favorite Pop Rock Male Artist award to our friend Lenny Kravitz on the American Music Awards. Kravitz thanks God for the experience and acknowledges KISS for turning him onto rock and roll music

On this day in KISSTORY - Jan. 8, 1974 - We held a press party at the Fillmore East in New York City to celebrate our debut album.

Gene Simmons:

"We played our very first industry show on Jan. 8, 1974, at the Fillmore East. We had just finished recording our first album and did a sneak for the press, friends and family. At the end of blowing up the Fillmore East for 20 minutes, my mother ran down the aisle and she ran over to Paul to tell him how wonderful she thought he was. I said, Hey, Mom, I'm over here!' " 

This very special, limited edition set of KISS Classic Rock Magazine contains four copies of issue 323, each featuring an exclusive live shot of the individual band members.

The contents of all four magazines is the same as the standard issue of Classic Rock 323.

Issue 323’s cover stars are KISS. We went backstage at the last ever show by the rock icons to talk to Gene and Paul about the enormity of it all, wallow in the end-of-an-era atmosphere and, yes, rock and roll all (one final) night.

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