Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley Disrespect KISS Fans One Last Time

On Eddie Trunk's radio show last night, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley disclosed that Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are preventing the original four members of the band from reuniting onstage at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony to take place in New York in April.

While the Hall of Fame has been clear that they are inducting the original four members of the band, Simmons and Stanley contend that they should have the new version of KISS, which has Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer posturing as Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss.

If there is to be a live performance I think this is a slap in the face to the original lineup of KISS and especially to the legion of lifelong fans who campaigned long and hard to get the band into the Hall of Fame in the first place.

Gene and Paul have always said that the fans were number one and that the fans were "the boss" but clearly that is not the case. This is nothing but a self-serving slap in the face designed to continue to promote the new version of KISS as the only version of KISS and to disregard the legacy started by the original four members.

Reading a post by Trunk who has insight into the Hall of Fame process, this is mostly a Paul Stanley call. Paul made it very clear that he doesn't care about the Hall of Fame and he does not feel honored to be involved.

Granted the Hall of Fame took 15 years to induct KISS, but the fact of the matter is that without Peter and Ace coming back into the band for the reunion tour Paul and Gene would still be would be playing small theaters wouldn't be living in their giant mansions.

I first got into KISS in 1978 when I was 10 years old and they literally changed my world. I became a lifelong guitar player primarily because of Ace. I stuck with the band to the disco era and while I lost touch with them in the 80s, I happily reengaged with the band for the reunion tour farewell tours.

Even though I was not comfortable having Eric Singer or and Tommy Thayer take on the personas of Peter and Ace, I stuck with the band because I really wanted my children to be able to see what I saw when I was a kid and to experience whatever magic and bombast was still left in the group.

But after this move, if it's true, I am done with these guys. They will get no more of my money.

Book Review - Ace Frehley No Regrets

I ripped through Ace Frehley’s book No Regrets in about three days. I am a life-long KISS fan and thought I had read it all, but let me tell you – I learned more about Ace and KISS than I had in years. The book fills in all sorts of holes in KISStory and gives the first really comprehensive picture of the man behind the Spaceman persona.

Usually I want to skip over the ‘childhood’ portion of biographies but Ace’s is really interesting and goes a long way to explain his laid back live-and-let-live demeanor. His entry into music is really interesting too, with some great, great stories, like how he used to sneak backstage at concerts and one time got dragged onstage to set up Mitch Mitchell’s drums at a Hendrix concert!

I was pleasantly surprised that Ace didn’t spend a lot of time on stories that have been told a thousand times by Gene and Paul, such as the fact that the band set up hollow speaker cabinets in their first club gigs to make the backline look bigger. He wisely skipped all of that and instead told new stories – plenty of stuff I had never heard before. I feel like Ace could fill a whole book with stories about drunken escapades and escapes from near death, and… oh wait that is exactly what he does here!

Ace does not shy away from being a life-long addict and how it impaired his decisions and his career. He is brutally frank about how during the recording of the Destroyer album he switched from being mainly a drinker to doing lots of cocaine. This begins a vicious decades-long struggle with dependency (Ace has been clean for five years), and many crazy stories.

He is very understanding as to why Paul and Gene didn’t want to work with him after a certain point (neither are drinkers or drug-users). And despite the No Regrets title of his book, Ace does express some regrets that he could have handled certain situations with more poise in his drugging days. He also credits Paul and Gene for being understanding about his desire to leave the band, and says they both made earnest pleas for him to stay in, which I don’t know I had heard Ace admit in the past.

Despite the fact that the media portrayed the book as slinging loads of dirt at Gene Simmons, it’s pretty tame in that department. Ace does say that Gene is a sex addict, and that he never really understood music (was more focused on business, marketing etc etc) but he has way more good things to say about Gene overall. Not a bad word in the book about Paul Stanley either. And while he says Peter Criss was his best friend in the band (because he partied too) Ace concedes that Peter became an unpredictable and unpleasant person towards the end of his (Peter’s) stint with the band – yes, due to drug and alcohol use.

Ace’s description of what it’s like to be an addict is very intense. He basically says when he first did coke, it was incredible but then he was always seeking that same first high, which was unobtainable because his body had developed a tolerance. He also said that alcohol as a depressant and cocaine as a stimulant was the perfect cocktail mix for partying for days on end. But then you’d get too strung out and have to take sleeping pills to rest. Then you wake up hung over and start taking prescription medication for that. Pretty soon you become a walking pharmacy and your only concern is where you are going to get your drugs in the next town because you can’t bring enough with you. He makes it sound like a real hassle and a nightmare, and it is. Keith Richards told similar tales in his book of trying to think steps ahead to get his fix in the next town.

Aside from the rise of KISS from a no-name bar act to the biggest band in the world in just two years, Ace provides a great in-depth look at the making of his solo album in 1978 and how he came into his own as a singer and songwriter. He has kind words for manager Bill Aucion and band ‘coach’ Sean Delaney, who helped with a lot of the early stage look and even coordinated the band’s stage moves. Lots of credit given to those two for the band’s success.

Ace concedes that once he left KISS his career and life went south due to the drugs but he does touch on his solo career and the recording of the albums he put out post-KISS. He does not provide as much insight into what happened on the KISS reunion tours – maybe those memories are too fresh. But the story ends on a high note, with Ace celebrating five years of sobriety and the release of his recent solo album, Anomaly. I pulled Anomaly off the shelf after I finished the book and still really enjoy it. Sure there is some crap on it but there are many gems. Sounds like classic Ace and that’s a good place to be.

Ace seems happy and healthy. That’s the impression I got from the book at least. He is at a place where he can look back and marvel on his accomplishments and share a laugh or two with the world about the crazy road he has taken. If you dig KISS, get the book.

Gene Simmons to Michael Jackson's Corpse: Guilty!

Gene Simmons when talking about KISS is rarely very surprising - he's always pimping the band, his TV show etc. He's got a limited tome of soundbites and he (and Paul Stanley) bang the drum loudly and frequently, staying on message throughout.

So when Gene steps outside of his usual talking points, sometimes it gets interesting as he minces no words and calls it as he sees it.

I stayed out of the whole Michael Jackson pedophile thing because the dude's life seemed like such a train wreck fantasy land that it made total sense that people would make up stories to get money out of him. Those suing him seemed as crazy as he was but then he sort of damned himself with his own words and actions during the trial, so who knows?

Anyway, Gene talked about it with Classic Rock Magazine. Check it out:

I knew Michael. I ran into him a few times. I met him the first time before he became the superstar, when he was sort of teenagey, when he was still a Jackson Five. But as time moved on, and no matter what my fond memories and fond images of Michael were, with one allegation of paedophilia after another and another and another... oh dear.

I knew some of the musicians he toured with, and specifically one who quit because of seeing boys coming out of the hotel rooms. And then you factor in that his travel agent was put on the stand and in court said that she was authorised to fly to Brazil and bring boys back to America for him...Well, you know, where there's smoke there's fire. There's no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt.

There's never been a single female of any age that I've ever known about who has ever made a claim that she has had a physical relationship with Michael, ever.In fact, while he was alive, I never heard about mature men ever making that claim either - and believe me, you can't keep it a secret. If you're a celebrity, somebody somewhere will say, 'Oh yeah, I shagged him'. The only sexual references ever made about Michael Jackson that were made by anyone, anywhere around the world, have always been made by kids, and specifically males usually ten to fourteen years of age; never females, that age or older, and never grown men.

I guess it doesn't matter now, and I'd personally hate to be convicted by hearsay, but I gotta admit he makes some good points.

Concert Review - KISS in Portland

Just got back from KISS at the Rose Garden in Portland. Where do I even start?

This review is going to be totally biased because this was not my usual concert experience. First of all, I bought side stage (read “expensive”) tickets because I was taking my 10 year old son and wanted him to have his mind blown. So our seats were unreal.

Second, my co-guitar player in my Portland band colorfield is a long-time friend of the Thayer family (KISS-man Tommy Thayer is from Portland). So long story short, I run into Pat at will call, and he is picking up a pass for a meet and greet. I knew about this and of course had asked if he could find out if he could bring me and my kid, and of course he couldn’t. No shock there – but I thought it never hurts to ask.

But lo and behold he gets his envelope and there are five passes in it. He wanted to make sure he didn’t mistakenly have someone else’s passes so he went in alone and my son and I got settled. Opener Buckcherry started and honestly I wasn’t impressed so we bailed just in time for Pat to text me that we could have two of the extra passes. Sweet!

So he comes and gets us and we stroll across the main floor backstage just in time to see the fab four in full makeup and gear walk by to go to the meet and greet. I high five Gene Simmons as he walks by. My life is complete.

We are ushered into a room where almost everyone is a friend/family member of Thayer. On the other side of a black curtain separating the room is the meet and greet, and there is a line of folks posing with KISS for a photographer. We figure this is for sure the radio contest winners, people who paid to meet the band etc. But we get in line anyway. If I can get a copy of that photo I will post it because that is the closest we got to the whole band. Didn’t really have a chance to talk or anything. It was stand here, snap snap, go over there. But wow, we got our photo taken standing with KISS.

So we went back around to where we started and eventually Tommy came into the room to greet his friends and family (oh and me). Got his photo with my son, got an autograph on my Sonic Boom CD etc. We had just enough time to hit the crapper, grab a couple of waters and get back to our seats.

So, THANKS to Pat for making this happen for me and especially my son. Wowsa.

Oh yeah so then the SHOW started. Anyone who follows my blog knows that I slag on KISS frequently. I didn’t give Sonic Boom the best of reviews, although it has indeed grown on me. I have questioned how much money those guys feel they need to make with the merch. I am not a giant fan of WalMart. Blah blah blah.

It doesn’t matter. The band I saw tonight was the tightest version of KISS I have ever seen. Of course I was blown away by the lights, bombs, smoke, spitting blood, revolving drum set, flying bass player etc.

But they were really tight. Gene and Paul finally let drummer Eric Singer have a double kick set and he used it to its fullest potential. Maybe it was b/c he was in his home town, but Thayer blew the doors off of his leads. I swear I didn’t miss Ace once, and that is about as blasphemous as I get. Didn’t hurt that we were so close to Thayer that I got one of his thrown guitar picks, which I promptly gave to my son. The night just kept getting better huh?

Vocal harmonies were tight. Paul Stanley did less prancing and more rocking than I have ever seen. Gene was great. His blood spitting bit has evolved a bit and is even more monster-movie derived, which is a good thing. He did Calling Dr. Love, which is one of my faves from childhood. In fact, the setlist was mostly stuff from Alive!, with personal faves being Hotter Than Hell and 100,000 Years. They did two new songs – both were awesome live, two 80s era songs (Lick It Up and I Love It Loud), and they mercifully did not play I Was Made For Loving You, which never sounds that great live, even with the killer new lineup.

One more note on Thayer. He kept mugging to our side because many of his family/friends were seated in my section. Right before Rock and Roll al Nite, I saw him go up to Eric Singer and get a drumstick, which he promptly slid into one of his hip-high boots and walked towards our side. Under cover of the raining down confetti, he leaned over the stage and handed the stick to a guy who came over to our section and gave it to a kid who must have been about 3 or 4. High class, that Tommy Thayer.

So to sum up, this is not the classic KISS lineup, and they don’t sound like the classic KISS lineup. It’s something else and damn it, it is good. I bought this ticket thinking, I will take my kid and then I'll be done with KISS. But shit, if they came back tomorrow I'd be there. They are kicking serious ass right now.

PS – if I am able to do half the stuff Paul Stanley did onstage when I am pushing 60, I will be a very lucky guy. That dude is immortal. Up close, you can tell he’s older, but man those new hips he got a couple of years ago are holding up well!

PSS – Noted one other popular musician at the meet and greet – Journey drummer Deen Castronovo. He was about five people in front of us for the photo opps. But I was so star struck being in the same room as KISS I didn’t even think to get an autograph or even say hey on behalf of my most fanatic Journey blog followers! Sorry everyone!

Here are some of the photos I took with my substandard Treo phone.

For some proper photos of this show, check out Chris Ryan's site here.

Also here is a video montage someone shot:

Gene Simmons Actually Makes Some Sense

Now that Gene is talking about the music business and not about leading the last remaining superpower on the planet, I will give him some props! Check out this video of Gene being interviewed by Billboard (rated R for language). I fully agree with his take on the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.

Gene Simmons Lays Down The Law

At the end of the interview, Simmons says, "You guys are good. I never talk about politics."

Probably a good idea, because if Gene were President, here is what you can expect:

--Flat tax of 20 percent
--Public executions for drug dealers
--Gang control via sniper

These and other groovy gems can be found in this recent interview with the Edmonton Sun.

Knowing Gene, what other things could we expect under a Simmons Administration? KISS Koffins for all US military burials? Playmate interns? Family Jewels White House episodes? What do you think?

Gene Simmons Does Some Good

As I was flying back to Portland from the Bay Area Thursday night, apparently Gene Simmons and faux-Ace Frehley Tommy Thayer were in Lake Oswego, Oregon hosting an auction to benefit Jeff Young, a great guy and one of the longest living survivors of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Jeff is a miracle. The guy outlived the medical community's predictions of his demise in the mid 80s and is still going strong, mainly due to brute force and one of the strongest wills I have ever observed.

The guy is confined to a wheelchair and can barely move, yet somehow he helps coach the Lake Oswego High School football team and puts out several inspirational emails a week to more than 3,000 "warriors," myself included. Find out more about Jeff here.

Anyway, periodically Jeff is in need of gear to help him do what he does, but needs the funds. His longstanding friendship with Simmons leads to auctions and events to help raise the dough.

Simmons said: "This is proof positive that Portland isn't just a nice place to live in, but it actually has nice people. Everybody here has come with big fat wallets full of cash and we're going to relieve them of all that money and actually do some good."

Various typical mean spirited comments on Blabbermouth aside (my favorite is "cool to see this...instead of Gene selling coffins..."), good for Gene and Tommy. Jeff's a great guy and inspires a lot of people around here. It's nice he gets some recognition and what he needs to carry on.

KISS 2? It's Closer Than You Think

Speaking of replacing band members, the buzz in Kiss-world this week is all about comments Gene Simmons made on Norwegian television regarding replacing ALL the members of KISS so that the b(r)and could continue after all the original members were dead and gone.

Simmons and Kiss manager Doc McGhee went so far as to say that the band is planning on finding the members of the "new" KISS through a TV show, similar to programs like "Rock Star" and "American Idol." Simmons went so far as to say that the deal has just been signed and is coming soon.

McGhee said, "I believe that KISS can go on forever. I believe that there is a way — and we are talking to people and we're pretty close to getting it done — about finding the four new members of KISS."

Paul Stanley was quick to pour water on the campfire, saying "no deal has been signed." Although he didn't rule out an 'official' version of KISS someday that had no original members. On KISS' official site (and his own PaulStanley.com), he says:

A KISS clone reality show? First of all, contrary to what was said by anyone, there is no signed deal. Secondly, if we were to do a "KISS II", and I don't rule that out, it would be in addition to, and never in place of KISS. If we were to do it, I know it would be done in a ground breaking way and would be tremendously entertaining. KISS has always defined itself by the rules we break, so what's the big surprise? We are in the middle of our biggest and most successful tour of Europe ever, playing to over a half million people, and neither KISS or I have any plans to stop afterwards!

This is just stupid. There are enough KISS tribute bands out there without having one that is officially sanctioned by the band. It's bad enough that Gene and Paul replaced Ace Frehley and Peter Criss years ago with very talented impostors who wear the makeup and do the same moves, down to having Ace actor Tommy Thayer sing Ace's tune Shock Me.

Now don't get me wrong. Tommy Thayer has been with the KISS organization since the late 80s, and drummer Eric Singer has as well, all the way back to Paul Stanley's first solo tour in 1989. And they are much tighter musicians than Ace and Peter ever were, so the band is about as solid as its ever been.

But I have to say, unlike the current Journey situation where they are playing up the fact the new singer Arnel Pineda is NOT Steve Perry, I wonder how many of the European fans who are seeing KISS for the very first time have any idea that they are being duped?

At least under this new idea, it would be very obvious and public that KISS is replacing itself with look alikes. I guess the question would be, would anyone go and see it? Would the draw be that maybe a 75 year old Paul Stanley would roll his leather studded wheelchair out to cameo a quick "Love Gun" while the KISS impostors backed him up?

I don't see people going for it, and I almost don't think it's doable. You can fool people into thinking that those dudes onstage are Peter and Ace, and you might even be able to replace Gene Simmons' onstage persona. But they are going to have a hard time finding someone who can sing and strut like Paul Stanley. The dude is a one of a kind.

Which is totally besides the point. This is a money grubbing move by Simmons and McGhee and I personally think it's bogus.

Here is the video in question:

Random KISS Update

Whether you want it or not, it's time for a roundup of what the original members of KISS have been up to:

Paul Stanley is reportedly having a penthouse suite built atop Palms Place in Vegas, fueling rumors that he is in talks with Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular, the Vegas version of Phantom of the Opera. Stanley had a great run playing the Phantom in the Toronto production in 1999. Him posting the rumor on his own Web site is not doing anything to squash the buzz.

Ace Frehley, as we know, is on tour. But now his forthcoming CD has a name - "Pain in the Neck." Seems that the CD has a guest lead from Slash. And Ace is trying to cop the success of his original solo release from 1978 (all four KISS solo albums were issued on my 10th birthday in 1978 - how cool is that?). Ace says, "I've been listening to my first solo album with KISS, because everybody says that's their favorite record. I was trying to figure out what made it so special, so I'm trying to incorporate a lot of what that record had for this new CD. It has a lot of different aspects and shows different musical sides of me and it's something I'm trying to recapture. I don't know if I can do it but I'm gonna take a shot at it." Good luck, Ace. That first album rules.

Gene Simmons is still a scumbag. While the furor over his sex tape is dying down, he made the following comment on his site: "You should know for the record, the garbage was recorded without my knowledge and is a page from my past. It happened and there's nothing I can do to repair that. The black-and-white footage may have been decades old. The entity behind the garbage has repeatedly tried to make money off of this and we have always refused. This is not the first time the entity has tried to blackmail and extort us. We have always refused and we will continue to refuse." First of all, look at Gene in the tape. It is not 'decades old.' Secondly, I feel really bad for him (not). It's not like he didn't hump this chick in the first place. Really hard to feel any pity for old Gene here.

And Peter Criss? Well, he pretty much still sucks ass.

Gene Simmons Sex Tape - D'oh!

This is just too much. I mean, wouldn't you expect that this guy would have a twenty volume DVD collection of sex tapes out? But I guess this is the first one. News here.

The most classic part of this so far is that in his comments on his Web site, he doesn't deny that it's him. He just says that his lawyers are doing what they need to do. Probably because he's not making any money off of it, and that is bad in Gene's world! His comment:

Hi everyone. You may have heard or seen garbage that has sprung up from my past. Rest assured the proper legal team is looking at all ramifications and options. And us? Shannon, Nick and Soph are happy and healthy. All is well. And thank you all for the kind words of support.

Scumbag.

Gene Simmons Mouths Off (Again)

This is always a hot button on Isorski's Musings: KISS Bass player and reality TV/apprentice/business mogel/womanizer Gene Simmons mouthing off about the music business.

Maybe it's because he's rich, or because he's trying to be controversial, but he's one of the few who sticks up for the music industry while everyone else says its getting its just desserts.

I put it you - what do you think of Gene's quote?

A recent interview, excerpted at Eddie Trunk's site, lays it down:

And what about the people who download music illegally?:"They're crooks. I would have sued the very first one and the very last one. As soon as you take somebody's property, that's stealing. People say to me 'You're rich, you have enough money.' It's actually not for anyone to decide that. I'll let you know when I'm too rich. The last time I checked, what we do isn't called charity, it's called the music business.

Here we are today with exactly what I said would happen happening. The very same people that love the music the most have slit its throat and they're surprised it's dying. 'How come my new band can't get a shot?' 'Cos you killed it, bitch.' Every day college kids who probably love music more than anybody are the same people slashing the record industry's throat by file sharing and downloading. It's the saddest thing for new bands. Doesn't affect me or KISS. We can continue to play stadiums and do very well, and we release DVDs. But there isn't a chance for a new band to become the next Beatles or KISS because there isn't the infrastructure to do it."

Stanley and Simmons Sink to New Lows

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE ENOUGH MONEY YET? Ugh.

The Music Industry Sucks - A Different View

There has been a lot of bashing of the music industry by me and my buddies on this blog, in the comments posts and offline.

The general consensus is that the industry is going toes-up into the bottom of a shit hole it slowly dug for itself over the last two or three decades via general greed and cluelessness.

I still stand by that opinion and until the RIAA stops wrongly suing citizens for 'stealing music' I won't change my mind.

There are other views, however.

I usually discount anything KISS' Gene Simmons says as something crafted to sell more KISS merch or put Gene one step closer to ubiquitousness (KISStianity he calls it). But in this case, I actually stopped and thought about what he said, and it actually made some sense:

"Yeah, but whoever invented the idea that a record company should support a band? What lunatic ever expects that? Imagine being in a business where you have to pay money, an advance, cash, to a band. Record companies were the best friend you and I ever had. They give you a big advance, you never have to pay the money back. If it loses and it bombs, you never pay the money back. They'll earn back their money, then they continue to pay you royalties. That's the best friend you ever had. Then they have to go manufacture it, promote it, advertise it, PLUS they want to get you out on tour and they'll pay you to go out on tour. They don't participate in your licensing, your merchandising or your live ticket sales."

I've heard Gene say the same thing, but better. The point is, the music industry does put its balls out there and generally loses money, so when it finds a cash cow, it milks it for all its worth. It's understandable - it's the music BUSINESS after all.

I guess that's the problem. It's not a supportive environment for the artist, despite what Gene said. It is a money making venture. If you are an immediate hit, great. If not, you are done.

Thankfully, the Internet has opened up new avenues for bands to make themselves heard. But now the problem is, it's so crowded out there it's hard to hone in on what's good. To get in front of enough people to move the needle, you need to be on the Web for hours a day, promoting yourself and posting links to your music, Web site, etc. Who's got the time for that? Not me!

Gene's comments are from an interview he did with Dave Navarro, some of which is posted here.