Check out the KISS Army at last weekend's Cleveland KISS Fan Expo.

Photos by Doug Cataldo for KISSonline.

Here's a fan review of the event:

Hi KISS!

I just got back from an amazing KISS Expo in Cleveland this past Sunday! The Kiss Army was out in full force with fans of all ages. Bruce Kulick signed autographs and held a Q&A session during the day. Cleveland's own Mr. Speed played an amazing set of KISS classics, including numerous tracks from "Sonic Boom," which the crowd was thrilled to hear. Representatives from KISS Army Arkansas and KISS Army Missouri hosted a trivia contest too. It was a fantastic day, and I came home with many new KISS shirts from KISSonline's table. Can't wait until next year!

Marie

LETTERS

The latest edition of Classic Rock is out now - and what's more, it's guest-edited by none other than Kiss!

As Paul Stanley himself says:

"You wanted the best. You got the best! What a great opportunity this is for Kiss to pay tribute to many of the bands that have been key to our development, to shine a spotlight on the artists that have been such an inspiration for us.

"So many of the artists in this issue are major influences on Kiss, and me in particular. Be it The Who, Humble Pie, Paul Rodgers, Led Zeppelin... the list goes on and on.

"Our thanks go out to Classic Rock for making this special issue possible."

Here's a taster of what's inside Classic Rock issue 144:

KISS Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer may have had control of this issue - but for their interview, we gave control to you, the Classic Rock readers: cue reader-inspired questions.

The May 2010 edition of Classic Rock is in the stores now.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

KISS is featured on the cover of the April issue of KERRANG! in Spain. The issue includes an interview with Paul Stanley.

Thanks to Fernando Martinez of KISS Army Spain for sending KISSonline the image.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

The Swedish hit TV show "Korslaget" (known in some countries as "Clash Of The Choirs") yesterday featured the Kiss song "Love It Loud". This was performed by the choir led by Mustasch vocalist Ralf Gyllenhammar. Mustasch will support Kiss at the shows this summer in Stockholm and Malmo. Watch the clip here:



Thanks to KISS ON FIRE for the clip!

Check out this great clip of KISS tribute band Mr. Speed performing "All For The Glory" at the Indianapolis KISS expo last weekend!

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Paul Stanley is featured on the cover of the May Issue of Classic Rock Magazine.

GLAM ROCK COW JOINS THE PARADE

By Jay Margo

Ferguson Valley artist Joyce Hatchett has given her latest creation a real rock n roll flavor.

As one of the 80 artists commissioned to be part of the Cow parade in Margaret River, Mrs. Hatchett unleashed her inner rock star to create an eye catching KISS cow, complete with make-up and body armor, that bass player Gene $immons would be proud of.

Titled 'Moose Mania-KISS Cow', Mrs. Hatchett said she had an absolute ball designing and creating the heavy metal bovine with some help from her husband to put on the finishing touches.

"My husband was enlisted to do the labor of love stuff like cutting the metal (donated by Grenville Hall of Allfab Engineering) and bolting all the bits onto the cow," Mrs. Hatchett said.

"He (Douglas) used to say one artist in the family was enough however, he appears to have changed his mind of late."

Mrs. Hatchett said it was great working with nuts, bolts, metal and many other bits and pieces which sparked an inspiring new type of art for her to work on.

"I am grateful to Radio West for commissioning me to complete this rather unusual piece of art," she said.

"The huge bonus is that this bovine amongst others will be auctioned off for charity which I think is just fabulous."

Joyce Hatchett's KISS cow will be on display at the Art GEO complex in Busselton's main street for the duration of the Cow Parade Festival.

More than 300,000 visitors are expected to see the cows during the three-month duration event.

22 year old Swedish Idol winner Erik Gronwall's new album is coming out in Sweden on June 2 and features a song written by Paul Stanley! You may remember Erik performed "Shout It Out Loud" during the last year's Idol season. Joey Tempest (Europe) and Andreas Carlsson (who co-wrote songs with Paul on his LIVE TO WIN album) also wrote songs for the album. Titled Somewhere Between A Rock And A Hard Place, the album will be proceeded by the single "Crash And Burn" in April.



Below is a message from KISS to Erik during last year's "Idol" finals.



Erik performs KISS's "Shout it Out Loud" on Swedish Idol before a sold-out Malmoe Arena of 12,000!

Here's a clip of Gene's Monday night appearance on Lopez Tonight. George wants KISS in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Drummer extraordinaire Eric Singer packed the house at the 2010 Indianapolis KISS Expo on Sunday, March 21. Over 700 energetic KISS fans swarmed the Ramada Inn East to come out and see the KISS drummer who is on a short break before the rock icons return overseas for the Sonic Boom Over Europe tour. Eric signed autographs nonstop for eight hours. It was so busy that he could not even leave the KISSonline booth for a Q&A session, instead answering questions directly from the booth as expo staff roamed the crowd with a mic!

An all-kids KISS tribute band, "KIDS," warmed up the enthusiastic crowd with a short setlist. The band members are all between the ages of 11 and 14 and they definitely kicked off the day with a bang! KIDS closed with a fast-paced "Modern Day Delilah" and then handed out DVDs of some of their previous concerts.

During our KISSonline video presentation, we surprised guest of honor Christopher "Critter" Smith by showing the crowd a clip of Critter meeting KISS last year in Milwaukee!

Later in the day, fan-favorite KISS tribute band MR. SPEED rocked the ballroom with a great set, which included "All For The Glory", "When Lightning Strikes" and "Say Yeah!".

It was a special day for everyone involved. Numerous fans commented that this was their first convention, and that the expo was everything they hoped it would be and more.

Another great day celebrating the greatest band in the world with the greatest fans ever!

Thanks to Rich Kosak, Bill Starkey and Karen Menyhart for taking these photos for KISSonline!

The generosity of KISS fans and the bond that fans share with each other is well documented, and at the INDY KISS Fan Expo, not only the fans, but the band too, along with Cort Guitars and artist Michael Doret showed love towards Chris "Critter" Smith -- a young KISS fan suffering from cancer. The band donated a 2-ticket Meet & Greet package to an upcoming KISS show, Cort donated a Gene Simmons Axe Bass, and Michael Doret donated a limited edition autographed Sonic Boom lithograph for a special raffle to benefit Critter.

The raffle winners were chosen at 5:30 on the expo stage by Eric and Critter. Eric pulled his own ticket and won the SONIC BOOM signed litho, promptly giving it to Critter as the crowd clapped and cheered. Eric then selected the next winner and the Gene Simmons bass went to Lonnie Weishaar . Critter selected the final winning ticket and Rich Kozak from Mr. Speed won. But Rich graciously asked that we choose another winner since he had met the band previously and wanted someone else to have the experience. Critter then drew another ticket and the Meet & Greet package went to Rick Starosto.

With the help of the KISS Army, we were able to present over $2000 to Critter's family!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the KISSonline booth to support this great cause and make Critter feel so special.

KISS Fans are the greatest!


Thanks to Bill Starkey for taking these photos for KISSonline!

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Dear KISS,

I would like to let you know that my dance studio is performing to a mix of your amazing songs entitled 'Party Everyday.' We have five boys in our dance studio and thought this would be a great idea for our big production number. Since KISS only has four members, we took our youngest male dancer and made him 'mini' Gene Simmons. I am Ace Frehley, the space man.

We are competing in the nationals in July!

Sincerely,

Matthew Palumbo and all of us at Stella's Dancers' Studio.

Photo by Tony Schreiber

LETTERS

Check out this clip of KISS Tribute Band 'KIDS' performing "Modern Day Deliliah" at yesterday's Indianapolis KISS Fan Expo.

Thanks to James Wallace Jr for sending the clip to KISSonline. KISSonline will have a full report on Fan Expo tonight.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

KISS,

I'm a Speech instructor at my local college. I often use KISS as an example in my lesson plans. My class has watched several KISS press conferences and parts of a concert to illustrate the public speaking skills of celebrities. KISS has been such an inspiration throughout my life, there's no way not to include them. Thanks for all the life lessons and for keeping the magic alive all these years.

Bill France Logan, WV

LETTERS

CELEBRITY CHEF LIST KISS AS A CULINARY INFLUENCE

by Greg Morabito

In the April issue of Guitar Aficionado, celebrity chef and bestselling author Rocco Dispirito reveals that he got into the restaurant business because he wanted money to build his record collection. Says Dispirito:

"As a child growing up in the Seventies, I was big time into Kiss. Their album 'Love Gun' came out when I was around 11 years old, and I had to have it. I asked my Mom for the money to buy it, and she said to me (in thick Italian accent) "You want the money? You go get a job." I didn't even know I could get a job at that age."

But get a job he did - one that taught him how to win over the public with the quick flash of a smile:

"I made 50 cents an hour and fell in love with the business. The idea that, just by cutting a slice of pizza, pouring a fountain soda, smiling a little, I could make someone's day a little better, totally hooked me."

Thanks to Ron Buckley for sending to KISSonline.