Hi KISS,

Proudly, I was the first person to get KISS tickets for upcoming Madrid-Spain concert!!

I can't wait for the show!

Best,
Javier Rueda

LETTERS

Hey KISS, I was at The Palms in Las Vegas last night and noticed that the front desk is ready for your arrival..!

- Doug

LETTERS

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

As you celebrate Thanksgiving today, please take a moment to think of all you can be thankful for. We can all stop and count our blessings, let those we love know our feelings and make a commitment to help those less fortunate.

Promising a show tailored for Euro audiences, the band's first concerts in U.K. arenas in 11 years, and its first-ever gig in Slovakia, KISS launches "Sonic Boom Over Europe: From The Beginning To The Boom" May 7 in Dublin at the O2.

Fans will get plenty of chances to see their costumed heroes in action. Running through June 27 when the band plays the Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium, the tour includes stops in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Finland, Austria, Norway, Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands.

U.K. dates include May 9 in Glasgow at the SECC; May 10 at the Manchester Evening News Arena; May 11 in Birmingham at the LG Arena and May 13 in London at Wembley Arena.

Then it's on to the continent for May 16 in Zurich at Hallenstadion, May 17 at the Geneva Arena; May 18 in Milan at Mediolanum Forum and May 20 in Vienna at Stadthalle. Other dates and cities include Ostrava (May 21); Berlin (May 26); Bratislava (May 29); Stockholm June 12 and Madrid (June 22).

By ALAN SCULLEY - For the North County Times

The previous Kiss studio album, "Psycho Circus," did little to prove that the band still had creative life in it.

The disc was billed as the return of the original Kiss, since it came in the midst of the reunion of guitarist/singer Paul Stanley and bassist/singer Gene Simmons with the two other original members, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. "Psycho Circus," though, ended up being a lackluster effort on a musical level, and far less than advertised when it came to being called a triumphant return of the classic Kiss lineup.

Instead, Frehley and Criss hardly played on that 1998 CD, with studio musicians handling what ostensibly were their parts. The band also had several outside writers contribute to roughly half of the songs.

So Kiss had something to prove when the band decided last year that it wanted to make a new studio CD. For one thing, this was a new lineup for Kiss, with guitarist Tommy Thayer making his full-fledged debut, and drummer Eric Singer, who since 1996 has been the band's drummer whenever Criss wasn't in the lineup, back on board.

The spectacle and 'Sonic Boom' are in full force.

By Steve Appleford
Photo by Rob Grabowski

The KISS Army shows no signs of surrender in 2009. Nearly four decades after the pop-metal quartet first emerged amid fireballs and kabuki makeup, the fans still come. And they bring fresh recruits in the form of teens and toddlers, many in the same black-and-white face paint.

In the lobby of the Honda Center in Anaheim on Tuesday, veteran fans watched the parade as they awaited KISS' explosive arrival onstage.

"This is huge! KISS is my whole life," declared Robert Edmondson, 43, of Monrovia. His smiling face was painted in the style of "The Demon," worn by singer-bassist Gene Simmons. He had a long, black wig over his hairless scalp. "My mom took me to a concert in '77 and I flipped. I wanted to be Gene Simmons. Look at me," he added, rolling out a long tongue. "We have something in common."

Here's the KISS Army at the Honda Center in Anaheim Tuesday Night!

Photos by Kevin Sullivan / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Here are a few photos from KISS' Anaheim show on Tuesday.

Photos by Kevin Sullivan / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

By GUSTAVO TURNER

It's not an unfamiliar L.A. story.

Paul Stanley is co-founder and part-owner of an endlessly diversifying entertainment company called KISS. As "The Starchild," he sings, plays rhythm guitar and writes songs for the band. There's a new album to promote, Sonic Boom, which Stanley's really proud of, and a world tour that brought him to Staples Center last night.

Born in the middle of the baby boom, Stanley Eisen turned 12 when the Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show. He grew up in Queens, New York, and attended the High School of Music and Art, alma mater of entertainers, hip designers, real-life Mad Men and MAD magazine luminaries. Stanley studied art there, though he also dabbled in rhythm guitar and was under the heavy sway of those first, unstoppable Zeppelin albums.

KISS will be on ESPN's Sport Center tonight at 10 PM (PST) / 1 AM (EST).

Bud Light Golden Wheat presents the legendary rockers KISS ( www.kissonline.com) on Facebook via a Ustream streaming link live from tonight's show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles at 9 pm PST.

Users can watch and interact by visiting the official KISS Facebook page at facebook.com/KISS or on Ustream at www.ustream.tv/channel/kiss-live to connect with other KISS fans for a personal chat and live video experience in real-time during the show.

Thanks to Bruce Kulick for sending us these backstage photos from last night's Anaheim concert. It was great seeing our friend, at the show!

______________________

Bruce on KISS' Show:

I had an amazing time at the KISS show in Anaheim last night! Was treated royally by the band and crew, and had access everywhere. Caught the sound check and they were loud and TIGHT. The show was awesome, and the crowd definitely ate it up.

Bruce Kulick

Visit Bruce at www.kulick.net

By Jim Ousley

Is it really possible for a band to reclaim its legendary past with a new album nearly 40 years into its career? Members of the KISS Army were speculating on this once news hit that the band was recording its first album in eleven years, the appropriately titled Sonic Boom. After all, the band's last recording (1998's Psycho Circus) left many wondering if the kabuki-faced rockers still had enough musical firepower to blow their fans' minds.

Well, as it turns out, KISS has delivered a slam dunk of an album. Strong enough to make both fans and detractors want to rock and roll over, the Paul Stanley-produced disc is just what the doctor ordered. What makes Sonic Boom particularly unique is the sense that the band really got back in touch with early influences like Slade and Humble Pie to create an album in the classic KISS tradition. There are no ballads, no keyboards, no co-writers, and no attempts at a big radio hit. What we do have is the sense that the band really did play together and play off of each other, giving the music a big-time shot of energy and fun.

Check out these fan-filmed clips of "Shock Me" and "Black Diamond" from Anaheim!

Holiday Gift: For the troops

Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley had an unexpected wish: "What I'd like for Christmas is for all the men and women who serve this country to be given the care, respect ... that they are long overdue and deserve in ways we couldn't possibly repay."