A BIG THANK YOU KISS for a spectacular show in Springfield, Illinois!! A lifelong fan since I was five, this year marked the first time that I could bring my family to see KISS perform. Myself, my girlfriend, and our Bratpack (ages 9 to 13) spent the weekend as a family building our outfits for the concert ... took a family mini-vacation to Springfield ... and topped it all with seeing their very first KISS concert! I've never seen the kids so excited for so long! Truly a night none of us will forget! Thank you KISS for understanding what you mean to your generations of fans!

John "Big John" Robinson & family

LETTERS

Here's a KISSOnline exclusive sneak peek of the new KISS Pandas being released by Street Players. The company has plans to release an entire line of KISS Panda items.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Thanks to Bruce Kulick for sending KISSOnline this picture of a KISS-ified Dumbo he spotted at a Los Angeles art show.

On 13th August we will celebrate our KISS wedding party in Saarbrücken/Germany. We celebrate with guests from the international KISS ARMY. Here is a report on us in a local newspaper.

Paula+Gene TWO KISSES.

Rock on!
Tina+Günter

LETTERS

KISS at Heavy MTL, I was front row at Eric Singer saw my KISS ARMY vest and he told me to throw it on stage then he gave it to Paul Stanley and they took a picture with the vest...... I've been a KISS fan for years and it was always my dream to see KISS front row and I did it, they pulled the sickest show and it was worth every bit standing in line n waiting front row for hours to see the legends of rock..... You wanted the best you got the best, the hottest band in the world, KISS!!!

Giancarlo Ferrara

LETTERS

Journey's drummer Deen Castronovo discussed KISS during a recent interview with City Beat.

Here's excerpts from the interview:

Posted By: Amy Harris

CB: I read that some of your earlier influences were Rush’s Neil Peart and from Peter Criss of KISS. I actually had an interview last year with Eric Singer. Have you played with any of these guys before and is there someone you’d really love to play with that you haven’t had a chance to yet?

DC: For me, I’ve never got to meet Neil Peart, never met Peter Criss. I am also a really big Steve Smith fan, the original drummer for Journey; he was a big influence on me as well. But if I could play with any band, I mean, I have a list of four or five people … I’d love to work with KISS. They were my Beatles. I would love to work with those guys. Eric got the gig, and he is a monster. He is a great friend and great monster.

CB: What is your greatest Rock & Roll moment ever?

DC: As a player or as a fan?

CB: Both. Player first.

DC: As a player, I would say joining Journey honestly was the biggest thing ever for me. Bad English was my first big band and I will never forget that. But getting asked to play in this band is an honor and a privilege. I’m very humbled to do it.

As a fan, you’re gonna love this, seeing KISS for the first time when I was 11 years old. It was the coolest thing ever. Like I said, they were my Beatles. They were the reason I became a drummer. To see them and now being friends with Paul Stanley, and Eric and Tommy Thayer. I grew up with Tommy as well. I went and actually saw them in Oshkosh. The band flew out to Omaha and I stayed in Oshkosh just to see KISS, me and my drum tech. So I’m a huge fan. Those would have to be my greatest times.

CB: I actually photographed them and saw them for the first time last summer. It kind of took my breath away almost. It was probably one of the best shows I have ever shot.

DC: They’re incredible. I agree with you. They are incredible. The music, to me, is the soundtrack to my childhood. But to watch them play, they never missed a beat, and they always bring their A game as well. They make sure the fans get their money’s worth and that’s what is so amazing to me. They are in their late 50s and early 60s and they still kill every night. It is so incredible.

KISS, Friendship and Beating Cancer!

In 2003 my family and I went to Gene’s book signing for his Sex Money KISS release. I had waited in line no less than 4 hours to meet the God of Thunder himself. This was the first time I was going to meet Gene and the fulfillment of a 30 year wish. We started talking with the family in front of us to pass the time. It turned out Rich and his family had so much in common with us. We even learned we worked for the same company. We all enjoyed meeting Gene and even joked about this being fate and how we were destined to be friends. We exchanged contact information and said goodnight.

Not only did I meet Gene, but I just met one of the best friends a person could wish for. Our families have become so close over the years. Every KISS concert or event…we were there together. All celebrations, holidays, you name it. KISS brought us together and we were tight!

About one year ago, my friend Rich found out his son Brandon had leukemia. It just knocked all of us to our knees. For the last year, he and his wife have split time between Massachusetts and California (where Brandon lives) to be with him during his fight. Brandon had a bone marrow transplant a few months ago and is on the road to recovery!

Here's an artist color rendition of the entrance to the upcoming KISS Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas.

Stay tuned to KISSOnline for more updates on this exciting KISS project!

On this day in KISStory - August 4, 2008, Governor Mike Rounds honored KISS by declaring the day as KISS Rock 'n Roll Day in South Dakota. The Governor, wearing a KISS t-shirt, stopped by to personally thank the band for their support of the United States Military! He later joined Sturgis Mayor Maury Larue live on stage to present the Proclamation to the band in front of over 40,000 fans, the largest crowd ever to attend an event at Glencoe Amphitheater in Sturgis.

_{Photos by Lou Antonelli for KISSOnline.}

Check out this cool KISS end cap display that will be seen at all Spirit Halloween stores this fall. KISSOnline will post full details of the upcoming contest shortly. Look for all kinds of great KISS Halloween products at Spirit Stores soon.

Here is our KISS wedding story . . .

My wife Tina and I have known each other since May, 2005. We took a journey to Italy with the German-Italian Culture Club where my Uncle is President. There (Italy) we did some sightseeing, and took some bus trips, etc. As we parted ways, we promised to keep in contact, but as you guessed, it never happened . . . until November. Tina then contacted my Aunt, she contacted my Mom, and then contacted me. Needless to say, I was very happy :-) Tina and I then went out on a date to the cinema, to see Harry Potter. One thing led to another, and we’ve been in a relationship since that day.

I was a KISS Fan since 1987 (Crazy Nights) but the first chance I had to see them was the Reunion Tour in `96/`97 where I went to Zurich/Switzerland twice and Stuttgart/Germany. Then came the Psycho Circus Tour, and I saw them again in Germany.

There was then a long absence in Europe until 2008 - ALIVE 35 Tour. Tina and I booked a “Meet & Greet” in Stuttgart/Germany and we’re very excited to see Gene, Paul, Eric and Tommy in person!!! And then it happened, the day came, and we were ready for the boys. Sad to say that Tina became ill and had to stay in a wheelchair for a small period of time, but guess what happened at the Meet & Greet?

KISS kneeled before my wife, and signed the wheelchair!!! What a great thing to see :-)

So the connection between me, my wife, and KISS is clear to see I guess.

In the photo: Tommy Thayer, host of the 2011 Pacific University Legends Golf Classic is introduced at the July 31st Legends dinner and concert event at the Tiger Woods Center at Nike's World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. -- Photo: Heidi Hoffman

By Kelly House, The Oregonian

You know it's going to be a party when the host is a famous guitarist and the guest list includes several of his rock star friends.

Organizers of Pacific University's annual Legends Golf Classic charity tournament, which finished its fifth run Monday at Aloha's The Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club, say its star-studded, rambunctious atmosphere has made it the university's most hyped yearly fundraiser.

"I've had phone calls and emails from people at Division I and Division II schools from all over the country, just asking how to put something like this on," Pacific Athletic Director Ken Schumann said at Monday's tournament.

Not bad for an event that began like many other small schools' charity golf outings: Just a couple of dozen Pacific sports supporters swinging clubs to support the athletic department.

Enter KISS lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, a Beaverton native who serves on Pacific's board of trustees, and the smalltime fundraiser became a place to see, be seen, and party like a rock star.

'Nothin’ To Lose' charting the band's rise will be published in Summer 2012.

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, two of the founders of legendary superband KISS, are collaborating with rock journalist Ken Sharp on Nothin’ To Lose, an oral history of the band’s early years, from its founding in 1973 to the 1975 release of its breakout concert album Alive! The book will include interviews with bandmates Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, other rock stars of the era, and the behind-the-scenes players. The book will feature never-before-published photographs. IT Books, an imprint of Harper Collins is scheduled to publish the book in Summer 2012. Drummer Peter Criss has his own memoir due in 2012.

IT Books Editor Denise Oswald exlusively talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the project. “KISS is one of the most beloved and influential hard rock bands of the last forty years. What is particularly fascinating about this project is about how the band got off the ground, how they came up with the concept of who they were that so defined them and captured the love and imagination of all of their fans.” Oswald says the book is about more than just the band. “Its also an amazing depiction of New York in the early seventies--its Manhattan, its Queens, you have members of the Ramones, members of Blue Oyster Cult, touring with and playing with Kiss. You really get this incredible portrait of a time.”

Simmons and Stanley founded KISS in 1973 after their previous band Wicked Lester broke up. They found drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley through advertisements in East Coast rock magazines. The band’s first few albums recorded so-so sales, but KISS gained a reputation as a sensational live act for their makeup and Simmon’s theatrics, which included spitting blood and breathing fire. They also cultivated an airy of mystery by not allowing themselves to be photographed out of makeup. Band members have also talked in interviews about the epic backstage partying that went on during its early years. Kiss’s big breakthrough came in 1975 with the release of ALIVE!, which featured the its first top-40 hit in the live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite."

KISS To Deliver New Album Early Next Year - "There’s No Plan To Sit Around In 2012" Eric Singer Tells BraveWords.com In Part II Of Exclusive Chat

KISS drummer Eric Singer recently sat down with BraveWords.com scribe, Mitch Lafon, for an all-encompassing three-hour chat. Part I of the sit-down can be found here. In Part II, Eric discusses more of KISS' upcoming plans.

On the upcoming KISSology IV DVD Box set: “It should be out before Christmas. It’ll be about twelve hours of stuff. Tommy has been putting it all together, but I can’t tell you exactly what is on it because we still have to get the rights to some of the stuff. The band has to buy the rights even if it’s only one song like on David Letterman or Jay Leno. Even though it’s your performance, it’s their show and they own it. KISSology IV picks up where the last one left off. For the most part it runs chronologically, but there is some old vintage stuff on there that they had been trying to find. It’s all a matter of clearance and them getting permission to use certain stuff. There’s an A list of stuff we want, a B list of stuff we know we can use and C list of stuff we have to wait and see if we can use, but I do know there will be a Cobo Hall (Detroit) concert from 2009.”

On the topic of Paul Stanley: “Paul is the consummate pro. Paul never complains. He’s calm before the show, but when he walks out on stage he flips the switch, goes 100%, gives it all and never ever complains. This is a guy who has had both knees replaced, his hip (on the right side) replaced twice and torn both rotator cuffs (in his shoulders). He might say, ’I’m really sore, so I’ll need a massage or I’m staying in bed today, but still after all he’s had done he never complains.”

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

A new sushi bar in Mobile, Alabama, "Rock n' Roll Sushi," has a KISS roll on the menu. The KISS ROLL is a shrimp tempura roll topped with chopped shrimp, scallops, crab meat, eel sauce, spicy mayo, crunchy flakes and tobikko.

Special thanks to Kaos for sending this report and photo of the restaurant display to KISSonline.