Part of U.S. Chamber’s Hiring Our Heroes Program

Gene Simmons Makes Exclusive Announcement Live on NBC’s ‘TODAY’

As part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program, world-renowned rock band KISS hired a veteran to serve as a roadie on its 2012 concert tour. Gene Simmons made the announcement this morning live on NBC’s TODAY.

“We should all step up and give our heroes, our vets, a job,” said Simmons on TODAY. “It’s the least we can do. They volunteered for us. Our heroes go and represent us on the field of battle, voluntarily. Then they come back and we throw them back out here, good luck, get a job. They should have guaranteed jobs, and you out there, get off your behinds and give our heroes a job. This is in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce.”

Army veteran and longtime KISS fan Paul Jordan was selected after a review of 1,900 applications received by Hiring Our Heroes. Jordan, who is from Buford, Georgia, served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He will start in July as a tour carpenter on the 44-city KISS tour. “It’s a dream come true,” said Jordan on TODAY. “I’ve always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow. I mean, I’ve been a fan since I was four years old. And wow, this is incredible.”

KISS made the commitment to hire a veteran for its upcoming tour on March 28, the day Hiring Our Heroes, the National Chamber Foundation, and Capital One announced the “Hiring 500,000 Heroes” campaign. The goal of the initiative is to engage the business community in committing to hire half a million veterans and military spouses by the end of 2014. In less than two months, the campaign has received more than 181,000 commitments.

By Julieanne Smolinski

Back in March, NBC News teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to launch Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative to get veterans back into the workforce. Among the many organizations to step forward and pledge to hire vets and military spouses was the rock back KISS.

KISS's job opening was for a roadie to work their upcoming summer tour with Motley Crue, and more than 1,900 hopefuls applied. And this morning on the plaza, The Demon himself, Gene Simmons was on hand to give veteran Paul Jordan a big surprise: He had been chosen to the new KISS roadie!

Paul has logged in over 27 years of military service, and served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has had even more service as a veteran in the KISS Army (with a tattoo of Simmons to prove it), having been a rabid fan of the band since he was 4. So when Simmons told him on-air that the coveted job was his, Paul was ecstatic – particularly since he'd been looking for work for a year and a half.

"Since I retired, I've had a really hard time trying to find a find a job," Paul told the TODAY anchors. "It's tough for veterans out there sometimes." He called the KISS roadie job a "dream come true. I've always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow ... This is incredible!"

Simmons, whose reality series "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" is starting a new season, said that hiring veterans "is the most important thing that we can do," and warned: "If you don't give him a round of applause right now, I'm going to find out where you live."

Factory Entertainment is releasing a 2012 Convention exclusive scaled half-size version of their full-sized Mount KISSmore collectible at half the price!

The KISS Mount KISSmore Polystone Sculpture Scaled Edition is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all time. KISS! Featuring the Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman and The Catman, this polystone monolith is handcrafted in granite effect resin and can be displayed free standing or wall mounted. A handy desktop size, it measures 7” wide x 5” tall.

Supplied in a full color branded window box, this 2012 Convention Exclusive is a limited edition of only 500 pieces.

Shipping after the convention. While supplies last.

The KISS Mount KISSmore Polystone Sculpture Scaled Edition is available for pre-order now on their website for non-attendees (shipping after the show).

CLICK HERE to pre-order now.

Here's the letter that Paul Jordan submitted along with his resume when applying for the KISS Roadie gig.

"I retired on November 1, 2010. My last job was a Squad Trainer at the Basic Officer Leader Course. I was an Infantry Squad Leader on the two deployments to Iraq and was a marksmanship instructor on my short stint in Afghanistan. This job would mean the world to me. To be able to stand off stage and point to the greatest, legendary rock show of all time and say that I helped create it, is more than I can put into words. I have been a fan since I was four years old(1975). A neighbor kid came over and snuck the KISS Alive! album under his jacket and into my room. He pulled it out and we played it on my little plastic record player. Back then, parents considered KISS dangerous for kids to like. But I was hooked and that is all I ever asked for at Christmas and birthdays. I have seen them six times, including their 1997 Reunion Tour in Budapest, Hungary. I also have Gene Simmons tattooed on my chest(see enclosed pic). This would be a dream job for me."

Gene appeared on the Today Show this morning to announce the winner of KISS' "Hiring Our Heroes" contest! KISS is hiring a veteran to join their road crew for the summer tour. Paul Jordan was brought out under the guise that he would be announced as a finalist... and Gene revealed that not only was he a finalist, he is the WINNER! Congratulations, Paul!

Get Ready to Rock for $50,000 with KISS® Scratch & Win!

With over $1.9 Million in prizes, KISS® Scratch & Win will rock you! Get your tickets at any lottery retailer in British Columbia now!

Check out the promo clip below that Paul and Gene filmed for these new scratch off tickets.

KISS DYNASTY ALBUM RELEASED

On this day in KISSTORY - May 23rd, 1979, KISS released their DYNASTY album.The album features KISS' first international top 5 smash hit, "I Was Made For Lovin' You". This song was the first collaboration between Paul Stanley and Desmond Child for KISS. Though known for that great disco song, other more rockin' DYNASTY tracks included "X-Ray Eyes", "Save Your Love", "Magic Touch" and "Hard Times". The album is filled with some of KISS' most melodic and catchy hooks. Led by the success of "I Was Made For Lovin' You", DYNASTY spent 25 weeks on the charts peaking at #9 and was certified Platinum by July!

Except for Peter Criss's sole appearance on "Dirty Livin", which featured his lead vocals and drumming, it was Anton Fig who handled the drums on all other songs on DYNASTY.

KISS released two promotional videos for DYNASTY, "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and the great Paul Stanley pop rocker "Sure Know Something".

DYNASTY Track Listing:

I Was Made For Lovin' You / 2,000 Man / Sure Know Something / Dirty Livin' / Charisma / Magic Touch / Hard Times / X-Ray Eyes / Save Your Love

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Hi KISS & the KISS Army!

I saw this poster in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, which is the hometown of Andy Griffith. The coolest show on TV meets the coolest rock band!

Jeff Thomas

LETTERS

Tune in to NBC's The Today Show tomorrow morning between 8:20 and 8:40 am for a very exciting announcement for a very special American hero as KISS announce the Veteran they will hire to be a roadie on their upcoming summer tour. The band chose this Veteran out of over 2000 resumes that were sent in! KISS is proud to support the national HIRING OUR HEROES program.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

By Kyle Anderson

In the song ”Blood Brothers,” from her most recent album, Human Again, Ingrid Michaelson sings about the deep-rooted connections between people: “We’re all the same under a different name/We’re all blood, we’re all blood, blood brothers.”

It’s only appropriate, then, that the video for the song features her getting under the skin of some of her favorite pop icons — including David Bowie, Gene Simmons, and Amy Winehouse.

The clip shows Michaelson not just as the stars, but in transit to becoming each one of them in the makeup chair. (It’s a pretty cool effect, though it must have been murder on her pores.)

CLICK HERE to watch the video at EW.com

All Star Salute to the Oregon Military...

The "All Star Salute to the Oregon Military" gala raised over $400K, kicking off the two-year, $6.5 million Oregon Military Museum Capital Campaign last Friday evening May 18, at the Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, Ore. The museum will be named in honor of Retired Brigadier General James B. Thayer Sr., one of Oregon's finest military and civic leaders and father of KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer. In attendance were Honorary Co-Chairs, Oregon Governors Vic Atiyeh (1979-1987) and Ted Kulongoski (2003-2011), as well as special guests Robert Waxwell (Congressional Medal of Honor recipient), Master of Ceremonies Peter Jacobsen (PGA star), Bill Schonely (Basketball Hall of Fame), Doc McGhee (KISS manager) and Patrick Lamb (Grammy-nominated Jazz musician). The evening featured film documentaries on BG James B. Thayer Sr.'s career, and the History of the Oregon Military. A live auction that included a KISS-autographed guitar and KISS Concert package raised over $185K. The night culminated with a live performance by the Patrick Lamb Band that featured KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer joining in on several songs.

Visit TommyThayer.com to view more photos from the event.

Here's a KOL sneak peek of the new Paul Stanley '1974' action figure. The figure pictured is a prototype that was submitted for approval. The KISS '1974' Figures will be released later this year by Figures Toys.

Stay tuned to KISSOnline for more details on upcoming KISS Action Figure releases.

On this day in KISSTORY - May 20, 1980, KISS released Unmasked, their eighth studio album. The artwork featured Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, although Criss actually had no involvement with the recording of the album. Anton Fig (uncredited) played all drums on the album.

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 30, 1980.

UNMASKED Track Listing:

Is That You? / Shandi / Talk To Me / Naked City / What Makes The World Go Round / Tomorrow / Two Sides Of The Coin / She's So European/ Easy As It Seems /Torpedo Girl / You're All That I Want

Here's the music video for "Shandi."




Check out this commercial for the KISS "Unmasked" album.

KISS ROCKED AMERICAN IDOL FINALE

On this day in KISSTORY - May 20, 2009, KISS rocked over 25 million Americans with Detroit Rock City and Rock and Roll All Night as the band was front-and-center on the American Idol finale show performing with runner-up Adam Lambert.

- KISS was just about the best thing on Idol ALL SEASON LONG. - Rolling Stone

- a jaw-dropping, fist-pumping, pyro-enhanced performance with legendary rockers KISS. - MTV

- KISS Blow Up American Idol. Now that's the way to rock the house! - Associated Content

- It was a night to remember for all those members (including me) of the KISS Army. - WBAL Radio

- Carlos Santana had the unenviable task of following the act. He strummed out some of his famous licks, which felt very slow-paced after the unbelievable energy KISS brought to the theatre. I was actually screaming to see more KISS by this point. - TV Envy

Here's an excerpt from yesterday's Montreal Gazette story - "We want your opinion: Jimi Hendrix? KISS? Which musicians, bands should make Top 10 in our series Who wrote the book of rock?"

By Bernard Perusse, Gazette Music Columnist
Photograph by: Kevin Winter/ , Getty Images

Some of our readers have weighed in with their thoughts on who should make the Top 10 list. Here’s a cross-section.

KISS belongs in your Top 10 list.

They revolutionized music MARKETING. They took the plain old concert tee and turned it into a billion dollar industry.

Perhaps Jimi Hendrix defined rock guitar playing and the Beatles define an era, but KISS changed the marketing of music, and their lessons helped create MTV (visuals being important to music). Madonna stole from their book.

– Mitch Lafon