IN YOUR FACE...

* May 15 - Palais Theatre, Melbourne
* May 18 - Hordern Pavillion, Sydney
* May 22 - Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane

Tickets for these shows are available by invitation only, normally to only those who already purchased a ticket to a existing Australia show.

KISSONLINE has made arrangement to extend the exclusive invite to all KISSONLINE members. The shows go on sale on Thurs 22 April.

Get your invitation at http://www.kissonline.com/tickets/2004austinvite.jpg

From: AussyAce

With the band ready to embark upon a new Australian tour and write, yet another chapter in KISSTORY, lead guitarist Tommy Thayer was gracious enough to grant another brand new interview, giving us a brief glimpse into the world of KISS and letting us know of things to come.

1.Now being an actual performing member of KISS for almost 2 years or so, how does it feel? Do you see yourself being the permanent lead guitarist for the rest of KISSTORY?

Obviously it's an honor to be playing guitar in arguably one of the greatest rock bands in history. In anything I do, I take things literally one day at a time. It wouldn't make sense to try to predict what the future holds 10 years down the line for anything. I just focus on now and do the very best I can do for today.

2.What does Tommy Thayer add as being a member of KISS?

I've been a part of the team for a long time now and have a real understanding of KISS inside-out. KISS is in my blood. I've lived the music and the raw power of the KISS extravaganza for most of my life. It makes sense.

3.Some fans have voiced their opinions that KISS shouldn't be wearing the makeup if it's not the four original members who designed the personas. What is your opinion and would you ever see KISS taking the "non-makeup" approach again?

I've been asked this question a lot. The core and the very essence of KISS is the original four characters. This is what I and probably 99% of KISS fans truly care about. You can easily diffuse the power and integrity of a historic band by introducing "Tommy the Elephant Boy." Who wants that?

4.With the impending tour starting up next month, will the KISS fans see the band continuing with the "Alive" era costumes and staging that we saw last year, or is the band preparing something new and different altogether?

You'll have to wait and see!

5.Without being disrespectful to Peter Criss, do you feel the addition of Eric Singer gives the band the ability to play a more diverse setlist?
I
I've had the unique opportunity to play will all three of KISS's amazing drummers, all adding their distinct flavors to the mix. Peter Criss started it all with his recognizable and unique jazz-flavored rock approach. Eric Carr was a lovely guy with an incredible arena rock and roll sensibility. We all know what Eric Singer can do! We're excited to mix up the "classic" set list with some different KISS gems and take this year's show to an entirely new level.

6.What songs would you pick for an "ideal" KISS setlist, satisfying both the diehards AND the general concert goers who want to hear only the "classics?"

It would be a mix of both, which is tough because the (song) choices are in the hundreds. I have to say though, that when I go to concerts I want to hear ALL of the famous and well-known songs a band plays or I'm not satisfied.

7.When can we expect the tour to start in the US?

June 2004.

8.What are your favorite KISS guitar solos to play?

100,000 Years and Black Diamond (on my knees).

9.Hypothetically, say KISS decides to add a Bruce Kulick era song to the setlist. What approach would you take? Would you play it as closely as to how Bruce played it or would you "Ace" it up, OR would you make it "Tommy Thayer's" version?

I would stay true to the solo as it's written and recorded. If you listen to "Forever" on the KISS Symphony CD and DVD, it is spot on note-for-note just as it was played on HITS or Alive III, which is exactly what I'd want to hear if I was in the audience.

10. In the time you've been in the band, you've worn both the "Destroyer" and "Alive" era costumes. Is there any other era of costumes you would like to try? Even if it were just to try it on?

I haven't thought about it.

11. Have you ever gotten the band to jam any really obscure songs?

I don't have to get the band to do that, it just happens automatically some times. The band has an affinity for/and an appreciation for jamming on great rock tunes and even certain KISS songs at the end of an occasional rehearsal. You might hear old Zeppelin or Yardbirds riffs or possibly "Room Service" or "Love Her All I Can."

12. Now being a performing part of KISS, will you still remain part of the creative process for other KISS "projects" like you've done in the past, or just focus on the musical aspect?

Sure, it's all possible.

13. Gene said there are plans to record another KISS album later this year. In your opinion, do you feel KISS should attempt to, again, try to recreate a "Destroyer," or make a "new" sounding record? Who would you want to produce it?

That's a good question. Again, we're going to have to wait and see. Right now we're excited about the KISS "Rock the Nation" 2004 World Tour that we'll embarking on May 8th in Perth Australia.

14. Many fans are frustrated about the lack of "news" that's reported on KISSONLINE and also the lack of personal involvement like there is on GeneSimmons.com or TommyThayer.com. Are there any plans for there to be more band involvement with the website in the future that you know of?

I can't speak for the entire band, but KISSonline is a solid source of information first and foremost. The forums and news section seem very interactive with daily news and updates. The "Paul Speaks" feature is great. I love "The Girls of KISS" too.

15. Another thing a lot of fans have said they would like is for KISS to start releasing some of the back log of video footage that's in the vaults. Is there any chance of that happening?

That's a question I don't know the answer to.

16. What's the rarest KISS footage you have seen that has never been released?

There's a lot of amazing behind-the-scenes stuff that's been shot on the road over the course of the last 6 or 8 years that hasn't been released. Very interesting stuff.

17. Obviously being a member of KISS is considered by many as a dream of a lifetime. Have you set any other goals that you have yet to achieve?

Let me think about that one..

Thanks for the interview Tommy and I can't wait to see you on tour !!!
We'll see you ALL soon !!!

A quick reminder that the NY Kiss Expo is coming on Saturday, May 1st at the Meadowlands Sheraton, from Noon to Midnight!

Guests include : Richie Scarlet (Yes - he's back in as the UFO tour has been cancelled!)
Bob Kulick (guitarist on Paul Stanley's Tour) - Karl Cochran (Ace Frehley's Band) -
Michael Kelly Smith (Britny Fox) - Metal Mike (Halford) - Jasmin St Clair (Adult Star) -
Bada Bing Girls Elektra & Carmen from the Sopranos! Eddie Trunk of Q-104!

Bands: KissNation - Slippery When Wet - Unchained (VH Tribute)
- Pretty Suicide - Richie Ranno's All-Stars!

Tickets by phone: 201-398-0150

More info:
http://www.starzcentral.com/kissexpo

See you there!!

From: AussyAce

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"Yesterday, Star magazine came by to do a story and layout of my home and how I do business. Story will appear in an issue or two.

"Then, went down to the edit bay where 'Speaking In Tongues' DVD (my forthcoming project that entails the three or four public speaking/lectures I gave in Australia about a year and a half ago) [is being edited]. It will feature some of my wacky notions about life as we know it, as well as some great fan shots/questions and of course, beautiful girls.

"Today, the film crew came over to my home to do my own version of 'Cribs', so we can include the footage in the DVD without having a discussion with VH1 or anyone else.

"Also, as a side bar, you should know that 'Speaking In Tongues' will also be featuring snippets of some never-before-heard songs I've had in my vaults.
Those songs and more will appear next year in my forthcoming 'Gene Simmons Boxset 100' (as in 100 songs)...

"Adam Rifkin, who directed/wrote 'Mousehunt', 'Toy Soldiers', 'Detroit Rock City' came by to pitch Sanctuary Pictures (that's the name of our new motion picture company, comprising of myself, Rich Abramson and Allan Brown) his new project, which has Snoop Dog attached to star. More on this soon."

I received a bunch of great new audio cd covers from by Cyril LAURENT.

Stop by the Features section of KISS Freaks to download some of these great works of art!

From: RockNews

Former KISS/current GRAND FUNK RAILROAD guitarist Bruce Kulick was at Stockholm, Sweden's Canvas studio www.jkproductions.org on Saturday (April 10) recording guest appearances for the new LION'S SHARE and AUDIOVISION albums. The recording session was overseen by producer and LION'S SHARE guitarist Lars Chriss.

LION'S SHARE's www.lionsshare.org follow-up to 2001's "Entrance" will be recorded this fall/winter and will feature new vocalist Patrik Johansson ( ASTRAL DOORS, SPACE ODYSSEY) and drummer Mats Karlsson.

The solo project of NARNIA singer Christian Rivel, AUDIOVISION's (
www.rivelrecords.com/audiovision ) debut CD will include additional guest appearances by such hard rock/heavy metal luminaries as Lars Chriss, Jeff Scott Soto ( TALISMAN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Tony Franklin ( WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, THE FIRM), Mats Levén ( KRUX, AT VANCE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Mic Michaeli ( EUROPE), Michael Höglund ( PUNCHLINE, THUNDER), Thomas Broman ( HUGHES TURNER PROJECT, GLENN HUGHES BAND, ELECTRIC BOYS), Thomas Vikström ( BRAZEN ABBOT, CANDLEMASS), Tommy Denander ( RADIOACTIVE), Janne Stark ( LOCOMOTIVE BREATH), Carl Johan Grimmark ( NARNIA) and Andreas Lindahl ( PLATITUDE). The self-titled album will be released later in the year through Rivel Records.

Anton Fig's "Figments" CD is now available for download on Apple's
iTunes. One of the tracks features Ace Frehley, Sebastian Bach and Richie Scarlett, called, "Know Where You Go" for more information go to:

http://www.antonfig.com/mailingList/news041204.htm

Legendary Kiss axeman Bruce Kulick rocked Norway Sunday April 11th 2004 and proved yet again his skills. A packed Rock In, Oslo, finally got a chance to experience songs Kiss never played live such as King of the Mountain, Who wants to be lonely, I’ll fight hell to hold you, Uh All night, When your walls come down, Turn on the night, Jungle and we could go on forever. Kulick also played several songs from his new album “Transformer”. At the end of his set Bruce also made a special appearance with Wig Wam frontman Glam, doing a stunning version of Lick It Up, which set the Kiss fans on fire. Glam sounding very similar to Paul Stanleys vocal range made Bruce go back to his hey-days with Kiss. Bruce and Glam later announced their coming collaboration on Kiss Army Norways Kiss Tribute album from the stage. The Norwegian
glamrockers Wig Wam and Bruce Kulick WILL be recording a brand new version of Kiss classic “I was made for loving you”, both single and video is expected to be launched this summer.

Kiss legend to record with Wig Wam!

WIG WAM HQ PRESS RELEASE - APRIL 9th 2004Kiss legend to record with Wig Wam!

Legendary Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick are set to record an updated 2004 ‘no holds barred’ version of Kiss classic "I Was Made For Lovin’ You" with Norwegian glamrockers Wig Wam. The track will be recorded for Kiss Army Norway ’s forthcoming Kiss tribute album. “We have the intension of making the ultimate version of the song with an extended guitar solo which will once and for all place mr. Kulick as one world's best guitar players!!” said Wig Wam singer Glam, commenting the event during a brief call. The song will also be released as a single from the album.

In 2002, Wig Wam joined forces with Kiss drummer Eric Singer at a Kiss Party/Meet & Greet event organized by Kiss Army Norway . Singer later tipped Kulick about Wig Wam for the tribute project. Kulick and Wig Wam will meet in Oslo , Norway on April 11th to promote the upcoming collaboration.

Tune in to Petre, NRK-Radio, Monday 12th at 8.30 am for an exclusive interview with Kulick & Wig Wam.

Wig Wam are currently touring Norway with their "667 Tour", promoting their comeback album "667... The Neighbour of the Beast" out now on Global Music. For more band info, check out Wig Wam HQ on the web - www.wigwam.no
Info in Norwegian available at www.kissarmynorway.com.

From: AussyAce

Former KISS drummer Peter Criss has slammed KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons over his allegations that Criss' drug and alcohol abuse is the reason Criss is no longer a touring member of the group.

Writing to his official web site, PeterCriss.net , Criss said: "Some people love hearing themselves talk, Gene Simmons is one of them. I read online what he said to the Iowa and German press. Now let me tell you what's really important. I have never been so happy in my whole life. I can finally be free to be an artist again.

"I surround myself with people who love me and respect me. My endearing and supporting wife Gigi, true friends, and a loving family, and always God. If not for him there would be nothing. These are things that make me a rich man, Mr. Simmons.

"I sang and drummed my heart out on the AEROSMITH tour, FACT. The really fans know that, END OF STORY. And I also missed ACE on the tour.

"I am in excellent health, wealthy and working on being wiser. I just wanted you fans to know that. I won't even comment on what Mr. Simmons had to say, because it's NOT TRUE, and I don't need to justify his lies.

"The original band is over. And as a founding member I am not shocked at Gene and Paul turning a legendary band into a cover act for just plain profit, How very sad.

"But the crazy thing is? The fans will still follow because they are the real heart of KISS. I was proud to be a part of something that was once great.

"God Bless and good-bye to that part of my life."

You wanted the best, you got the best!! VH1 Classic presents KISS - back this summer with a new show, new stage and a set list featuring rarely heard gems from the entire KISS catalog along with more fire, more screaming guitars and more spectacle than ever with their ROCK THE NATION tour. And if that isn’t enough, POISON, the most glam of all the glam-rock bands will be joining KISS for the tour that is sure to put the sweat back into Summer!! It all begins in San Antonio, TX on June 10.

Purveyors of decadence and excess since the Seventies, KISS invented stadium rock with their sci-fi Kabuki costumes, explosive theatrics and, of course, their garish make-up. In their extensive world tours, they’ve attracted the most rabid fans: The KISS Army. KISS rocked 800 million viewers at Super Bowl XXXIII (while managing to stay fully clothed), breathed fire into the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and welcomed the New Year with a bang at Times Square for four consecutive years.

None of the pyrotechnics and make-up would matter without the music: Destroyer, Rock and Roll All Over, Love Gun and Alive became the soundtracks for teenage rebellion. They have recorded more gold records than any other American band in history and have sold more than 80 million albums worldwide. Now in their third decade of musical mayhem, KISS is as vital as ever. Their 1997 release, Psycho-Circus, climbed the charts and nabbed a Grammy nomination. They started 2003 by performing live with the prestigious Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (all donned in KISS make-up) before a sold-out crowd of over 40,000 fans at Australia’s Telstra Dome. The performance was recorded and released on the certified gold KISS SYMPHONY - ALIVE IV CD (KISS Records/Sanctuary Music Group) and on the double-platinum DVD, KISS SYMPHONY, which debuted at No.1. The year 2003 culminated for KISS with their co-headline tour with Aerosmith, which stands out as one of the most successful tours of the 21st century.

POISON exploded out of the LA club scene and onto the national stage, and Bret, Bobby, C.C. and Rikki never looked back. With a string of multi-platinum records and Top Ten hits that included "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "Something To Believe In," "Unskinny Bop," "Nothin' But A Good Time," "Talk Dirty To Me," "Your Mama Don't Dance," etc., Poison went on to sell over 20 million records, and garnered a solid fan base around the world. Throughout the band's many ups and downs, as shown VH1's "Behind The Music" episode, which was seen by over five million viewers the weekend it premiered, fans who flock to their sold-out shows year after year have come to expect an exciting, high energy show in true Poison tradition. Says lead singer Bret Michaels, “Throughout our entire career, we have been headlining, but I look at the opportunity to go on the road with KISS as a complete honor. Poison’s set will be nothing but hits, a balls-to-the-wall, all thriller-no filler, stage show.”

Tickets for ROCK THE NATION with KISS and POISON go on sale beginning on April 24, 2004.

KISS / POISON TOUR DATES 2004

June 10 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
June 11 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Center
June 12 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 15 Denver, CO Coors Amphitheatre
June 16 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
June 18 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion
June 19 Los Angeles, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 20 Concord, CA Chronicle Pavilion
June 22 Portland, OR Clark County Amphitheatre
June 23 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
June 26 Minneapolis, MN FloatRite Amphitheatre
June 27 Kansas City, KS Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
June 28 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Pavilion
June 30 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 2 Nashville, TN Starwood Amphitheatre
July 3 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
July 4 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
July 6 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
July 7 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
July 9 Chicago, IL Tweeter Center
July 10 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheater
July 11 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
July 13 Camden, NJ Tweeter Waterfront
July 14 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
July 16 Boston, MA Tweeter Center
July 17 Atlantic City, NJ Trump Taj Mahal
July 18 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Stadium
July 20 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 21 Wantagh, NY Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach
July 23 Scranton, PA Ford Pavilion at Montage Mountain
July 24 Washington DC Nissan Pavilion
July 25 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
July 27 Raleigh, NC ALLTEL Pavilion at Walnut Creek
July 28 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
July 30 West Palm, FL Sound Advice Amphitheater
July 31 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Amphitheatre
Aug. 3 Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
Aug. 4 Atlanta, GA Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre

[Click here to view the photos]

Picked up some new items from Eric this weekend while in Los Angeles. The items include signed 8x10 photos, newly signed Eric Singer drumheads & Eric Singer All Access To Drumming Video. Don't miss out on this hard to get items. Gonna be even harder to get these things now that Eric is back in the band. Don't miss out!

[Click here to go to the store now!]

www.46664.co.uk/minisite

The 3 cd's are to be released by Warner Music Int. on April 5th.

KISS Freaks Note: In case you missed it Eric Singer played throughout the day with several of the events special guests including Queen!

REMEDY is film-noir in the fast lane- a darkly comic tale. It is the mystery surrounding the murder of one of a tightly knit band of friends. Extreme indulgences and the never-ending New York nightlife drive the group into realms of insanity. Eventually they destroy each other and themselves.

After more than two decades as the original lead guitarist for the world famous rock band KISS, Frehley is making his dramatic debut in Remedy.

[For more on the movie click here]

Make sure to view the trailer to get a peak at Ace!

From: AussyAce
Oh Gene, the tongue, we're getting so tired of it. The least you could do is offend us with something new !!!

By SARAH HAMPSON
Saturday, March 27, 2004

'So, have you ever measured your tongue?"

"No, but it's long," Gene Simmons replies, rolling it around in his mouth a little bit.

"Is it your favourite body part?"

The shock rocker and founding member of Kiss smirks to himself, and brushes a bit of lint off his leg.

A tall, lean man, he is dressed in a finely tailored black jacket, over a patterned shirt, open to reveal a somewhat hairy chest, with dark, narrow, pinstriped pants and black boots that have big buckles at the ankle. In his breast pocket, he sports a yellow dahlia.

He is a dandy from the dark side.

He makes an executive decision, and decides not to take the bait.

"I like female body parts," he coos.

"Breasts?"

"Breasts initially," he drawls. "They're ornaments," he says, strumming a pair of air boobs.

His face remains expressionless. He pushes at his long thatched hair that fits over his head like a stiff tablecloth. On his left ear, he wears a silver small hoop earring.

I move on. "Tell me why rock 'n' roll is always about the mouth," I say, hoping he might turn funny. "There are Mick Jagger's lips. Steve Tyler's mouth. Your tongue. What's that all about?"

"Well, women are so repressed sexually," he says. "They don't really get a chance to go to strip clubs. Strip clubs are an everyday fact of guys' lives, ogling women, breasts and hips. We're all about that. Women watch soap operas and read romance novels, and there's no in-your-face sexuality. So when a performer gets up on stage, whether it's Tom Jones shaking his hips or Gene Simmons sticking his tongue out, it's an in-your-face sexuality. She says, 'Finally, a man that just puts his appendage on the table and says, 'Here it is, baby.' "

Oh, I'm not taking it -- his bait, that is. I refuse the offense he offers like a dinner invitation. Nor am I going to be the one to yank him out of the seventies by his boot buckles. He seems to have female sexuality pegged to some frustrated suburban housewife model. Not that he would care if he were called a retro creep. He wants us to think poorly of him. More than that, I'm quite sure he wants us to think he's an asshole. Why? Well, it's simple really. He has a new album to push, and it's called Asshole.

Simmons may be lowbrow, but it's all high concept.

"For a while, I thought I would be respectable," he says, when asked about the choice of title for his first solo CD in 26 years. (The band Kiss has made several CDs in its 30-year history, but this release features Simmons and friends, including Frank Zappa.) "But then I thought, nah. I think it's a funny word, I don't find it vile or malicious. Wherever you go, it follows you. ... So I'm going to have asshole parties," he continues, deadpan. "And you'll have to be a real asshole in order to attend, and I will determine who is. And a girl will be an assholette or an assholesse, and once you come in, you'll get a certificate to say you're a real asshole. And once you leave, and someone says, 'What are you? Some kind of asshole?' you can say, 'Well, as a matter of fact I am. I'm a real asshole. Gene Simmons says so, and he's the biggest asshole," he concludes with another self-satisfied smirk.

How cute. Simmons is known as a marketing genius. He reminds me at one point that the Kiss franchise business is worth over half a billion in U.S. dollars. Simmons has long understood the image power of the grease-painted, fire-breathing, blood-spitting musicians. In the seventies, they sold the rights for Kiss dolls, among other items. Then along came his magazine, Gene Simmons Tongue, Kiss Kondums (dubbed "rock 'n' rubbers"), a comic-book series, Kiss Visa cards and caskets. "By the way," he says, "There ain't no rock 'n' roll brand. There is only Kiss. Who else is going to do this?" he asks, extending one of his pudgy hands to reveal what he has up his sleeve -- a Kiss watch.

Well, what would he say to critics who might suggest that the only reason he would be putting out a new CD is to prove he is still an artist, rather than a concept? "Oh, I don't care," he says. "Critics are failed human beings. They're the guys that never got laid in school."

"Why do you still do it?" I ask. "You have lots of money."

"Because I want more."

"You're insatiable?"

"Insatiable has negative connotations," he says, pouting. "The notion of life is to do more. And the time to stop is when you're dead," he says, spitting the last word over the top of his tall glass of Coke. He had a backlog of songs, he reports, and a lot of them didn't "suit" Kiss. "And after [Kiss] scaled all the heights and broke every attendance record that the Beatles or Elvis ever set, and after being the number-one-group-gold-record-award-winning champions of all time in North America," he says. "I don't feel I have anything left to prove."

I switch subjects to ask another question about what he thinks women want. Sex? Marriage?

"Well, first you want the sex," he says, plunging into an enthusiastic response. "Then comes the real price to pay. You want the house, the picket fence. Women and marriage are like quicksand. Very easy to get into, but you're going nowhere, you're stuck, and you're not getting out."

In his rocking heyday, Simmons reportedly kept a journal of all his sexual conquests. He lived with Cher for a time. (He calls her "a no-nonsense girl who doesn't play the female thing.") But he has lived with Newfoundland-born former model Shannon Tweed for 20 years. He has two children with her, Nick, 15, and Sophie, 11. They all perform on Asshole. "I have been happily unmarried to her," he says. "But the idea that any other human being, especially a woman, would ever delude herself into thinking that she had a right to ask me where I'm going, who the . . . wants to know?"

So what makes it work for her? (Simmons says he doesn't believe in sexual fidelity.)

"I don't care about that. I only care what I care about. And she cares about what she cares about. It's only about me," he says, tapping his chest. "If I choose to be with her, it's a daily decision." To emphasize his philosophy, he tells me that prostitutes are more honest than most women because at least they tell a man up-front what a "relationship" is going to cost. But he's recycling quotes. I've read this in other interviews he has given.

The least he could do is shock us with something new.

Enough, I tell him. He is doing himself a disservice, I say. He is more thoughtful than he wants to let on. Unmasked, he is still masked. He wears a kind of psychic grease paint. Under it all, he is a guy called Chaim Witz, born in Israel, the son of Hungarian Jews. His parents divorced when he was 9. He moved to the States with his mother. He watched the Ed Sullivan Show, saw the Beatles and invented himself. For a while, he was a sixth-grade teacher, for Pete's sake.

"Oh, you're doing the holier-than-thou thing," he admonishes. "Which is, you're telling me, 'Don't do it that simply. Come up to my level.' Well, let me tell you what it is. Life is over soon enough, and what the . . . does it all mean? What's meaning all about anyway? Life, simply, at its simplest, is Epicurean hedonism, which is to say, the absence of pain is pleasure! My perspective comes from my mother, who survived the concentration camps of Europe. Trust me, nobody in a concentration camp is thinking of anything but survival. You're not being tortured, and you're alive. That's all the meaning you need."

One last question. Any concessions to age?

"You know, only white people concern themselves with that," he scoffs. "Ever heard of black people getting together and saying, 'You know that B.B. King. He's almost 80. I think he should quit.' "

Okay, so any concessions to age?

"Oh no, they're gonna have to drag me, kicking and screaming off the stage."

You must work out, I say. You dye your hair.

He stares back at me, glowering. "Yeah, and you wear bras and lift 'em towards the heavens, and I dye my hair. We all do whatever it takes to play the game."

The game here feels like a pissing match in a school yard. But he's 54, and I don't have a penis. Besides, I don't feel like playing any more. The interview ends. He gets up to have his picture taken. The Globe photographer wants him to stand by the window. "The reason that's not a good idea," says Simmons, who purposely stands away from the glass, "is that the light will diffuse the thickness of my hair."

SPECIAL GUESTS

Very Special Guest: Bob Kulick, guitarist on Paul Stanley's solo tour! He's also guitarist on studio songs from KISS Alive II! The brother of Bruce Kulick, Bob Kulick will be appearing at the NY KISS Expo. He is a very interesting person with long-time, close ties to KISS! Don't miss him! Sponsored by KISSshop.com

This year's special guests include Richie Scarlet, Michael Kelly Smith of Britny Fox, Karl Cochran, and Jasmin St. Clair Meet Eddie Trunk, host of Friday Night Rocks on Q104.3 and VH1 Classic VJ. Eddie is also a former Ace Frehley A&R rep

THE BANDS:

KISS Tribute Band KissNation
Born and bred on the same NYC streets as KISS, KISSNATION shares the same fiery passion to put on the greatest Rock and Roll show possible. Straight from the boroughs of The Big Apple, and setting themselves apart from other KISS bands, the members of KISSNATION re-create the "Dynasty/Unmasked" look of KISS but are able to don the "Klassic ALIVE I", LOVE GUN or, "Creatures of the Night" costumes if called upon. Their set list is a range from the 70's, 80's and 90's, becoming a triple threat. With LIVE concerts, interviews, private parties, conventions and Official KISS related promotional events, this band has done it all.

Bon Jovi Tribute Band Slippery When Wet

Van Halen Tribute Band Unchained

Pretty Suicide
Sporting a name that has little to do with their sound - which kicks ass like Pat Benatar in a fight to the death over some skinny-tie toy boy at a booze-soaked frat party circa 1986 - this popped-out, metal-aware power outfit's ace in the hole is the bigger-than-Linda Ronstadt voice of Courtney Semonick.

Richie Ranno's All-Stars

For more information go to:
http://www.starzcentral.com/kissexpo/

April's giveaway is for a Paul Stanley Washburn Guitar pick. You just have to be a member of the KISS Freaks Email List, doesn't matter when you joined. Wanna buy one? We have them in the KISS Freaks Klearance Store, just click here!

What do you have to do to win? Just sign up for the KISS Freaks Email List below. I will pick one fan at random at the end of the month, email that fan to notify them and get address info, then ship the cd.