From AussyAce

Hollywood horror freshman Tim Sullivan (Detroit Rock City) makes his directorial debut with 2001 Maniacs starring Robert Englund of Nightmare On Elm Street Fame with cameos by John Landis, Ted Nugent, Ray Manzarek, and Paul Stanley. It"s got blood, guts, girls, and more blood. If that wasn"t enough, scoring the festivities is Matt Sorum (Guns N" Roses, Velvet Revolver) and Lanny Cordola. Sure to be a cult classic, Sullivan bares all in a candid one on one interview.

"Lin Shaye (Detroit Rock City, Last Man Standing, Kingpin) plays Granny Boone, a sort of Irene Ryan from the Beverly Hillbillies , and she leads this hootenanny that ends with a lot of people getting killed. Rock n' Roll's redneck Ted Nugent plays Sheriff Howell, the Southern voice of reason, while Paul Stanley of KISS and his son Evan play creepy gas station attendants - Evan does a banjo number, parody of that scene in Deliverance and he's only seven years old."

From AussyAce

If you don't have the look, don't bother...

Does auditioner Joshua Crum look like an "American Idol" to you ???

Early in Tuesday's episode of "American Idol," the judges, joined by KISS frontman Gene Simmons, got into an argument about whether they were judging singer Bobby Barfoot by his image (he was kind of chunky, with messy, curly hair) or his voice (he ... yodeled).

To settle the argument, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell asked the young man to disappear behind a screen and sing from there. Apparently once he was out of their sight, they felt they'd be able to sit back and judge his voice on its own accord. "It's the image," Paula kept saying.

Screen or no screen, the guy was a yodeler. Bobby's voice wasn't strong enough to make it to Hollywood, even if his looks were removed from the equation. (Simon mentioned something about Bobby's voice sounding like he'd been sucking on helium, an apt description.)

But what the little screen test proved more than anything was that image doesn't matter in "American Idol." But not for the reasons you might think. "Image" doesn't matter because all "American Idol" finalists and winners eventually will receive the very same image, one that's prepackaged and sanitized for your protection, as commercial and mass-marketed as a Twinkie (This is a half size Aussy Hot Dog roll sponge cake moulded nice and round and filled dead centre with lots of lard cream...)

There are certain "American Idol" boxes into which judges are eager to put contenders. Girls might fit into the sexy looker box, the wholesome ingenue box, or the brassy diva box. Guys generally choose the clean-cut Archie Andrews box, but the soulful whatever-the-male-version of-a-diva-is box is also open. As anyone who's ever seen the Johnny Bravo episode of "The Brady Bunch" knows all too well, you have to, as Greg did, "fit the suit.

Auditioners wrongly seem to believe that if they can stand out from the mass of humanity that crowds the "Idol" auditions, they stand a good chance of either making it through to the judges or going beyond that and somehow impressing the judges with a unique look.

But instead of spending money on bright hair dye or a unique outfit, these would-be "Idols" would do better to buy themselves a couple of months of voice lessons. There is an occasional box for a singer who goes his or her own way, but eventually, that image wears out its welcome. John Stevens' Teen Martin image felt refreshing and different when put up against so many other pop wannabes, but eventually, he just outlasted his natural vocal talents.

Flailing for individuality... Tuesday night, Texan Daron Beck threw a variety of images into his audition. He had a John Waters-style moustache, a bit of Johnny Depp crossed with an old melodrama villain in his hairstyle, and a suit with a red pocket square that was last seen on the old guy pictured on Monopoly cards. Before launching into an odd version of Tom Jones' "Delilah," he announced with a completely straight face that he wanted to be the American Idol in order to "change the music industry." Apparently part of his plan for changing the industry involved a form of music where singers stop in the middle of a song to ... bark? Cough? It wasn't quite clear. The judges couldn't figure Daron out either. Simon suggested he'd be best off in a cabaret, wearing "ladies underwear and red lipstick." In a classic bit of personal understatement, Gene Simmons told him "peculiar is a good way to make a living. I'm peculiar," but also informed him he wasn't "right for this." And the Demon was right, of course, Daron wasn't right for "Idol," nor was nerdy movie projectionist Robert Solomon, who screamed "Dancing in the Streets" and never got within a mile of the correct key. "It doesn't matter what you wear, just as long as you are there!" he screeched.

But in "Idol" auditions, it does matter what you wear. Lovely Lindsay Cardenelli has a solid voice (Paula Abdul called it "hypnotic"), but she was also smart enough to show off a lovely figure draped in two lace tank tops.

Jeffrey Johnson, who stopped for a prayer with other hopefuls before his audition, also has a solid voice. And it fits his image — he's in the ministry, and the beads and dancehalls of New Orleans were a shock to him. Gene Simmons, of all people, gently tried to nudge him towards country music, warning him that rock and roll's focus on sexuality would contradict his religious focus. But Simon Cowell, as he so often does, spoke the truth, saying "The public will love this guy." And they will. Cleancut, polite, nonthreatening, yet with an edge of soulfulness to his voice, Johnson is an early pick to be the next John Stevens in this year's competition.

A story helps... For auditioners unsure of which "Idol" box to fit into, it helps to have a good story. Pursuing a life in the ministry makes for a good story, as does living on a farm, as Carrie Underwood proved last week. Both those candidates had good voices, yes, but so did more than a dozen others this week who made it through to Hollywood, yet didn't have their auditions shown on TV. A New Orleans candidate named Michael had a great story. His parents, both singers, had met when his mother had stormed out of the club she had been working at, seeking a new job at the very club where her husband-to-be was working. And Michael, a large fellow, was incredibly polite and friendly to the judges, choosing the great song "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" He kind of shouted the words, the volume veering as if a small child had hold of a volume knob and was spinning it from left to right with abandon. But neither Paula nor Randy could hear this, apparently, or maybe Michael's charm had them swayed. Against Simon's wishes, they put him through. In addition to being polite and personable, Michael is a large fellow, built along the Ruben Studdard mode. That's acceptable for a male contestant on "Idol." But even a few extra pounds on a female contestant are grounds for dismissal.

Just ask the goofy, pink-clad triplets who sang last week. Simon bluntly told them they were all overweight. OK, but their problem was not the weight, but that they were trying to dress in the "Idol" sexy looker mold, and the weight was no help to them. Oddly, not one of them called Simon out when he mentioned the weight problem, never pointing out that Ruben had won the whole thing with more than a few extra pounds.

One singer on Tuesday night's show, dreadlocked David Brown, had the shyness and strong religious background the show loves, but more than that, he had a solid, soaring voice. "The real ones, they don't need to do nothing but sing," said Randy Jackson in his endorsement of Brown. But longtime "Idol" watchers know that's about as untrue as a statement can get.

From AussyAce

The world's first ever KISS-opoly championships will be held in Amsterdam, Holland, on Saturday, February 26. Hosted by KISS Kollector Fanclub and FAME Megastore, these championships will be taking place between 13:00 and 17:00 hours (local time) at the FAME store located on the Kalverstraat in the busy city centre of Amsterdam. You can have a big part in all this, as obviously the participants will be members from the KISS Army. So, quickly enlist to be one of the players in the KISS-opoly championships by e-mailing your name and address (with "KISS-opoly championships" in the subject) to: KISSCOLLECTOR

A confirmation of your enlistment as a player in these KISS-opoly championships will be e-mailed to you as soon as possible. We would love to see the players of the KISS-opoly game participate in KISS make up, but of course you're welcome to participate if you don't want to appear in make up. All finalists will be awarded with a KISS-opoly game afterwards, and the winner will even take a KISS 'guitar case' Box Set home. And FAME will have a new batch of KISS merchandise available in the store, so you'll also be able to buy yourself some more KISS merchandise if you wish.

An interesting set of documents that indicate locals in the south were afraid of trouble when KISS played their venues can be read. Though they are straightforward in writing with little or no details, the tone of the documents elude to the fear that the law had for KISS back in 1980.

[Read The Docs Here]

From AussyAce Plus A Message From Producer / Director, Chris Maelen

Keep your eyes peeled for The NEW movie "Remedy", starring former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, which will be released at the end of March, according to the film's lead writer, Nicholas Reiner. The movie, which features Ace Frehley in the role of "Johnny," will have national video distribution via MTI Home Video in Blockbuster as well as other stores. A trailer for the film can be viewed here www.remedythemovie.com .

A New York City Artist (Christian Maelen, Ransom, This thing of ours) is witness to a best friend's murder...or was he ??? A blinding drug addiction keeps him from remebering the truth, and now he's the prime suspect. He desperately tries to uncover the truth and clear his name before it's too late... REMEDY is a darkly comic tale surrounding the sordid affairs within a tightly knit band of urban contemporaries whose extreme indulgences into the dark underground of New York nightlife push them into a destructive tailspin which ultimately leads to their collective undoing... With an all-star cast that includes Frank Vincent and Vincent Pastore of the Sopranos and the Goodfellas, and Ace Frehley of the Legendary Rock Group KISS, REMEDY is and edgy crime with a twist that will have you guessing until the final frame...

From AussyAce

With KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer overseeing it, as he has with most of the group's full-length videos in years past, "Kiss - Rock The Nation Live!", the new live KISS two-disc DVD set will feature the hottest songs from the Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach, VA concerts, filmed this summer in high-definition video, according to a posting on the group's web site. The song list is vast and features a collection of KISS gems, many performed and recorded live for the first time in many years. The DVD will also include KISS Powervision interactive bonus features that include Select-A-KISS, allowing the viewer access to separate channels for each of the four band members. At any time the viewer can watch the main concert program, or switch to different cameras focusing just on Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer or Eric Singer. The DVD will be loaded with additional behind-the-scenes, life-on-the-road footage and interviews, giving the viewer a virtual all-access pass to soundchecks, the famed KISS dressing room and other rare glimpses into the world of KISS. The DVD is tentatively slated for a spring 2005 release.

Paul Stanley this week underwent a second surgery on his hip to correct problems that arose following his hip replacement of October 12. After an undetermined period of rest and physical therapy, he is expected to make a full recovery.

KISS manager Doc McGhee has rejected a Rolling Stone magazine report suggesting that KISS regularly use backing tracks in concert to recreate the studio sound of their albums.

In an early November article published in the magazine, Rolling Stone quoted a concert-industry source as saying, "A lot of the heavy acts do that [use backing tapes] - they thicken up the guitar sounds when they play live. KISS has backing tracks galore."

In a letter to the magazine published in its latest issue, McGhee responded to the article with the following: "During the nine-plus years that I have managed KISS, they have been adamant in their commitment to performing all of their more than 500 concerts without backing tracks, samples or any type of instrumental or vocal augmentation. The sole exception was when 'Beth' was sung by the drummer to a prerecorded tape, and the rest of the band left the stage to avoid misleading the fans. Having built their career on their bombastic live shows, KISS to this day believe that the demands of a high-energy show are neither a valid excuse or alibi for the use of canned music or prerecorded singing by any live act."

From AussyAce

Current KISS Lead Guitarist Tommy Thayer is currently finalizing the production of "Kiss In Your Face and Beyond", a double DVD set that chronicles the 2004 Australian club shows. The concerts in Melbourne and Sydney were filmed and together they make up Disc One of this set. Shot in 16/9 with Dolby Digital Sound and a DTS soundtrack, this DVD will feature more than 20 rare KISS performances with their current lineup. Disc two will feature an "excellent" 48-minute documenatary on the preparations for these shows and a host of bonus footage that takes the viewer back to the days when KISS played clubs in the early '70s, including rare black-and-white footage of KISS in their prime at one of their first concerts as well as concert footage from the band's personal archives. Screenformat will be 16/9 on the documentary and 4/3 on the bonus features.

This second disc will mainly be a teaser for the upcoming "Kiss Archives DVD Series", to be released next year.

From AussyAce

Dimebag Darrell was a HUGE KISS FAN and had always claimed his first ever influence was Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. Like many kids, he applied Kiss' famous face make-up and jammed along to Kiss records with a Les Paul guitar that looked like Ace Frehley's, he even had an Ace Frehley tattoo emblazoned on his chest.

EX-PANTERA member who was gunned down on Wednesday, the 24th Anniversary of John Lennon's murder at the hands of a crazed fan, Abbott was gunned down by a man who also appeared to have an obsession with him... Abbott, 38, who was playing with his new band Damageplan, was one of four people killed by Nathan Gale. Some witnesses said Gale, 25, targeted Abbott and shouted, "You broke up Pantera." He then fired at his band and into the crowd at the Alrosa Villa club before being killed by a policeman. The rest of the band appeared to have escaped unharmed.

The shooting has shocked the music world. Fatalities occasionally happen at rock concerts, but the stars are usually the witnesses to mayhem in the crowd.

"Dimebag was a dear friend of mine," heavy-metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, who toured with Pantera many times, said in a statement. "I'm absolutely beside myself with grief. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would do this."