The KISSFAQ - February '08 News

This "News" page generally only relates to matters of interest to the KISSFAQ. There's no need to replicate news that can be seen on other KISS websites. If you use information appearing on this or any other KISSFAQ page, in print (fanzines) or online (directly quoted or rewritten), please have the courtesy to say where it came from. If printing in fanzines, I'd love a copy sent to the KISSFAQ PO Box. Should you want official announcements please visit the band's official website at: KISSONLINE.COM.

Thursday, February 28, 2008 8:42:08 AM - KISSology Vol. 3 on the charts...

8X Platinum Certified KISSology Vol. 3 drops to #24 on the Billboard Music Video charts this week...

Thursday, February 21, 2008 3:38:34 AM - Ace kicks off tour...

Following his mini-tour to ring in the new year and ring out the cob-webs, Ace kicked off the main section of his "Rocket Ride" tour last night at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, MD. Set list included:

Rip It Out
Hardtimes
Snowblind
Rock Soldiers
Breakout
Shot Full of Rock
Medley: Torpedo Girl, Speeding Back To My Baby, Five Card Stud, Trouble Walkin'
Strangeways
Into The Void New York Groove
Stranger In A Strangeland
Shock Me
Rocket Ride
Deuce

The KISSFAQ wishes Ace and band a healthy and successful tour and looks forward to seeing the show in San Francisco! We'll be keeping track of the tour, HERE...

Thursday, February 21, 2008 3:38:34 AM - KISSology Vol. 3 on the charts/certification...

KISSology Vol. 3 remains at #17 on the Billboard Music Video charts this week. It has also been certified 8X platinum. Congratulations KISS (and everyone involved in getting the package together!)...

Thursday, February 21, 2008 3:38:34 AM - Chris Aridas passes...

(From PeterCriss.net) According to Peter's site Chelsea's guitarist Chris Aridas passed away on February 17, 2008...

Thursday, February 14, 2008 4:40:38 AM - KISSology Vol. 3 on the charts...

KISSology Vol. 3 drops one place to #17 on the Billboard Music Video charts this week. Meanwhile, Sarah Brightman's "Symphony," which includes a duet with Paul Stanley, drops to #28 on the Top-200 album charts...

Thursday, February 07, 2008 9:54:04 AM - KISSology Vol. 3 on the charts...

KISSology Vol. 3 drops one place to #16 on the Billboard Music Video charts this week. Meanwhile, Sarah Brightman's "Symphony," which includes a duet with Paul Stanley, debuted at #13 on the Top-200 album charts...

Thursday, February 07, 2008 4:56:36 AM - New (Old) Peter Criss audio sample

I finally got around to transferring some audio last year and originally shared the 30 commercial spot of Peter Criss performing the "Budweiser" theme. Now, since there's so much Ace news, a treat for fans of Peter Criss. I've dubbed the track "Cat Piss II," this longer version of the commercial, a 1 minute spot has a nice, though brief, guitar solo and brief drum intro, versus the earlier version that just featured the main verse and ends with the chorus. You can listen to it HERE

Produced by the D'Arcy-Mac Manus and Masius advertising agency. The date is not clear, though DAMM merged with Benton & Bowles in November 1985, resulting in a name change to the firm, so the reel dates from before then. While the backing track is probably generic studio musician work, with no suggestion of Peter "playing," the guitar sound on this radio jingle is very similar to that on Peter's "Out Of Control" album, suggesting that it may be Stan Penridge playing the solo at least (or at most). That suggests a 1980-2 window, apart from the reel code BB81-4. The reel was distributed by Genesis Recording with one 60 second and one 30 second spot from both Peter and the Bus Boys. And "Catpiss" = Peter + Budweiser(IMO).

For tons more new Peter Criss related audio samples, check out his discography or the multimedia page!

Thursday, February 07, 2008 4:56:36 AM - New 1980 KISS Footage

Including concert footage from Melbourne...

Thursday, February 07, 2008 4:56:36 AM - Keepin' Track of Ace

As best we can, details gathered concerning Ace's new recording have a dedicated page, HERE. So far several track names have been mentioned, not only in the two recent interviews:

01. Pain In The Neck
02. A Little Below The Angels
03. Genghis Khan
04. Change The World
05. The King Is Kong
06. You Make It Hard For Me
07. Fractured Quantum (Instrumental)

And, of course, you can keep track of Ace's tour from the big graphical link on this page! The current tour schedule looks like (always subject to changes):

Wed, 2/20/08 - Rams Head Live! - Baltimore, MD
Fri, 2/22/08 - Center Stage - Atlanta, GA
Sat, 2/23/08 - House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
Sun, 2/24/08 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
Tue, 2/26/08 - Pop's - Sauget, IL
Thu, 2/28/08 - House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
Fri, 2/29/08 - Bear's Den Showroom, Seneca Niagara Casino - Niagara Falls, NY
Sat, 3/1/08 - Bear's Den Showroom, Seneca Niagara Casino - Niagara Falls, NY
Mon, 3/3/08 - Metropolis - Montreal, Quebec
Tue, 3/4/08 - Theatre Capitole - Quebec City, Quebec
Wed, 3/5/08 - Kool Haus - Toronto, Ontario
Fri, 3/7/08 - Soaring Eagle Casino - Mt. Pleasant, MI
Sat, 3/8/08 - The Eagles Club - Milwaukee, WI
Sun, 3/9/08 - Emerald Theater - Mt. Clemens, MI
Tue, 3/11/08 - Fargo Theatre - Fargo, ND
Wed, 3/12/08 - The Garrick Centre - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Fri, 3/14/08 - Flames Central - Calgary, Alberta
Sat, 3/15/08 - Edmonton Events Centre - Edmonton, Alberta
Mon, 3/17/08 - Wilma Theater - Missoula, MT
Tue, 3/18/08 - Big Easy - Spokane, WA
Wed, 3/19/08 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
Fri, 3/21/08 - Grand Ballroom, Regency Center - San Francisco, CA
Sat, 3/22/08 - House Of Blues - Anaheim, CA
Mon, 3/24/08 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
Tue, 3/25/08 - House of Blues - West Hollywood, CA
Wed, 3/26/08 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV
Fri, 3/28/08 - Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO
Sat, 3/29/08 - Rushmore Civic Theater - Rapid City, SD
Mon, 3/31/08 - Voodoo Lounge @ Harrah's Casino - Kansas City, MO
Tue, 4/1/08 - House Of Blues - Chicago, IL
Thu, 4/3/08 - House of Blues - Atlantic City, NJ
Fri, 4/4/08 - Nokia Theater - New York City, NY
Fri, 4/11/08 - Astoria Theatre, London, England
Sat, 4/12/08 - Corporation Club, Sheffield, England

Thursday, February 07, 2008 4:56:36 AM - A&E schedules new season of Family Jewels

(From Genesimmons.com) "If you're going to the movies in MARCH, you will see our promo video for Season III in most movie houses. If you're driving down the highways of America, you will see our billboards. If you're leaving the country, you will see us AROUND THE WORLD.

Star TV has just announced Season II debuts in SOUTHEAST ASIA on March 5th. Be on the lookout for our show in: THE PHILIPPINES, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, (HONG KONG) CHINA, SINGAPORE and other countries in the region. And if you're in EUROPE, you can see us in FRANCE, GERMANY and the SCANDINAVIAN countries. And if you're in AFRICA, you can see us in SOUTH AFRICA and other countries...not to mention MEXICO, ARGENTINA (and other SOUTH AMERICAN countries - subtitled in Spanish)... CANADA, AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND."

Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:56:36 PM - Ace Album News II

(From BW&BK, Martin Popoff) "ACE FREHLEY Interview Part I – "This Album Is Going To Be Heavier Than Those FREHLEY'S COMET Records"

BW&BK got the scoop today (February 6th) on guitar legend ACE FREHLEY's new tour and forthcoming CD. Ace's Rocket Ride Tour 2008 is in full gear with dates confirmed throughout North America and the UK.

"I'm in the studio right now trying to finish up the CD before I go out on tour on the 20th," begins Space Ace, who is working on the new album in his home studio, newly clean and sober. "Much more productive," he claims, given his new clarity. "Yes. It's a blessing. It took me a long time to figure it out that I can't drink and drug anymore (laughs). I'm glad I did, because I would probably be dead by now if I would've kept going the way I was. Life's good today. God bless, you know?"

It's long been established that Ace's first solo album – of the four simultaneously released KISS solo albums from 1978 – was the best, the boldest, the closest to the hard rock vision of Kiss. "Yes, that's the one that everybody is citing as their favourite record. And I'm trying to achieve on this new CD... I've been listening to that record a lot, and dissecting it a little to find out why people think that was such a special album. And I've been trying to get into that same mindset, and so far it's been kind of working, you know? You can never go back in time, but you can kind of listen to what you did and try to figure out what made it special, and try to capture that."

Specifically, with respect to the forthcoming album (no label deal has been signed yet), Ace says that, "There's a heavy rocker called 'Pain In The Neck'. And actually, I wrote this song two weeks ago called 'A Little Below The Angels'. That's a bit more of a commercial one, with a catchy hook. There's another song called 'Genghis Khan', which is kind of like, if I had to categorize it, it's maybe a little like 'Kashmir' from LED ZEPPELIN, a slower kind of grooving track with a good melody. There's a slower track, which also has a kind of commercial... you know, the word commercial has changed. It's called 'Change The World', which is an interesting kind of track, probably different from anything I've ever done. In fact it is different from anything I've ever done. You know, I think people are going to dig it. It's slower, something you could imagine hearing on the radio. My bass player Anthony Esposito, he's been helping me with the record from the beginning. He is playing bass on all the tracks so far. Anton Fig is playing drums on most of the tracks. I've got my touring drummer Scot Coogan; he's going to be on a couple of tracks on the record. And I don't think I mentioned Derrek Hawkins, the other guitar player. That rounds out the touring lineup."

Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:56:36 PM - Ace Album News I

(From Billboard.com) "Guitarist Ace Frehley, who got sober after leaving Kiss again in 2002, is in the midst of recording his first solo album since 1990, with a planned April release, he tells Billboard.com. Frehley, who is recording the as-yet-untitled album at his home studio in Westchester, N.Y., aims to have it finished by Feb. 20, when he starts a North American concert tour. He reports he is currently negotiating with "two or three record labels" to put it out but says he'll release it first through his official web site, which is currently being revamped, and perhaps also via iTunes.

"Basically, I'm trying to get back into the mindset I was in when I did my first solo record [1978's 'Ace Frehley']," Frehley says. "That record seemed to have all the elements everybody liked -- a real cool instrumental, a hit single, some real heavy rockers, a nice variety of different genres of music."

Among his favorite new tracks are "A Little Below the Angels," hard rocking "Pain in the Neck," and an instrumental called "Fractured Quantum" which is a follow-up to his previous instrumentals "Fractured Mirror" and "Fractured Too." Another favorite is "groove song" titled "Genghis Khan," which he likens in tone to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." Don't expect to hear any of the new songs at his concerts, however.

"Every show's on YouTube, every song," explains Frehley, who used 12-step programs and a personal physician and therapist care to clean up after he left Kiss for a second time in 2002. "I don't want to play any of the new songs 'cause I don't want to give away anything. I want that magic and mystique of hearing something for the first time when you're supposed to, so I don't think I'm going to play any of [the new songs] until the CD's released."

Instead Frehley will play a set filled with Kiss favorites he wrote, plus material from his previous solo releases. He admits some ambivalence about doing "Cold Gin," " 'cause I don't drink anymore and I don't promote it. But it's such a kick-ass song... I think that me talking about the fact I'm clean and sober and I'm not a party animal anymore is plenty. I can still get away with playing it."

Wednesday, February 06, 2008 1:54:17 PM - Second UK Ace Show...

A second UK Ace Frehley solo date has been announced at the Sheffield Corporation Club. There's (well there used to be) some damn fine pubs in Sheffield, so KISSFAQ (who has a Yorkshire accent prior to moving to the US) is annoyed to be on the wrong side of the pond again. Ol' Blighty calling...

Wednesday, February 06, 2008 1:54:17 PM - KISS Returns To Europe...

Yesterday KISS announced their addition to the bill of this year's Kerrang!-sponsored Download Festival, to be held at Donnington in England between 13-15 June. Other acts scheduled to appear include the legendary Judas Priest and Motorhead, alond with The Offspring and others. The Arrow Rock Festival has announced that KISS will join Def Leppard and Whitesnake in Nijmegen on June 15. Both Def Leppard and Whitesnake are due to release new studio albums prior to the show. This date has yet to be officially confirmed.

Thursday, January 31, 2008 5:08:33 AM - KISSology Vol. 3 on the charts...

KISSology Vol. 3 remains at #15 on the Billboard Music Video charts this week.