News

21 years ago today the KISS Army lost one of the greatest drummers to rock our world. Eric Carr will always be remembered for his amazing years in KISS, his dedication to his fans and his brilliant personality. Thoughts go out to Eric's family on this sad day, in particular his sister Loretta who continues to make sure Eric is never forgotten.

Below is a great clip of Black Diamond from the HITS tour, enjoy:-

New ebook by Chris Epting with Life Lessons from KISS

Author and AOL Music journalist Chris Epting was recently interviewing rock legends KISS when it suddenly flashed before his eyes that, bizarre as it might seem, the band he had loved since childhood actually played a huge part in shaping how he looks at the world. In that instant, he decided to write about his life long journey with the band, starting out in the early 1970s when he joined the KISS Army and continuing until today. Epting takes us through the history of KISS, weaving in historic tidbits and trivia with his personal observations, while laying out the rules for living that he absorbed from "the hottest band in the land." The book’s title of course is an homage to the 1989 bestseller by Robert Fulghum, "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten," but this story speaks to the love that many people have with that one special band or artist they followed while growing up. As Epting learned as an adult though, when it comes to your favorite band, the roots run deep - perhaps deeper than you ever imagined. Stone Temple Pilot founder/bassist Robert DeLeo adds a heartfelt foreword and some rare sketches he drew of KISS as a youngster - back when he was in the Army, too. Phil Collen of Def Leppard says: "Coming from England I discovered KISS a little later than everyone in the states since the band started as an American phenomenon. Their target demographic was perfect-12 year old white boys who loved fun rock songs combined with comic book hero characters. In England I was probably one of the few young boys who collected American comics so I totally understood how this would appeal to their audiences. The 'three chord' rock bands I was getting into at the time were T-Rex and David Bowie. At such an impressionable age image mixed with the music was everything. So it's easy to see why KISS, who also had the image, would relate to an entire generation of American youth. Add to that an amazing fireworks display, blood-spitting, burning guitars, a huge light show that would put any WWF event to shame, and a six inch tongue and you've got one of the most iconic visionary bands of the era. I've read Chris's books. Having been interviewed on many occasions by him, his attention to detail is meticulous. What better person to share KISS stories than a self professed pop-culture junkie, American culture historian, and formerly one of those pre-mentioned white boys!"

The Kindle book is exclusively available on Amazon until 2013 and retails for $2.99. Chris Epting has interviewed some of the biggest rock stars on the planet. But he's always held a special place in his heart for KISS. The band may have lost him when the makeup came off in the early 1980s, but once it was put back on in the mid 90s, Epting's inner fan was once again ignited. After interviewing them several times and watching how they evolved, it struck him how much they really meant to him. This was not just a band. This was an inspirational life force rooted in basic American virtues like hard work and commitment to the fans – and they never forgot how to rock and roll.

BIO - Chris Epting is the author and photographer of 20 travel/history books, including James Dean Died Here - The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks, Roadside Baseball and Led Zeppelin Crashed Here - The Locations of America's Rock and Roll Landmarks. He is also an award winning travel writer, journalist and frequent contributor to AOL Music. Originally from New York, Chris now lives in Huntington Beach, California with his wife and their two children. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter (@chrisepting) and at chrisepting.com. Epting is available for interviews.  Excerpts and review copies are also available. Miniver Press is a new publisher specializing in lively and informative ebooks about pop culture, history, and entertainment.  Other titles include Love Me Do: The Inside Story of the Beatles’ First Recording, Bessie Coleman: Pioneering Black Woman Aviator, Baseball’s Biggest Miracle: The 1914 Boston Braves, 101 Must-See Movie Moments, and the forthcoming Lincoln’s Law Notes and Apatoff for Destruction, adapted from Ben Apatoff’s popular blog on metal music.

According to MetalTalk, KISS may be headlining the 2nd stage at Download on Friday 14th June 2013. None of this has been confirmed by the band, but it does fit in with some of their other European dates around that time. 2nd stage though??

More info over at MetalTalk.

Paul & Gene were both on the CBBC show '12 Again' today. 12 Again is a show where celebs look back on their childhood and revisit the music, TV shows and the big news stories that happened when they were 12. They were on alongside Countdown's Rachel Riley and Ronan Keating.

The show was filmed while they were over here for the Forum show.

It's currently available on iPlayer here.

Good luck to all the UK KISS fans who are about to set sail on the KISS Kruise, I look forward to the reviews & photos!

The Torpedian Harmonists from Germany have released another video, this time their tribute to Love Gun!

Peter Criss was a guest on Q104.3 in NYC this morning to talk about his new book released today. During the interview he addressed Steven Tyler's remarks that KISS are a "comic book rock band."

See what his response was over at the Q104.3 website.  

There's also a link in that article to his full interview with Q104.3.

Ace Frehley has cancelled his appearance at Hard Rock Hell in Wales leaving his fans in the lurch... again. Ace famously cancelled his appearance last year claiming to have broken his arm, this year no explanation has been made. More details can be found at the Hard Rock Hell website.

After its first week Monster has hit the BBC album chart at number 21, excellent news and well deserved for such a great album. It managed to make it all the way to #12 in the midweek chart, dropped a little towards the end of the week. Now lets get a single out there too....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/update/albums 

The first dates of what will likely turn into a full European tour have been announced, the 2013 KISS Scandinavian dates are as follows:

JUNE 1 - FRIENDS ARENA STADIUM - STOCKHOLM - ON SALE NOW
JUNE 3 - HARTWELL ARENA - HELSINKI, FINLAND - ON SALE OCT 22
JUNE 6 - SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL - SOLVESBORG - ON SALE NOW
JUNE 8 - VIKING FEST - VIKING STADION - STAVANGER, NORWAY ON SALE OCT 22
JUNE 11 - FORUM - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - ON SALE OCT 22