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| News Archive / September 1-30, 2001 | ||
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KISS NEWS IN SEPTEMBER 2001 | 2001 |  |
| Disclaimer: Not necessarily all of the news as it appears on these pages is confirmed by or coming from official sources. As much as possible we try to avoid unsubstantial rumors, but KISS Kollector can not be held responsible for the validity of any of the information, nor do we accept responsibility for views expressed here by other people. | ||
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2001 |  |
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More news on the KISS box set | |
| - From Hard Radio - | ||
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The KISS boxset has been moved back a month from November to December. The
package has also been expanded from four to five discs. There will be two
versions released. A deluxe version will be housed in a full-size guitar
case-shaped box which will be made in China (totals required have been
compiled and sent to China, so all territories will receive an allotment).
This will retail for around $200 U.S. The regular version will retail for
around $150. Plans to put a gold disc in the deluxe version are still up in
the air.
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2001 | |
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What did Gene or Paul say about the box set in the past? (3) | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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Since we'll have to wait a little longer for the much talked about KISS box
set, we're looking back at what Gene and Paul have said about the box set in
the past by checking out their quotes as they appeared in issues of the KISS
Kollector magazine throughout the years. The band has been working on, or at
least planning it for quite some time now and last August finally a release
date was announced to the world although the release of the four disc set
seems to be delayed already. Obviously this could have to do with the fact
that the band wants to turn the longawaited box set into something really
worthwhile and that might take some extra time. Apparantly the box set will
come along with a 96 page book(let) which of course could need more time to
be finalized, and in issue 37 (2001) of KISS Kollector magazine it was
reported that Paul had mentioned a few months earlier that there's gonna be
two versions of the box set, a fancy one and a not so fancy one. If that's
still the case (and according to Tommy Thayer's recent report on the box
set, it is indeed still the case), they might have a hard time figuring out
how to work out the artwork for the two versions. In issue 37 it was also
reported that the box set is to include rarities such as God Of
Thunder with Paul on lead vocals, Don't Ya Hesitate and Mad
Dog.
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The Last KISS online Pay Per View event | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
SHO.com will present The Last KISS as an online Pay Per View event starting
October 1. One of the final performances by the original foursome: Peter
Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. As a bonus, they have
also set up a live internet chat with Paul that night. KISS, watch them
online. They're online, in full make-up and in concert in an exclusive
event. It's your chance to see the original four in one of their final
performances. See them online at http://kiss.SHO.com. You can also enter to
win a $500 shopping spree at KISSonline.com and all event purchasers
automatically receive a free 2002 KISS Calendar*. (* Event purchasers must
purchase the KISS PPV event by 12:00 midnight on October 3rd, 2001 to be
eligible to receive the free gift.) Beginning October 1st, see the four original KISS members - Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss - together on stage, online and in full make-up with the dazzling pyrotechnics for which the band is world renown. See exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and backstage interviews that you can only see here! Plus, don't miss the opportunity to chat live with Paul Stanley, Monday October 1st 10pm ET/7pm PT. Log on, sign up and enjoy! http://kiss.SHO.com. |
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KISS mentioned in Swiss newspaper | |
| - From Markus Richter - | ||
Last Friday, Metropol, a daily newspaper from Zurich, Switzerland,
featured an article about a band from San Francisco, called The Residents.
The journalist also wrote about big masked bands and mentioned KISS. A
picture of KISS even went along with the article. As you can see on the
scan it's a photo where Paul was the "bandit". Very cool, since in
Switzerland KISS is usually ingnored by the press all the time.
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2001 | |
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Gene sends update on box set, Ace, tour and more | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
KISS Kollector Fanclub received another message from Gene yesterday: a
questionnaire in which he updates us all on such topics as the forthcoming
box set, Ace Frehley, the KISS Farewell Tour and more. In regards to the box
set, Gene states there will be 100 songs - so, in fact there's indeed gonna
be five discs now instead of the four discs as originally announced by the
record company last month. Gene: "New songs, original demos and a great
design - We didn't like the record company's idea, so we did it ourselves."
On the subject of Ace Frehley, Gene states: "He's fine. He actually seemed to enjoy himself much more on the Aust/Japanese tour than on previous tours. But with Ace, it's always up and down." The Demon also talks about the Farewell Tour and the final show(s) but does not want to reveal where or when that final gig will indeed take place. For the original questionnaire, click here to view it. |
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Annual KISS Party in Melbourne, Australia | |
| - From Nicola Ciccarone - | ||
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On October 13, the KISS Army International will organize another KISS Party
at ET's (Edwards Tavern) in Melbourne, Australia. Tickets will be available
at the door at $10 per head. KISS videos will be shown all day, featuring
unreleased TV and live footage (including unseen live footage from the
Australian Tour 2001), prizes will be given away in several contests such as
'Best Make-up Competition', 'KISS Tattoo Competition' and 'Longest Tongue
Competition', tribute band Disstroyer performs live and of course there will
be lots of merchandise available from European and U.S. dealers. For more
info: nicostrike@hotmail.com.
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KISS Party in Switzerland on November 17 | |
| - From Tristan Glassey - | ||
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The Swiss KISS Army will party on Saturday November 17 in Grenchen,
Switzerland at the local Musikpalast. Fans meeting each other, KISS music,
merchandising and last but not least the performance of the tribute band
Kissin' Time in full Creatures Of The Night regalia will turn this
upcoming event into one of the hottest nights of the year in Switzerland.
Doors open at 7 PM and tickets are CHF 22.- swiss francs. For further info:
swisskiss3@hotmail.com.
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SEPTEMBER 19, 2001 | |
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October issue Metal Heart includes KISS Countdown again | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
The new issue of Germany's Metal Heart magazine features their KISS
Countdown once again. A few issues ago they decided to count down until
the very last KISS show, which now promises to be a pretty long countdown.
The news this time includes a mention of the forthcoming box set, Gene's
autobiography and the fact that in the City Park of Zurich an artist has
painted the KISS faces in cartoon fish style on one of the benches in the
park. Click here to see the actual page from the magazine featuring the
KISS Countdown. The issue also features a short interview with Dregen from
Backyard Babies, who says the first album he bought himself was KISS' Alive
II and that his most embarrassing experience was when he thought that
Peter Criss was actually a roadie... There's also a page where rockstars
are being asked if they remember their first love. Bruce Kulick is one of
the rockers answering: "I will never forget her. We were both in highschool,
and her name was Lois." |
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 | |
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What did Gene or Paul say about the box set in the past? (2) | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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During the wait for the longawaited KISS box set, we're looking back at what
Gene and Paul have said about the box set in the past by checking out their
quotes as they appeared in issues of the KISS Kollector magazine throughout
the years. Last August it was reported that the box set - for which the
concept had been approved by band and record company in April of this year -
would be consisting of 80 tracks, divided over four discs, along with a 96
page booklet. But what did Gene have to say about "the mother of all box
sets" back in 1995? In issue 14 of KISS Kollector magazine the following was
reported: There's also talk of a video release to go along with the upcoming
box set. This set will feature unreleased live and demo material. According
to Gene the demos will include the four tracks he recorded with Eddie and
Alex Van Halen during the Love Gun sessions and a demo he did with
Aerosmith's Joe Perry. The live material is supposed to consist of footage
they recorded back in early '73 at either the Daisy or Coventry Club, during
one of the first KISS shows ever!
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Detroit Rock City available at special price in Holland | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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Starting this week, vanLeest record stores in Holland is offering the
Detroit Rock City DVD at a very special price for all the KISS fans
overhere. From now on, the DVD will be sold at any of their stores for only
28.63 Dutch guilders or 12.99 Euros. So, if you still don't have this
particular DVD, you'd better get it soon...
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SEPTEMBER 15, 2001 | |
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The KISS box set: Tommy Thayer speaks | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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On September 10 we kicked off our series on the KISS box set. Two days later
Tommy Thayer, who's supervising the box set with Gene and Paul and has been
working on the box set ever since early February of this year, reported
about the box set on KISSonline in quite some detail. He did not mention the
set's delay, but from what he stated it is very clear that a lot of work,
time, research and planning has already gone into and will still need to go
into this huge project so the delay can't come as a surprise. Something that
was to be expected too, is the fact that the record company wants - or
wanted - something less spectacular than the band wants. The record company
only wanted four discs (which is very disappointing for most fans we're sure
and for the band too, as how would and could you fit a good and thorough
overview of 30 years onto only four discs?) and instead of a hard bound book
to be included in the box set as the band wished, the label opted for just a
booklet. For a while the whole box set seemed a no-go then because, luckily, Gene did not agree with all this making sure record executives would understand that their idea "really sucks", as Gene politely put it. The band opted for, at least, a fifth disc (so there would be space for 100 instead of 80 tracks) and they seem to be determined to turn the box into something really spectacular and are working on two versions of the "mother of all box sets" (a Gene quote). The first to be released will be a socalled premium version: "a massive package that no other box set has ever come close to" in Tommy Thayer's words, that will include a personal momento to each fan. Not too long after the initial release there will be a version "stuffed with enough vintage KISS tracks and band history, in an amazing 'box' that will insatiate all KISS fans", according to - again - Tommy Thayer. The book(let) that will go along with the box set is to contain vintage stories from the band members, who were all separately interviewed for this, plus lots of rare KISS photos. In conclusion, Tommy claimed that they are near completion of the box set. |
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In other KISS and related news... | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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Apart from the box set, Gene is very busy with several other projects and
deals. Gene will produce (and might appear) in the next Shaquille O'Neil
movie, tentatively titled Steel Waters. Shaq came over to Gene's
house the other day to discuss details. Right before Shag, the Go Go's came
over to Gene's place to discuss a Movie Of The Week for TV, along with Stan
Brooks, with whom Gene is co-producing the forthcoming CBS Movie Of The Week
Rock And Roll All Nite. There's also going to be another McFarlane
Toys' Gene Simmons action figure in Alive! outfit, a 12-inch version
this time that will only be available at Spencer's in mid-October. Gene is
also working on deals with DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics for several new
KISS comics, and he's also discussing several book deals, among them a KISS
Halloween pop-up book and a general show business book with the emphasis on
the business of show. And a KISS Broadway play is still in the works too, as last month Gene met in New York with the co-director/choreographer of Tommy to toss around ideas. Earlier, Gene met Barry Weissler, producer of such Broadway plays as Grease and Hair. Gene also talked to Peter Schneider (who used to be the president of Disney Pictures but now is concentrating on producing Broadway pieces again) to set up a meeting to discuss a possible KISS Broadway show. In between all his deals and negotations, Gene still finds time to appear at movie premiers and other parties. Next month he, along with Paul, might attend the party after the shoot of the new DVD by Marilyn Manson, whose guitarist John 5 is interviewed in the August issue of England's Total Guitar magazine stating his worst job was playing guitar for Lita Ford when she was opening for his heroes KISS and he tried to steal the spotlight, which was not approved by Lita Ford of course. In conclusion, lots of updates have taken place in several sections on KISS Kollector Online including History (where we added some extra info to the bios of some (ex) band members recently), Membership and Links (where we added the German Hotter Than Hell Fanclub yesterday) |
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SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 | |
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Anna Vissi covers I Was Made For Lovin' You | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
As already quickly mentioned in our August 21 update, Columbia Records
singer Anna Vissi from Greece covered KISS' biggest international hit I
Was Made For Lovin' You on her first album outside Greece, Everything
I Am. The album recently came out in Holland, but it turns out the album
originally was released last year. The Dutch release features some extra
artwork, check out the back of the special package here and notice track 6
being I Was Made For Lovin' You. Inside the booklet the song lyrics
for all songs are being printed, click here to see the page where the KISS
song is featured. |
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Tori Amos dresses up in KISS Army leather jacket | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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Another lady singer has a KISS connection from now on, as Tori Amos dressed
up as 12 different "strange little girls" for the artwork that goes along
with her brand new album Strange Little Girls. On the album she
covers 12 songs from bands as diverse as Slayer (Raining Blood), The
Stranglers (Strange Little Girls) and the Beatles (Happiness Is A
Warm Gun). There's no KISS cover on the album, but in the photo for the
Lloyd Cole cover Rattlesnakes Tori is wearing a leather jacket with
the KISS logo on the back.
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SEPTEMBER 10, 2001 | |
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What did Gene or Paul say about the box set in the past? (1) | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
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The KISS box set, which was scheduled for a November 6 release (see our
update from August 20), has been delayed for an unspecified period of time.
So, we'll have to wait a little longer on the "longawaited" box, a.k.a. "the
mother of all box sets" as Gene used to refer to it in the past. The band
has been working on, or at least planning it for quite some time now. And
while we're waiting for the release of the box, we thought it would be nice
to see what Gene or Paul have said about the upcoming box set in the past
years. Therefore we have collected the short reports and/or their quotes on
the box set as they have appeared in issues of the KISS Kollector Magazine
throughout the years, which will all appear here on the site over the next
few weeks starting right now with part 1 of "What did Gene or Paul say about
the box set in the past?". In issue 37 (2001) it was reported that late
April of 2001, the concept for artwork and everything was approved by KISS
and their record company, who had been seriously talking about the set just
before the band went to Japan early this year. In issue 15 of KISS Kollector
magazine (1995), Paul said that there won't be any multiples of the same
thing on the box set, for which the band apparantly had been working on in
silence for a while even back then: "Love Gun in Paris, Love
Gun in Moscow, we won't be doing that." Back in '95 it was expected that
the box set would consist of six CD's, including material with Eric Carr.
Paul: "The more stuff with Eric we find, the more we want to use." |
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SEPTEMBER 6, 2001 | |
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Eric Singer returns questionnaire to KISS Kollector | |
| - From KISS Kollector, JvP - | ||
Last week Eric Singer returned a questionnaire that was sent to him along
with the latest issue of KISS Kollector Magazine. With all the rumors going
on, and Ace not having a contract with KISS at the moment, as well as the
lack of firm statements from either Paul or Gene in regards to the band's
future we wanted to know what Eric thinks or hopes the band might do in the
near future. So, we asked him if he thinks he will ever release another
album with KISS or if he sees the band continue with him and Bruce, plus a
few other questions. Click here to see what Eric answered... |
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