Of course, this wasn’t the first time Kiss had a farewell tour. I remember they had one back in the year 2000 and after the tour, the band split for a while. Of course, they came back later. Not sure how many times they’ve done this over the years but I’m sure they’ve had farewell tours a few times. Well here is another one.

The tour dates hasn’t been revealed yet but I’m sure they will be soon.

Some of you may ask, why is Kiss calling it quits again? Well it seems to me that the band is losing interest and they don’t care anymore. Ya know, think about it. Paul and Gene are getting older pretty much. When Paul and Gene first started Kiss, they were in their early 20’s, I think and now they’re in the late 60’s now. They’re getting old to be doing this and that’s why you see the guys in Kiss doing other things during the band’s hiatus. For example, Gene Simmons went on a solo tour with his solo band called the Gene Simmons band and Paul Stanley went on with his musical project called Soul Station. Gene also released his musical project called, “The Vault” which he has been promoting for a long while now. Paul and Gene are both entrepreneurs as they both own “Rock N’ Brews” restaurants all across the country. Paul is also an artist and he has been getting into painting more.

So yeah, the guys in Kiss has been keeping busy with other things lately so that’s a hint that they are hanging it up for good.

Yeah, a lot of legendary rock bands and artists have been having farewell tours to announce their retirement but you may ask yourself… why do they need to retire publicly and not quietly? Well for one, I think “farewell tours” are nothing but a huge cash grab obviously. They know “farewell tours” can be a huge money maker and also ego is another reason.

In my opinion, “farewell tours” are pretty silly and unnecessary. If you’re going to quit then just quit, simple?

Anyhow, I do hope Kiss plays a final show around the Capital Region. Hopefully they got a show booked at the Times Union Center in Albany ’cause that would be cool. Hopefully they do play Albany and if they do, I’m going. I’m not a fan of farewell tours but I’ll go to this one just for Kiss. I’m a huge Kiss fan and always wanted to see them live. I haven’t been to a national concert in a long time and this one would be awesome to go to.

Kev

I just finished reading Gene Simmons book, “Kiss or Makeup”. Before this book I just re-read Ace Frehley’s book, “No Regrets”. So now I’ve read all 4 KISS books: Paul Stanley “Face the Music”, Peter Criss “Makeup To Breakup”, Gene Simmons “Kiss Or Makeup” and Ace Frehley “No Regrets”. Why did I read all 4 KISS books? Well, I wanted to get each perspective on the band’s career, their legacy, their feuds and the controversial breakup.

Many want to believe Ace and Peter were treated unfairly. Many would say that Ace and Peter were treated like “employees” instead of being treated like actual band members. Well before you make that assumption, I would suggest you read all 4 Kiss books and then you would see which one is the most truthful. Yeah, each member had their own side of the story of their feud and breakup but which member do I believe was the most truthful?

You maybe pretty surprised by this, guys, that I think Gene Simmons story was the most believable. I was pretty surprised by Gene’s book, “Kiss or Makeup”. A lot of people wanna accuse Gene of being a huge egomaniac but I don’t think he is. After I read Gene’s book, I was surprised on how genuine and humble he was. In Ace and Peter’s book they accused Gene of being “money hungry” but that’s not what I saw. When I read Gene’s book, he made it clear that Kiss wasn’t about the money at all for him and he proves it too. Gene was about the music and the fun. It wasn’t about the money for him. When they kicked Ace and Peter out of the band, was it fair?

Yes! Honestly, after you read all 4 Kiss books, you would immediately see that Ace and Peter deserved it. Why? Because they both were unprofessional douchebags. Ace was always on drugs & alcohol. Peter was too. Peter always had a raging temper. After reading Peter Criss’s book I can tell. Peter is kind of a piece of shit really. I read Peter’s book, “Makeup To Breakup” and all it is it’s just 800 pages full of Peter whining and complaining throughout the book. All Peter did was talk all kinds of trash about the other band members and I’m like, “No wonder Peter got what he got”.

Ace and Peter clearly brought it upon themselves for sure. Gene and Paul tried to give Ace and Peter the spotlight they craved but they were unprofessional from the get go. Always late at recording sessions, sometimes never showing up for them. Ace being lazy. Peter always on drugs and acting crazy, having mood swings. Yeah, so I believe Ace and Peter deserved what they got. Gene and Paul are professionals, they knew what they were doing and people wanna act like they don’t.

Gene’s book was the most truthful.

I’m glad I finally started to get into KISS. Even though I listened to all of their records on Apple Music streaming, I still stand by it that the original lineup with Ace and Peter will always be the best. I’m starting to buy KISS albums from Itunes so I can own them for myself so far I own 4 of them. Kiss albums are surprisingly priced pretty cheap on Itunes, a lot of them are priced at $5.95 so hell yeah! I love the original Kiss lineup and it’s too bad they couldn’t last longer when they could have.

Kev

After listening to every Kiss album on Apple Music, I can see why a lot of musicians are so inspired by this band. They inspired me too. While I pretty much enjoy every Kiss album and every era, nothing will top the original lineup though with Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter. These guys made the best albums for sure. I’ve always been a big Kiss fan, I just never listened to all of their studio albums until now. I’m glad I did. Even though I listened to all Kiss albums on Apple Music streaming, I purchased 4 of their albums for myself. I got their first self titled album, “Dressed to Kill” and I just purchased “Kiss – Alive” and “Destroyer” last night. I dig the original lineup the most ’cause they had the best songs and the best guitar playing.

One thing for sure, though, I find it real sad that the guys had too many problems and not getting along over the years. So I figure I would read all 4 of their memoirs to get a different perspective on their feuds. I’m sure each one of those guys got their own side of the story. I just want to read them all so I can be able to tell which one is the most believable. I finished reading Paul Stanley’s book not too long ago. Now I’m currently reading Peter Criss’s book. Last night, I purchased Gene’s book, “Kiss and Makeup” to get his take on the controversial feud. Soon, I will re-read Ace Frehley’s book “No Regrets”. After I read all 4 of their books, I’ll give you my thoughts on the feud they had in the past.

Kiss is a genius band, though. Glad I finally started getting into them. I’ve read so much about Kiss over the years. Read too many of their interviews through different music magazines and things like that. I one day hope to get my chance to see them live. I could have had my chance to see them when they just played Saratoga Springs @ SPAC earlier this summer. I wanted to go to that show but didn’t have the money. Oh well, maybe next time they play here, I’ll be sure to go.

Kev

Well I finished listened to KISS’s entire catalog of albums and it was quite a ride. I enjoyed them all honestly but in this post I’m going to name their 10 best ones.

Here we go:

1. “Dressed To Kill”
(The album that has their anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite”, the rest of this album is great too)

2. “KISS” (1974)
(Another earlier Ace era album which is a classic. Songs like “Strutter”, “Cold Gin” and “Deuce” are golden but the rest of this album is badass too.)

3. “Love Gun”
(Of course, can’t leave this masterpiece out. It’s a badass record.)

4. “Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions”
(Even though Ace Frehley is no longer involved in this one, it’s a still a killer album. Pretty tight and heavy. Bruce Kulick is the guitarist in this one and he’s actually pretty good)

5. “Creatures of the Night”
(Another badass Kiss album.)

6. “Music From the Elder”
(I was pretty surprised with this one ’cause they went in a different direction that was pretty risky. They took a break from their usual hard rock stuff in this one. This record is more mellower and they use more orchestration. More vocal harmonies and chants. Pretty cool album. Had to include this one)

7. “KISS: Ace Frehley”
(One of their four solo albums that they did in 1978 and out of the four solo albums, I’d say of course, Ace did the best solo record. This album is awesome)

8. “KISS: Gene Simmons”
(Out of the four KISS solo records in 1978, Gene Simmons would be the second best. I was impressed with this record as well. Gene is a good singer and songwriter. He did a cover of “Wish You Upon a Star” that song from “Pinocchio” and he did a beautiful job with that cover. This was a good album)

9. “Psycho Circus”
(The album that reunited the original lineup and of course, it’s a killer album. Loved it)

10. “KISS ALIVE II”
(Now I can see why this album is called one of the greatest live albums in music ’cause it really is. This album is definitely a classic!)

There ya go. I enjoyed listening to KISS albums and now I’m a huge fan.

Kev

All last week, I’ve been listening to all Kiss albums on Apple Music. I listened to most of them. The only albums I got to listen to left are “Psycho Circus”, “Monster”, “KISS: Gene Simmons”, “KISS: Ace Frehley”, “KISS: Paul Stanley” and “KISS: Peter Criss”. I also got to listen to the live albums: “Alive I”, “Alive II”, “Alive III” and I will listen to all these next week.

In the past, I wasn’t much of a Kiss fan. I was only big on the Ace Frehley era. I’m beginning to realize that KISS is a pretty amazing band and I understand now on why they matter. What are my favorite albums by KISS?

Well, I’m gonna finish listening to the rest of their discography and then I’ll list my top ten. I would have to say though that “Carnival of Souls” would have to be one of their best even though Ace Frehley is not on that album. Still a kick ass album. All their music kicks ass. I love it all, really.

So I guess you can finally officially consider me as part of the KISS Army. KISS Army as what the band calls their fans. I’ve read so much about KISS over the years so I figure that I would finally listen to them.

I’m also planning to read this Paul Stanley book pretty soon. Didn’t buy his book yet but I will. I got several other books to read first, though then I will get to this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Face-Music-A-Life-Exposed/dp/0062114042

Kiss is a pretty phenomenal band and I don’t understand why people would hate them. This band too goes to different directions in their music. Love ’em or hate ’em, Gene and Paul are very talented musicians. They’re geniuses I must say.

I hope they make a new record soon ’cause it’s been a while.

Kev