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kiss
KISS Confetti Blamed For Security Guard’s Injuries
According to Courthouse News Service, KISS vocalist/bassist Gene Simmons and his associated company have been sued by a security guard working at the band's 2012 concert in Indiana, claiming that the guard was injured after the group band "foolishly" sprayed the stage with water and confetti (see fan-filmed video below). Also named as defendants in the lawsuit were the concert venue (Klipsch Music Center) and Live Nation World Wide Inc.
Timothy Funk says in his lawsuit, which was filed in Hamilton Superior Court, that he fell on the "slippery, waxy, and glassy" stage after "some or all of the defendants" sprayed water from hoses "on the stage, the area around the stage, and on some of the crowd." The defendandts also sprayed confetti around the stage and crowd "in a foolish and reckless manner," Funk claims.
Funk is seeking compensation for his injuries, loss of wages and other charges.
KISS, KORN, BLACK SABBATH, SLIPKNOT, ANTHRAX Members React To ROBIN WILLIAMS’ Death
Paul Stanley (KISS), Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), Ozzy Osbourne (BLACK SABBATH), Brian "Head" Welch (KORN), Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR), Yngwie Malmsteen, Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Stephen Pearcy (RATT), Michael Sweet (STRYPER) and Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) are among the musicians who reacted on Twitter and Facebook to the passing of actor and comedian Robin Williams, who died earlier today (Monday, August 11) of a suspected suicide due to asphyxia.
Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California.
A forensic examination is set to take place on August 12.
The actor was reportedly battling severe depressing before his death.
His third wife, Susan Schneider, released a statement after the announcement of his death.
"This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings," she wrote. "I am utterly heartbroken.
"On behalf of Robin's family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief.
"As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."
SLIPKNOT’s COREY TAYLOR Calls Out KISS For ROCK HALL Drama
According to The Pulse Of Radio, STONE SOUR/SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has called out KISS in a new interview with Radio.com over the public feud between the current band members, two original ex-members and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame over the group's long-awaited induction into the Hall next month. Taylor said, "On one hand, you're stoked being a KISS fan, but on the other hand it's, like, 'Can you guys just put aside your petty issues and realize that without one another you wouldn't have been able to do this? Can you just set stuff aside and do one show for the fans of the original lineup again? And then you never have to see each other again?'"
KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley firmly rejected the idea of performing at the induction ceremony with former founding members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, despite the Hall's and fans' wishes.
Taylor added, "Without (Frehley and Criss), the other two guys wouldn't be where they are! And that's just me layin' it straight! I might not ever get a kind word from anybody in that band anymore. But I think it's petty and I think it's ridiculous! Figure it out! Show respect, because sometimes it's not about you, it's about the fans."
But Taylor, who has seen his share of turbulent times in SLIPKNOT, admitted that band relationships can be tricky. He said, "We're just crazy people who can't get along sometimes… Now add fame and money and all that rock and roll craziness to it — we're lucky we don't eat each other in this industry!"
KISS will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on April 10 at a ceremony in Brooklyn, New York, along with NIRVANA, Linda Ronstadt and others.
Taylor and SLIPKNOT are currently recording their first studio album since 2008's "All Hope Is Gone".
ERIC CARR’s Heirs Sue KISS Over Unpaid Royalties
According to the New York Post, the heirs of the late KISS drummer Eric Carr have filed a lawsuit against the band over unpaid royalties.
The complaint states the estate is entitled to between a 5 and 50 percent cut on four songs that Carr, who died of cancer in 1991, wrote — "Breakout", "Carr Jam 1981", "Carr Jam 1991" and "Little Caesar".
The heirs, who have been getting royalties from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), decided to file the suit after realizing that they also should have been receiving payments from several KISS-affiliated companies, including the current group, two publishing firms and Gene Simmons Worldwide Inc.
"They thought they were getting it all from one source," the estate's attorney, Robert Garson, told the New York Post.
"Until his death, Carr received the regular mechanical and/or publishing royalty payments that were owed to him on a regular basis, from various sources," the complaint reads. "The source of such payments varied depending upon which company or organization administered the publishing of the works. Upon his death, however, while some of these royalty payments continued to be made to his Estate and/or beneficiaries by respondents Universal-Polygram Int. Publ., Inc. (UMPG), no payments were received by the Estate, its executors or the beneficiaries from The Kiss Company or any company or corporation to which its rights have been sold, assigned or transferred for the compositions [in question]."
The complaint adds: "For over a year, requests have been made for missing payments or information regarding any reasons for non-payment from the representatives of KISS and Universal-Polygram Int. Publ., Inc. (UMPG), all to no avail. Additionally, the composition entitled 'Little Cesar', which was recorded and published with the United States Copyright Office in 1989 with Carr listed as an author, appears to have been re-registered with the Copyright Office in 1992 with Carr's name removed."
Carr joined KISS in 1980 after the departure of the band's original drummer Peter Criss. He recorded eight albums with the group, starting with "Music From 'The Elder'" in 1981. His last recorded appearance with KISS was "Hot In The Shade", released in 1989.
PAUL STANLEY Says KISS Had No Other Choice Than To Go Unmasked
According to The Pulse Of Radio, Paul Stanley feels that KISS had no other option than to go "unmasked" in 1983 with the release of their "Lick It Up" album. Stanley, who will be inducted along with KISS into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next month, has come under attack along with Gene Simmons for deciding that no lineup of KISS would be performing at the celebrations — in essence robbing fans of one last time to see the band's founders, including Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, play together.
Over 30 years ago, on September 18, 1983, KISS — then featuring guitarist Vinnie Vincent and drummer Eric Carr — unveiled themselves without makeup for the first time live on MTV. Paul Stanley told Guitar World that it had come to a point where KISS needed to make a drastic change, recalling, "I didn’t see any other choice at that point. And I take my hat off to Gene that, although he was uncertain about it and maybe less comfortable with it, he came to realize that it was the right move. Or at least he saw that I was very committed to the idea."
Stanley went on to say, "I felt that we had diluted everything the band was to the point where it was becoming a farce. What happened was, we kicked Peter out of the band — 'we' meaning Ace, Gene and myself. But rather than saying, 'We’ve built these iconic figures together and we’re going to continue on with what we built,' we bought into the idea of, 'We have to have a new character.' That watered it down. Some people may argue with me, but I feel that Batman is Batman whether he’s played by George Clooney, Christian Bale, Val Kilmer and on and on."
When asked about KISS finally getting inducted and being arguably the most successful band to be passed over year after year by the Hall, Stanley said: "To ignore somebody with the kind of fervor that we’ve been ignored, that’s clearly a conscious decision. For better or worse, that’s not being ignored at all. When it happens year after year, that’s a choice. But on the other side of it, to me rock and roll has always been about doing what you want to do and ignoring not only your critics but also your peers. For 40 years, we’ve rarely wavered from that. So I would have to say that the same criteria that has kept us out of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is the same criteria that now has gotten us inducted into it."
Paul Stanley, who turned 62 in January, told The Pulse Of Radio that the things that spurred him and KISS to super-stardom still drives the band to carry on. "There's no substitute for the enormous crowds, or the response or the mania that we see and that's directed at us," he said. "There's no substitute for me getting up onstage and having 15,000 people calling my name — y'know, all the accouterment, all the stuff that goes along with it. . .
KISS Documentary ‘You Wanted The Best You Got The Best’: Official Teaser Poster
The official "teaser" poster for what's being billed as the definitive KISS documentary, "You Wanted The Best You Got The Best", can be seen below. The film is expected before the end of the year.
According to The Pulse Of Radio, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have opted out of appearing in "You Wanted The Best You Got The Best". Classic Rock magazine spoke to director Alan G. Parker, who's behind the officially sanctioned film, and he shed light on why the two co-founders are staying away from anything having to do with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, explaining, "Gene and Paul were shocked at first, but now they don't seem to be. There's been so much bitchiness down the years, and so much said about and done to Ace and Peter that they interpreted the request to be in the movie as a favor to Gene and Paul. Because of that, they won't go anywhere near it. The negotiations were interesting, to say the least."
In the end, Parker will use footage shot of Frehley and Criss by band archivist — and current lead guitarist — Tommy Thayer back in 2001. In addition to Thayer and current drummer Eric Singer, Parker has filmed interviews with former guitarist Bruce Kulick and his brother Bob Kulick — who performed on many of the band's studio tracks. Parker also held, "positive meetings" with the family of Eric Carr, the band's late drummer, who replaced Peter Criss in 1980 and died of heart cancer in 1991.
With the film currently in the editing stage, Parker "hopes to show the finished film to the band in February or March, followed by a spot at the Cannes Film Festival in May and a worldwide opening in the autumn of 2014."
In a November 2013 interview with Eddie Trunk's "Eddie Trunk Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Frehley stated about his refusal to appear in "You Wanted The Best You Got The Best": "I don't know. I found it very weird that, instead of getting a call from Gene or [KISS manager] Doc McGhee or [KISS guitarist/vocalist] Paul [Stanley], because they're behind this documentary, instead of getting a call from them, I get a call from my bodyguard, and he got a call from KISS' bodyguard about me doing an interview for this documentary. They tried to go through the back door — probably because they don't wanna pay me any money, as usual, and it left a bad taste in my mouth, and I just passed on it. You want me to do a documentary? Let me know how much money you're making, give me my fair share, and I'll sit down and talk. You don't wanna do it that way? Forget about it… If KISS is behind the documentary, Paul and Gene are making the lion's share of the funds."
Former KISS filmmaker Tommy Thayer now "portrays" Frehley's character in KISS' live show. Unlike Frehley's original replacement Vinnie Vincent — who was given his own unique persona — fans have had mixed reactions to Thayer possibly "duping" some people into thinking Frehley is still playing with the band. Thayer looks at it from a theatrical, rather than a historical perspective. "You've had different guitarists in and out of the band, and different members. At this point, if you start introducing new characters and new makeup designs and things, I think that it really dilutes the whole core and, y'know, the original foundation of what KISS is," he said. "And those four original characters are certainly the whole basis of it. To change that and come up with a new design or character, it just convolutes things."
KISS Wins Fan Vote For ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Induction
Legendary rockers KISS have won the fan vote for induction into the 2014 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
The poll ended with KISS at 17.22 percent, followed by NIRVANA at 15.69 percent, DEEP PURPLE at 11.93 percent, and YES at 10.88 percent.
The Rock Hall's official poll will be used to create a single online fan vote. That will be matched against about 600 voters consisting of artists, historians and members of the music business.
The artists who get the most votes will be announced later this month December and will be inducted at a New York City ceremony next April. Highlights from the event will be shown on HBO in May.
During an interview with The Huffington Post, KISS frontman Paul Stanley took time to salute the band's fans while taking a swipe at chairman of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation, Jann Wenner, when asked if he ever sees a day when KISS will be inducted into the Rock Hall. "Well, it depends on who lives longer, us or Jann Wenner," Stanley said.
"Look, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is marketing," he continued. "You've got a bunch of faceless people in a back room who trademark a name that sounds very official. Well, if you had thought of it first, you would have been the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I am one of the biggest Laura Nyro fans. I still listen to that stuff incessantly. Laura Nyro does not belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Songwriter Hall Of Fame? Absolutely."
He went on to plead his case, saying: "It's absurd for anybody to look around and hear the acts and artists who cite us as an inspiration, and then tell me that we're not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I would certainly accept on their (the fans) behalf because it seems to be a major sore spot for them, but I don't need the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone last year about being shut out of the Rock Hall: "It's become a joke. We've been thinking about it and the answer is simply, 'We'll just buy it and fire everybody.' In all seriousness for the fans, for something to be called Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is such an insult to MADONNA, BLONDIE. . . Who the fuck knows what other disco act is in there? It's an insult to them because they don't get to be in the 'Dance Hall Of Fame', because that's what they do. They're legitimate dance, disco artists. They don't belong in rock and roll."
Stanley added: "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has reached a point where they're really scrounging and scratching to find someone left that they consider viable. With all due respect, when you get to Patti Smith, you're about two steps away from Pete Seeger."
Gene Simmons told The Pulse Of Radio that awards hold little allure for him, since it's the fans that ultimately decide who stays around and who doesn't: "Our awards are under the 'K' section in record stores. Every time somebody goes out and plunks down their hard-earned money — either for a KISS ticket or for an album — that's the award, and reward."
ANDREAS KISSER Says CHUCK BILLY’s SEPULTURA Audition Tape Was ‘Interesting’
David E. Gehlke of DeadRhetoric.com recently conducted an interview with SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.
DeadRhetoric.com: Since you're working with Ross [Robinson] again, it makes one think of the first time you recorded with him, which is when down-tuning became really big with bands like KORN and the DEFTONES doing it. Max [Cavalera] was always a big proponent of it; were you as well?
Kisser: At the beginning, not much. I was skeptical of the low tuning because bands like KORN or the DEFTONES, they don't have the fast pace of SEPULTURA's music. I was concerned to lose that kind of fast ability and the picking, the heavy picking on sloppy, low strings. But there are so many possibilities of using heavier-gauge strings, which give that kind of tension, and you don't lose that ability to play fast. "Trauma Of War", the song that opens the [new SEPULTURA] album, it's in low tuning, but it's a very fast song, but we don't lose that kind of ability. I learned how to do deal with that, and you open a lot of worlds in music, but yeah, at the beginning I was a little skeptical.
DeadRhetoric.com: Your very first meeting with Derrick, what do you remember the most about it?
Kisser: It was great. He came down from the States to Brazil because we were holding auditions with different people in Brazil. Derrick came down after the demo and he did "Choke". I have "Choke" with so many different singers [including Marc Grewe of MORGOTH; Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD and VIO-LENCE; Jason "Gong" Jones of DROWNING POOL; and Jorge Rosado of MERAUDER) some day I'll release it with all the different versions. Even Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT, he did a tryout. It was interesting the way he sang "Choke" and stuff. It would be cool to put it out some day. Derrick was for the future, though. We weren't looking for somebody similar to Max, or trying to replace him with a clone. Different visuals different attitude we liked Derrick we felt he could really grow up and be into simple terms is it, which he did. His vocals are great, he's very diverse, he can do melodic stuff and aggressive shit, and he hardly loses his voice. He's very professional and he takes care of his voice on tour and everything. He's great. He's a guy who is also very intelligent. We talk a lot about different movies, documentaries, books, and we do lyrics together. We come up with song titles, concepts, and everything. He's a great partner in that respect.
DeadRhetoric.com: Personality-wise with Derrick, did you guys connect fairly quickly?
Kisser: I think it was different for him. He came to Brazil, replacing Max Cavalera, which was very hard in the beginning — being black as well in such a racist society everywhere in the world, not only in America. It's great that he was able to face all this with great courage and great professionalism. SEPULTURA as well, with somebody like him in the band, and we said what we always said, that we're for justice and equality, and respect. We live that; we not only say that for the lyrical purposes. We really are what we are. He was the best choice for us. He's a guy who could understand the SEPULTURA way of living, of hard touring everywhere and we can survive in a bus together without wanting to kill each other and stuff. [laughs] We have the same type of ideas and conversations. I think Derrick was the perfect guy for us, and it shows.
DeadRhetoric.com: The big vocalist search in 1997 and '98, was your head spinning from all the submissions?
Kisser: Oh yeah, definitely. Right after Max left at the end of '96, back in January and February of '97, me, Igor [Cavalera, drums], and Paulo [Xisto Pinto Jr., bass] got together and started writing new stuff. We didn't want to play any old stuff. We didn't want try people out on something like "Refuse/Resist". That would be too easy, so we wanted to see the new guy singing something he never heard before; we wanted to see his input and his ideas and his possibilities with the vocals. We took eight to nine months just as a trio. We had the idea of staying as a trio, me being the singer and I even took vocal classes and tried to do demos, but I sing like crap. [laughs] I was the first singer of SEPULTURA that received a "no." [laughs]
DeadRhetoric.com: I've seen and heard you do backup vocals — you don't have a bad voice.
Kisser: I can use my voice fairly well, I can scream, but to be a singer and to embrace it, it's much more than having a good voice. You have to embrace something different. I am a guitar player. I didn't want to lose my guitar playing time just to embrace something that I am not. I don't want to force the situation. The trio time was great — we didn't do any live shows or anything, but we were practicing and trying out stuff, putting our heads in place, without making any big decisions with the turmoil that was going on. We resolved everything with Max, we signed all the papers, he's out, he didn't want anything to do with SEPULTURA. He left, and we started looking for a new singer. Then when Derrick came at the beginning of '98, he moved out to Brazil, and we started our journey.
You can read the entire interview at DeadRhetoric.com.
KISSER Has ‘No Regrets’ About SEPULTURA’s Split With MAX CAVALERA
Guitar World magazine's January 2014 issue includes a "Dear Guitar Hero" feature on SEPULTURA's Andreas Kisser, who discusses the band's lengthy new album title, filling in for ANTHRAX's Scott Ian during the "Big Four"'s European tour dates, and his experience auditioning for METALLICA as James Hetfleld's temporary replacement (on guitar only) while James recovered from being burned onstage back in 1992.