KISS’ GENE SIMMONS DISCUSSES THE BAND’S ROCK HALL INDUCTION, ACE, PETER AND EDDIE TRUNK

kiss-return Andy Greene of Rolling Stone spoke with KISS bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons about the band being inducted into RNRHOF, whether or not he will play with Ace and Peter and why he may or may not dislike Eddie Trunk/ Excerpts from the interview appear below.

RS: Tell me your first reaction to the big news.

GS: Pride. For me, it’s another tug of the shirt sleeve to remind me that the American dream is alive and well. I’m living proof of it. I came here as an immigrant, a legal one — that’s a distinction — and getting the Hollywood Walk of Fame and getting the keys to the cities of God knows how many cities and the wax museums and the thousands of licensed products we have and on and on. . .Still, no matter how much much noise we make about how only the fans matter, and it’s true they are the ones that put us here and without them we are nothing, there is something in the back of our collective consciousnesses that makes us want to be recognized by our peers.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame started out as a wonderful idea and ideal, and it’s a pride and privilege. Now, we’ve had ten different lineups. It’s important to list that the honor is not just ours. It’s Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, Eric Carr, Mark St. John, Bruce Kulick, Eric Singer, Vinnie Vincent, Tommy Thayer. . .There’s been a lot of guys, and we continue to tour and fill up stadiums and it is a testament to the idea of Kiss.

A long time ago, four knuckleheads off the streets of New York decided to put together the band they never saw onstage. We were ballsy enough to throw down our own gauntlet. “You wanted the best? You got the best! The hottest band in the world. Kiss.” You’re God damn right.

RS: Did you start to think you’d never be inducted?

GS: Yeah. I think its political. As soon as the fans had their say, I’m told, we slaughtered everybody else. I think it’s a crime that Deep Purple is not in and Patti Smith is. What the fuck? There are disco artists and all kind of credible and important kinds of music that have nothing to do with rock & roll. But, hey, it’s not my thing. I think the best thing they did was to open it up to the fans. There is an American ideal: “By the people, for the people, of the people.” Hey, that’s a good idea.

RS: You’re definitely coming to the ceremony, right?

GS: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We need to stand up there proudly for the fans.

RS: It’s nice to do it in Brooklyn since you guys started in New York.

GS: Yeah. It’s the coolest of the cool.

RS: People are very curious about what lineup of the band is going to play that night.

GS: Well, Kiss is Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. It’s like, if you introduced me to your wife and I go, “Wait, where are all the other wives?” It’s like, “Yeah, I was married to them and now I’m here.” You can argue that point and we’ll figure everything out as time goes on. This one is for the fans. If the fans didn’t care, we wouldn’t be here. If it meant nothing to them, we wouldn’t be here.

RS: Bands often play with old members at the Hall of Fame. Are you open to the idea of playing with Peter Criss and Ace Frehley that night?

GS: Sure, why not?

RS: I’ve heard you say in the past you never wanted to play with them again.

GS: That was for a tour. But they were equally important in the formation of the band. When you have kids with your first wife, you give kudos. The fact you got remarried doesn’t delete or minimize the important. Hey, “You have gave birth to this thing, Kiss, with Ace, Peter, Paul and Gene.”

RS: But there’s been some very public feuding and bad blood in the past few years.

GS: There’s never been bad blood. I love them as people. I just hate drugs and alcohol. I don’t care if you are Mötley [Crüe] or Springsteen. If you don’t have the balls to get on the stage straight, it’s an insult to the fans and the band members

RS: They say they are clean now though.

GS: I have no comment.

RS: People are curious to know why you don’t get on [with radio personality and] That Metal Show [host] with Eddie Trunk.

GS: Respectfully, I’m not very interested.

RS: Why?

GS: [Chuckles] Before there was metal, there was KISS. We don’t really consider ourselves metal. It’s just rock and roll and all the hand gestures that everybody does on that show, I invented that. Oh, and let me add the word “bitch.”

RS: So, it’s nothing personal against Eddie Trunk or anything?

GS: Oh, I don’t care. I wish everybody well. Everyone should have a happy life and succeed and stuff. Just because we don’t want to do a show doesn’t mean anything. I’m not really interested in Jon Stewart’s show either. That doesn’t mean we don’t wish him well. It’s just not my cup of tea. I don’t want to be a pinata while he’s going to throw jokes. But if he wants to play mono a mono, you gotta take it as well as give it.

RS: If they tell you they just want the original four guys to play, will you be cool with that?

GS: As long as they are willing to only bring their first girlfriend and their first wife. . .There’s no rules. I really haven’t thought about it.

RS: To just totally clarify once again, you’re willing to play with Ace and Peter that night?

GS: Oh, sure.

RS: That could be the last time ever then. When else could that happen?

GS: In January we are celebrating our 40th anniversary, and boy do I look good! And every time I say, “I’m never going to do this, I’m never going to do that. . .” For God’s sake, Ace and Peter were in the band three separate times. And they were let go three separate times. Every time it was about the same thing. How many times are you going to hear, “No, I’m healthy now. I’m fine.” It’s like the old, “I promise I’ll pull out.”

The only consideration has always been the military ideal: sound mind, sound body, respect for the fans. They are our bosses. We buckle our knees to the people who make our lives possible, and rightfully so. You and me and everyone else, we just work here. Everyone else that disrespects that maybe shouldn’t have the opportunities it provides. The stage is holy ground. It is electric church. Not everyone belongs there.

RS: So you think it’s possible there might be a 40th anniversary tour that involves Ace and Peter?

GS: I don’t want to do that. Nah. I’ve been through it before. Too many scars and too much, “I promise, I promise, I promise.” It’s like the Boy Who Cried Wolf. How many times can you cry the same thing? After a while, sorry Charley.

RS: They both wrote books and didn’t say very nice things about you. Did that bother you?

GS: I stand by everything they said! [Big laugh]. I’ll tell you a wonderful story. Ace, God bless him. . .You know, when he’s straight he’s a wonderful guy. He took me to the Beverly Hills Hotel and he told me a story. He said, “Look, I just want to show you a chapter I wrote in the book and just check with you and make sure it’s okay.”

I said, “Look, write whatever you want. I’m a happy guy.” He said, “I just want to check the accuracy of it.” I said, “Okay, what is it?” He goes, “Well, 19-seventy whatever it is. There’s a swimming pool and we’re all out there. There are girls and we’re lounging around and I get up on the diving board in my swimsuit and I’ve got champagne in my hand and I’m drunk and I’ve got a scarf on. You then say to me, ‘Ace, get off the diving board. You’re drunk you’re going to drown.’ I then say, ‘Fuck you. Don’t tell me what to do!'”

Then he jumps off the diving board and jumps in. Of course, he starts to drown. He says, “Of course, you dive in because you used to be a lifeguard. You fish me out, pump the water out of me, save my life.” And at breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel he says to me, “I want to thank you for saving my life. But how accurate was it?”

I say to him, “It was 95 percent accurate. Yes, there was a diving board. Yes, champagne in hand. Yes, laughing in my face. Yes, drowning in the pool. Yes, I dove in and rescued someone. But it wasn’t you. It was Peter Criss. You were flat out unconscious, surprise, on the side of the pool.

He just shrugged his shoulder. You can catch him in a lie or a figment of his imagination and he’ll just shrug his shoulders and go, “Oh well, what the fuck?” He’s a happy-go-lucky, I’m sorry. . .when we first got together it was magic. We loved those guys, all for one and one for all. Look, not all marriages stay together. What can I tell you? Cain and Abel didn’t get along very well either.

Read more at Rolling Stone.

source: rollingstone.com

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/gene-simmons-open-to-rock-hall-of-fame-kiss-reunion-with-ace-and-peter-20131217#ixzz2nlYZ7H00
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DID ONE DIRECTION PLAGIARIZE DEF LEPPARD’S “POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME?”

defleppardgroupblue400 There is some controversy brewing as Def Leppard are allegedly looking into legal action against Pop group One Direction due to one of their songs, Midnight Memories, sounding very similar Def Leppard’s, Pour Some Sugar On Me.

“Music lawyers will routinely scour hits like this one to see if there is any evidence that a band has either copied or cleverly mimicked a Def Leppard song,” a source tells The Mirror. “These cases can often take weeks to sort out because we are not talking about peanuts here – the 1D album is selling millions and if the title track goes out as a single it will generate even more money.”

Listen to both songs below and pay special attention to chorus.

source: metalhammer.co.uk

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NO DEEP PURPLE, BUT KISS TO BE INDCUTED INTO THE ROCK N’ ROLL HALL OF FAME ALONG WITH NIRVANA, HALL & OATES & OTHERS

kiss-return Andy Greene of Rolling Stone reports: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced next year’s inductees: Nirvana, KISS, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt will all join the class of 2014. The E Street Band will be given the Award for Musical Excellence and Beatles manager Brian Epstein and original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.

The induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 10th, 2014. It’s the first time the general public will be able to attend the event in New York City. Tickets go on sale in January; HBO will air the event in May.

Artists are eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single. Nirvana, whose first single Love Buzz came out in 1988, are entering the institution their first year of eligibility. “That’s really no surprise to me,” says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Joel Peresman. “People see the relevancy of that band. We’re just getting into the creative of the show, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with that performance. They have to figure it out.”

KISS have been eligible for the last 15 years, but didn’t get the nod until now. “The Kiss Army has descended on Cleveland in recent years,” says Peresman. “And we’ve gotten thousands of letters. They also did extremely well in the public vote.” (In 2012, the band joked to Rolling Stone, “We’ve been thinking about it and the answer is simply, ‘We’ll just buy it and fire everybody.'”)

The annual induction ceremony has moved out of the tiny New York Waldorf Astoria Ballroom in recent years into larger venues in Cleveland and Los Angeles, where the public can attend along with music industry insiders.

This year’s event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is the first time the induction has been held in an arena, making it the largest ceremony in the history of the Hall of Fame. “Bringing in the fans adds an incredible energy to the event,” says Peresman. “The fans should have an opportunity to see the show. They are the reason these bands exist.”

Read more at Rolling Stone.

source: rollingstone.com

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GUITARIST JAKE E. LEE’S RED DRAGON CARTEL ANNOUNCE U.S. TOUR DATES

jakeeleeband2013600 Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel has announced the initial dates of their 2014 U.S. tour – The band made their live debut on Thursday, December 12th to a capacity crowd at The Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood. Although the performance was considered by some to be a “shaky start,” by all accounts it was clear that Red Dragon Cartel seemed to have corrected the startup issues turning in a solid performance last night San Diego at Brick By Brick. (video below)

U.S. tour dates are as follows:

12/20/13 – Las Vegas, NV – Count’s Vamp’d
3/14/14 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Chameleon Room
3/15/14 – Houston, TX – Concert Pub North
3/21/14 – Janesville, WI – The Back Bar
3/23/14 – Richmond, IN – The Firehouse –
3/25/14 – Mckees Rocks, PA – The Dead Horse Music Hall
3/27/14 – Raleigh, NC – The Whisky Room
3/28/14 – Largo, FL – Largo Cultural Center
3/29/14 – Miami, FL – Monsters Of Rock Cruise
3/30/14 – Miami, FL – Monsters Of Rock Cruise
3/31/14 – Miami, FL – Monsters Of Rock Cruise
4/1/14 – Miami, FL – Monsters Of Rock Cruise
4/2/14 – Teaneck, NJ – Mexicali Live
4/3/14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Legendary Dobbs
4/4/14 – Amityville, NY – Revolution Concert Hall
4/6/14 – West Seneca, NY – Rock N’ Roll Heaven
6/21/14 – Idaho Falls, ID – Rock The Falls 2014 (w/ Kix, Queeensryche & Others)

Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel was recorded at the Hideout Studios in Las Vegas. Produced by R. Bernard Mann aka Ronnie Mancuso and Jake E. Lee, and executive produced, mixed and mastered by Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Shania Twain, Ringo Starr). The album will be released via Frontiers Records on January 28th 2014.

The band is comprised of lead singer Darren Smith, bassist Ron Mancuso, drummer Jonus Fairley and lead guitarist Jake E. Lee.

The album also features such guests as legendary vocalist Robin Zander from Cheap Trick, original Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno, former Pantera bassist Rex Brown, Todd Kearns and Brent Fitz (Slash) as well as current chart toppers like Maria Brink from In this Moment, Jeremy Spencer (Five Finger Death Punch) and Scott Reeder (Tool, Kyuss).

A real band in the truest sense of the word, Jake E Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel is about to blast off. This amazing virtuoso guitarist with his new band will once again grace the rock world with the lights shining even brighter.

Setlist includes new material like the singles Feeder and Deceived, as well as major hits from Jake E. Lee’s glorious past: Bark At The Moon, The Ultimate Sin (from Jake’s Ozzy days), and Dreams In The Dark and High Wire (Badlands).

Watch a performance The Ultimate Sin (San Diego 12/15/13) below.

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JAKE E. LEE’S RED DRAGON CARTEL APOLOGIZES FOR SINGER’S LIVE DEBUT

jakeeleeband2013600 On December 12th Jake E. Lee’s new band Red Dragon Cartel made their live debut at Hollywood’s infamous Whiskey A Go Go. However after a series of critical reviews, mostly focusing on the poor performance of singer Darren James Smith, the band’s website have issued a statement defending the vocalist.

“You fly thousands of miles, have 40 possible songs to create a set with, pick and refine 14 of those, rehearse till 4 in the morning for only four days with jet jag and strep throat. Then have a reasonably good sound check only to return to the stage to find one of the monitors is out and the teleprompter is set up wrong (yes I said it, TELEPROMPTER. It seems to work fine for Obama and Steven Tyler, Elton John), plus it’s said it will be gone within a couple of weeks, mix in some American prescription cough syrup (thanks Nassad) and one to many pre-jitter shots. Result, a sub-standard performance from a great singer. I have stood in a room while they played together and Darren sings his ass off! Yes you’re right, there will never be another Ray Gillen, R.I.P., but the Red Dragon Cartel is about to show the world that they can be a great band and that Darren James Smith is a great singer! Reserve your judgment until you watch the videos from tomorrow night’s San Diego gig and Friday’s show at Vamp’d in Las Vegas. In the meantime go over to iTunes and check out “Deceived” from the Red Dragon Cartel album. Jake E. Lee is back, playing better than ever with a great Band, album and live show. Wait till they come through your town sometime in the next year and decide for yourself. You wont be disappointed.”

It appears Darren James Smith himself realizes he had an off night by stating, “No excuses! I fucked up. I can’t believe the band is sticking with me. With the most sincere apologies to the band and all the Jake fans, you deserved better and you’re going to get it.”

But one poor outing hasn’t slowed down Red Dragon Cartel. The band states that, “based on a huge buzz created by the band’s very first show, our agency’s phone rings all the time and we will have tons of gigs in the USA before and after the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Our European tour will start in Italy on May 3rd and end at a major festival in the UK on June 15. After that some more USA and then Japan and Asia in middle of July, then USA again and then Europe again. RDC will be busy!”

Red Dragon Cartel’s self-titled debut is set for release on January 24th in Europe and January 28th in North America through Frontiers Records.

The entire album is available for pre-order and preview at Amazon.com. More details on Jake E. Lee and Red Dragon Cartel can be found at reddragoncartel.com and facebook.com/reddragoncartel.

Watch Red Dragon Cartel performing of “Bark At The Moon” at the Whisky A Go Go below.

additional source: sleazeroxx.com

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BLACK SABBATH ON BILL WARD: “WE ALL LOVE BILL AND WE DESPERATELY WISH IT HAD WORKED WITH HIM”

blacksabb2013 Black Sabbath have spoken Classic Rock about their current relationship with estranged drummer Bill Ward, and whether we’d see another new album from the metal legends.

“I haven’t spoken to Bill, but to be honest, I don’t actually know how to reach Bill these days because he doesn’t have the same phone number as I have for him,” says Tony Iommi. “I see people saying, ‘Why don’t they talk?’ But it’s not that simple. The only way I can reach Bill is by e-mailing his secretary, and then she speaks to Bill. It’s not as easy as picking the phone up. I e-mailed him the other week, because he’d been in the hospital and wasn’t that well, but that’s as far as it’s got at the moment. I’d like to talk to Bill — me and Bill have been friends for many years — but it’s not happened recently.”

“I don’t talk on the phone to anybody because I’m horrible on the phone as we didn’t have one in our house forever,” adds Geezer Butler. “But I’ve exchanged a few e-mails with Bill, just to see how he is. We all still love Bill, and we desperately wish that it had worked with him, we really do, because that’s the true Sabbath, the four of us. But we tried, and for some reason, it didn’t work, so you have to get on with life. When I’m in touch with Bill, I don’t mention the album or tour or anything. I wouldn’t do that.”

source: metalhammer.co.uk

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