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August 25 : Peter Criss Q &
A (about an upcoming album)
From:
www.petercriss.net
The official website of original/former KISS drummer Peter
Criss has been updated with Peter’s answers to some
questions that fans had e-mailed to his site.
What's going on with the new album, when do you think it's
going to ship?
“It's going great, thank you for asking. I am wearing a lot of
hats.
This is the first time I've ever done it all, writing,
arranging, singing, playing, editing, mixing and producing.
I hope to be done mixing by late September. It's up to the
record company when it ships, it's all about timing for
them.”
What kinds of inspirations did you draw on for this CD?
“All the songs are so near and dear to my heart. All
inspirations, my wife, family and God. I hope you like it,
no, love it!”
Do you have any favorites among the new tracks or anything
very special to you?
“That's hard. I have so many goodies. I feel this is the best
work I've ever done. I've never worked so hard on a record.
It's about life, love, and ups and downs. Real Peter Criss!”
What kinds of messages are you trying to get out with this
project?
“To feel and love and dream.”
Will we have a chance to see you live after the new album is
out?
“We are talking about next year, some shows, Australia, Japan
and America, Peter Criss Days. I have everything a man could
want, but my wife, Gigi, is convincing me to play? She runs
my website with Ray, my webmaster, and the fans tell me they
miss
me and want to have the chance to meet me, so hopefully, we
will be able to put that together. It's all about having
fun.”
What else is on the schedule for you after the album's out?
“I also started a swing album, and working on a surprise CD.
But right after the album, I am going straight back to my
book. My turn to tell my side of my life.”
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August 24 : Rough Mix of
Chris Catena song featuring Bruce Kulick
From:
Chris Catena
At the homepage of
www.chriscatena.com
you can hear an audio-streaming of
the new Chris Catena song "Cosmic Girl" which will be
included on the forthcoming album "Return of the Galactic
Freakboy" featuring Bruce Kulick on guitar.
This audio-clip is just a rough mix and not the definitive
version of the song.
Currently Chris Catena's "Discovery Return of the Galactic
Freakboy" is in production and will feature Chris Catena
with a little help from his friends....Bobby Kimball (Toto),
Uriah Duffy (Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and now
Whitesnake), Earl Slick (David Bowie, David Coverdale), Pat
Travers, Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Blue Murder, Rod
Stewart), Marco Mendoza (Ted Nugent, Soul Sirkus, Whitesnake,
Thin Lizzy), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), Stevie Salas (Mick Jagger,
Rod Stewart), Tony Franklin (The Firm, Whitesnake, Blue
Murder),Timothy Drury (Eagles, Melissa etheridge,
Whitesnake),Doug Bossi (David Coverdale), Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake,
Dio), Tommy Denander and many others. |
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August 21 : Simmons Records
/ 'BAG' press release and videoclip
From:
Sanctuary Records
/
Kiss-Related-Recordings.nl
On Sanctuary’s release list BAG’s debut album – the “first
release on Simmons Records” according to Sanctuary Records –
is planned for September 13 release.
Bag of course is the "one-man-band" artist who worked with
Gene Simmons on his Asshole solo album. The tracklisting for
Bag's selftitled album is as follows:
Uh, Uh, Uh, Uh
I Can’T Stand Your Face
Pavement
I Hate You Baby
Blown Away
Aye Mi Amore (I’M So F**Kin’ Horny)
Wasted
Afterlife
I Can’t Shut My Mouth
Starlight
Love Is What You Make It
There’S A Hole In My Heart
Magdalene
Ballad Of Johnny Eunuch
Press release
If Beck and Bob Dylan had a baby
boy, and raised him spoon-fed on toxic waste, they would
name him BAG.
Every once in a while an artist comes along that breaks the
mold, an artist who fails to fit into today's cookie cutter
world, an artist unwavering in his fierce commitment to
creativity and unyielding in his refusal to compromise. That
artist is BAG. An extraordinary collection of quirky and
twisted musical tomfoolery, BAG's self-titled debut is the
inaugural release on KISS founder Gene Simmons' recently
activated Simmons Records/Sanctuary imprint.
Having received thousands of demo submissions for his new
label, Simmons found one artist that stood out miles apart
from the pack---BAG. "I first heard BAG, when a beautiful
woman told me about him," recalls Simmons. "The first song I
heard was, ironically enough, 'Blown Away.' I was." Quickly
making BAG the first signing to his newly re-launched
Simmons Records label, BAG states that "the only reason I
have a record deal is because of Gene Simmons. He got my
tape through a mutual friend. He loved it and two days later
he flew me down to meet him and then I got signed to
Sanctuary. My music is definitely not mainstream. It's left
of center. Gene was one of the few people that got it, and
championed it."
Known simply as BAG, the artist reveals the meaning behind his
unconventional name remains a constant source of
speculation. "People ask me all the time about my name, and
here's the story that I'm sticking with. It means Bad and
Good, Boy and Girl, Beelzebub and God, and Brainy and
Gorgeous."
Immensely versatile, BAG's debut release is a consummate tour
de force effecting a collision of playful musical hi-jinx,
idiosyncratic lyrics and trippy grooves. "BAG is a one man
band," says Gene Simmons. "He writes his own songs. Sings
them. Lead vocals and background vocals. Plays all the
instruments. Produces, Mixes and in almost all ways, seems
to have avoided the pitfalls of being in a band. Chances are
this 'band' won't break up because of internal conflict.
This one may actually stay together."
The son of a psychiatrist, BAG was born in South America, and
currently resides in Canada. His most notable past musical
achievements include penning two songs for Gene Simmons'
Asshole and producing four cuts. "It was terrific fun
working with Gene, and a fantastic learning experience. He's
a great guy to work with."
Recorded in BAG's home studios, The Mole Hole, and Rambambi,
the record was tracked using standard recording gear,
pro-tools and ADATs. "When you're a singer/ songwriter,
producer, engineer, you quickly switch hats as you're
writing a song, says BAG.²You go, 'Ooh, I've got the perfect
bass part for this' or 'I've got a killer lick' or 'what a
killer groove'. Every single song on my record was written
differently and has a different origin. When you're writing,
the key is to never lose sight of what the song is trying to
do or say. The character of the vocal and lyrics are your
foundation. With that as your backbone it becomes much
easier to place things around it. It's trial and error. When
something is out of place it becomes obvious and when
something feels right you just know it."
Like a demented musical troubadour, BAG's colorful personality
infuses the album's 14 tracks. It's party time on the
opening cut, "Uh, Uh, Uh, Uh² The song is a paradigm of
simplicity, its finger-pointing message delivered by a
repetitive chorus of five words, "Uh, Uh, Uh, Uh, Uh" but
somehow it all works. 'A lot of my songs are imagery. If you
sit down and channel surf and you don't need to turn the
volume up, you get these images. We all go, 'I hate that',
'I hate that', 'don't wanna watch that'. 'Uh Uh Uh Uh' and
'Blown Away' are pretty critical of the media and the beauty
myth, meaning how the media is telling us our self-esteem is
based on what we look like. If we don't look the part we're
kinda screwed."
Next is the powerful musical salvo "I Hate You, BABY", a track
which evokes the sometimes suffocating power of
all-encompassing, obsessive love. The song sails on a
delightful series of surprising musical twists and turns,
adorned with an anthemic chorus that wields more hooks than
your local fish & tackle shop. "I remember sitting there for
about twelve hours trying to write a song and everything I
was coming up with was crap," BAG recalls. "Then I remember
suddenly getting the melody and chorus line 'I hate you,
baby' and then away you go. The biggest challenge as a
songwriter is knowing when you've hit a great idea and
filtering through the shit. Once I had the idea, I wrote the
rest of the song in a half-hour. I don't think it's overly
cynical; the guy's madly in love, we all hate our lovers at
one point or another. So that's all it is, you have a beef
with your lover, your partner and you end up hating each
other just for a moment or two."
"I'm a mess, I'm a leper in heat. I wish I could take you home
and show you my porno collection. Do you think this retched
body would pass your inspection?" sings BAG on the
provocative ³Aye Mi Amore (I'm so fuckin horny)² a song
guaranteed to make Tipper Gore blush three shades of fiery
red. Framed by brash, Spanish tinged acoustic guitar, it's
an unapologetic stew of musical filthiness. "That song is
reality to me," asserts BAG. "It's how most guys feel when
they're trying to pick up a really pretty girl. We feel
ugly, and you're going out of your way, throwing out line
after line and she's coming back at you with excuse after
excuse for why you can't hook up. In the end what I love
about the song is the guy wins. She gets the popcorn and
she's gonna go home and watch his pornos with him."
"Starlight", in direct contrast, commandeers BAG's tender and
sensitive side replete with tinkling keyboards, and cushions
of finely contoured acoustic guitars, imparting the message
that "you're not alone." Boasting a gorgeous melody, "Love
Is What You Make It" mines BAG's own lyrical wisdom and
packs a mighty hook.
He lays out his big empty soul on the desolate track,
"Wasted", which captivates the listener with world-weary
interlocking vocals, ethereal keyboard textures and a
ghostly whistling hook while big drums, a razor sharp
distorted guitar riff, and Middle eastern exotica power
"Pavement."
One of the album's standouts is "Afterlife", a hypnotic
ballad, which finds BAG in introspective mode asking the
eternal question, "now your life is over was it worth the
pain? Or was it just a just a waste of effort all in vain?"
BAG reveals, "That could be my favorite song on the album.
It's just so close to my heart. We work so hard in this life
and when it's all said and done, you're standing in front of
the jury and the jury is yourself. I don't buy the story
that you stand in front of God, I think the jury is
yourself. That's when you ask yourself the question, 'was it
worth the effort?' The metaphor I use in the song is hunger,
because we're always craving and I don't think it ends. They
can play that at my funeral and I'll be happy."
Almost all of the songs on BAG's record are based around vocal
and guitar. Mining a cross-pollination of influences, the
album displays an eclectic, genre-hopping sensibility. BAG
reveals that as far as influences go "it runs the gamut,
from Pink Floyd to Beck to Moby to Bob Dylan, Eminem to
Frank Zappa. There are pieces of them all in my musical
makeup. They're all originals and what's more inspiring than
an original? Nothing. I'm attracted to artists that
consistently break the rules. "
From the cheeky musical bookends, the infectious "I Can't
Stand Your Face" to the groove-happy "I Can't Shut My Mouth"
to the Dylan-esque "The Ballad of Johnny Eunuch", one can't
help but be impressed by BAG's musical imagination. "I had a
ton of fun writing and recording this record. I find my best
material is when I write for myself, not to impress someone.
I really try not to regurgitate my own material. I simply
pick elements that grab my ear and use them. I take
whatever's in the cupboard that I haven't used and throw it
in the pot."
BAG's CD truly sounds like no one else, his DNA occupies every
groove, every rhythm, every guitar riff, every lyric. "I'm
not trying to deliver any kind of message with my music,"
BAG explains. "I'm just expressing what everybody else is
feeling. We're all confused, we're all pissed, we're all
hungry and we're all in love. I want my record to trigger
emotions, a little bit of thought or just make you laugh."
Gene Simmons pinpoints what makes BAG special. "I've always
believed in being an individual....in cutting your own
swath...in ignoring what fashion and fads dictate. It's true
for the band I've been proud to be a member of for
thirty-two years and if I may be so bold, it holds true for
BAG. He respects the musical scene, but refuses to
bastardize his vision. Melody is king and if the current
music scene doesn't recognize it, BAG does. Music needs
BAG."
Videoclip : BAG - "I
Can't Stand Your Face" (uncensored video)
From:
www.foundrymusic.com
Foundrymusic.com has obtained an exclusive copy of the
uncensored video for "I Can't Stand Your Face", the first
single from BAG, the first artist to debut on the
resurrected Simmons Records, the Sanctuary Records imprint
bearing GENE SIMMONS name. The video contains nudity, sex,
explicit language, and of course, a cameo by Gene Simmons
himself. |
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August 19 :
THE CLICK FIVE Singer Talks About Working With PAUL STANLEY
KISS frontman Paul Stanley recently
collaborated with Boston-based THE CLICK FIVE on the track
"Angel to You (Devil to Me)", which appears on THE CLICK
FIVE's debut CD, "Greetings From Imrie House", out now on
Lava.
Paul Stanley reportedly co-wrote the track with THE CLICK FIVE
keyboardist Ben Romans at Stanley's home studio. The song
also features a guest appearance by Elliott Easton of THE
CARS.
"KISS is actually a big influence on us," THE CLICK FIVE
frontman Eric Dill told The Plain Dealer. "Our manager
talked to Paul and got him involved and interested in us
from the very beginning. We had a chance to meet him, go to
some [KISS] shows, get to know him on a personal level. He'd
talk to me and say 'You look good up there, but try to
connect more to the audience.' I had Paul Stanley, who's a
master at it, willing to help me out and giving me tips. How
cool is that?"
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August 14 : Gene Simmons
plans to release Box Set early 2006
From:
GeneSimmons.com
Gene Simmons has stated that he’s planning to release his Box
Set 100 Songs early next year, probably around February.
Earlier, Gene had often talked about his proposed Box Set -
which is supposed to include 100 unreleased demo tracks from
Gene expectedly dating back all the way to the sixties - but
a release date hadn’t been set yet.
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August 6 : France Special @
The KISS Podcast Show #7
From:
Kisspodcast.com
/
Kiss-Related-Recordings.nl
The KISS Podcast show number 7 was just released. The theme
for this show is France. During the show KISS Podcast play
all French themed material such as tribute bands playing
KISS songs, KISS playing live in France and special
performances and projects having to do with the country
France.
The show features KISS cover versions by Fiinky Pie (Hard
Times),
The Soul Lives in Berlin Project
(Charisma, She) and Karma (Detroit Rock City), as well as the
hard to find 'Radio Force 4' performance of "Love (I Don’t
Need It Anymore)" by
Union.
This acoustic version of the song was recorded live in Paris,
France on April 5, 1998, during Bruce Kulick and John
Corabi's European promo tour in support of Union's debut
album.
French magazine "Hard Force" added the Union track on their
free CD included with copies of their July '98 edition.
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