It was a bit tight at the dinner tabels, so we were glad we had our dinner finished before more and more people came in. Before Ace hit the stage there were 2 special guests, the first one Liquid Circus wasn't our thing at all, but the second one was Enuff Z'Nuff and we saw them last year on the KISS Kruise VI and really liked them. So we enjoyed their show tonight too.
Around 9 PM it was time for Ace Frehley and we were ready! They started with Parasite and here's our video...
With Scott Cougan on drums, Chris Wise on bass and Richie Scarlett on guitar Ace has put a great band behind him. Seeing them live tonight brings us back to the 3 shows we saw in Amsterdam, Zoetermeer & Bochum in 2015!
We had good seats and a great view on the stage. I was Lucky enough to catch 2 Ace guitarpicks!
We loved the show and it was great to hear Emerald & Bring It On Home from his latest album, but had hoped for more songs from his solo albums. Of course New York Groove with lighting bold guitar and Shock Me with Ace's smoking guitar solo were played.
Also it was a special experience to see a Ace Frehley dinner-show, seated at a table while the band performs so close to us. The band sounded great and Ace still kicks ass!
We had a awesome time seeing Ace live again and his show was a perfect ending of this incredible sunny sunday in Los Angeles were we had the oppertunity to see Peter Criss & Ace Frehley on the same day!
*(c) 2017. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
*(c) 2017. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
Around 3 PM Bruce did a Q&A, one of things he said that he was working on some new material (with Lisa on a copple of tracks) He answered questions from fans about his career with KISS and Union, also he would loved to be on the KISS Kruise, but he had to be asked first...
Later that day Bruce did perform with the tribute band Priss and it was great to see him in action again! We had a great time to see him perform live! He's still a amazing guitarplayer and we hope to see him in Europe in the near future.
*(c) 2017. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
He thanked us for our email about our Meet & Greet and LA KISS Landmark Tour experience and made us Fans Of The Month on his website!
What can we say more about his sincere email to us...
We're speechless...
We bought our tickets at once and booked our flights, the only thing we have to do is wait till it's time to travel to Los Angeles.
We arrived in LA on Thursday januari 26th and as soon we picked up our rental car we started to explore the city, from Hollywood to Beverly Hills, from El Segundo to the Sunset Strip. We love Los Angeles!
On Friday it was time to finaly meet the original KISS drummer @ the Raleigh Studio's, where the Hotter Than Hell album cover was shoot!
We arrived around 2 PM at the studio's, after checked-in and received our laminates, we went into the Chaplin theather and waited for Peter Criss to arrive. Shortly after 2 PM Peter came in with his wife Gigi and a hugh applause started for him by the fans!
Peter was overwelmed by all this and we couldn't believe the Catman was in the building. Now it was time for the Q&A and Peter had so much cool stories to tell from back in the days and we love to hear them all. Also a special movie was been screened with all the highlights in Peter's carriere and there was also a section were famous drummers congrats him on how much influence Peter's drumming had on them as they were kids.
We had a great time during this special event!
After a small break it was time for the fans to meet Peter and around 4 PM it was our turn! First we got a special LA KISS Expo event poster, signed by Peter!
Then we entered the room and as soon Peter saw us he welcomed us and he said several times how much he appreciated it that we want to meet him, especially when he heard that we live in The Netherlands! He gave my lovely wife and me a big, warm, sincere hug and he kept huging us! I gave him a little present and he loved it and would keep it to his lucky charms.
Peter was so relaxed and took all the time for us, we spoke about his music and what it ment to us to finally meet him.
We brought some cool items with us to get signed by Peter, first we let our Wedding license sign and he was gratefull to do this on such a important document and looked who else had signed it! Then it was time to get our copy of his solo picture disc album form 1978 signed, finally we've our set of signed solo picture disc's from each KISS member complete now!
Also Peter signed our Let Me Rock You album, the first KISS album, the Criss special edition EP and our Alive! Peter Criss figure.
During signing all the items for us he and Gigi gave answers to our questions and when they heard we would see him on sunday for the LA KISS Landmark Tour they said you'll love it. Slowly our meet & greet came to a end, Peter found it so great that we came from The Netherlands, he couldn't believe it that we did that for him!
What can we say about meeting Peter? Nothing but good stuff to say about him and his wife Gigi. Both great people and so nice. Peter is a total sweetheart! A dream come true for us to finally meet him!!!
Here's a selection of our photo's, enjoy...
*(c) 2017. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
Our first stop was the former site of the Aquarius Theatre where KISS filmed In Concert for ABC, Peter said that it was such an exciting time for him all of them.
The second stop was the Sunset Sound studio's were Peter did recording some tracks for his solo album from 1978. Peter said that his album was the best of the 4 solo albums. He really enjoyed recording his album then.
Stop #3 was the Guitar Center/Rockwalk shop, were the famous KISS handprints are located, aswell the ones from Peter & Ace Frehley! We all left the bus, including Peter, to see those handprints. Suddenly Peter got on his knees to see if his hands still matched the hands in the ground.
Such a great moment after all those years for him. Fans cheering to Peter and for us it was amazing to be there!
Next we did on that same spot a group photo and that one turned out great!
Then we all got inside to the spot were several KISS items are displayed. Peter couldn't believe it all was there, like his first snare drum & boots! Here's our video...
This stop was one of the highlights!
Our fourth stop was Casablanca Records, were KISS did their first audition in LA and were Neil Bogart signed them to Casablanca!
Stop #5 was the Riot House (Continental Hyatt House) this was the place were he and Ace would both drop TV's out off their hotelrooms at the same time and see who's would land first. Ace painted the walls of the rooms with mustard & ketchup!
Stop #6 was the Tower Records location, famous in KISStory because of picture of he and Paul under the Tower Records sign! Also Neil Bogart paid to have Kiss' billboard in the film Annie Hall. On this exact location we did our second group photo, Peter got up on the platform under the sign just like he did in the past and our photo was shoot and turned out great again! Our second highlight of this tour!
Our 7th stop was the Wiskey A Go Go/The Roxy & the Rainbow Bar & Grill locations, Peter said that back in the day @ the rainbow they had a special room upstairs. You only got up there if you made it and he knew he made it when he finally got in that room!
We had to drive for a little to our next stop and in the meantime Peter told some cool stories like the 3 sold out shows @ the Forum. When we arrived at our 8th stop Century Plaza Hotel it was under construction. So not much to see here but Peter told us that at the showcase for casablanca they shouldn't play as loud as usual, but you can imagine we played louder than usual. On our trip to the next location Peter told some cool stories like about MTV Unplugged, he said on the day of the shoot the crowd went nuts when he & Ace came on stage and he knew for sure it would lead to a reunion very soon. He told us, when the reunion was announced, that he jumped in his bed from excitement when Gene Simmons called him to let him know that the Tiger Stadium show was sold out in 20 minutes!
Next up was stop #9 the A&M Studio's, this is the studio where the original 4 members of KISS recorded their last song together for the last time! That song was Detroit Rock City with the ending of Black Diamond as is seen in the film Detroit Rock City!
Stop #10 was another highlight in our LA KISS Landmark Tour, the KISS Hollywood Star. We all got out and got around the KISS Star and Peter was so proud to have a star on Hollywood Boulevard. On this spot we also got our third group photo!
When we went back to the bus Peter joked about the next stop should be at Gene's house and have us all up for coffee, He said it would be even funnier doing it to Paul Stanley, lol.
Stop #11, our last location, the Gruman's Chinese Theatre, were the premiere of the film Detroit Rock City was. When KISS was looking for a location Peter suggested this theatre. Also it's famous for the photo shoot back in the days.
On our way back to the Raleigh Studion's Peter still told us awesome stories, one of them was about his #3. He said it's always appears in his life and that it was his number. We loved listening to his stories and for us he could go on and on and never stop.
When we arrived at the studio's all fans started singing Beth with Peter and that gave us goosebumps! When we came out of the bus, we gave a big hug to Peter and thanked him and Gigi for this experience. Peter than decided to give everyone who left the bus a hug. You can imagine that it took quite some time to hug every fan. After that we talked a little bit more with Peter, we chatted about the track Wishper, a possible new album and about The Netherlands. It was time for us to finally say goodbye to Peter and one more time we gave him a big long hug and he said we were so sweet to both of us, before he stepped in to the car and waved to us when he droved by.
What can we say about this tour with Peter? It was incredible, amazing, so unique. A one kind experience that we'll never forget. Peter was thankfull and so gratefull to us. Also a big thank you to his wife Gigi, she was the one behind this tour! Both they made our Meet & Greet and LA KISS Landmark Tour unforgettable!
Here's a selection of our photo's, enjoy...
*(c) 2017. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
Our first sighting was @ the Raliegh Studio's where the album cover of Hotter Than Hell was shoot, it was a big loft with many studio's and also the LA KISS Expo was hold here. About 1 mile from here is the location of the Conway Studio's, here are the latest 2 KISS albums recorded: Sonic Boom & Monster! Next up was the Aquarius Theatre where KISS In Concert was taped for ABC back in the days. Followed by the Sunset Studio's where Peter Criss recorded his solo album from 1978!
One of the highlights was our next sighting; the Guitar Centre/Rockwalk. As every fan knows this is the location of the famous KISS handprints, aswell of the ones of Peter Criss & Ace Frehley. It was so cool to see these for ourselves and I had to try if my hands matched Peter's & Gene's, lol. Inside there are several KISS boots and gear to see, one of them is Peter's first snare drum! Next up was Gruman's Chinese Theatre, famous of the KISS dragon/lion photo shoot from 1976, also there was the premiere of the movie Detroit Rock City. Our next sightings where the former office of Casablanca Records & Filmworks and the shop where Paul Stanley got his tatoo from Lyle Tuttle back in the days.
When we drove further on Sunset Boulevard we came to our next 4 locations; the Viper Room where the KISS Monster Book had his premiere, next the Whiskey A Go Go and the Roxy. It's in this alley of the Roxy where the video has been filmed for Fire & Water, by Ace Frehley & Paul Stanley! The Rainbow Bar & Grill was often visited by Peter and he knew he made it when he finally could get upstairs to the room of the big boys. Our next sighting was the former Playboy building, famous for KISS photo shoot at the rooftop of the building in 1975!
We got very excited driving to our next 2 locations, always wanted these to see for sure! First up; Paul Stanley's home!
A very beautifull house located in the hills with a stunning view!
Another highlight for us on this tour.
You can guess what was coming up next...of course; Gene Simmons home!
I couldn't believe I was there, I got goosebumps all over my body.
After this our tour wasn't over yet, we headed over to the location what once Vincent Price home was, Peter stayed here when he was recording his solo album in '78. Our next stop was the shop who made the current KISS boots! Followed by another highlight of this tour; the KISS Star on Hollywood Boulevard!
Then we drove to the A&M Studio's, this is where the original 4 KISS members recorded their last track together; Detroit Rock City in 1999!
Next location was the Record Plant Studio's, where KISS recorded Creatures Of The Night and Paul his solo album from '78. For our 2 last sightings we had to drive for a little while, through Bevery Hills, we checked out Rodeo Drive and pulled up later to the former building of Village Recording. Here KISS recorded the Hotter Than Hell album! Our last location was the Plaza hotel, where KISS had their showcase for the bosses of Casablanca Records back in the day.
We had such a great time driving on the streets of Los Angeles and visited all those great sightings, it's KISStory!
Here are the photo's of our KISS & Peter Criss LA sightings, enjoy...
*(c) 2017. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
9 PM it was time for the KISS sail away show and the band startet with I Stole Your Love and played some more great tracks as Watchin' You, Take Me & A World Without Heroes.
Here's our video of Watchin' You:
The band sounded great and we had such a great time to see them again.
Here's our video of A World Without Heroes:
We had a blast at this show, it all ended to soon, wished they played all night.
This was the setlist: I Stole Your Love, Plaster Caster, Take Me, Nothin' To Lose, Hide Your Heart, Watchin' You, Hotter Than Hell, Firehouse, A World Without Heroes, Shock Me, Got To Choose, Christine Sixteen, C'mon And Love Me, Mainline, All The Way, Goin' Blind, Love Her All I Can & Shout It Out Loud.
Here's a selection of our photo's:
After the show it was time for dinner and than we went to Paul Stanley's Weapons Of Choice event, finally we could hold Paul's purple Ibanze guitar and also the mirror one! So cool!
On Saturday we had a full program, after getting the KISS Cup, the Paul Stanley one, we went to the pooldeck for playing air guitar with The Dives, followed by got talent, hosted by Eric Singer. Sometimes Eric had a look on his face like what I'm doing here, so funny. Then it was time for name that tune, with Tommy Thayer. It was great to hear Tommy only play solo's and I even won a guitarpick set with a trivia question.
Later it was time for the Dead Daisies and they rocked the pooldeck. After their show they did a meet & greet. So cool to meet them again!
Time to relax a bit and got some food. Later that night we went to see Sophie Simmons, she did a cool performance. After this we watch The Dives and went to the casino, were we meet Tommy Thayer:
A great way to finish this day.
On sunday we had a relax day with the first stop in Cozumel, Mexico. After our visit we checked out Paul Stanley's piantings in the libary. It's awesome to see finally some original work from him. I bought a Paul Stanley Self-Portrait years ago and alsways wanted to see more of his paintings. We enjoyed it.
At 4 PM we had our photo booth, this time they had a KISS gear box, gold & platinum records, guitars and more.
Also we managed to get our third KISS Cup, the Tommy Thayer one.
Today we had our indoor show and around 8:30 we went to the Stardust and we got a great spot. So now it was time to wait untill show begins. Would they've the tank? Which customes? What songs will they play?
At 9 pm the waiting was over, the curtains went open and we saw The Tank! Yes, what a cool stage! A few moments later Gene, Paul, Tommy & Eric came on stage... in their Creatures Of The Night outfits! Yes, this must be a cool show to be happen!
They started with Creatures Of The Night, here's our video:
Followed by Keep Me Comin' and the place went nuts! KISS had really pleasure on the stage and with the good responce of the fans to these songs. They also played (it's unbelieveble) Radio Active & Wouldn't You Like To Know Me.
Here are our video's:
We could never have imagine that we ever hear those songs from Gene & Paul solo albums from 1978. Another rare song was Rock And Roll Hell, we had a blast. It seems we went back in time to 1982. What a show!
This was the setlist: Creatures Of The Night, Keep Me Comin', Detroit Rock City, Radio Active, Calling Dr. Love, Wouldn't You Like To Know Me, I Love It Loud, Firehouse, Rock And Roll Hell, Cold Gin, Hotter Than Hell, War Machine, Love Gun, God Of Thunder, Shout It Out Loud, Black Diamond. Encores: Strutter & Rock And Roll All Nite.
Here's a selection of our photo's:
After the show we went to the restaurant and later we checked out the band Teaze.
On monday we had our second stop in Grand Cayman or as KISS called it Grand Catman. On the tender and on shore we meet some of the members of the Dead Daisies. Grand Cayman is a nice place and we had a great time.
Once on board we bought our KISS Cup and this time it was a special glow in the dark cup because of tonights theme night. Also I give the new KISS Game a try, it's for your mobile and will come out in the spring next year. Funny game.
When heading to the elevator I've meet Sophie Simmons, she was so friendly to me.
Later we went to see The Dives (with Evan Stanley, son of Paul) and they are great! Even Paul, Eric & Tommy came down to see them play. We had the chance to meet Paul for a moment!
Here's our video:
Up next were the Dead Daisies and they rocked the Atrium again, especially with Brian's 100.000 Years drumsolo. My lovely wife Marina got to hold Marco's bassguitar at the end of the show! A great finish of this day.
On tuesday we had a full program, after we bought our last KISS Cup of this Kruise, the Gene Simmons one, we started with Paul Stanley's pizza contest in the stardust, like last year Paul demostrated his pizza making skills and he joked a lot. Great to see it.
Followed by who's smarter than a rock god? with Gene Simmons. Always funny to see when Gene gives a answer it's always a long answer. Of course Gene won the event.
Right after this we went to see Nick Simmons & Friends, he did a cool performance with Evan Stanley as special guest.
Later we went to the Q&A with KISS, there they announced KISS Kruise VII, november 5th-10th 2017 sailing from New Orleans. Also they spoke about a possibility to record a new album next year. As always they joke a lot at eachother, especailly Gene is the one who they all pick on, lol.
Here's a selection of our photo's:
It was time to grab something to eat before we went to the show of The Dives, great performance and we did meet the band after the show.
We think it was cool to see the children of Gene & Paul playing on this Kruise, was quite suprising what they had in store for us.
Then the Dead Daisies closed of the KISS Kruise VI with a great show in a packed Atrium.
Wednesday, our last morning on the Norwegain Pearl. After breakfast it was time to embark the ship, but not before said goodbye to a lot of friends. During the Kruise I always got compliments about my KISS blog and that's always great to hear and that get's me inspired to do it!
We had such a awsome time again and this was our 5th KISS Kruise and every Kruise we did was special, we have no favorite, all 5 kicked ass! We hope we're sailing with KISS again on the KISS Kruise VII nex year...
*(c) 2016. All personal photo’s/slideshows/filmed footage may only be used by others if is reference/linked to this site or me and ask me first!
