Bands beware: KISS is back in rock music scene

They play with fire, they're loud and wear more makeup than your mother.

After a break from their 35 years on the hard rock music scene, they're back! KISS is touring again, adding Pittsburgh to their list of tour stops.

Their newly released album, "Sonic Boom" is the foundation of their tour this year. They're expected to play in Pittsburgh on Dec. 13 at Mellon Arena. The cheapest tickets are selling for about $50 a person on ticketmaster.com.

The late 1970s were huge years for the rock legend KISS. Teenagers and adults alike waited in line for hours to purchase KISS concert tickets. These now older fans are taking their own children to KISS concerts.

KISS has left huge high-heeled, platform shoe footprints on the music industry, and most notably, this presence began with their public display of pyrotechnics while on tour. Gene Simmons still breathes fire on stage to this day.

Perhaps equally as notable is the look of KISS, which has also been a part of their stage performance since the band formed. For their "Alive 35" tour, the make-up will not change, though two original members of KISS will be noticeably absent. Former members, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss are no longer a part of KISS; they departed from the group in the mid-1980s. The new members of KISS are guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer. KISS made it acceptable today for bands like Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and glam metal bands of the 1980s such as Poison, RATT and Mötley Crüe, to wear make-up.

KISS's music is well known. Their "Destroyer" and "Alive!" albums went gold in the 1970s. Their first live album in 1975, gained them the most notoriety among the general public with the release of "Rock And Roll All Night." Other KISS albums have earned them platinum status. KISS songs, such as "Rock And Roll All Night" and "Detroit Rock City," have also been heard in countless movie soundtracks and on radio stations.

No expense or advertising opportunity will be spared on KISS's "Alive 35" tour, either. Local rock station WDVE has plugged the concert numerous times, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has run ads for it as well.

Merchandising has proven to be pivotal to the idea of KISS. Selling everything from KISS coffins, T-shirts, cocktail tables and blankets for your home, they have every market cornered.

KISS has been an influential force for hard rock and the music industry in general, especially when one views them as innovators in merchandising, stage persona and musical impact. Their return to Pittsburgh, this December, marks their first appearance here since their "Rock The Nation" tour in 2004, during which they performed at the Post-Gazette Pavilion.

My hope is that KISS can attract more young fans to the hard rock scene, not only with this tour, but also with the new music they're releasing as well. I'm hoping they'll attract young fans who were inspired to play the musical instruments they see in KISS's performances, or who have grown to love KISS's music so much that they'll pass it on to their own children.

The return of KISS gives those who have purchased concert tickets since the 1970s a chance to see the band live again. For others, this means seeing the band live for the first time.

Either way, the "Alive 35" tour means that bands of today had better watch out because the originals are back in town and bringing the KISS army with them. The torch has yet to be passed to newer bands. KISS doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.