Kiss Delivers Sonic Impact

Let's face it. Gene Simmons is the P. T. Barnum of rock and roll. He's a successful businessman, entertainer and travels with his own circus known as Kiss. And just when you thought a new album would never surface from this band: Boom; make that "Sonic Boom," their first album in over 11 years. The band will kick off its Kiss Alive 35 tour on September 25 in Detroit's Cobo Arena.

As Simmons tells Billboard.com, "There will be new outfits, a brand new stage and millions more (dollars) put into it. That's just the history of Kiss. Any band you go see for the same ticket price, you know Kiss is going to give you tenfold more. That's just a statement of fact." A portion of Kiss's opening night show will be broadcast live on network TV, though Simmons wouldn't offer specifics.

"Sonic Boom" is pure Kiss circa 1977 and the band is unapologetic. The comic book style personae, makeup and stage theatrics all return (blood, boots, fire and tongue are par for the course because after all, this is a Kiss concert, not the Jonas Brothers). They've stepped up production by adding stage-wide video screens, extra camera crews and multimedia from the back of the house to the front. "Modern Day Delilah" will be the first single and video shot while in Detroit in addition to capturing footage for online exclusives and a future DVD release.

The band wrapped up a tour of Australia and New Zealand earlier this year and had the opportunity to shoot a documentary, titled "Kissteria," which will air on the A&E channel, home to the weekly reality series, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," now in its fifth season. The "Family Jewels" crew will also be on the road with Kiss. "The crew is coming to Detroit and filming some of the outside stuff and the rehearsing and everything," Simmons added.

Scheduled for release October 6, "Sonic Boom" is produced by singer/guitarist Paul Stanley and features three discs: one of new material, one of re-recorded greatest hits and a live DVD filmed in Argentina earlier this year. The album is available exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.

But it doesn't stop there. Simmons, being the marketing maestro he is, looks out onto the great horizon and sees the Kiss brand in Broadway musicals and cartoon shows. "The Kiss Broadway show has been in development for 15 years, and the cartoon show about as long," Simmons said. "Like anything, you don't stop. Everything takes time . . . and Kiss just keeps getting bigger."

And so the Kiss army marches on.