Paul Stanley talks किस anniversary, touring with Def Leppard 

Posted: 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Paul Stanley talks Kiss anniversary, touring with Def Leppard 

Garth Brooks fan 'Andy from Atlanta' announces first stop for Brooks tour

Jason Mraz to play Atlanta on 'YES!' tour

[I\'m on with my rock \'n\' roll pal Kaedy Kiely at 97.1 The River every Wednesday at 6:50 and 7:50 a.m. to talk about the latest music news. Tune in to hear what\'s up!]

Kiss and Def Leppard will blow the (partial) roof off Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood on Friday with a night of fist pumpers, chest hair (well, on Paul Stanley, at least) and an arsenal of pyro.

At recent shows, Kiss has sandwiched beloved singalongs such as “Shout It Out Loud” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” with fan favorites “Christine Sixteen” and “War Machine.”

Def Leppard takes the stage before the costumed gods of thunder with a 75-minute set (keep an ear out for The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and you’ll know when the curtain is about to drop) that packs in 14 of its high-gloss anthems.

In a recent conference call with reporters, Kiss frontman Stanley noted that, “It’s a source of pride for us that we can have a 6-year-old, a 16-year-old and a 60-year-old” at the same concert.

Stanley also chatted about Kiss’ recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, his new memoir and why he thinks this is Kiss’ best tour ever.

On changes to their live show for the anniversary tour:

“I believe this is the greatest and really the best stage that we’ve ever had. We took it through Europe and it was a huge success. We call it the ‘spider’ stage because the lights are actually in the shape of a spider and dangling down onto the stage and I wanted a stage where the lights and the stage were one, instead of having lights hanging from the ceiling. It’s by far the best thing we’ve done. The band is firing on all cylinders. Between that and celebrating our 40th year, we’re out there to do a victory lap, even though the race isn’t over yet. This is a celebration of everything we’ve done to date.”

“We’ve always tried to have great bands on tour with us, and now more than ever, we want to make sure that people get their money’s worth and have a night of great music with songs that connect with you emotionally and serve as snapshots of time. It doesn’t get better than that. Anybody can set off bombs and fireworks — all you need is money to do a good show — but nobody can be Kiss, and that’s why we go on tour. (Our fans) are not even our fans, they’re our tribe, and to bring Def Leppard along, they’re just a great band.”

On the controversy surrounding their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the band, voted in by fans, refused to perform because the Hall would recognize only the initial lineup of Kiss, not the other musicians who have played with the band in recent years):

“The Rock Hall was really not much more than a mosquito buzzing around my ear. Ultimately it was and always will be about our music and our fans, and no small organization with a big name can call the shots and decide what is or isn’t valid or what does or doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. No matter who may own the name, it’s ultimately what the people decide.”

On his recent autobiography, “Face the Music: A Life Exposed”:

“I say it was cathartic living the life. It was great to document something that I believed could be inspiring to other people and have that not only confirmed by my reading it, but every day having people come over to me and say the book moved them and inspired them. That’s the only reason for me to do anything.”

Kiss and Def Leppard. With Kobra and the Lotus. 7 p.m. Friday. $36-$175. Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, 2002 Lakewood Way, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000,

Melissa Ruggieri covers music and entertainment and maintains the Atlanta Music Scene blog on accessAtlanta.

Yeah, yeah, yeah so Prince George turns 1 today. Big deal. Over here in the Colonies we get to vote on our royals and we\'ve coronated - yep - Kimye.

 Oops! EPA goes off topic, tweets about Kardashian

See what Atlanta is saying right now about Things To Do in Atlanta today and this weekend

Learn how to volunteer in Atlanta and north Georgia, browse volunteer events and search local groups who need volunteers in the arts, community, food programs, housing, animal rescue and more.

Kenya Moore bites the dust during Vegas ho down

© 2014 Cox Media Group. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices

{* #registrationFormBlank *} {* registration_firstName *} {* registration_lastName *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddressBlank *} {* registration_birthday *} {* registration_gender *} {* registration_postalZip *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordBlank *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirmBlank *}

We have sent you a confirmation email. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.

We look forward to seeing you frequently. Visit us and sign in to update your profile, receive the latest news and keep up to date with mobile alerts.

Don\'t worry, it happens. We\'ll send you a link to create a new password.

We have sent you an email with a link to change your password.

We\'ve sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.

To sign in you must verify your email address. Fill out the form below and we\'ll send you an email to verify.

Check your email for a link to verify your email address.