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Kiss singer Paul Stanley suffers heart ailment

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Paul Stanley, a singer and guitarist with rock band Kiss, was forced to pull out of a show in California on Friday after his heart started beating at more than twice the normal level, he said on his Web site.

The apparent tachycardia happened while the band was rehearsing for a performance at a casino in San Jacinto, California, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

"My heart spontaneously jumped to 190 plus beats per minute, where it stayed for over an hour necessitating paramedics to start an IV and give me a shot to momentarily stop my heart and get it into a normal pattern," Stanley, 55, wrote on his site (http://www.paulstanley.com)

A normal heart rate at rest is about 60 to 80 beats a minute, according to the American Heart Association.

Tachycardia, or rapid heart rate, can cause palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting or near fainting, the group said on its Web site (http://www.americanheart.org).

Stanley said he was advised performing would be risky, and the show went on without him. Fellow principal Gene Simmons told fans the group would play as a trio, and turned the show into a tribute to his ailing bandmate.

A call to Kiss manager Doc McGhee for an update on Stanley's condition was not immediately returned late on Saturday.

Stanley, born Stanley Eisen, and Simmons co-founded Kiss in New York City in 1973. Adored by fans, despised by critics, the group made a name for itself performing in white face make-up and ghoulish costumes.

Hits during its heyday included such anthems of teen rebellion as "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Shout It Out Loud." Stanley released a solo album last year.

From -

KISSONLINE.com

By Louis Antonelli, Jim Lunger & Keith Leroux

Last night an extraordinary page was written in KISSTORY. At the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, California, last stop of the band’s 2007 ‘Hit & Run’ mini Tour, KISS performed as a TRIO for the first time ever. Immediately following the band’s sound check, Paul Stanley suddenly fell ill, with what was later determined to be a “cardiac event”.

Once it was determined by emergency medical staff that Paul could not perform, there was talk that the show would need to be canceled. It was Paul himself, who insisted that the band play the show without him. Paul was concerned that fans had traveled long distances and because of the band's individual schedules the show could not be rescheduled.

KISS Manager Doc McGhee then took the stage to announce to the crowd that Paul was sick and unable to perform but that Gene wanted to speak with the fans. Gene asked the audience if they wanted him, Tommy & Eric to perform. The crowd responded with a defeaning chant of yes, yes, yes. With that, Gene announced that the concert (If they could pull it off), was a tribute to “The Greatest Voice in Rock and Roll - Rock God Paul Stanley”.

With Paul en route to the hospital - Gene,Tommy and Eric played their hearts out in honor of their stricken leader! The set list evolved as the night progressed and KISS blasted their way into the hot night air - valiantly trying to hold it together minus the band’s heart & soul. In an emotionally charged moment, Gene told the crowd that he was an only child, but nevertheless had a brother – Paul Stanley! ‘Christine Sixteen' brought 11 invited fans onto the stage to help perform the song, and added a bit of lighthearted fun to the pensive night.

The trio went on to perform a full set including classics and rarities - ‘Watchin’ You’, ‘Goin’ Blind’, ‘Nothing to Lose’, ‘Black Diamond’, ‘Cold Gin’, ‘She’, and ‘Parasite’. The sold out arena was filled with dedicated fans who appreciated what a unique night this really was, despite its bittersweet nature, and rocked hard & loud. As the final chords of ‘Rock & Roll All Night’ were struck, and the last jets of flames and confetti shot into the night sky, everyone realized what they had just witnessed was simply great music performed by dedicated, extraordinary musicians who really gave it their all, and then some.

Another thing every KISS fan at the show last night realized - is just how lucky we are that our favorite band, led by the greatest front man in Rock N Roll PAUL STANLEY, cares so much for us fans!

Get well soon Paul - we all love you!

KISS Performing Without PAUL STANLEY: First Video Footage Posted Online - July 29, 2007

Cable network reups Simmons reality show

A&E has greenlit a supersized second season of "Gene Simmons Family Jewels."
Cabler has begun production on 20 half-hour episodes for a premiere sometime
in 2007.

A&E had ordered a 13-episode first season.

"Family Jewels" delivered an average 1.3 million viewers per episode. Show also improved its Monday-at-10 timeslot by 56% among adults 18-49 (766,000) and 45% among adults 25-54 (742,000) vs. the previous year.

Skein also ranks as one of A&E's youngest-skewing shows with a median age of 39.

Second-season antics -- which will continue to revolve around Simmons, longtime girlfriend Shannon Tweed and their two kids -- are sure to shock, Simmons told Daily Variety.

"People's jaws will drop," he said. Show's appeal is strong because "everyone wishes they had this family. Every guy wishes he was me. It shows how you can be happy."

Kiss seals comics deal with Platinum Studios

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The rock group Kiss has partnered with comic-book production company Platinum Studios to create a new comic-book entertainment company called the Kiss Comics Group.

This is not the first time there have been comics featuring the members of the band, but it will be the first time that Kiss -- under the banner of Kiss Catalog Ltd., run by original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will produce its own comic-book-based characters.

The co-venture aims to be more than a publisher; it plans to expand the comic-book characters' images onto multimedia platforms including print, mobile, online, film, television and licensed merchandise.

First up from the KCG will be "Kiss 4K," the story of Simmons, Stanley and other band members' transformation from rock stars to world-protecting warrior spirits. "4K" will be released in March as a 3-foot comic priced at $50, with an intent to make it the largest comic book ever published. It will be followed by merchandise including apparel, video games and comic strips for cell phones.

Platinum, which has projects such as "Cowboys and Aliens" set up at Sony Pictures, is counting on Kiss' multigenerational, international fan base as well as more than 4,000 fan sites from around the globe and will launch simultaneously in the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The band members said they will be involved in all day-to-day decisions.

"The Kiss comics that have come out were licenses; they weren't truly part of the mythology," Platinum chairman Scott Mitchell Rosenberg said. "This is all of us working together. (Simmons and Stanley) care about every panel of every comic and how an image looks on a shirt."

Happy double nickel Paul

Stanley Harvey Eisen (born January 20, 1952, Manhattan, New York) aka Paul Stanley, is an American Hard rock guitarist and vocalist for the rock band KISS. He is the writer or co-writer of most of the band's highest-charting hits, including "Rock and Roll All Nite," "Hard Luck Woman," "I Was Made For Lovin' You," and "Forever."

Biography
Before joining Wicked Lester, Paul Stanley was in Rainbow (not Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) and Uncle Joe. Through a mutual friend of Gene Simmons, Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1971, but as of 2005 it has never been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on KISS's 2001 box set). Due to contractual obligations, Stanley and Simmons could not fire the other members of Wicked Lester, so they quit and hired Peter Criss and Ace Frehley and later formed as KISS shortly thereafter. KISS released their self-titled debut in February 1974.

Paul's persona in KISS is "The Starchild." Wearing spandex and platform boots, Stanley's persona is that of a Don Juan-esque lover, combining effeminate elements with elements of extreme masculinity, rather than mere androgyny. Although Paul's voice is generally very soft and eloquent during normal conversation, he uses a specific "stage voice" which is like a "Rock N' Roll Preacher" unlike most leading rock frontmen, he gets the crowd to join the band in many of their classic hits and also tends to give a speech or "scripted" story for certain songs (i.e.having a sexual encounters with nurses and other women he's met on tour and how much he supports our troops overseas) much like Gene Simmons adopts an animalistic growl on stage for his Demon persona.

In his book Sex Money KISS, Gene Simmons admits that Paul was the driving force for KISS during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his Demon makeup and attempting to launch a film career.

Newspaper ad for Phantom of the Opera, starring Paul Stanley
In 1999 Stanley starred in a Toronto production of Phantom of the Opera, in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31. This made him the brunt of criticism from fans of both KISS and The Phantom of the Opera. Reviews from KISS fans were generally positive, whereas reviews from Phantom fans were generally negative.

While in Toronto, Stanley was contacted by AboutFace, an organization that provides support and information to individuals with facial differences, and asked to help raise awareness for them. Although he was approached due to his role as The Phantom, Stanley was in fact born with Microtia, a congential deformity of the pinna (outer ear). He has appeared at fundraising events and in videos for the organization.

In 2001 Stanley's wife, Dallas native Pamela Bowen, filed for divorce. They have one son, Evan Shane Stanley.

Stanley badly needed hip replacement surgery but suffered through the Rock The Nation tour first, finally getting the surgery in October 2005. Complications from the surgery required a second in December of that year, and in December 2005 it has been announced that a third hip surgery will be necessary. Stanley regards the degeneration of his left hip as partly the product of thousands of shows performed since the early 1970s.

On November 19th 2005, Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California. They welcomed their first child 8lb. 6oz. Colin Michael Stanley on Wednesday, September 6, 2006.

Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2005, exhibiting and selling original works of art.

In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and resumed using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by Silvertone, and tweaked the Ibanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.

His most recent performances with KISS were a group of shows in July 2006 both in Los Angeles and parts of Japan.

Solo career
Paul's 2006 solo album Live to Win
Stanley has recorded and performed outside of KISS very rarely. In 1989, he embarked on a brief club tour, performing only KISS songs (with one cover, Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown"). His touring band included guitarist Bob Kulick and future KISS drummer Eric Singer.

Stanley wrote and recorded material for a solo album in 1987–88, which was shelved in favor of the KISS compilation, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. While never officially released, songs such as "Don't Let Go" and "When 2 Hearts Collide" have circulated as bootleg recordings. One song from the project, "Time Traveler," was released as part of the KISS's 2001 box set.

28 years after releasing his first solo album (as part of the four simultaneously released KISS solo albums), Stanley released a second album, Live to Win, on October 24, 2006.

In October and November 2006, Stanley embarked on a theater tour in support Live to Win. His touring band was the house band from the CBS TV show, Rock Star. The band appeared on both seasons of the show - Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova. The band was comprised of Paul Mirkovich (keyboards), Jim McGorman (guitar), Rafael Moreira (lead guitar), Nate Morton (drums), and Sasha Krivstov (bass).

Trivia
He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
His single, "Live To Win," made its debut in the 8th episode of South Park's 10th season, titled "Make Love, Not Warcraft".
He was asked to produce albums for Poison and Guns N' Roses, but was unable due to his time working on KISS projects.

Other birthdays of note today -
Buzz Aldrin, Martin Landau, DeForest Kelley, George Burns, Slim Whitman, Arte Johnson, and Tom Baker.