KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer is featured in a new Q&A; conducted by KISSasylum.com. An excerpt is available below.

Q: On Sonic Boom, how did you generally approach writing your solos?

TT: "Some solos I worked out on my own, on others Paul helped me with direction. I usually had an idea where I was going to go with each solo before we recorded them."

Q: How would you compare writing with Gene to writing with Paul?

TT: "There are no rules to writing songs, particularly where you start from. Paul and Gene have different styles and approach to writing songs. Gene usually has a backlog of song ideas that he pulls from. Paul usually has newer ideas. I think they are both best when they're spontaneous."

Q: How did it feel to do the lead vocal on 'When Lightning Strikes' and was this written specifically with your voice in mind?

TT: "Yes it was. I wrote the song with some help from Paul. We wanted a straight ahead rocker and I think it came out great."

Click here for the complete Q&A.;

As previously reported, KISS are gearing up for the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour which starts at the Sheffield Arena on May 1st.

Says frontman Paul Stanley, "We are stoked, ready and have never sounded better! New songs! Old songs! New old songs! We can't wait to hit the stage for that first show and blow you all away!"

KISS' tour schedule can be viewed at this location.

The band have confirmed that their entire European tour will be released on USB stick and as MP3 download.

The UK leg of KISS' Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour starts at the Sheffield Arena on May 1st. Fans who attend any of the concerts will be able to purchase the entire 2 ½ hours of live entertainment on USB stick at the merchandise stand directly after the show. Alternatively, fans will also be able to pre-order the concert on USB stick or as MP3 download in advance via the simfylive.com website.

KISS is highly regarded as one of the most collectable and merchandise savvy rock bands around. Their foray into live concert recordings on USB stick and MP3 is hugely attractive to avid KISS collectors. As CD sales are in steady decline, the alternative of purchasing live recordings digitally, is developing a new revenue stream for rock bands who orchestrating live arena and outdoor festival tours.

“Music fans have always been into live recordings,” says Gerrit Schuman, MD of simfy live operator Music Networx, “making the KISS concerts available digitally on the same day as the concert, gives fans what they want,”

Info on the KISS USB stick, MP3 downloads and simfy live can be found here.

In addition to the 1 gigabyte USB stick, KISS enthusiasts who want to buy more than one concert will be able to order the Collector’s Gold Edition USB stick at any time, even prior to the tour. As soon as the concerts happen, they will be able to insert their Gold USB stick into the USB port of their PC or Apple Mac, and download the additional concerts directly from the simfy live website.

The USB stick and MP3 concert downloads are the brainchild of Music Networx, who specialise in live recordings and developing innovative ways to produce, showcase and market live music. As the operator of the simfy live music portal, Music Networx provides artists, record labels and rights holders with new sales channels and markets to exploit their music digitally via USB sticks, MP3 downloads and mobile delivery.