The Phoenix News Times recently caught up with KISS frontman Paul Stanley to discuss the Freedom To Rock tour preparation, giving the photographers what they want, reconnecting with original lead guitarist Ace Frehley, and one of the best YouTube videos to ever exist. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: Visually, the image of the band made you guys larger-than-life characters. Your interaction with photographers during your shows is like no band I've ever shot before. Is that interaction something that's always been important to you?

Stanley: "I tend to say 'I'm not a ham; I'm the whole pig.' I enjoy it (as do all of us), making sure the photographers get what they want. Because when we give them what they want, the people get what they want. It's just a way to channel something to the fans. It's a source of getting our images and what we're all about to our fans. You can't fake that. What you see in those photos is real. It's psychical, it's sweaty, it's not necessarily easy, but it's joyous. To disregard the photographers is to disregard our audience because our audience wants those photos, our audience wants to see us, so to snub the photographers or to ignore them is to ignore an aspect of what our fans want, and we're about giving our fans what they desire.

Q: There is a hilarious 20-minute video on YouTube of your best stage banter of the years. Have you had a chance to see it?

Stanley: "Yes."

Q: What are your thoughts on the clip?

Stanley: "It's great. I'm as much about entertaining myself as I am entertaining the audience. I have a ball onstage, whether it's finding out what I can do physically or verbally. I'm smiling as I'm talking to you because it's awesome."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

 

According to a report by KSHE 95, KISS are looking for some special roadies for their upcoming Freedom To Rock tour.

The band has teamed up with Hiring Our Heroes and the Veteran Tickets Foundation to hire a currently serving member of the National Guard or Reserve to be a Roadie For The Day for each date on the tour.

KISS is also donating some tickets to veterans in each community and will distribute those tickets through VetTix.org..

Veterans and their family members will also have the chance to purchase discounted tickets through Vet Tix. The offer isn't available in every city on the tour -- head to KissOnline.com for details.

The Freedom to Rock tour starts on July 4th in Tuscon, Arizona. Go to this location for the band'scomplete schedule and ticket information.

KISS’ Paul Stanley co-hosted the latest episode of the Phone Booth Fighting podcast, recorded at his home in Beverly Hills, CA. During the podcast the subject came up of whether original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley could return the band because of their renewed friendship.

Stanley said: “I don't see it. And, to me, that makes it even better. The fact that you can have people in your life, and maybe who they are and what they are in your life changes over time. Because I'm happy to see Ace and would love to see him… We text. He was on the radio last week, and I texted him, 'I'm listening.' It doesn't need to go further than that, but the fact that it's there is a terrific thing. Reading into it, and where's it gonna lead, and maybe…? There is none of that. There is just the joy and satisfaction in reconnecting — in a different way, perhaps. But it doesn't negate our differences, and that's okay. You can have people in your life. There are things we don't agree about and never will, (and) that's okay. Maybe it goes back to what I said earlier: the best relationships understand the limitations of the relationships."

Listen to the podcast at this location.

Frehley recently released, via 95.5 KLOS, a brand new video interview shot on set immediately after the video shoot for his cover of Free’s 1970 hit “Fire And Water” featuring none other than KISS frontman Paul Stanley. The six minute clip is the first time the two have been interviewed on camera in over 15 years. The last time the two sat for an interview was during the KISS farewell tour in 2002 in Australia.

The video notches itself into rock and roll history as the first time both Frehley and Stanley appear in a music video since KISS’ music video for “Psycho Circus” released in 1998. It’s also the first time in 14 years that the two shared a stage since KISS’ appearance at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Finally, it’s the first time Frehley has released a music video since 1989, which was Frehley's cover of "Do Ya" released by both The Move and ELO.