KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer will be at Long & McQuade Musical Instruments in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Thursday, July 18th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. Thayer will be signing autographs and taking photos with the fans.

Thayer recently sat down with Guitar World to field some fan questions. Following is an excerpt from the Q&A;:

Q: What is your favorite KISS solo to play live? Do you always stick to the original recordings or do you embellish?

Thayer: "One of my favorite KISS solos, and songs, is 'Black Diamond'. I got the KISS album for Christmas in 1974. I think those guitar solos, and a lot of the solos on the first four KISS records, are quintessential rock and roll greatness. I tip my hat to Ace, because back then he did some amazing stuff. That’s a big part of why KISS appealed to a lot of up-and-coming guitar players like myself. He did some stellar guitar work on the first album, Hotter than Hell, Dressed to Kill and Alive!"

Q: I personally love your guitar work. But I’m sure there’ve been times when it’s been difficult to be the replacement for Ace. Are some fans ever weird about it? Does that ever bother you?

Thayer: "Yeah, replacing somebody as great as Ace is very challenging. But at the same time, I feel pretty good about what I’ve done, and I know the band does too. There’s always gonna be dissenters and critics. That’s just part of the job, especially with the advent of internet blogs. People have the propensity to get on and say all kinds of stuff. That’s just this day and age. Honestly, I look at a lot of that as a reflection of the people that are saying it. It’s more of an outlet for their unhappiness or frustrations in life. I know what I’m about, so I don’t have any doubts about what I do or who I am."

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KISS and special guests SHINEDOWN are touring Canada this summer; confirmed shows are as follows:

July

14 - Credit Union Centre - Saskatoon, SK
16 - Brandt Centre at Evraz Place - Regina, SK
17 - Keystone Centre - Brandon, MB
18 - MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB
23 - Sudbury Arena - Sudbury, ON
25 - Scotiabank Place - Ottawa, ON
26 - Molson Canadian Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
27 - Budweiser Gardens - London, ON
29 - Bell Centre - Montreal, QC
31 - Harbour Station - Saint John, NB

Aug

1 - Metro Centre - Halifax, NB
3 - Mile One - St. John’s, NFLD
4 - Mile One - St. John’s, NFLD