NEWS HEADLINES
May 30th -
I was proud to be a part of a select group of publishers and writers at the Peninsula Hotel in honor of HERB COHEN, writer of the forthcoming THE GAME OF NEGOTIATING Caring...But Not That Much (New Millennium). Michael Viner, President of New Millennium (and my partner in Simmons Books) was kind enough to ask me to introduce our honored guest. Once Mr. Cohen took the stage, he gave me a taste of my own medicine. He showed everyone in the room, including me, that the art of negotiation is, indeed an Art. And, that despite what everyone might think, everyone does it. Every day. In all walks of life.
Kids negotiate with their parents.
You negotiate with the traffic cop giving you a ticket. And so on.
And, unless you live under a rock somewhere, our forthcoming KISS-AEROSMITH TOUR is on fire. Shows are selling out left and right. If you want tour dates, click here.
KISS SYMPHONY/ALIVE IV will feature all kinds of special added items, in our tradition of giving you MORE. There will be a nice, fat booklet. A poster.
It's a double CD and we are very proud of the first release on KISS RECORDS/SANCTUARY MUSIC.
Coming soon!!!
New letters posted...
New letters posted...
 In response to a recent post regarding Pearl Jam on www.EddieTrunk.com. I have had so many instances where the internet has been a great source of miscomunication, and apparently this is another one! As my career in radio and TV expands, I find more and more that falsehoods about me are being posted by people claiming to be me! To clear something up, all posts in the news section of my website are written by people other than me. These writers contribute to my site and have their own views, which they are entitled to. I do not always share them. Many are also reprints of stories that have appeared elsewhere. In all cases, the writer and source are always credited. I actually happen to agree with Gene's opinion! I have no use for artists that do not support this great country and it's leadership, especially in time of war. Again, my opinion, everybody can have one! I pride myself on being as professional and reliable as possible at all times, but the internet is extremely unreliable! I would hope that after years of supporting Kiss and knowing Gene, he would know this as well. Gene you know all to well how misguided the internet can be. Before making a statement about my reliability, please be sure it was actually me who said it! I can be reached at any time through my site,. Hope this clears up any confusion. My site remains a forum for many regarding rock and metal, but I do not endorse everything that appears there.
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Eddie Trunk
Friday Night Rocks/Q104.3 NYC
Eddie Trunk Rocks/Syndicated
Listen online worldwide every Thursday & Saturday 9AM-1PM Eastern,
exclusively on www.KNAC.com
www.EddieTrunk.com
VH1 Classic
New letters posted...
May 19th -
 Recently, a few of you have complained that you have not as yet been posted in the letter column. And that, perhaps "you deserve" to be posted, because after all, you've sent me five or six e mails. And, that one reason, and nothing else, means I am "supposed" to post your stuff.
The answer is no.
Whether you've written me only one e mail, or a dozen...if I find your stuff interesting, it gets posted. If not. That's life. Nothing personal. And, in the nicest possible way, I don't want you writing me "demanding" to be in the letter column. Doesn't work.
If you like our letter column, maybe it has to do with the letters posted.
No whiners allowed.
(Can't wait for the torrent of e mail to the above.)
New Lady in Waiting!
May 18th -
 Thank you all for coming to WANGO TANGO at Rose Bowl Stadium. KISS closed the show. Sting, Christine Aguilera and Nelly, among others went on during the day. We literally blew up the skies above the stadium. While everyone was watching the fireworks, I was looking at their faces. Most had open jaws.
Just what I like to see.
We rocked 'em hard and it felt good. This was a good practice run for our upcoming summer extravaganza - KISS AND AEROSMITH -- on the same stage!!!
Check KISSONLINE for details.
New letters posted...
May 15th -
 GENE SIMMONS TONGUE #5 is off to the printers, and it looks great. SNOOP DOGG is on the cover, surrounded by a bevy of beauties. I went to Snoop's house for the foto shoot, which was also covered by Extra tv. Snoop couldn't have been more gracious. And, although I had high hopes about doing some fun stuff, I wasn't sure he would go for it. But, in short order, I was applying KISS makeup on Snoop. And then, I got into his get up. You'll see all the results in the issue.
We also have a ROBERT PLANT interview, ROBERT DUVALL, JULIO IGLESIAS JR., JANE'S ADDICTION and an interview with BILL AUCOIN, KISS' first manager.
Coming soon!!!
 And, if you haven't noticed at the top of this page, SEX MONEY KISS, my next book and the debut SIMMONS BOOKS/New Millennium release is slated for bookstores in a few weeks. Preorders are through the roof.
SIMMONS AUDIO/New Millennium will also be releasing the debut AUDIO BOOK of SEX MONEY KISS, read by yours truly. It will come in a LUNCH BOX BOXED SET. Very cool. I'm sure you'll agree when you see it.
I will be doing instores throughout the summer. Hope to meet you all.
 SIMMONS RECORDS/Sanctuary Music is moving ahead nicely, as well. We're looking at a few potential signings. But, as is often the case, even though a group might have one song that appeals, the rest usually don't hold up. So, we ask them to send us more material and if the songs hold up, then we might move ahead.
This is agony not only for the group, who wants to be signed, but also for me. We're both under the gun. The real facts of life is that it takes the same amount of money to launch a bomb as it does to launch a hit.
A big thank you to those bands that have sent us their promo packages. The presentations and recording quality has been terrific. We've received over 1,500 submissions!!! Everything from Death Metal to Country.
The stuff that is sticking is in the Modern Pop mold. I haven't heard a convincing rock band yet. But, tomorrow is another day.
New letters posted...
New letters posted...
New letters posted...
This is the upcoming review that will appear in the May 19th issue of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY magazine!
Gene Simmons.
New MillenniumPress/Simmons Books,
$25.95 (240pp plus 24 pages of color)
ISBN 1-893224-86-4
The legendary lothario of the rock band Kiss believes that the most important things in life are money, sex and more money-and he repeats variations on this theme in this highly entertaining book that covers much of the same autobiographical ground as his successful KISS and Make-Up, albeit with a different slant. Simmons readily admits that "just because I stick out my tongue a lot and spit fire doesn't mean I have any qualifications to advise anyone on relationship, money or career issues." What he does have is a highly successful rock band and, apparently, a highly developed ego, and he uses both to present a philosophy of work that is rooted, some would say ironically, in traditional Puritan virtues-work hard, save your money, don't smoke, don't drink, don't get high, equate time with money and know that being rich is better than being poor. His example of a successful man is his equally hard-working Kiss partner Paul Stanley; as in his first book, Simmons trashes the bad habits of his other bandmates. His view of the sexes, however, is Neanderthal: the "power of women is completely based on whether she can attract man, biologically speaking," while "the power of man is in achieving wealth and 'killing things' so we can come back to the cave with a big piece of meat over our shoulder. Nothing has changed." This belief translates into Simmons's main financial advice: "The worst thing a man can do, financially and biologically speaking, is to get married." His messages are bound to resonate with the book's prime target audience: not-so-young professional guys. (June)
Forecast: Like Simmons's first book, this should become a bestseller, as it draws on, among other readerships, the huge number of Kiss fans who will buy almost any product related to the band.
New Millennium plans a 250,000 first printing with, amazingly, the first 40,000 copies signed by Simmons. Simultaneous New Millennium Audio/Gene Simmons Audio.
(Publishers Weekly 5/19/03)
New letters posted...
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Just a note to let you know that the Kiss/Aerosmith tour is rated No. 1 on Pollstar power rating. (A 1.000 rating I might add) Of course we all knew that, right? Accept no substitute!! Critics, eat your heart out! Starrzman, Greeneville,Tn.