KISS bassist/vocalist
Gene Simmons has confirmed that a deal is in the works with
Wal-Mart that will result in an "entire section" of the giant retailer's stores across the country (apparently dubbed "Kiss Korner") being dedicated to
KISS.
Check out the video clip below to hear
Gene talking about
KISS' arrangement with
Wal-Mart while having a conversation with actress
Denise Richards during a chance meeting at the
Sirius Satellite Radio studios in New York City in early June. (Video shot and uploaded by
Sirius'
Jose Mangin.)
As previously reported,
Simmons and fellow
KISS co-founder
Paul Stanley made a surprise stop at the at the 39th annual
Wal-Mart shareholders meeting on June 5 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Though they didn't perform, a camera crew from
Simmons'
A&E TV show
"Gene Simmons Family Jewels" followed him around Bud Walton Arena.
There has been no official announcement of a
KISS deal with
Wal-Mart for the band's next CD, although artists such as
THE EAGLES and
AC/DC have both issued recent albums exclusively through the giant retailer. In addition,
AEROSMITH guitarist
Joe Perry may have inadvertently let it slip that the band's next studio album will come out exclusively through
Wal-Mart. When asked in an interview with
Entertainment Weekly about the album being delayed by
Perry's and singer
Steven Tyler's medical problems,
Perry replied, "This is about the third time I've had to make excuses why the record isn't out. You line everything up just right:
Brendan O'Brien producing,
Wal-Mart and
Sony screaming for the record, tour coming up, and there's no record. We're still in shock that it's not happening."
Whereas
Best Buy's exclusive deal for
GUNS N' ROSES'
"Chinese Democracy" involved a marketing campaign centered solely on the album,
Wal-Mart saw
AC/DC's
"Black Ice" as a way to sell more than music. The company hawked
AC/DC T-shirts and an exclusive
AC/DC version of
MTV Networks'
Rock Band videogame.
"As we looked at
AC/DC's loyal fan base, that's when this idea came about: How do we pull in the music with other things?"
Gary Severson,
Wal-Mart's senior vice president for entertainment and electronics, told
The Wall Street Journal in a December 2008 interview. "Some artists allow you that opportunity."
In a recent interview with
Wags & Elliott of the Columbus, Ohio radio station
QFM96,
Gene Simmons stated about
KISS' forthcoming CD, "[It's the] first studio album in 11 years. And you can't force those things — either it's in your blood and it's happening or... This is, I have to say... this might be the best new record we've done since
'Destroyer'. In fact, it has a similar sound —
'Rock And Roll Over'-meets-
'Love Gun' kind of a record. That's coming out in September/October, and then we're gonna be doing a 60-city American tour."