VH1 Classic Presents ROCK THE NATION; KISS and POISON to Tour U.S

Business Wire, April 15, 2004

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 2004

2.5 tons of greasepaint... 4,362 gallons of fake blood... 3,400 smashed guitars, tons of explosives and lights... and enough platform boots stacked end to end to circle the globe... for more than thirty years, "The Greatest Rock 'N' Rock Show on Earth" has played more than 3,500 concerts in front of 78 million fans around the world. And it's not over yet.

You wanted the best, you got the best!! VH1 Classic presents KISS - back this summer with a new show, new stage and a set list featuring rarely heard gems from the entire KISS catalog along with more fire, more screaming guitars and more spectacle than ever with their ROCK THE NATION tour. And if that isn't enough, POISON, the most glam of all the glam-rock bands will be joining KISS for the tour that is sure to put the sweat back into Summer!! It all begins in San Antonio, TX on June 10.

Purveyors of decadence and excess since the Seventies, KISS invented stadium rock with their sci-fi Kabuki costumes, explosive theatrics and, of course, their garish make-up. In their extensive world tours, they've attracted the most rabid fans: The KISS Army. KISS rocked 800 million viewers at Super Bowl XXXIII (while managing to stay fully clothed), breathed fire into the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and welcomed the New Year with a bang at Times Square for four consecutive years.

None of the pyrotechnics and make-up would matter without the music: Destroyer, Rock and Roll All Over, Love Gun and Alive became the soundtracks for teenage rebellion. They have recorded more gold records than any other American band in history and have sold more than 80 million albums worldwide. Now in their third decade of musical mayhem, KISS is as vital as ever. Their 1997 release, Psycho-Circus, climbed the charts and nabbed a Grammy nomination. They started 2003 by performing live with the prestigious Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (all donned in KISS make-up) before a sold-out crowd of over 40,000 fans at Australia's Telstra Dome. The performance was recorded and released on the certified gold KISS SYMPHONY - ALIVE IV CD (KISS Records/Sanctuary Music Group) and on the double-platinum DVD, KISS SYMPHONY, which debuted at No.1. The year 2003 culminated for KISS with their co-headline tour with Aerosmith, which stands out as one of the most successful tours of the 21st century.

POISON exploded out of the LA club scene and onto the national stage, and Bret, Bobby, C.C. and Rikki never looked back. With a string of multi-platinum records and Top Ten hits that included "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "Something To Believe In," "Unskinny Bop," "Nothin' But A Good Time," "Talk Dirty To Me," "Your Mama Don't Dance," etc., Poison went on to sell over 20 million records, and garnered a solid fan base around the world. Throughout the band's many ups and downs, as shown VH1's "Behind The Music" episode, which was seen by over five million viewers the weekend it premiered, fans who flock to their sold-out shows year after year have come to expect an exciting, high energy show in true Poison tradition. Says lead singer Bret Michaels, "Throughout our entire career, we have been headlining, but I look at the opportunity to go on the road with KISS as a complete honor. Poison's set will be nothing but hits, a balls-to-the-wall, all thriller-no filler, stage show."

Tickets for ROCK THE NATION with KISS and POISON go on sale beginning on April 24, 2004. For show and ticketing information, check your local listing or log onto www.cc.com.

For more information on KISS please log onto www.kissonline.com.

                 VH1 CLASSIC PRESENTS ROCK THE NATION

                     KISS / POISON TOUR DATES 2004

June 10   San Antonio, TX      Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
June 11   Dallas, TX           Smirnoff Music Center
June 12   Houston, TX          Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 15   Denver, CO           Coors Amphitheatre
June 16   Albuquerque, NM      Journal Pavilion
June 18   Phoenix, AZ          Cricket Pavilion
June 19   Los Angeles, CA      Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 20   Concord, CA          Chronicle Pavilion
June 22   Portland, OR         Clark County Amphitheatre
June 23   Seattle, WA          White River Amphitheatre
June 26   Minneapolis, MN      FloatRite Amphitheatre
June 27   Kansas City, KS      Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
June 28   St. Louis, MO        UMB Bank Pavilion
June 30   Detroit, MI          DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 2    Nashville, TN        Starwood Amphitheatre
July 3    Indianapolis, IN     Verizon Wireless Music Center
July 4    Pittsburgh, PA       Post Gazette Pavilion
July 6    Cleveland, OH        Blossom Music Center
July 7    Milwaukee, WI        Marcus Amphitheatre
July 9    Chicago, IL          Tweeter Center
July 10   Columbus, OH         Germain Amphitheater
July 11   Cincinnati, OH       Riverbend Music Center
July 13   Camden, NJ           Tweeter Waterfront
July 14   Darien Center, NY    Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
July 16   Boston, MA           Tweeter Center
July 17   Atlantic City, NJ    Trump Taj Mahal
July 18   Hershey, PA          Hershey Park Stadium
July 20   Holmdel, NJ          PNC Bank Arts Center
July 21   Wantagh, NY          Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach
July 23   Scranton, PA         Ford Pavilion at Montage Mountain
July 24   Washington DC        Nissan Pavilion
July 25   Virginia Beach, VA   Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach
                               Amphitheater
July 27   Raleigh, NC          ALLTEL Pavilion at Walnut Creek
July 28   Charlotte, NC        Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
July 30   West Palm, FL        Sound Advice Amphitheater
July 31   Tampa, FL            Tampa Bay Amphitheatre
Aug. 3    Birmingham, AL       Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
Aug. 4    Atlanta, GA          Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre

(a) Itinerary subject to change