In the run up to Tuesday’s release of Monster, Kiss’ Gene Simmons was asked to name some of the band’s principle influences and the answer — those lovable mop tops of yore? — might surprise some.

Neil Young still seems pained over the difficult times endured by the legendary 1960s band Buffalo Springfield, returning to the theme again and again in his new autobiography Waging Heavy Peace

Beth Hart has lived a thousand lives, it seems, from her beginnings as a Star Search stand out, to bottoming out on drugs, to rebounding again in a second-act triumph

Always talented, Pakistani-born guitarist Rez Abbasi is a skilled musician who’s really come into his own recently as not merely an instrumental whiz, but as a complete artist.

Brace yourselves for the return of a trio of 1970s-era hitmakers: Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra fame, former Eagles guitarist Don Felder and Kiss

Bruce really did kind of blow up with Born In The U.S.A.. I’d just gotten out of college and was spending my first summer of true adulthood (read: lots of barbecues, beer, and time at the pool) with this album