by: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (section: Arts & Entertainment page: 2)

The fans have spoken: Tickets are selling out all over. But what do music stars think of the original members of Kiss together again on tour, in makeup, for the first time in 17 years?

Lenny Kravitz: "It's the closest thing to having the Beatles come back. It's one of those things that you've always wanted to see that you thought you'd never see again. I saw them back then. I was probably 13 or 14. I'll go see them again."

Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament: "There's a part of me - my childhood is wanting to go check it out. But then when I think about it, it's kind of ridiculous. At this point of my life, I'm trying to concentrate on being present. . . . But if they're truly all getting along and having fun and making music, more power to them."

Metallica's Kirk Hammett: "I was a teenager who grew up in the late '70s, and Kiss and Van Halen played a large part in my adolescence and growing up and my guitar playing and influencing me as a musician. For those bands to get back together, and for me to see them now, it's like time traveling."

Natalie Merchant: "I didn't even know it was happening until two days ago. Kiss is my little brother's music. It kind of goes with 'Star Wars' and action figures and playing Dungeons and Dragons and Mad magazine. I tell you there's a connection between 'Star Wars' trading cards, Farrah Fawcett Majors and Kiss. A lot of us looked at them and thought, 'A bunch of clowns.' But David Bowie was theatrical, and I thought he was very cool."