Kiss Photobooth Headlines Apples Exhibit At Amusement Expo

LAS VEGAS -- Apple Industries reports that its Face Place photobooth themed to legendary hard rock band Kiss brought a new level of rock-star excitement to its exhibit at this year's Amusement Expo here.

The licensed photobooth's exterior styling features images of "bad boy" lead singer and bassist Gene Simmons and the other band members. It offers patrons the opportunity to digitally merge their photos with the band in custom-themed borders.

"Kiss is an obvious choice for a super-popular licensed property," said Apple chief executive Allen Weisberg. He noted that the group has recorded over 30 gold albums to date, more than any other U.S. rock band. Kiss was formed in 1973 and is still going strong. He believes that Kiss's endurance will "power Face Place to new heights."

"Operator response to the Kiss Photobooth was as over-the-top as the band itself," boasted Apple chief operating officer Scott Avery. "Many operators are fans of Gene Simmons and Kiss, and they know their customers from ages 15 to 50 also get a big kick out of this group. Operators agreed that getting to take your photo with The Demon and the other members of Kiss in character is definitely going to drive a lot of sales."

Kiss concerts feature performers in bizarre makeup and costumes, engaging in onstage effects that include fire-breathing, smoking guitars, levitating drums and large-scale pyrotechnics. "Kiss is a Fourth of July fireworks show with a backbeat," according to Simmons. In addition to Simmons, the original band members are Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss; Simmons and Stanley have been active members since the organization's founding.

The Kiss Photobooth runs under the Apple Smile 2.0 operating system, which enables it to be networked for remote diagnostics, programming and monitoring, and for free automatic updates of software and onscreen graphics packages. The software also supports social network upsells and more.

LET THE FIREWORKS BEGIN!Getting new Kiss Face Place photobooth off to an explosive start is Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons (6th from right), Apple chief Allen Weisberg (7th from left) and members of the Apple exhibit staff at the Amusement Expo.