VIDEO:Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley visit military veterans in Overland Park

Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley took a break from rockin’ and rollin’ all night to visit with some of Kansas City’s veterans Tuesday.

More than 50 veterans from the Kansas City VA Medical Center were treated to lunch by the band members at Rock & Brews at Prairiefire in Overland Park. The co-lead singers of the band gave away tickets to their Wednesday concert at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence and also partnered with Cars for Heroes to give a car to a special veteran.

“Charity and giving back is not an option; it’s an obligation,” Stanley said. “It’s easy to talk about it, but you have to walk the walk. We try to make sure that every Rock & Brews recognizes and embraces the community, and that means the military.”

Rock & Brews, a chain restaurant themed around the glory days of rock and roll, counts Simmons and Stanley as two of its five founding partners. As a brand, it supports wounded warriors, veterans and active military organizations and causes. Stanley and Simmons attend every opening of a new location.

The pair had arrived in Kansas City the night before from Colorado and wanted to make this visit because of how much the brand means to them.

“We all take so many things for granted,” Simmons said. “Everything that we do, we do conscientiously to say thank you.”

The band’s current “Freedom to Rock Tour” represents their devotion to the nation’s veterans, Stanley said. Simmons said the tour partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Hiring Our Heroes program to give veterans a chance to work on the tour at each of its stops.

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