PAUL STANLEY doesn't rule out one-off KISS shows in the future
18-11-2024
n a new interview with Michael Christopher of Daily Times, KISS frontman Paul Stanley, whose band completed the “End Of The Road” farewell tour last December, said that he isn’t opposed to the idea of doing a one-off KISS show, be it on a Kiss Kruise or even just getting together with his old bandmates for a few songs.
“Anything’s possible,” Paul said. “KISS is so far from over, though KISS as we know it is done. But having our hands and our ideas and our fingers in what KISS continues as makes all the sense in the world. So, I look forward to whatever comes next without knowing what comes next. But I’m open to it all.”
KISS‘s most recent lineup consisted of original members Stanley and bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).
Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first “farewell” tour in 2000, the last to feature the group’s original lineup.
Earlier in the month, Paul was asked by “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern” if it has been “an adjustment” not going back out on tour after the completion of the “End Of The Road” trek. He said: “I was gonna use the word ‘adjustment’. There’s no way to give that up and not feel a sense of, if not lost, kind of disoriented.
“It was time (for KISS to stop touring), and intellectually it made sense, but that doesn’t mean that emotionally, it doesn’t play a part in it,” he continued. “So, yeah, being home, as I am right now, is normal. What’s not normal is I’m not going back out.
“KISS remains. We’re so involved in what’s going on now and the future and this phenomenal, mind-boggling KISS avatar show. But, yeah, to not be up there — I see video from 10 months ago, 11 months ago, and it almost seems like a lifetime ago, because I’ve kind of come to grips with not doing that again… Star Child (Paul‘s stage character) is forever — but me up there, that’s done.”
Stanley also talked about the prospect of stepping down from the stage and not performing in front of an audience ever again, especially as aging affects the singing voice in various ways, including changes in pitch, volume and clarity. He said: “I would be lying to say that I’m the singer I was 20 years ago, 30 years ago. 50 years ago? Of course not. No prize fighter is the fighter that they were, no basketball player.
“I think that we’ve all earned the right, and always have the right, to decide what we do and for how long,” he continued. “An audience has a right to stop coming. But the rest is up to the individual.
“It’s always interesting when I hear someone say, ‘Oh, I wish so-and-so would retire from sports or from entertainment because I wanna remember them the way they were.’ Well, if you wanna do that, stop watching. But to impose that will, it’s ludicrous.
“I’m good friends with singers who certainly have gone through similar things where you come to grips with what you still are and what you’re not, and then you either find a way to make it work or at some point you say it’s time to let go,” Paul added.
The technology being used for the KISS avatars, originally developed for ABBA‘s “Voyage” show in London, will allow KISS to stay “on the road” in retirement.
The KISS avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind “ABBA Voyage”.
Using cutting-edge technology, Pophouse Entertainment Group, which was founded by ABBA‘s Björn Ulvaeus, will create digital versions of KISS. The project was previewed at the final KISS concert in New York in December 2023.
KISS recently sold its entire music catalog, likeness and brand name to Pophouse. While terms of the deal were not officially announced, Bloomberg and Associated Press said it was worth upwards of $300 million.
Watch KISS previous announcement to continue the band with avatars of the last known line-up of the band.
This past January, it was announced that Gene will perform with his solo band, the GENE SIMMONS BAND, on Friday, April 26 at the Brazilian edition of the Summer Breeze festival at Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo.
In addition to Simmons, the GENE SIMMONS BAND members for this date will include guitarists Brent Woods (WILDSIDE, SEBASTIAN BACH, VINCE NEIL) and Zach Throne (COREY TAYLOR) alongside drummer Brian Tichy (LYNCH MOB, THE DEAD DAISIES, WHITESNAKE, BILLY IDOL, FOREIGNER, PRIDE & GLORY, SLASH’S SNAKEPIT).
Back in 2017 and 2018, the GENE SIMMONS BAND played a number of shows with a lineup that consisted of Simmons alongside guitarist/bassist Jeremy Asbrock, guitarist Ryan Cook, guitarist Phil Shouse and drummer Brent Fitz.
Six years ago, Simmons stated about his solo shows: “Doing these smaller concert halls, which hold a thousand to three thousand people, means they get filled up by real diehard fans. They don’t want to hear the ‘same old, same old.’ They want to hear nuggets, as they say. It’s a hoot for me because I’ve never really had a chance to do this stuff live. It’s been a lot of fun.” Gene told the Chicago Sun-Times: “By the end, I get the chance to bring as many people from the audience as we can fit on the stage to sing with me.”
Regarding how the idea for a solo tour came about, Simmons told Australia’s Advertiser in a 2018 interview: “The GENE SIMMONS BAND was not a plan or anything. About a year ago, a corporate event asked me to be keynote speaker … then they said, ‘Won’t you get up and sing a few tunes?’ I explained that you can’t just do that, you’ve got to have a band and rehearse and all that. They said, ‘Well, we’ll pay you X dollars more,’ and I said, ‘I like you!’ “So I put together a band from Nashville — these guys back up Kid Rock and lots of other people — and without a single rehearsal, I just told them which songs I wanted to do and they learned them. It just sounded natural — there is such a thing called chemistry. They don’t teach that anywhere — I mean, they do teach ‘chemistry’ but not the kind I’m talking about. It felt right and as soon as the videos went on YouTube and such, people were calling. This little GENE SIMMONS BAND never tried to be KISS… It was just a little bit of fun and stuff. Now all of a sudden, we’re headlining festivals in the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany… It’s crazy.”
KISS played the final concert of its “End Of The Road” farewell tour on December 2, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Regarding why now was the right time for KISS to call it quits, Simmons told USA Today: “The touring band that is KISS with the makeup and the dragon boots and fire-breathing, that has to stop and that has to do with Mother Nature and Father Time. If we were a blues band or I was blessed to be Keith Richards in THE ROLLING STONES, I’d show up in my comfy sneakers and T-shirt and stand still and play. But we’re different bands. Physically, we are the hardest-working band on the stage. We idolize (Mick) Jagger and Bono and the great showmen, but if you put those guys in my outfit, they would pass out in half an hour. It’s 40 pounds of armor and studs and seven-inch dragon boots that are about the weight of a female bowling ball. So you’ve got 20 pounds on your feet and then you’ve got to spit fire, fly through the air and the entire band is doing that for two-plus hours. If you have any love for the fans, get off the stage before it’s too late. How many boxers have stayed too long in the ring? We’re doing the right thing.”
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