DEE SNIDER doesn’t believe KISS's farewell tour means they’re done: “'when I see the bodies in the kiss coffins, then I'll say, 'they're done.''
11-12-2023
In a new interview with Canada’s The Metal Voice, Dee Snider was asked if he believes that KISS‘s just-completed “End Of The Road” farewell tour is in fact that last time the legendary rockers will ever perform live. The 68-year-old TWISTED SISTER singer said: “I’m a day one KISS fan. Day one. I was living on Long Island in Nassau County. They were in Queens. I heard about this band that was wearing makeup. They were coming out with their first album. And I was, like, all about it, called KISS. Man, I snapped that thing up, and I had the first seven albums.
“But the idea of the farewell tour, I don’t know what to believe,” he continued. “And people say, ‘Well, do you think it’s for real?’ I said, ‘This is what I know: when I see the bodies in the KISS coffins, then I’ll say, ‘They’re done. They’re done.” When they’re laying there in the coffins, I’ll say, ‘Good work. Good job.'”
Regarding KISS‘s announcement that the band will continue as digital avatars, Snider said: “Oh my god. People, who knows what they’ll pay money to see? They’re paying money to see a Michael Jackson avatar, an alleged pedophile. In Las Vegas, the show ‘One’, it’s still a hologram and they’re doing all his hits. And it’s been up and running for years. So who knows? Maybe, maybe.”
As a day one Kiss fan I want to congratulate them on their final show, but with all the other false endings…I think I’ll wait until I see bodies in Kiss Coffins to say goodbye. #justsayin
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) December 3, 2023
More than three years ago, Dee criticized Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons for having current KISS members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer dress up as Peter Criss‘s and Ace Frehley‘s respective “Spaceman” and “Catman” personas. In an interview with the “Appetite For Distortion” podcast, the TWISTED SISTER frontman said: “I hate what KISS is doing with Ace and Peter‘s makeup on. I’m not a fan.
“When I left TWISTED and I went out at some point doing TWISTED‘s music, I never even thought of calling it TWISTED SISTER without the other four guys. Everyone is saying, ‘But you’re TWISTED SISTER. You wrote the songs.’ I said, ‘That’s not TWISTED SISTER.’ And I won’t do that out of respect for the other members of the band. I could’ve made a lot more money doing that, but I would not do that.
“When TWISTED SISTER reunited, the original members — the classic lineup — (bassist) Mark Mendoza walked in, pulled out a gun, put it on top of his amplifier, and picked up his bass. And when people tell me it’s tough to put your band back together, my bass player brought a fucking gun to the first rehearsal and openly spoke about hating me.
“I’m a believer that if you’re gonna use the brand, you should have the classic lineup — unless someone’s dead; then you’re excused. You’re excused because he’s dead. Otherwise, you’d better show up, and it’d better be the original band.”
This was not the first time Snider had blasted Stanley and Simmons for allowing Singer and Thayer to take on the classic personas of their KISS predecessors instead of designing new characters. Back in 2015, Dee told SiriusXM‘s Eddie Trunk: “I don’t see how people could accept this. Tommy Thayer? I’m sorry. It’s insulting. Not only did he play in a tribute band of KISS, he’s imitating Ace in his entire act!” Snider went on to bash Thayer for allegedly copying Ace‘s stage moves. He said: “Oh my God — that’s disgraceful. When KISS replaced Ace and Peter, and they brought in guys (Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent) who had their own makeup and their own thing, that was acceptable. That was awesome. They were their own characters.”
Stanley got an opportunity to respond to Snider during an interview for Chris Jericho‘s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast. He said: “Well, let me put it in the simplest terms. In this case, this guy is a wannabe, has always been a wannabe and desperately wants attention and to be taken seriously, and that will never happen because he’s obviously clueless that he and his whole band are a bunch of buffoons.”
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