Wow, just waking up after a very late night last night and seeing the incredible response to Ace’s announcement on my show last night that he and Peter are not being allowed to play with the original band being inducted by Gene and Paul. I was aware this was coming and have been a sounding board in many conversations with many different parties ever since the HOF was announced for Kiss. Nobody was going to say anything publicly because everyone had hoped an announcement like Ace made could be avoided and at least the original band could do a song or two. The news had to come from Ace or Peter when they were ready and Ace asked me last night if he could come on because he needed to let the fans know what they were dealing with before they purchased tickets to attend (they go on sale Monday). That’s why this happened somewhat last minute on my show late last night. Tons of fans were going to come from all over and pay God knows what to see the original band, the band being inducted. Now there is transparency as to what is going on and that there are no plans for a reunion that night. As a fellow Kiss fan and someone who has been extremely vocal about them getting into the HOF for years, I join the MANY really disappointed today. The comments section of my site has blown up about this as well as my social media. Everyone has their view here and all opinions welcome as always. My understanding is Peter will also be posting a statement soon on his site if not already and is in the same position as Ace.
A few things now that this news is out:
Gene and Paul had to know this was coming at some point. What is strange however is that Gene in his initial RS interview seemed open to playing. It was Paul who had a different take via Twitter. The word out there for a while now is Paul is calling the shots in Kiss world. Wonder how much internally they are on the same page on this? Especially with the fallout so far from fans?
Does Kiss play at all? Could be one solution to all of this. That nobody plays. That would likely maybe get Ace and Peter to at least attend. Would the HOF accept a tribute vs a Kiss performance? If current Kiss plays, as it looks now, this also puts Tommy and Eric in quite a spot. They take their orders from above but hard to imagine they would want to be in that spot. But who knows? They did it during VH1 Rock Honors, but this is much bigger and only original band going in.
I was contacted last night by the HOF producer Joel Gallen. He may come on the air with me at some point. He said the HOF position is that they are inducting the original 4 and that is who they would like to play. But the HOF will not dictate Kiss can not play if they are only willing to do it with the current band. Meaning they will accept current Kiss if that is all the owners of Kiss (Gene & Paul) are willing to do, but it is not their preference. He also said nothing was decided as to what will now happen with the Kiss performance and he was hoping maybe something could still be worked out. Seems unlikely at this point since this event is rapidly approaching, Ace and Peter would need time to reconnect and rehearse with Gene and Paul, and needless to say feelings are very bruised at the moment. My take is you will either see the current band or no version of Kiss play. Also will be interesting to see if the massive backlash from fans about no original performance pressures what happens now in some way.
I have read many comments saying Gene & Paul’s decision is ego driven. While that may play some role if you read previous posts here about this I have written I truly think it is more BUSINESS driven. When you spend over ten years selling the “it doesn’t matter who is in the band” concept, and rebranding Kiss to be a franchise where they say members don’t matter, this is not good for that master plan. Why? Because it wipes all that work away and shows it DOES matter! Look no further for proof than the MTV unplugged taping. When Ace & Peter walked out for 2 songs at the end they saw how huge it was and had to do a reunion in ’96. In other words it’s a big can of worms to open and hurts their ultimate plan to sell Kiss as a franchise where members are interchangeable. No matter what, unlike ’96 there would never be a reunion tour no matter what happened. As a fan honestly I wouldn’t even want to see it. In your 40’s possible, 60’s now, no way. A show? A few songs? Sure. But fans thinking there could be a full reunion tour? Never saw that remotely possible.
Do Ace & Peter go now? I feel this is a personal decision that only they can make. There is no right or wrong answer. It is their honor and up to how they feel if they want to stand up there even for 3 minutes. Time will tell as we get closer what they do. With performance off the table as of now they can make a decision I would think right up to a day or two before. I see both sides of it and the feelings involved and really think it is all up to how they feel.
Do Gene and Paul go? Sounds crazy but who knows? Paul clearly has no love for this process from his recent interview in RS. Do they send a statement and just check out of the whole thing? Unlikely but who knows?
Much of the blame here is being pointed toward Gene and Paul. And rightfully so in the sense that according to Ace and all sources they are the ones saying they won’t play with the original band, but the HOF has plenty of blame here also. Why? BECAUSE THEY WAITED 15 YEARS TO PUT KISS IN! Think about this; if they put Kiss in in 1999 when they first became eligible (and SHOULD have gone in), this would be a non issue! Because the original band was together then! The HOF can also be blamed for just caving to what Gene & Paul want and not considering Ace and Peter in this. If they said to Kiss (G&P) only band being inducted or nobody plays at least it would have been a level playing field. But as the HOF told me they will not do that because whoever controls the name is who they ultimately leave the performance parameters up to.
Much can still happen here. Remember although we are focused on Kiss as Kiss fans, there are 7 other bands going in that have to play as well. Although Kiss fans may dominate this event (how much so now with no reunion I don’t know), the other inductees need their moment and performance too. So who knows when it gets to budgets and stage specs what whatever version of Kiss plays agrees to and if it all works out.
All of this can be debated and discussed forever but those are some of my thoughts. As always my doors remains open to ALL to discuss and debate and members of the HOF may very well come on the air with me as they have in the past when I was screaming to get Kiss in the damn thing! Ace and Peter are scheduled to come on TMS together next month. More on that when we get closer. For most Kiss fans this news sucks big time, but there’s still about 7 weeks left to see what unfolds.. All we know as of now is that their is no performance for the original band planned or being allowed by Gene and Paul. We have been told for decades that the FANS are the boss of Kiss. Judging from the reaction to this news this is one instance that clearly does not apply..
Sorry for any typos, been a long late night last night. All comments welcome and being posted ASAP.
183 Responses
This is such sad news for the FANS. As you said, Gene and Paul have always trumpeted the fans for putting them where they are(including the HOF). But, here they have proved that wrong because what the fans want is to see that original lineup and foursome to play. This could have been a triumphant event for the fans like Rush last year or Metallica with Jason Newsted. But, instead it has become a very lackluster event like when Van Halen was inducted. Now, let’s continue to shoot for Deep Purple in 2015!
Paul acts like a little sissy, or should I say he should come out the closet and be iver with it, just a couple songs for the fans with Ace and Peter, with that said he needs to do what’s right for the fans who suppoeted KISS all these years, afterwards he can go back being the gay bitch he is.
Hey ed, do you think ace and peter declining contributions to the upcoming documentary may have had something to do with this decision? I havent read every single comment, but I don’t believe this has been brought up yet. Don’t get me wrong if that’s the reason, that’s complete and utter BS! I just don’t understand how two egos could be that big. Usually members of current bands would welcome former (original) members to play with them for the ocassion. Usually its the members who have been long gone who wish not to be involved. Complete opposite here. I also don’t believe Gene had anything to do with the decision. Paul is the BS artist of the group. He took a hissy fit when Ace came on your show and stated he would be willing to play with them at the event. I’m through with the current lineup, one more concert to attend and I’m done. I did not purchase the last two albums. I listened to them on youtube. So Gene and Paul can keep complaining about bootleggers and illegal downloading all they want. Put something out there worth my $. I don’t even care about their stupid football team or any other garbage they put out there. I don’t even play with the mini kiss pinball machine I got last christmas, I listen to their classic albums. This is just a terrible situation for every fan. They say they are accepting this honor on behalf of the fans. Again, Paul being the bs artist he is goes and makes this decision.
Ace said on my show he declined because no offer was made to him financially and he didn’t feel like funding more Kiss stuff Gene and Paul would make money on with no cut
Yeah I had forgotten what his reasoning was. Thanks for clarification. More bs out of gene and paul. This just sucks big time. Very interested to hear what paul and gene say in response to this . It will be complete bs as usual. It’s just interesting to see what big words will come out of their mouths to justify such a decision
Yes, he’s probably 2 months behind on his gas and electric.
I have been a fan since I was 7 (1977) and I have on DVD at least 1 show of every tour up to the farewell. I will admit that I am a huge Ace fan and he was always my favorite member. His 1977 solo album sold the most out of all 4 proving he was not only the fan favorite but also the better musician. The only one who came close to his album was Paul and I think Paul and Gene considered him a threat after that. I never really cared for Peter and loved when Eric Carr replaced him. I thought he was a better drummer and gave KISS a heavier sound/feel which I loved (can’t beat that double bass that Peter never had). I met KISS back in 92 on the Revenge tour thanks to Eric Singer getting me and a friend back stage just because I was a cop. He is an incredible person and overall great guy just as Bruce was. Gene is the most egotistical asshole I have ever met. He thinks he walks on water and Paul never even came out to greet the fans. I had no issues with them in the 80’s because they removed the make up and continued on. Tho I loved the “Fox” make up and Eric, I despised Vinnie who I felt never fit in the band and his make up was awful. When the 96 reunion happened, P&G screwed Eric and Bruce by not releasing Carnival of Souls. Bruce basically finished that album and got it released and it was a pretty decent album, but again they threw Eric and Bruce aside and didn’t care. I haven’t followed KISS since the farewell tour. I stood out back of one of the facilities they played on the Psycho Circus tour and waited for them to come out and had my video cam and that wanna be Tommy Thayer came running over and told me to put it away. I told him to fuck off and flashed my badge at him (since I was a cop) and told him there was nothing he could do to prevent me from recording. He went running back to sucking Genes ass. He was and always will be a lap dog for Gene and Paul. He wanted nothing more than to be like Ace and now lives out his little fantasy wearing Ace’s make up singing Ace’s songs. You can tell who the newer fans are on here when they defend Genes and Pauls BS. They actually have some newer fans believing that the cover band now is the real KISS. It disappoints me that Eric Singer goes along with this. He is a great musician and drummer and could play in any band but it’s money. I don’t care about the HOF. I don’t care to see the original KISS ever again. P&G never respected Ace or Peter even in the early days regardless of the things they did and tho as I said before I wasn’t a big Peter fan, he gained a lot of my respect in 96 on the reunion and when he dealt with his breast cancer and all he has done for that cause.
I would rather see Ace by himself where we can just accept Ace for who he is and how he is. His solo band back in 08 was awesome and saw them tour. But I would rather see a Frehleys Comet reunion with Ace, Tod Holworth, John Reagen, and Anton Fig. We just have to face the facts that KISS is done and have been since the Farewell Tour. People need to stop feeding the cover band they are promoting as KISS and if the fans stop spending money they will go away. Tho I have to admit when I heard that KISS was going into the HOF, I told my 11 yr old son that he might actually get to see the real KISS with a real guitar player. Guess I was wrong. I’ll just listen to the old tunes and wait for Aces new CD. Hell, even Van Halen mended fences with Dave to give their fans something and doing another album and tour. I’ll wait for that!!!
It fails because Ace and Peter have little respect and understanding for the current version of Kiss. For whatever reason they left the party – twice. Coming back in for one night does not mean they are calling the shots. Thinking they can, Ace and Peter bring this onto themselves and the fans.
Point you are missing is THEY are the ones being inducted! NOT the current band.
I can understand Ace being disappointed. I hope he has friends and family encouraging him to stay positive, focusing on the recording of his new album. «Anomaly» is bursting with strong tracks and Ace should be proud. He can’t make it work with Kiss, but still make great music that fans will listen to.