Good to be back home. Made it back from M3 last night. If you follow on Twitter or check my Twitter feed you will see many photos I just posted with more to come. It was a pretty crazy 2 weeks with Golden Gods, M3, and of course the new TMS tapings which are now done and start airing June 1. We will discuss it all and much more live tonight from 6-10P ET / 3-7 Pacific on SiriusXM channel 39 Trunk Nation (Hair Nation). Also Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy will drop by around 6:30P ET and we will take calls for him. Tons to catch up on over the next week, we will get into some of it tonight for sure! Way too many stories to type, and I suck at typing!
Less than 3 weeks away from this years Rocklahoma which I am thrilled to once again be hosting. See you all in Pryor very soon!
If you follow on Twitter you know that last Thursday I did indeed sit and talk with Gene Simmons to clear the air with him face to face about exactly what I have said about Kiss as a fan and what my feelings are, cutting out the insane and inaccurate accounts usually posted on the internet. Gene was cool enough to invite me in his booth to sit and chat for about 10 minutes and clear the air to some degree. I did not back down from my own personal thoughts about what the band is doing, just relayed them ACCURATELY to Gene since the 99% of positives from the last 30 years as a Kiss fan that I have said and done are of course NEVER acknowledged anywhere. As I have also stated MANY times I have NO issue with Tommy or Eric in the band. My issue is and always has been with the fact that they are not their own personalities and for me I choose not to see it. But the whole thing has become so silly and blown out of proportion by a hyper sensitive few that it felt good to sit with Gene man to man and explain this clearly (something I asked Paul to do the last time I ever spoke with him and never happened). Gene claimed he has no issue at all with me and is very happy doing what he is doing, and then in typical Gene fashion started quoting how good business is LOL. I explained to Gene if he has no issue he should come back on my shows where his fans want to see and hear him and have a respectful discussion. He said he would not rule it out and as has always been the case my door is open to all past and present members of the band. I honestly don’t know anyone who loves every single thing any band they ever loved has done, and I pride myself on giving my honest opinion when asked.I have no idea if anything will change but I’m glad I was able to sit with Gene, who I have known a long time and who also loves to speak his mind, and have a discussion. I may not be a fan of what the band currently does but respect their right to do it and Gene’s willingness to sit and chat like two adults.
60 Responses
First and foremost, Kiss is a business. They are fortunate to have piloted this business this long, as I’m sure there are thousands of bands that wish they had treated their careers the same way. The reason they keep going is to get paid; it’s the same reason I go to work every day, to get paid. They had 2 members that were stupid and pissed it all away, I don’t feel sorry for Ace & Peter and I sure don’t blame Gene & Paul for parting ways with them and moving forward. As for Tommy & Eric in the characters that Ace and Peter created: it’s no different than the many actors that have played Batman in the movies. Some were better than others, but it’s still the same character. And musically, they have never been tighter. So God bless ’em for keeping on, and still making new music.
I dont agree with Eddie, but I respect his feelings. What I’ll never understand is the amount of A-holes that constantly bash KISS, if you dont like ’em, dont listen to them. Ignore them. There are so many people who constantly trash KISS but are always watching youtube videos, buying the albums, going to shows. If you hate them, why bother? That I’ll never understand…
When people become emotionally invested in an entity, they have strong feelings about any change to that dynamic. It is their right as participators in public forums- and their obligations as fans- to speak out on that. Rather than insisting they stifle that, why don’t you just move on? No one is forcing you to read their comments. Claiming you don’t understand it and putting an onus on them to keep silent is as obtuse and as egocentric as it gets.
Let Kiss go Eddie. You said that ship has sailed. Yet every week when you could be talking about someone else you talk about Kiss. They lied to us. By telling us who played on albums. Bet Gene and Paul did not play on all of them either. Let them go….
Ace and Peter both appeared on TMS. They did it because 1. They are friends of Eddie’s and respect what he does and 2. They did it for the fans. Gene and Paul should both appear on TMS simply for the fans. They should answer Eddie’s questions and let the fans hear it from themselves not second hand.
I sure Gene would agree that “any” publicity is good publicity. If he and Paul appeared on TMS as guests it would once again put the spotlight on KISS….Rock on.
Agreed. Highest ratings for any TMS show ever too I bet.
Eddie,
Glad that you were able to clear some “dirty laundry” with Gene. Hopefully, he and Paul might show up one day on That Metal Show. Love both that show and your Sirius/XM show on Mondays. My wife also enjoys listening to your show. She’s not a fan of some of the heavier music that I like (e.g., Metallica, Megadeth, Iced Earth), but she likes hearing you talk about music as much as I do. Anyway, I have a question about RJD.
I had the pleasure of interviewing him at X-Hale in Frederick, MD, on the Magica tour, as I spent 4 1/2 years writing heavy and pop rock concert and CD reviews and preconcert setup pieces on a part-time basis. After the interview had ended, I asked him one question that had always bothered me about the 1976 Rainbow Rising tour when they opened for Jethro Tull in certain areas of the U.S. before doing some headlining shows of their own. The show that I saw in July ’76 was a near dupe of the On Stage album released the next year. Great album but no songs from Rainbow Rising, other than the 1-minute version of Starstruck, despite it being the Rainbow Rising tour. He seemed surprised at my question and answered me by saying that he preferred the Rainbow debut album, referring to Rising as the “Ritchie and Cozy show” (direct quote). I can’t remember the reason he stated for the actual setlist, as Ritchie would have been the final arbiter on that. However, I noted my surprise at his preference for the Rainbow debut album and said that I had met all of one rock fan in the 23-plus years since Rising’s release that agreed with him. I also told him that many Rainbow fans consider Rising to be a “stranded-on-a-desert-island” album/CD. He seemed even more surprised by that statement. We talked about the issue, and a few other Rainbow-related issues, for about 5 minutes.
Anyway, I know that you two were friends. Did that subject about the lack of tour support for the Rising album ever come up in your many conversations? I know they played some Rising songs during their headline shows on that tour, but the band seemd to avoid the album like the plague during their shows at which they were the special guest act.
Still have his autograph and a truly great memory of that 30 or so minutes spent interviewing him.
Sorry Jim, never knew that about the Rising tour. Interesting. We never talked about that but would have if I knew about it. Was a bit before my time of seeing shows
Thanks for the response, Eddie. I guess unless I happen to run into Jimmy Bain or Tony Carey somewhere (LOL), the song choices for that tour setlist will remain one of life’s little mysteries.