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
Been a KISS fan since around 76 and I can honestly say there is not alot of music I dislke by them. Everybody has an opinion on what they should and should not be doing and thats fine. I have met all of them except Eric and Vinnie and can say they all were class acts when I met them,Ace alittle out of it the second time but thats ok. I don’t agree with what they are doing but I respect THEIR CHOICE. I have seen them 4 times with this line up and all but last years show did not dissapoint. As far as thier last 2 records I would call them good at best( I don’t play them on a reg. basis at all) Good stuff but pretty forgetfull. Two things that kill me are: Peters constant whining and the bullshit that they continue to get from other bands and the media. For once I wish people would quit listening with their eyes only! I’ve said it many times to some of my “casual” KISS fans that I can find at least 2-3 songs on every album they never heard that would blow their mind. I personally would like to see them ditch the make-up etc. and go out similar to the Revenge years (their last great album) and just do a great kick ass show. I will end with this: KISS BELONG IN THE HOF PERIOD! Enough Said!
We all wish they would do something cool like that, Frank M., but that is not in the Gene and Paul business model anymore. They can’t take the risk. Won’t take the risk. They are the Wal Mart of rock now. We are making money. Continue to pump out the same thing as long as people are showing up. Gene would cackle like a methed out macaw if you told him a great thing to do would be take the make up off and do a tour. His team of accountants would slide up beside him like a cartoon and explain to him the bottom line on a tour like that is not smart, and then they would slide away.
Hey Eddie was just curious what you thought of the MONSTER album,i personally like it alot as it sounds alot to me like the Revenge era KISS which is still my fav album next to Creatures.I know u dont approve of their being in Ace and Peters make up and personas but what about the music?
Not a fan and sounds nothing like Revenge to my ears. Sounds like a band trying too hard to sound like their past with newer members. Songs not good outside a couple. Sonic was a little better, in my opinion.
Eddie..love the show and all that you do for metal/hard rock. I happen to PREFER Tommy and Eric in the band than Ace and Peter. They are drunks. KISS is a business. If you owned a business and one of your employess/coworkers were showing up drunk to work every day…you would fire them. You might give them 3 strikes or whatever but if they continued to abuse that they would be gone. Fans today deserve nothing less that the best performance a band can give them. You can’t do that when one of the members is drunk/high. Sure we can go on about KISS being a business, the marketing..blah..blah..blah. Bottom line is…why should Gene and Paul have to pack up shop because the two others weren’t holding up their end of the bargain?
Again, COMPLETELY miss my point as many do. Who ever said Tommy & Eric should not be in the band?? But they should be their OWN identity in MY OPINION, not impersonating Ace & Peter. You have seem to bought hook line and sinker what Kiss sells. Have Ace & Peter been fuck ups in the past? Yes, they will be the first to tell you. But Peter has been sober for years and Ace well over 5 years now. Please stop buying everything you are sold. Amazing…
I agree, but didn’t Gene just try to sell you a line of shit? I know you are too smart to buy…
Really Ed, what does it matter that Ace and Peter are sober…again. They had their shot…twice. I’m a long time fan, always will be. However I haven’t attended a show since 99 nor will I attend another. Haven’t bought an album since COS. I just have no need anymore. I’ve been as critical about the band as any fan could…like you (a fan) I have that right. Heck I bought HITS, hated it so much I took it back and refuse to this day to own a copy of that album. However…Gene and Paul stuck with it from day one. Through the drug addled years of the early band, to the non makeup era of the MTV years, to the “hey Ace/Peter, here’s 2 mill a year to just play rock n roll, around the world for your fans…we’ll cover all the expenses, you just have to show up sober and not complain” tours, to the nostalgia tours of today that continue to be a success. Hey, I may not like it, you may not like it but Paul and Gene have every right to do what they want as long as the fans are still coming. They earned that right. I mean seriously, how do you manage to screw up one of the best gigs in the world twice in one lifetime…sorry, I have no sympathy for Ace and Peter. And though I may not be buying what Gene and Paul are selling now I will always support them. Just my opinion.
All opinions welcome. Curious when everyone talks about the problems with Ace & Peter why nobody comments on the condition of Paul’s voice these days.. They are the ones that say if you can’t cut it time to go right? So are we getting a new “starchild” soon? I mean after all, doesn’t matter anymore who’s in the makeup? Just sayin..
I get so tired of everyone whining and crying about how much money Gene and Paul make. That Kiss is nothing more than a marketing machine. What the hell has changed between now and 1977? NOTHING!!!! They have been a marketing machine their entire career! They’ve never hid the fact that they aren’t in this to make artistic statements or feed the hungry. I don’t understand why it took 30 years for this to start getting under everyone’s skin? I don’t buy 99 percent of the stuff they produce, but I don’t begrudge them the right to produce it if there is a market willing to pay for it. Damn, if you crybabies want equality, then move to China or Russia where everyone is equally poor.
For me, it’s about the music, not the makeup. It bothered me at first, but I am over it. Monster is a great album.