Last night we posted a story in the news section that was sent to me via Twitter about Kiss replacing Gene and Paul and continuing on with a band of no original members. We later found out the original story was from 2008. While the haters will just attack and say it was calculated to further some insane anti – Kiss agenda (love how I am so anti Kiss and STILL PLAY ALL THEIR MUSIC, too funny!), I left it up for two reasons. One the amount of differing opinions on this generated in comments was interesting and ALL views were posted, and two this is still the plan and closer than ever to happening! If this is what they were planning 6 years ago it is really just around the corner now! Clearly the way they do it might be altered but this is still happening and the band has discussed it in the press even recently. So nothing has changed except for it is more imminent! I am hearing maybe two years away from launching at this point with the current (Gene and Paul) band having maybe one more run left after the current tour. What was stunning about this is how many saw it as major news they never heard? This has been talked about and discussed for a long time by Gene and Paul. So no mater where you fall on it I decided to leave it up because I found ALL sides of the reaction interesting and posted ALL response to it. Unlike some I respect and appreciate all opinions and they are represented here as well as my radio and TV shows. But to see this as some crazy dated story that is no longer the plan is not the case. Some may want to live in some fantasy land but all our heroes are getting older (so are we!) and how they handle the end of their careers will be interesting. Who really retires, who stuck around too long, who does bands with no original members. All good debate and all welcome here.
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Personally I can’t believe all the hate. Gene and Paul have given more to their fans than almost any other band going, and it’s not like they are the only ones being paid for it (on the show I’m going to, the Def Lep meet and greets are just as expensive as the Kiss ones, and I don’t believe Lep is playing any music there like Kiss is doing).
One can’t compare to Led Zeppelin because it isn’t nearly the same! Kiss is a spectacle, an event. This is no different than Cirque du Soleil or a traveling company of any big Broadway production. And who cares whether they “fill arenas” with the traveling Kiss. I remember around the time of Crazy Nights seeing a Kiss cover band in a 1,200 seat room (same room Sabbath played with Tony Martin on the Cross Purposes and Forbidden tours, BTW) and it was AWESOME. I knew it wasn’t the real guys, and while the “Gene” character was close in sound and look, the “Paul” was a tough sell, it was enough to see the characters, the fire, the blood…
Gene and Paul didn’t build the empire that is Kiss by listening to selfish, narrow-minded, people with no vision (see: almost every post in this thread). They’ve been blazing their own trail since 1973 and frankly, I’m willing to see what they come up with next!
Some of you get so worked up about this stuff. These bands are also a business. Wouldn’t you want to take care of your grand kids and family after you have retired? If you don’t like it don’t spend money on it. Gene and Paul say it all the time. They aren’t trying to deceive anyone. I personally think it’s not my cup of tea, but it’s my choice to consume it or not. Paul isn’t at my house with a gun making me buy tickets. JFC. Lighten up.
ps…I’d sure love to retire, allow some dude to use my name, do my job and I collect 75% of the earnings.
Without Ace, Kiss will never be the same. Tommy is a helluva player and writer and kudos to him, but let’s face it, if these guys don’t do some reunion shows to call it quits they will be ending with a whimper. The fact is, Paul and Gene know that Ace is the key. They just won’t admit it.
Joe,
I understand how you feel about Ace. True, KISS is not the same without Ace. That like saying Judas Priest is not the same with KK Downing and Black Sabbath is not the same without Bill Ward. However, that does not mean KISS will not thrive without Ace (which they are in fact doing). Ace is not the key. As much as I miss Ace, he is not the key and there is nothing for Paul and Gene to admit. They are too busy touring big venues (even if not stadiums), and constantly showing up on late night shows and the news. However, I do sympathize, as Ace is my favorite of the KISS guitar players.
Ace is the biggest part of the KISS sound, that’s for sure. People can say what they want about Peter, but the older I get the more I realize Peter’s drumming style was also a huge part of that original sound as well. Carr & Singer might’ve been more steady and reliable in a live situation, but on record they come across as a bit stiff compared to the records Peter played on. There’s a certain groove and jingle to Peter’s playing that the other guys just don’t have.
My thoughts exactly, the classic Kiss sound is not to be judged by the question who would be the best player technically, there is more to musicianship, like, as you said, the certain jingle, groove, approach, way of hitting the notes etc. Peter’s jazz influence itself influenced the classic Kiss sound, it was very different from other so-called heavy/meatl bands of the mid 70s, Kiss was never metal, so it was the combination of the four different talents. That, of course, cannot be replaced at all, only emulated to some extent.
More Kiss things to clear up:
They have, for the most part, never followed trends, the only time I can think of is when they consciously wanted to emulate Def Leppard in 1983, they were lost right after the Elder.. they appropriate trends. this is the true Kiss axiom.