Greg Prato for ultimate-guitar.com reports:
Ever since KISS announced they would be retiring at the conclusion of their End of the Road Tour (their final show will take place on December 2nd, 2023 at Madison Square Garden), there has been chatter concerning if the band could carry on without the last remaining original members – Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley – in the line-up…
Author/KISS expert Martin Popoff, recently stated on the Booked on Rock Podcast, “I don’t want them to replace all four of them at once. But I would like to see Gene retire, set off by Paul retiring, and then Tommy [Thayer]…although Tommy’s not that young a guy, right? But I would like to see Tommy stay for much longer and Eric [Singer] stay for much longer, and then the replacements have to be really, really key, proper replacements.”
Also rather than Gene or Paul picking their replacements, Popoff offered alternate potential decision-makers. “I almost think they should go to the deep, serious fans – the fans that are 40 and 50 and 60 years old – and ask them who they think should replace them.”
However, Popoff does not want to see four no-names comprise a KISS 2.0 line-up. “I want to see guys almost as famous and as successful as KISS – but guys who are between the ages of 50 and 60. So, legends. I want to see two legends in there. So those guys last for another five or six or seven years, and then they’re gone and at that point they hopefully made some records.”
When the show’s host, Eric Senich, suggested that Gene’s son, Nick [Simmons], would be a possible pick to reprise his father’s role as the Demon, Popoff seemed receptive to the idea. “That’s the other way of doing it. Like, you got your Jason Bonham and your John Bonham, you got your Johnny Van Zant and your Ronnie Van Zant, right? Wolfgang [Van Halen] is kind of a decent idea…I was thinking Wolfgang in Van Halen. That’s a super valid thing, but even Wolfgang in KISS would make sense.”
Popoff also suggested another band that could be in the running to provide a member to don the greasepaint and platform heels. “I could see a Metallica member in KISS maybe, or something. So, I want someone who’s got some gravitas and some weight to them.”
Lastly, as Popoff hinted earlier, he would also want to see a KISS 2.0 band, not just stop at playing concerts. “I want to see that new band make records. So, that’s how you become valid, I think, in trying to do this replacement thing.”
11 Responses
Please, just no. As a Kiss fan of the 1974-2000 era, please, just go away. The mystique has been long gone. Nobody wants new Kiss music from the current lineup let alone even more replacements! I’m not sure how the hell the current band is selling out arenas to be honest. All of the Kiss fans I know opted out after the first farewell tour. Kiss has been a fraud for a long time now.
RPS, excellent post. I 100% agree with your comments. KI$$ has promoted the characters, rather than the individuals portraying them, to “sell” the brand and set up a future “Menudo” situation. It’s so sickening what this band has become over the last 20 years. To me, the legacy of this once great band is forever tarnished. And I agree, how this band continues to sellout arenas is known only to God….I just don’t get it. I guess good for Gene and Paul for still “selling” a band some fans will continue to follow, but I want no part of it.
RPS, I couldn’t agree more! Enough is enough! For me (and for many others) KI⚡⚡ ended in 2000/2001, the makeup wasn’t just a reflection of the 4 characters, but a reflection of their personalities as well, and no matter how hard they (Singer and Thayer) tried, their personalities are NOT Ace & Peter! As far as KI⚡⚡ continuing on, it would be a tribute band doing a permanent residency in Las Vegas, that’s the only way it would work!’
I’m okay with a full retirement of KISS. Not interested in new members. I would hope that when KISS retires, Paul and Gene will release some solo material. KISS is the greatest rock band ever. It is time to let the legacy stand and the members move on to living their family lives and making new music with others. Just an opinion.
Kiss IMO has destroyed themselves and been their own worst enemy for years now , they should have taken the make up off again when the reunion era ended and ace and pete were gone, kept tommy or brought back bruce and eric no make up, but no… they had them imitate ace and pete instead … then they should have retired when Paul’s voice originally blew out ,they were much older and looked it, couldn’t really move and command the stage the same way anymore but no… they had to resort to the lipsyncing fiasco , although I do understand now why they do it, I think it’s awful and fraudulent but i kind of get it, so for me replacing themselves and having new members only works with 4 young unknown guys, not necessarily sound alikes, bring back the mystery of not being seen without make up – there is alot of great undiscovered talent in this country, I hope they do it that way if they go down that road – but, paul and gene will probably find a way to ruin this too…thankfully this God awful version of kiss is finally done~
Fan since 1976, please just stop.
LOL!
I was born in 1974. I became a fan when Crazy Nights was released. There was a huge display at the entrance to National Record Mart. The shattered mirror sold me and the rest is Kisstory. But then the internet came followed by social media. The mystique these guys once had was so thick you could cut it with a knife! I believed all the chest thumping bravado for years. But as time went by, things started getting out there such as Peter only playing on one song on Dynasty, the Psycho Circus album hardly featuring Ace and Peter and the continued downward spiral from the fake farewell tour to putting two dudes in Ace and Peter’s costumes to the lip syncing of present day. Paul and Gene have lied and mislead fans throughout their entire careers and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to me. Kiss have brought me a lot of joy and happiness over the years. We can never take away how great they once were and the joy that they brought to many of us over the years. But the legacy of the band is tarnished in my opinion especially after Alive II. The 80’s had some good records but nothing can touch 1974-1978 in my opinion. Paul and Gene have absolutely zero integrity and will literally do anything to make a buck at anyone’s expense. So sad.