Classic Rock Magazine interviewed KISS frontman Paul Stanley about the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Read the interview below.
Classic Rock: Did you feel honored at being inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?
Paul Stanley: No, it was done begrudgingly and because it had become absolutely ludicrous that they were choosing to ignore us. At the end of the day most people don’t realize that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was a privately created establishment and that it has a self-appointed board. It’s a perfect case of perception becoming reality. People heard “Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame” and gave it credibility. So whether it deserves the title has to be weighed against who it inducts. So was it an honor to be nominated? No. It means a lot to the fans and I understand it because it’s validation for them. So for that reason I accept graciously and accept on their behalf.
My feelings and my ambivalence about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame hasn’t changed any. Their attitude is elitist and it doesn’t reflect the public. It reflects a small group who dictate who meets the criteria that they set up as “rock and roll”. I’ve always felt the spirit of rock and roll meant not only ignoring your critics, but ignoring your peers and going your own way. I think we’ve done that pretty much with few exceptions for forty years. So that same criteria that kept us out has not gotten us in. I scratch my head a little and I also take issue with a certain arrogance within that group.
Nonetheless I look at some of the inductees and any club that has Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and The Who and the Beatles and the Stones is company I don’t mind being in and my feelings have nothing to do with any of them, it purely has to do with a system which I think is tainted, corrupted and distorted.
Classic Rock: Are you looking forward to playing it?
Paul Stanley: Honestly, I have no plans at the moment to do anything, and that includes playing with Ace and Peter or anyone else. My plan at the moment is to go and accept the award. Anything else, we’ll see how it unfolds or unravels. It was interesting to me, or offensive to me, that when the question was broached with the hierarchy about inducting additional members it was shut down immediately as “a non starter,” which to me is arrogant. People who sit behind desks need to respect the people who are actually either inductees or possible inductees into this so-called hallowed organization. So the fact that there are 30 or 40 or 50 or some absurd number of Grateful Dead members all inducted, the fact that all of the Chili Peppers, including people who played on early albums that never amounted to very much are not inducted, the fact that John Rutsey, the drummer on the first Rush album is not inducted, the fact that Rob Trujillo, who’s a great guy but didn’t play on any of the classic Metallica albums, was inducted after being in the band six years makes me wonder exactly what are the rules? If the rules don’t apply to everybody then they’re not rules.
Classic Rock: Do you plan to bring Ace and Peter up on stage with you?
Paul Stanley: Of course it goes without saying that Ace and Peter deserve this moment in the spotlight. We wouldn’t be here without them. We couldn’t have built what we did without them at the foundation. That being said, we couldn’t have built what we built without a lot of people who followed them. We couldn’t have been here without them and we couldn’t be here today with them. So absolutely, of course they deserve and belong up there.
Classic Rock: Ace and Peter jammed together at recent party for That Metal Show presenter [and radio DJ] Eddie Trunk. How did you feel about that?
Paul Stanley: I didn’t feel one way or the other. I don’t own those songs, I only wrote ‘em. There’s nothing to guard or lock away. Those songs are public domain and they played on those songs so why wouldn’t they play them? For that matter, why wouldn’t anybody play them?
source: classicrockmagazine.com
115 Responses
Wow, can’t believe that I’m buying Paul’s lines here. Really shocked to be agreeing w/him.
He’s right about the hall, and he’s right about the rules. I get it. I understand his total disdain for that association. But I bet, if he were to discuss it with Dave Grohl … Dave would jump at the chance to play with his original band again that night. But Nirvana’s surviving members won’t have that option.
Maybe it will settle in how fleeting time is … regardless of the politic of the hall.
Ok let’s be real. Eric singer got the gig because eric carr passed. Fill in for eric. Had nothing to do what the band did in the past or that present. Tommy…..what…..help write a hand full of songs. They both deserve to be in. Give me a break. Where I come from you get arrested for impersonating someone. What a joke. Last time i checked ace wrote those classic solos not tommy. but he pretends to be ace playing them. imo why would they deserve to be on the same stage. They have done nothing. Vinnie eric and bruce brought something different to the band. Playing themselves not trying to be ace or peter.
Just in case. My as well inducted fig wagner and derringer for there contribution to the band over the years.
Fig, Wagner and Derringer weren’t ever members of the band.
Bob Kulick had just as much to do with those classic solos as Ace. You’re conveniently forgetting his drinking days.
It’s one thing to stand up on stage (Tommy) and recreate what someone else created, it’s another thing to be the creator. I agree with most all of what Paul said in this interview, but let’s face it….this argument about who is important and who is not is simply never going to get settled. There are plenty of Kiss fans who have been around since the beginning and claim that the current lineup is the best….I just don’t get it. How can you say it’s the best? Ace and Peter were the ones who created and sang that music, wrote those songs, played those solos. No disrespect to Eric and especially Tommy, but how can Paul and Gene OR Kiss fans honestly say that those guys deserve to be in the HOF also? They are merely copying what someone else created, especially Tommy. I last saw Kiss on Sonic Boom tour, and when Tommy came out and did “Shock Me”, along with the rocket guitar gimmick….it just made me sick…..I walked out….They literally became a cover band. A lot of interesting comments have been made here. Some I agree with, some I don’t, but I respect all of them as we Kiss fans are very passionate. Eddie has said it before and I agree that if Kiss wanted to continue after the Farewell tour, fine. They have the right. But one of two things should have happened: They should have let Tommy and Eric create new characters with new makeup designs. OR, they should taken off the makeup and brought Bruce back and pick up where Revenge left off, sans makeup. Of course we all know why that didn’t happen: MONEY. Kiss could not draw full houses after the original band broke apart in the early 80s and couldn’t fill arenas until the Reunion tour. Since the farewell tour ended, the only thing that helped them continue to do well at shows was pairing up with bands like Aerosmith, Motley Crue, etc. At the Sonic Boom show when they weren’t paired up with another big band, there were tons of empty seats in Chicago. Gene and Paul are not stupid. They know that no matter how current fans feel, MOST still prefer the original lineup. And this bothers them greatly. They still continue to sling crap at Ace and Peter and come up with, let’s face it, really lame reasons as to why they shouldn’t play together again. They blame Ace and Peter for that past issues with drugs, alcohol, etc. and how their “bad choices/lifestyles” are what hurt the band. What Gene and Paul have been doing with the imposters over the past several years is far worse. Some people need to know when to leave the party and I agree with some of the comments I’ve seen. This induction would be a great exclamation point and opportunity to walk away with whatever dignity they can possibly muster. If they can’t do this, then Gene and Paul should both grow a pair and go on That Metal Show and tell Eddie the real reasons they continue to keep this train rolling down the wrong track while their legacy disappears behind them. But we all know that it would be more lame reasons….I know I won’t see that happen because I can’t imagine that these guys would want to answer any of Eddie’s honest and truthful questions. Gene’s recent comment about Kiss not being “metal” as the reason they don’t feel they should appear on TMS is complete BS. Their just doing this for money, not the fans, and they will never admit otherwise.
I totally agree. Sad, but true. All the crap about Ace and Peter not being able to contribute to the band etc. is just an excuse and always has been. if they really knew these two guys are not to get around with and if that was the real problem they would not have done the reunion tour in the first place. But they needed the money, they needed a reason for Kiss fans to come back to the box office and spend their money again. and let us face it: even in the reuinion tour Ace and Peter were employees with a contract and a per concert salary. Just like Singer and Thayer have been for a decade now. Even Tommy and Eric are in their fifties now, they might think that another few years with Kiss will just give them enough money to retire. back in 1996, it was surely hard for A & P to accept being an employee but P & G had the better position as A & P were nearly broke then, their careers at the bottom point. For them 40k $ per gig was a whole lot of money, for G & P this was just peanuts compared to the total gross for the band playing arenas of 20,000+ people. Btw, I wonder how much Tommy gets for a second-rate Ace? Must be enough to follow P’s and G’s orders, because that is what it is: they tell them to impersonate the two original members, probably they would rather have the creative room to do what they feel is right, what their interpretation is, like Bruce did. I think G & P think that by recreating the original four they will be able to make more money, and it has turned out true, sadly, whereas I think they would create fresh audiences and great reviews from fans and critics if they let Singer and Thayer do their own thing. It would be a different Kiss, but much more fresh and kicking. and, most improtantly, much more true, authentic and really for the fans
Great points. I wonder why in retrospect, Ace and Peter didn’t try to have the absolute best representation legally and management wise going into the Reunion tour talks. Even though Ace and Peter were probably almost broke, they had to realize they kinda had Gene and Paul by the short hairs there, if they had demanded much more money and threatened to walk away if they didn’t get it, what option would Gene and Paul have had? Go play clubs with Bruce and Eric?
Very good question, but after having read Ace’s book it seesm to me that ace is just Ace, someone who hs beenr ather lucky all his ife and does not seem to think much ahead, maybe he just wantd to play the big venues again which in tiself must be an awesome experience, something one might get addicted to. So today Paul and Gene or worth multiple times what they had in their bank accounts 20 years ago, thanks to the reunion and selling the name and brand Kiss – it seems like Rock’n Brews and LA Kiss are what they try to establish now to fill their pockets after musical retirement, so what they are doing right now is they are using the remaining credibility of the band to create new businesses that will or at least may remainsuccessful after the band is gone and that coul only be started because the band is still here and actively touring. So here is more at stake for G & P than just the band, if they made the wrong decision (from their point of view) regarding the hof. as for A & P, they can only win, be it respect, final recognition or maybe even some money.
I think that Eddie needs to receive some credit (other than on this page of course) for being “The KISS guy”, doing a radio show at Christmas for them, etc. No band makes it anywhere on their own and KISS is no exception. I take issue with the idea that they don’t care about the HOF. If they didn’t care they wouldn’t have excepted the invite to go in. They need to be in just based upon all the bands they have influence, let alone all the great songs they have written. THANKS TO EDDIE FOR KEEPING THE MUSIC ALIVE.
Original four… No makeup, along with Bruce Kulick, Vv (but he won’t show), Tommy and Eric all jam on Rock and Roll All Night to close out the show…Prior to that you have an allstar tribute to KISS playing Detroit Rock City, Love Gun, Black Diamond…forget the makeup…
I couldn’t care less about the rock n roll hall of fame/shame. It’s cool that they have cool collections of peoples things, but then again so does the Hard Rock Cafe chains, or the Planet Hollywoods. But that said, I couldn’t care less about KISS. There was a time when KISS was my world, I joined the KISS Army the year it started, Saw them a half dozen times or more. Met them twice. Never meet you Heroes stands true here. It’s funny to hear Paul call somebody else an “Elitist” because both Paul and Gene incapsulate that word to the essence of it’s letters. They like to say the fans made them etc… yet they act like they are so entitled. Ace and Peter were cool guys, Vinnie (who everyone says is a train wreck) was super nice, and helpful, getting us contact info to Charvel Jackson (Before the internet came into our homes) and Eric Carr was another really sweet guy. KISS is a fun show, but KISS today is just a good KISS cover band. And what is with the money they are demanding for tickets? Save your money kids, go buy yourself a new pair of shoes. Seriously, go catch an upcoming band that you dig, something fresh, people who are on their way up the ladder, who are willing to work for your devotion, not sit back and get rich off you, going through the motions of yet another final tour. What’s next, are they going to hire more guns to replace Peter and Gene, then sit back collecting checks? Robbie Crane in Gene Make-up? (No offense Robbie, I love ya brother) Anyway.. those are my disjointed thoughts, on KISS and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Like ’em or not, I own them.