The OC Weekly spoke with KISS frontman Paul Stanley about his new autobiography, Face The Music: A Life Exposed.
In it the singer recounts many stories including one that claimed drummer Peter Criss went on a racist rant at a Chinese restaurant and quitting the band for a few days and crawling back. “[Peter] didn’t crawl back,” Stanley says. “He swallowed his pride and pseudo machismo and came back. But part of the dynamic of the band was to have to pragmatically deal with the fact that two of the guys were often times more interested in sabotaging the band, sabotaging [bassist/vocalist] Gene [Simmons] and I, than doing the right thing. And they (Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley) also wanted equal say when they didn’t do equal work.”
He continued: “Part of what we gave the public was the myth that the four of us did everything together and contributed equally. That was something we wanted to maintain in the spirit of the bands that we loved and pictured doing that. The problem was that the guys in the band began to believe it themselves!”
When asked what it is about he and Simmons that they have managed to stay together over 40 years, Stanley said: “It’s hard to define and distinguish between friendship and brotherhood. I certainly see him as a brother, although we don’t always agree on how to treat your brother. At the end of the day, I know he will be there for me and me for him. My issues have always been more rooted in participating evenly and equally and still ending up with a equal share of money. I didn’t want it with Peter and Ace, why would I want it with Gene? He wasn’t doing his job and he was off doing other things and being paid for those things. I felt like if he wasn’t going to do his job and gonna go elsewhere. It was like he took less here or he gave me some of what he was doing elsewhere. That was an ongoing problem. But look, at this point we made the life for each other that each of us could only have dreamed of, and those lives have very little in common. I’m sure Gene would no more want to live my life than I live his. But there’s a bond there because we made it possible for each of us.”
source: ocweekly.com
192 Responses
Read the book too…everything was his family’s fault or the band members (including Eric Carr) or the producers or the manager’s or his therapist’s or his first wife’s, etc. And we’re supposed to feel sorry for him because he can’t find happiness in his ivory tower after screwing a playmate … Boo F’n Who!
So well put Al! I got the exact same impression after reading his bs.
Exactly…read his book….basically (as usual) NOTHING WAS HIS FAULT. Poor Paul Stanley…boohoo…whaaaaaaaaaa…..Paul stick a pacifier in your mouth….what a friggin whiner. And the book wasn’t all that good…..and DEFINATLY was honest as he said it was. Bill Aucoin must be laughing up in the heavens at Paul…….Joe in The Cuse
Once again, you prove that you are NOT the sharpest tool in the shed, Joe, but a tool nonetheless.
Maybe Paul’s alter ego but at least I’m a tool in the shed, sure beats being lower than a pregnant ant outside the shed like yourself…..uhh yeah, that one stung….
How you doing Starchild?
One does not need to be an expert in psychology to know that someone who suffered from being an outsider in his youth, someone who was literally born with something that would make him look and feel different, will do everything for all his life to make up for that, and to cover up for the deep scars in their soul. Only difference is, he is out in public, and he keeps making it public, using the publicity he gains to make up for what he did not have earlier in his life. Having said that, it is only logical that he blames everyone else. Interestingly enough, the more his musical status declines (e.g. his voice), the more he tries to present himself as Mr Kiss. It is only human, but still it gets on one’s nerves.
Come to think of it, Paul had a defect, Peter was from a very working class background whose way could onmly lead upwards, Gene was trying to make it in a country that, given the historical background of his people, gave him the opportunity to rise and maybe live his dream, so it seems that Ace, being from a quite middle class background, was the only one who did not have something so urgent to prove, who could wait and see what life had in store, he could focus on being just a guitar player, and that would fit to his behaviour in Kiss as well as today, which is basically: having a good time!, that he is more relaxed thatn everyone else in the original band. Just a thought.
Going to see them in August. Can’t wait !
Cousin saw them in Denver……Def Leppard was the highlight of the night. Gene kept forgetting the words….Paul’s voice kept cracking throughout the show & Tommy’s playing was aweful.
Gene needs a teleprompter! LOL!
No Matt Harvey and a long boring second half. I was at the Tom Glavine last game in 2007. A horror show ever since.
Keep the faith Richman, hopefully in the near future, it’ll be 1986 all over again! 🙂
Wait, that’s what your cousin said? I was AT the Denver show and Paul’s voice was the best I’ve heard him sing in the last two years. Gene was perfect and Tommy didn’t miss a note. Not to mention a very good set list (Hide Your Heart, Let Me Go Rock and Roll, Christine Sixteen…”
Unfortunately, his voice has been cracking for quite a number of years now, so if it actually was the best in years, that does not say much compared to the great voice he had back then.
The show in Denver wasn’t good at all…..
Ace and Peter fell into bad habits in the band’s heyday. But it was the ’70’s. Aside from Gene, Paul and that nut Ted Nugent, nearly everyone else in rock bands indulged and were a little naughty. Okay, VERY naughty sometimes. That’s no real excuse, but it is what it is. But Ace and Peter were important reasons Kiss were so great. They brought it live and performed like stars and there were just as many fans, and still are, of Ace and Peter as there are of Gene and Paul and I think that gets under Gene and Paul’s skin. It all boils down to personalities: Two saw eye to eye with each other but not with the other two. It happens. That’s why bands are so tough to be in. I wish this nonsense between the two sides would stop already. It’s causing us to want to pick sides and personally, I don’t want to do that anymore. The four of them are the reason I got into hard rock and metal in the first place. It’s 2014, these guys aren’t getting any younger and neither are the rest of us, for that matter. So they need to stop it already! They aready ruined their Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction because of this crap.
Well said!!
Well said! Anyone who has ever palyed in a band will know that these personality and decision-making issues can really spoil the fun you are supposed to have playing and creating something together. And if the big money comes in (whoch we of course do not know …) things will get worse.
Thanks schocman an tyler! I hate the bickering that has gone one between those guys. Honestly, when I was choosing sides, I was on team Ace and Peter. But my stance now is I want the four of them to bury the hatchet once and for all and acknowledge that they are where they are and who they are to all of us is because of each other. If they never perform together again as Kiss, at this point, doesn’t matter anymore. I want them to acknowledge and respect each other like all of us do. After all, without our support, Kiss would not be here.
19,000 a night, kickin’ ass. L.A. Forum sold out. Blowin out tickets like the reunion tour. Ace at the next Chillah Convention: “Buy mah CD, $50 per signayshure mack”.
Why is Ace a goat? Bronx people don’t sound that stupid. No one says “mack”, it is usually “Cuz” or “tough guy”. Also no one says PER, more like PUH. I am a Gene and Paul supporter and you force me to defend Ace. Bronx born NYers are amongst the smartest people in the world by far. This guy in my high school actually listened to U2, so he must have been smart. I had a neighbor that once asked a question on PHIL DONAHUEs show. Not enough? I grew up with a guy that lost 2 fingers shoving his hand up a soda machine while trying to steal a COKE. He actually sued and got like $80,000.00. Also, I remember an old-timer that used to threaten kids with a lighter and a stick of dynamite. Oh the good ole days.
Uhhhh yeah 19,000……CO-HEADLINING WITH DEF LEPPARD …….. Ya just can’t teach stupid!!
Your hatred of all things Paul and Gene is getting frivolous. KISS even with the two imposters blows them shirtless Europeans away. No comparison. KISS is better than LED ZEPPELIN too.
Oh dear, as much as I love Kiss, but better than LZ ?? – now how’s life on Mars?
Got you going.
Yes, and 1 dollar from each ticket sold goes to the Wounded Warriors Project. WTF do you do to help veterans in this country? As a veteran myself, I appreciate all Kiss does to help veterans. Maybe you, and all the other assinine Paul and Gene bashers, should stop bad-mouthing Kiss and start praising them for their generosity.
The status of the band and what they do for the veterans is 2 different things…yes maybe more bands/artists should do more for the vets..how about $2/tix? Or $5?…bottom line is they do good work with vets but it doesnt absolve them from criticism…IMO
“is two different things”? Your credibility just flew out the window.
Hey man……a SINCERE kudos to you for serving “Paul’s alter ego”…..thank you……Joe in The Cuse.
Yes 2 different things…or a sad marketing ploy to sell more tix…if they have to rely on the military, it speaks volumes about the quality of what theyre putting out (or lack of)…BTW, im a rock fan..I have no credibility..lol
Now you’re talking. Finally, a guy with a brain in his head. Nice post ALTER EGO. Thank you for your service and thought out post. If KISS would have ended in 1983, which apparently some of these fellows wish would have happened, we would be here commenting on old guys using tele-promters, devil worshippers, shirtless 50 year olds and Bret Michaels. KISS would have gotten a paragraph in Eddie Trunks heavy metal bible instead of a whole chapter. WHO WANTS TO BE LONELY and I’VE HAD ENOUGH ( INTO THE FIRE) would be someone elses song. If Aces album which comes out next month is a masterpiece then I will shut up and say that KISS would be better off with the originals but since the first FREHLEY’S COMET, Ace hasn’t been giving DESTROYER a run for its money, now has he?
Which Kiss album has given Destroyer a run for it’s money? Certainly not the last two which Kiss has said is their best work many times and oddly playing nothing from it on the current tour..
SMASHES, THRASHES AND HITS is better than DESTROYER. Nah just joking that’s a compilation of course.
Eddie…which Kiss album has given Destroyer a run?
Easy…Creatures of the Night! That album was everything I ever wanted hear out of Kiss. Agressive, great songs, huge drums, great playing, great solo’s, great production. Even today, that album has aged well.
Destroyer and COTN sit 1A and 1B with me.
Also…while I personally don’t like either Boom or Monster, both average albums at best…it really wouldn’t matter how great they were, fans don’t wanna hear new stuff. Pretty much that way with every older band still releasing albums. Besides…every bands “last” album is promoted as one of their best until the next one.
Ahhh yes, Trunk, once again, looks for any opportunity to bash the current lineup. Paul and Gene still not returning your calls? Aww poor Eddie “sour grapes” Trunk.
Funny how OPINION when asked that is TRUTHFUL is viewed as bashing. Hysterical. Don’t let truth ever get in the way of what you want to believe and are being sold. Oh and no calls being made so nothing to return. Poor me, I just need to settle for every other rock band in the world that gets it and encourages debate, discussion and does my shows. Damn!
Love Destroyer and COTN, but I still say to this day, the very first Kiss album was, and is as good as anything since, just my opinion. 😉
1 $ of how many per ticket? Does it actually cost them money to donate? No. It is the money of the people buying tickets, not their money. There are about 75 $ left for Kiss to put into their already bulging allets. I am not debasing your service for your country, that is a different matter, but you obviously do not see that Kiss is doing this to get people like you and those who acknowledge your service to buy tickets, thus to sell out venues, dthus to make money, not spend it! So you really think that in their hearts they really do care about the people? Dream on. This is after all a business, a very big one, there is big money involved. Nothing to do with charity, I can tell you, even though it is hard to realize. It is a strategy that – obviously – has succeded.
Totally agree with JB. COTN is my 1B. Obviously didn’t have the commercial success. But that album is still one of their best to this day.
Good grief–when was the last time you went outside? You need a vacation from your computer.
Your cynicism is beyond words. (as is your grammar) I blame your parents and the public school system.
It’s co-head lining tour!!! What planet do you live on? I’m beginning to wonder if your Paul Stanley using the name Lee! P.S Ace has his own signature guitar and he’s the one who created the logo! But you can’t teach a stupid dog smart tricks even after Eddie put you in your place on the New England post. Joe had to steal the teach stupid needed to be re used
Kiss sold the Forum out three nights and Irvine Meadows twice on the reunion tour without the help of another major band…get real! There are good seats available for just about every show on this tour!
Duh…that was the point of the whole Reunion tour Jason.
Uh, no kidding…he said this tour is selling as well as the reunion tour , and it’s not even close.
And you would know that how?
I’d rather see Ace any day.
Talking about venues in L.A., they sold out Dodger Stadium during the reunion, that’s more than 50.000 – and no double bill !
Let it go already! You all don’t have much time left here!