During an appearance on March 1sts episode of SiriusXM‘s The Howard Stern Show, KISS frontman Paul Stanley once again expressed his frustration over the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame not inducting current members Eric Singer (drums) and Tommy Thayer (guitar) along with the original lineup when the band was welcomed into the institution back in 2014.
He said (via blabbermouth.net), “The hypocrisy is that we’re not a band they like. They purposely kept us out for 15 years. And other bands that they embrace, they induct people’s moms and songwriters and all these people. And with us, it truly was unfair.”
When asked by Stern why KISS didn’t perform at the Rock Hall induction, Stanley said, “Because we had too much pride in this lineup, which is KISS, and has been KISS for 20 years. It’s not newcomers. This is the band. We’ll be back in the stadiums of South America next month. We were there five months ago. We were in Japan. This is the band that has carried the flag and taken it, really, to another level. This is the band I always dreamed it would be, and for us to go onstage… They were demanding, quite honestly, that we play with the two original guys, Peter [Criss] and Ace [Frehley], and at this point, that would be demeaning to the band, and also would give some people confusion. ‘Cause if you saw people on stage who looked like KISS but sounded like that, maybe we should be called PISS.”
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons concurred, saying, “We’ve been all over the world, through decades, with this present lineup. It bears noting I’ve never seen a single banner or sign that mentions any other lineup. When Tommy takes a solo, ‘Tommy! Tommy!’ That’s me backstage going, ‘Tommy!’ When Eric takes a solo, ‘Eric! Eric!’ They’re pumping their fists. It’s legitimate. Nobody is in KISS and doing it by the numbers.”
KISS announce their final shows of their reported last tour on Stern’s show, which will be two back-to-back shows at Madison Square Garden in New York at the end of 2023.
The last portion of KISS’s 19-date North American tour will begin in October in Texas and culminate in the MSG concerts on December 1st and December 2nd.
Tickets will be available starting March 6th, with a KISS Army presale at 10 a.m. local time. Additional presales will be available throughout the week before the general on sale starting March 10th at 10 a.m. local time at livenation.com.
23 Responses
Well, just because this lineup has been together for 20 years, has toured around the world and back and released a couple non-memorable albums does not mean Tommy and Eric should be in the hall. If anyone else throughout Kisstory should’ve been inducted, it would be Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr before Thayer and Singer.
I have nothing against Tommy and Eric, but they brought zero originality to Kiss. They were paid to imitate their original predecessors. They have done their job. They may be better musicians today than Ace and Peter are today but that doesn’t make them hall of fame worthy. And when I say hall of fame, I’m using the term generally speaking and not referring to that joke in Cleveland.
No era and no lineup touches the original four from the 70’s. Paul sits there and says they would be called Piss with Ace and Peter now but yet the dude is lip syncing!! You gotta be kidding me.
And oh yeah, nobody is chanting Tommy Tommy or Eric Eric at a Kiss show. Give me a f-cking break! I will always love Kiss 1974-2001. But everything since the farewell tour has been a betrayal in my opinion.
RPS, I could not have said that better myself! That was perfectly spot on! KI⚡⚡ existed from 1974-2001, from 2001 on, KI⚡⚡ turned into PISS!! What Paul and Gene always seem to conveniently forget is that without Ace and Peter there would be no Tommy and Eric! Ace and Peter created Tommy and Eric, literally!
Excellent post, RPS. The “scab” version of KI$$ has nothing to do with why KI$$ got into the RRHOF in the first place. The “scab”version continue to perform virtually the same concert setlists and stage shows written/performed by the original four members/characters. Perhaps if Tommy and Eric had been allowed to be their own original characters and create their own personas, the RRHOF would have thought differently about their inclusion.
Regarding Gene’s claim about not seeing banners that mention any other KI$$ lineups…of course he won’t see them cuz the fans that do care chose wisely to not attend the “scab” concerts. Both Gene and Paul know there is a lot of backlash with Tommy and Eric impersonating original characters. They choose to ignore it to continue to promote this version of the band while belittling the contributions of Ace and Peter.
The original KI$$ is my all time favorite band. KI$$ Alive! is my all time favorite album. I hate the scabs in my KI$$, impersonating the Catman and Spaceman, and I’m glad Tommy and Eric were not included in the RRHOF induction because they brought no originality to the band as impersonators. I don’t care if they’ve been in the band longer than Ace and Peter, cuz that’s not the point. It’s actually pathetic that Tommy and Eric have been in the band that long as impersonators of Ace and Peter. Great musicians, but they are not the Catman and/or Spaceman.
Please retire and leave us be.
I really like Eric singer he is an incredible drummer and a solid vocalist , Thayer is also very talented , should they be included in the HOF? based on the halls history on induction….yes and so should every past member of kiss – why the constant bad mouthing of ACE & PETE… I would call the current version of kiss PISS
Concur both Eric and Thayer are both very talented, but they brought no originality to KI$$ as impersonators. Their lack of inclusion in the RRHOF can be blamed solely on Gene and Paul, not the RRHOF committee.
While I have always been supportive of Tommy and Eric being in KISS and defend them against negative attitudes, I have to tell Paul that Tommy and Eric are not Hall of Famers. They are hired musicians, and very good ones, but not Hall of Famers. Those two have not contributed anything original in the band’s historic existence. They have not written or sung any piece of music that is Hall of Fame worthy. I commend Paul for sticking up for Tommy and Eric because they have stuck with the band longer than Peter and Ace, but they don’t belong on a Hall of Fame stage. Lastly, playing on stage with Peter and Ace would not be “confusing” to audience members because we know those two are the originals!
In the same interview he said it’s now the band he always wanted it to be. So he is saying he’d rather listen to Monster and Sonic Boom over Love Gun and Rock and Roll Over.