In a new interview with Michael Moynihan of The Moynihan Report, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked how much of all the problems he and guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley had with the other original members of the band, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, were “money based”.
Simmons responded (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “It was not money based. It was drugs and alcohol, sadly. Not with Paul or myself. And we love them, and without Ace and Peter, we wouldn’t be here.”
Reflecting on Frehely‘s decision to leave the band three separate times and his eventual death, the bassist said, “It’s so hard for the fans. It’s heartbreaking. Ace had a massive influence on guitar players — Dimebag Darrell [of Pantera], Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Metallica…just everybody across the line. But not everybody’s designed in their DNA to run a marathon. Some people just, short race, and they can do well for that, but they can’t do it.
“Ace told me to my face when he was leaving the band, ‘I’m gonna have a solo career ’cause if I go out on tour again, I’m gonna kill myself.’ Yeah, he just… The psychological pressures affects different people in different ways,” Simmons explained. “I have no problem with anything. I’m voraciously ambitious and love the attention and the money and the fame and like all that stuff, but it doesn’t affect everybody the same way…”
…He added, “When Ace came back the third time, it was very serious drug use. The stuff that makes you… I don’t wanna mention the name, ’cause it’s so depressing. And his daughter was affected and all that stuff. Breaks our hearts. When we got the Kennedy Center Honors, at least Ace found out from the White House that KISS won. And sadly, he passed. But when we got the Kennedy Center Honors, there was an empty chair beside us in honor of Ace. Ace‘s daughter, Monique, was there to honor her father.”
On the topic of his current relationship with Criss, Simmons replied, “When we’re with each other, it’s great. As you go apart… Ah, it’s tough for me to be honest and stuff. Peter‘s always considered himself a victim: ‘They ganged up on me, and look what they did to me,’ and stuff like that. Instead of, if you’re really cured and everything, you look in the mirror and said, ‘It’s my fault. I used. I didn’t do my work, and I was complaining,’ instead of being grateful to be in one of the largest bands that has ever existed.”
Asked if Criss still makes money from KISS, Simmons stated, “Very little. We bought him out — in 1982.” Simmons went on to clarify that both he, and Stanley acquired Frehley‘s ownership stake in KISS as well, which means that all the other members of KISS essentially became salaried employees from that day forward.
“All groups of people are a business,” he explained. “Money’s gotta come from someplace. Life is business. People don’t like that.”
Asked if he has a good relationship with Stanley, he answered, “Always had. That doesn’t mean you agree. I like to make this reference point that intrinsically, in our DNA, we share deep moral and philosophical ideas about life. So we share this kind of thing, but also the work ethic. No drugs, no alcohol. I’ve never been high or drunk in my life. No cigarettes. As it happens, we just share those ideas when this rock and roll world is filled with f–king losers.”
Criss first left KISS in 1980. Since then he’s worked with other bands and released solo albums. He teamed up with KISS again for a reunion tour in the 1990s and most recently in 2004. He was replaced by Eric Singer.
In addition to playing drums in KISS, Criss also provided lead vocals for a number the band’s most popular and memorable songs, including Beth, Black Diamond and Hard Luck Woman.
Criss last appeared onstage with all three other original members of KISS when the group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014, though he and his former bandmates didn’t perform at the event.
Criss and the other two surviving original members of KISS — Stanley and Simmons — received aKennedy Center Honor at a December 7th, 2025 ceremony.
Frehley died on October 16th, 2025 after a fall at his New Jersey home. He was 74 years old. His cause of death was listed as blunt trauma injuries to his head due to a fall, according to a report from the Morris County Medical Examiner. The manner of his death was ruled an accident.
One Response
I just don’t understand why every single person that interviews Gene or Paul brings up the relationship with Ace & Peter. And even worse, why Gene and Paul continue to talk about the drugs and alcohol. If I were Gene or Paul, I would make every interviewer sign a contract that says no discussion or question about Ace and Peter’s drug or alcohol usage. Why continue to do this? Makes no sense. And all it does is irritate the fans. We know the story. Ace is dead. Peter is alive and well. Just let them be.