KISS frontman/bassist Gene Simmons was a recent guest on, Larry King Now, with guest host Dennis Miller. Simmons discussed a myriad of topics, including the band’s tumultuous Farewell Tour in 2000, which Paul Stanley previous said was nothing more than an attempt by the group to “put KISS out of its misery” after years of ego clashes and disagreements Read what the bassist had to say below (via blabbermouth.net).
“What happened was that Peter Criss and Ace Frehley — who are the original founding members with Paul and myself 46 years ago… Not everybody is designed to run a marathon, it’s fair to say. And not everybody should be in a band that lasts decades and decades. So, by the turn of the 2000s, the early 2000s, it became dysfunctional to the extreme. They were asked to leave or left on their own volition three different times because of the cliché of clichés — bad behaviour, unprofessionalism, drugs, alcohol. It’s, like, it’s been done — come on. Then we looked at each other and said, ‘If we can’t live up to the, ‘You wanted the best, you’ve got the best, the hottest band in the world,’ let’s just call it quits.’ You’ve got the cash, the fame. So we stopped — we stopped for a while and kept getting a deluge of gifts and inquiries. ‘Why can’t you do it? If you’ve got a flat tire, change the tire. Why do you wanna stop?’ And Paul and I had a moment where we just said, ‘You know what? We’re thinking small.’ I always thought of The Beatles, ‘Nobody will ever take the place of anybody.’ But Ringo[Starr] is not an original member; he took the place of Pete Best. So when you take a look at all the bands, ‘Oh, there can be a different lead singer of Van Halen.’ Actually, there can, and there has been. And I’m the guy that found them, so I know what I’m talking about.”
Simmons then went on to confirm that KISS’s ongoing End Of The Road tour is indeed the band’s “final tour.” He said, “It’s a long one. We’ve got another two years of staying out there. We’ve already done 93 cities around the world, [and we are] coming back again. But the reality is that I’m 70. By the time I’m 72, it’s time to get off the stage. We’ve both seen bands that stayed too long on that stage… You wanna get off the stage before they’re tired of you… Leave them wanting more. Don’t stay on there too long.”
Watch Simmons’ interview below.
13 Responses
i know how the game works,.you can or cannot ask this or that,but at this stage of the game,esp for dennis,why not ask the question anyway,then put mr big mouth on the spot,what he going to do walk off the set,if so great ,now that would be news to see,its not like dennis needs kiss for his career,it would have been great!
Maybe, he was intimidated?