KISS’ PAUL STANLEY DISCUSSES THE BAND’S LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY AND THE BAND CONTINUING WITH OTHER MUSICIANS

paulstanley400 Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun spoke with KISS frontman Paul Stanley. Excerpts from the interview appear below.

Las Vegas Sun:….it’s the first time you’re playing a residency at the Hard Rock, but why is it the icing on the cake?

Stanley: Well because it’s new territory for us, and what KISS has always been about is going against the grain and really doing things in our time and when it feels right for us. There was a time where quite honestly everyone thought of Las Vegas as an elephant burial ground.

It was the more glittery branch in Missouri for some people, but it’s so unique. There was also a time where the best food you could get was a $1.99 prime rib. Now if I want a great meal, I go to Las Vegas. You can’t get a comparable meal in Los Angeles to what you can get in Las Vegas.

Everything has changed so much, and it’s always seemed like a perfect fit for us to be in Las Vegas, but for a lot of reasons, it just wasn’t meant to be. Now the planets have lined up, and everything is as it should be, and we will come in and do what we do.

We are doing a KISS show in Las Vegas, we are not doing a Las Vegas show with KISS. We are a rock and roll band, and we will do what we do — better than any band at this point.

Las Vegas Sun: Are you changing the tour show?

Stanley: Completely different stage. At this point, our influence is so widespread that virtually any rock band you go see live is doing the KISS show. The only thing they can never be is KISS. Anybody with money can buy pyro, can buy lasers, but you can never be us. So for us to come into Las Vegas, we’ll set a different level honestly.

It’s an amazing thing for us to be able to go into a smaller venue and not downsize. Usually going into a smaller venue means doing a smaller show, but because this show isn’t portable and because this show is a permanent installation, we can do things that we couldn’t when you have to break the show down every night.

Las Vegas Sun: In terms of rock and roll, Motley Crue is calling it quits on its current world tour. Are you saying KISS will not call it quits and go on maybe with other musicians?

Stanley: Oh, totally; absolutely. We are unlike any other band. We are closer to an army. We are closer to a sports team. I’m not foolish enough to think that I’m the only person to do what I do. The Yankees continued without Babe Ruth. Time marches on, and if you’re part of a movement or part of a commitment to a cause, then when you’re time is done … look, if you fall in battle, someone picks up your gun and runs.

Somebody has to carry the flag, and that’s what KISS is about. KISS is about a lifestyle and self-empowerment and going against the odds and believing in yourself. I guess enjoying the fruits of hard work. That’s not singular to me. People who said that was not possible in terms of KISS are already 50 percent wrong. The lineup is now 40 years on, and two of the members are not the original members, but they are far better at this point than the original members.

Read more at the Las Vegas Sun.

source: lvsun.com

198 Responses

  1. Paul always comes across as someone who thinks he is smart, eloquent, etc. but does not even realize that by constantly bashing Ace and Peter (even if not asked directly about them like in this interview!!) he is only constantly bashing himself, his own credibility, diminishing the legacy he might have built over the years. He played to 600k people? OK, as a double headliner, maybe just 600k people who either know no better or who are willing to pay hard earned money for someone who cannot sing anymore … of course he must praise Tommy and Eric, as they are doing all the singing for him today (find recent proof on YT – the videos from Heaven an Hell festival, embarrassing)! he is and old man now who is way past his prime waiting for someone to tell him it’s over cos he won’t realize it himself. Like many others who grow old but still like to come across as juvenile the more his powers are fading the more he will blame others and live inside a bubble of illusion.

  2. This version of KISS is more focused and committed to performing a great show. Yeah, I miss Ace but he doesn’t have the work ethic or level of commitment to be in the band. The Sonic Boom and Monster songs are just as good as anything they’ve done in the past. As KISS fans we should be appreciative of the fact that KISS still wants to entertain us.

    1. don have you been eating raw chicken? Sonic Boom and Monster aren’t anything close to being as good as their past. And as a KISS fan you should know that they should have ended the band back years ago with ace and peter.

    2. Guess you’re not a true, loyal fan. Just someone stuck on wishing he was 15 years old again and wanting things the way they were. I don’t understand supposed fans like you.

    3. that’s right don. I’m looking forward to kiss performing sonic boom and monster in their entirety. I am eternally grateful for my hello kissy merchandise. its like chicken soup for the soul.

    4. Guess you were never a true fan. I think you think that your sarcasm elevates your “principled stance,” but you just seem like a negative person who wants attention for name-calling. If you want the original band, dust off your vinyls, that’s where you’ll find them. True KISS fans understand that times change, people change, and that this version of KISS is fun and dedicated to rock and roll.

    5. If you want to experience true negativity just read Paul’s book.

    6. Read it. Awesome example of someone who is driven to succeed and willing to overcome obstacles and adversity. If you saw it as negative, I guess we just see it differently.

    7. don will be unavailable this weekend.. he’ll be on the kiss kruise swabbing paul’s deck.

    8. exactly, don. I was never a true fan. that’s why I spend so much valuable time reading and posting this cesspool of negativity (thanks dana) with wonderful people like yourself. I am positive I never stood with my principal in an elevator, unless I’m blocking out a bad memory. despite the fact that 27 other people on this site are using my name or some variation thereof, I’m in need of your attention. if calling you don is name-calling, I don’t want to be right. I would love to dust off my vinyls, but I had an asthmatic attack 20 something years ago working in a factory. thanks for your suggestion . I have a watch my parents gave me that no longer works and I have several friends who are shape shifters. the current version of kiss is so much fun, that that tommy thumb and eric ringer should have their own twin characters: “fun-gi”. I will dedicate my next number 2 to those 2, too. in closing, don, there’s only you and me and doc McGhee.

      sincerely,
      the original Elliot #1 (C)2014

    9. Wow, you are unstable. I apologize for thinking I was having a discussion with a rational human being. I am a fan of KISS. Period. Don’t care who is in the band and when. I just love their music. You have other issues going on that go beyond just being a fan of a band. Good luck, sir.

    10. It is paradoxical that today that those with a real work ethic in the band are the two employees. They always deliver, but what about Paul’s voice and his sloppy guitarplaying? Last time I saw them live his voice was so bad I felt sorry fo him, but I do not want to go to a rock concert to feel sorry for someone. So where is the fun in that?

    11. How is that paradoxical? you are killing me on here. I think you meant, that the two employees are carrying the band, and not the main guy? That this undermines Paul’s credibility? That’s neither paradoxical or even ironic. It would be paradoxical if they didn’t have any work ethic. You got me screwing up now, ” I get what you’re saying…”

    12. It is paradoxical because it should be the other way round, right?! It is p. because these two employees get the bashing from fans when in fact the two employers should take the blame. maybe we have a different understanding of paradoxical, I’d prefer the Greek meaning of the word.

    13. Paradox is when something has an inherent contradiction. Guitarslingers who can’t play guitar for example. There is nothing paradoxical about your statement. But, I get what you’re saying. But guitarslinger, (and I wasn’t referring to you in my example, you may be a great guitar player, or maybe not, I have no idea), the guys who are getting bashed for Tommy and Eric’s roles in Kiss are the main guys. The bashing Tommy and Eric get is just spillover. But, again, I do get what you’re saying. I just don’t agree with it, as my previous sentence explained.

    14. I agree..monster and sonic boom are as good as anything they did…if ur comparing tbem to such gems as “lets put the x in sex, “you n make me rock hard” or anything of off unmasked..lol

  3. Wow..just seen a clip from the heaven and hell metalfest…terrible vocals by paul…actually the backing vocals were terrible also…I hear they record all their shows but I wonder if they watch them? I think its fair to say that the band has become stale and their performances seem to be getting worse with every clip I see…paul talks about how great the band is then I see that crap on Yt! What a D’bag…

    1. I agree totally. Check out I Was Made For Loving You from that show, it’s truly sad and embarrassing. Paul said that Ace & Peter were flat tires and turns in a performance like that!

    2. It’s simple, if you cannot convince with a quality performance anymore do as many interviews on as many morning shows (!) or similar occcasions as possible to try and draw people’s attention away from the problem.

    3. It’s all smoke and mirrors –
      I’d like to see an interviewer ask Paul what the f*ck happened to his voice but he won’t allow himself to get into a situation like that, such as being interviewed by Eddie.

    4. I’m glad I could be of any help. Btw, think again and you will find that “morning show” is just a metaphor for any kind of interview especially those they do to advertise their side projects.

    5. Metaphor? you mean example don’t you? You are all over the place here. Ronnie used rainbows as metaphors. The morning show is a metaphor for what? for ANY kind of interview? The morning show interview is a metaphor for another interview? The rainbow in the dark is a metaphor for a rainbow in the light? See what I’m sayin’ here? You kill me brother, I actually agree with a lot of your points. In other words, you have raw talent.

    6. Sorry Shannon you do NOT get the meaning behind my “metaphors”. “Morning show interviews” are a metaphor for Stanley using every opportunity to brag about his achievements, to bash old members, to sell something as hot and fresh that has become stale for a long time now etc etc., i.e. a metaphor for some of his character traits that I find annoying. I thought that was obvious, because, if I wanted to talk plainly I would have done so. It is a sort of code we all have and you might have a different one.
      But I am sure you will find this paradoxical, sorry, self-contradictory again …

    7. The morning show interview is a metaphor for Paul’s annoying character traits? So Paul morphed into the morning show interview? That’s the only way your use works, but that’s not what you said. You didn’t say, “Paul, you’re a morning show interview in the dark…” “You are a walking morning show interview Paul…” you should just state things plainly. I mean the purpose of your statements is valid, just not the form, which is invalid, sorry guitarslinger.

    8. Or, don’t state things plainly. Your ramblings are pretty cool actually. I am Irish and can appreciate the whole stream of consciousness dialectical form. So I should just let it slide I guess, eh? But I won’t, I can’t, it just goes against my grain…lol. But again, please keep your “slingeristic” method.

    9. Shannon, what drugs do you take to talk so much as if you were of superior intelligence?? At least you seem to want to come across like that …

    10. Omg! I just seen that clip…its just terrible…its simply a case of a guy who cant admit that its over…u figure that it would be easy to transition to other things since they seem to have a lot of outside interests….frankly speaking, im surprised they still get gigs based on what hes putting on tape…similar to an athlete who has played too long, paul is a shell of his former self…the fact that he cant admit its over speaks volumes to his insecurities..sad but true..

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