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
Kiss were epic from ’74-’77! CDs/records don’t sell today like they did back in the day, we all know that. Ace had a #9 on the charts. Paul & Gene ‘ s last solo were horrible and made no noise. Let’s here Tommy ‘ s solo cd, oh bet he won’t be a loud to do one. If so, it breaks better than #9 then we can say he is better Paul is such a tool!
Also Gene never solo toured solo, who would go? Paul did twice in small clubs just like Ace is doing.
You think Paul or Gene can sell out an arena solo?
People just be happy with what we got and STFU!
No.
Not buying the “Kiss will carry on” and Gene and Paul replacements talk. Yeah, they may think it will happen but be honest, do you really think they would find adequate replacements of themselves as anal Gene and Paul are about the band? They are getting away with it with Tommy and Eric to a degree but there are a lot of fans that don’t like it. Imagine the shit any other replacements would receive compared to the Tommy and Eric haters of today.
I just don’t see it happening and if it does it will fail miserably. It will be nothing more than a Vegas act.
I have been a Kiss fan since I 9 years old when I first heard my uncle’s 8trak of Love Gun. The band is a parody of what they once were. Ace & Peter were a big part of why Kiss is still around today, so why rip on them? Move on, make music, and let it go!
I am rolling my eyes at Paul right now.