Dave Lifton of Ultimate Classic Rock reports:
In Paul Stanley’s new book, Backstage Pass, he discusses the current status of his relationships with his former KISS bandmates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
While he says it’s “nice” to have Frehley “back in a larger capacity in my life” due to the “shared magic” of their history, he’s not at all complimentary toward Criss, suggesting that the drummer has a bad attitude that prevents him from enjoying life.
“Peter unfortunately is a different story,” he notes. “I don’t think Peter has any life. He seems consumed by some kind of reality that his wife tells him. He’s always been negative and always maintained an us-against-them mentality. I don’t want that in my life.”
Stanley says the issue isn’t “about having differences, because I’m sure Ace and I have differences. It’s Peter’s overall sense of anger and resentment and feeling like a victim. He needs to acknowledge his participation and then change things. I think Peter’s life is probably very one-dimensional, uninteresting, un-stimulating — which is a result of seeing the world negatively and seeing everyone from the band members to the hotel service people as disrespectful.”
He concludes by stating, “That’s not a world anyone should live in, and I don’t want to be a part of it.” He then compares life to a game of dodgeball: Avoid getting knocked out while watching those around you get hit.
Backstage Pass, a follow-up to Stanley’s 2014 memoir Face the Music, arrives tomorrow and promises to go “deeper into his personal life and his home today, life on and off the stage, revealing what he’s learned from a lifetime as the frontman of the iconic band Kiss, and how he brings his unique sensibility not only to his superstar music career but to every area of his life – from business to parenting to health and happiness.”
KISS ended the first portion of their End Of The Road North American dates, on April 13th, in Birmingham, Alabama. The band will begin the second half of their tour on August 6th in Sunrise, Florida. See the full itinerary, below.
KISS 2019 Tour Dates:
August:
6 Sunrise, FL @ BB&T Center
8 Charleston, NC @ North Charleston Coliseum
10 Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
11 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
13 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
14 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
16 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
17 Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
20 Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
21 Hershey, PA @ HersheyPark Stadium
23 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
24 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
27 Syracuse, NY @ St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
29 Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
31 Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
September:
1 St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
3 Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
5 Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
7 Bossier City, LA @ CenturyLink Center
8 San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
9 Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
11 Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
12 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
14 Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
16 Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
19 Responses
He almost looks pretty, doesn’t he? What a dick!
Everyone here is whining about Paul’s comments…..Have you actually read Peter Criss’ book or listened to his interviews…..its always, “Oh, Poor Me”….it is EXACTLY what Paul says-he always blames others for his problems, but yet the decisions he made regarding KISS were his own. Paul & Gene were & have been the smart ones who looked out for themselves and the band-yet they get criticized ……I met Peter on the Reunion tour-a complete ass….Gene/Paul, have always been nice to me, signed things for me-Peter ignored me and was a complete jerk. Gene & Paul have the money & power now because they EARNED it. Ace & Peter virtually gave their interests away for a few bucks….you can’t fix stupid.
Well then I guess it’s hopeless for you “wag daddy.” The point is it’s 2019, and they’ve ALL made mistakes, but Gene & Paul can’t even do ONE interview today without bashing or some kind of sarcasm towards Ace & Peter. It’s not even close as far as who bashes who more, that’s not “whining,” that’s just a fact! And most KISS fans are sick and tired of it.
What Kiss did in their first 5 years…it’s like they put two or three years into every one…you listen to the first record and then Dynasty and those records are only five years apart…it’s incredible…some bands took a few years to make one record back then…there should always be love between those guys…that’s the part that bums me out. If band was a geometric concept it would look like Kiss did…
Well, well – I for one would not have THAT super-inflated ego by the name of PS in MY life, that’s for sure. I think I will now sell the ticket to the show in June because I think I will not stand the feeling that I am watching the same person play down there who I now know is that kind of mean, self-important and childish character that he obviously turns out to be. That will be no fun at all – plus the lip-synch desaster … which of course not a single journalist would dare to address in an interview. Would love to read how I-am-king Stanley would try to get out of this … Man, if you are so happy and so positve and so superior, why do you need to berate former members every single chance you get? No, whenever he is throwing mud at Ace or Peter only designed to make himself look good, he is actually throwing it at himself showing that he just cannot deal with the FACT that it was not just him who made this band such a phenomenon. He is still the little kid that was bullied only now he is bullying everyone else. So no personal development there in spite of all the fame and money. Poor old and, actually, bitter man he is. Bitterness and ego is what is really behind his professed superior handling of life. His comments on others get worse while at the same time his own capabilities fail more and more. This is no coincidence. by I know I must say I am glad that Ace did join the last tour – and I really hope that Peter and Ace will decline potential offers to do some last shows at the very end of this journey. Kiss as they are now does no longer deserve that kind of magic ending – Kiss as it is, which means PS’s Kiss deserves to be soon forgotten – or maybe remembered for having outstayed their welcome. The real Kiss of the 1970s on the other hand deserves to be (and will be) remembered for their unique and influential style. PS will not come to terms with that – he will go on building his own version of Kiss in which he was the inly one of any talent and clear thinking. Poor delusional man, we should feel sorry for him.
This guy is stuck in negativity himself , he just puts the negative spin on his ex -band mates on repeat…
he makes it extremely difficult for me to like or respect him at all anymore and I hate that I feel that way , Kiss was mesmerizing to me when I was a teenager and I just loved them , seeing them on the destroyer tour was one of the highlights of my life at that time , so what they have become now makes me sad and a little bit angry – kiss is polarizing right now… many kiss fans hate that Ace and Pete are not part of this last go round and will not buy into it-, many dont care at all and want to see the spectacle , and many are OK with Eric and Tommy dressing up as Ace and Pete and mimicking them – that is part of the magic of kiss and why they are still so compelling to so many people – but as I’ve said many times on this site IMO they are selling people a sham , as is now common knowledge they are running a lot of backing tracks , Paul is mostly lip syncing his vocals , he croaks his stage raps into his live mic , and tries desperately to sing a few lines here and there to sell the charade which actually makes the lip syncing even more obvious – then tells the media they are at the top of their game, so to me he is being unbelievably hypocritical and flat out lying seemingly every time he opens his mouth – I will not be buying this book – and I wouldn’t go see the hottest sham in the world , even if you gave me front row tickets –