Andy Greene of Rolling Stone reports:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s President and CEO Joel Peresman had to deal with the wrath of KISS frontman Paul Stanley, who has gone very public with his anger over the Hall of Fame’s decision to only induct the band’s original lineup. “I don’t need the Hall of Fame,” Stanley told Rolling Stone. “And if there’s not reciprocity, I’m not interested. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, practically every member was inducted, and virtually all 175 members of the Grateful Dead. Rules need to apply to everybody.”
“I don’t like all the sniping back and forth, though mostly it’s been forth,” says Peresman. “And I totally understand his point of view. What he’s failing to understand is that there are certain acts that are nominated and brought in on their entire body of work, up until the day before the nominating committee meets. They are still evolving bands that are breaking new ground. With KISS, there wasn’t a single person we spoke to that didn’t feel the reason these guys were being inducted was because of the four original members. It’s an incredibly unique situation. I can’t think of another band, outside of Gwar, that has members that are dressed up in costumes. You basically have these new members that are replicating exactly and playing the music that was created by the two other members that are being inducted.”
KISS has invited current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer to sit at their table, along with former guitarist Bruce Kulick. “I appreciate how Tommy and Eric have filled in and the way they do things,” says Peresman. “They are fine musicians and I’m sure they’re lovely guys, but they are basically replicating the two members that are getting inducted. How could we have asked Ace and Peter to accept the award and then have other people in their guise playing their music? They probably wouldn’t have even come. They were very clear about that. . .Frankly, I’m really, really happy that KISS are being inducted. It should have happened a while ago. The four of them will get up, accept their award, say what they want to say and then we’ll move on.”
Read more at Rolling Stone.
source: rollingstone.com
121 Responses
Give Paul a tongue lashing on his book signing. Does Howard Stern side with Gene?
Peter should sing ” Send in the Clowns”
95% of Kiss’ set list in concert is the classic stuff. Gene and Paul are milking it in a big way. If other members are so important, then why not play other stuff? They can’t, because people will walk out of the already half filled arena. I was laughing with a friend yesterday about a ridiculous set list. “I’m Alive”, “No no no”, “Lonely is the hunter” etc. lol…point is, the songs Kiss created in the 70’s still hold up, and are just BETTER songs. Ace and Peter had much to do with that, especially Ace. Paul or Gene may have written most of the material, but Ace polished it in a way no other Kiss guitarist could. Who the hell in their right mind can say the lead in “Unholy” trumps “Parasite”? As for Peter, it hits you right in the gut the way he plays the songs, and when he sings stuff like “Sing it for Petey!” or “Paulie’s got you under his thumb!”. Again, this is all larger than rock music and “guitar players”. I have the satisfaction as a fan for 38 years knowing Gene and Paul know EXACTLY what I am talking about, but they will never admit it. I am awesome. Thank you very much.
Are you kidding me with this crap? Ever heard of Bob Kulick?
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is the most ridiculous organization I’ve ever seen. The fact that it’s taken this long to induct KISS just goes to illustrate up which bodily orifice the RRHOF has their collective head firmly entrenched. I liked the Beastie Boys back in the day, but did they REALLY warrant being inducted before KISS, or other great bands that still aren’t in there, like Deep Purple? Rap groups shouldn’t be allowed in there at all. Madonna is already in there, for God’s sake! Madonna! That should tell you all you need to know about the RRHOF.
I have to say the guy is right Kiss is ACE Paul Peter Gene Thats it… every thing after is about Cash only !