Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone reports:
Current KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer aren’t going to be inducted with the band at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, and they won’t perform, either – but they’re showing up, nevertheless.
Gene Simmons confirmed to Rolling Stone via e-mail that he and Paul Stanley have invited Singer and Thayer to sit at their table during the April 10th ceremony, along with guitarist Bruce Kulick, who played in KISS during its make-up-free period, from 1984 to 1996. “The fact that they want me at their table means the world,” says Kulick.
With founding members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss also on hand, that means all surviving KISS members will be at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center, except for hard-to-track-down guitarist Vinnie Vincent. “He’s kind of the Howard Hughes of KISS,” says Kulick.
Simmons and Stanley are upset with the Hall of Fame’s decision to induct only the four original members. “Tommy has been in the band 10 years,” Stanley told Rolling Stone in interviews for their current KISS cover story. “Eric’s been in the band 20 years.” (Minus a five-year interlude when the original band reunited.) “The idea of no one being even a candidate for induction into the Hall of Fame other than the four original guys is hogwash.”
Not surprisingly, Kulick, Thayer and Singer all endorse that sentiment. “Even if I was an outsider,” says Thayer, “I would say that all of the guys that have been in KISS over 40 years, all of the members, should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
As of last month, Singer was somewhat reluctant to attend. “If the choice is up to me, do I want to attend or not, then I don’t wanna go,” he told Rolling Stone before Simmons and Stanley invited him. “I personally don’t care about attending, but if Gene and Paul say, ‘No, we want you there,’ no problem. I’m there for you guys. I’m there for Gene and Paul and Tommy. For Kiss, the way it stands now, no problem. Or if they just want me to be there to celebrate Kiss in general, and that means everybody, fine, great, because I’m part of the whole story.”
There is no KISS performance slated for the ceremony. As reported in our cover story, Stanley and Simmons offered to allow the former members to jam with Kiss’ current lineup, featuring Thayer and Singer, who wear Frehley and Criss’ makeup, respectively. Frehley and Criss found that proposition deeply insulting. “I won’t be disrespected,” Criss says. “How can you put me in the Hall of Fame and then tell me to go sit over there in the corner while another guy puts on my makeup and plays? That’s an injustice. To the fans, too.”
source: rollingstone.com
149 Responses
I can’t think of a more uncomfortable position for Tommy and Eric to be in. I’m sure they would have been fine sitting it out. But noooo, Gene and Paul will insist, just to make ACE and Peter look like outcasts. LOOK, those two former druggies are so bad we won’t even sit with them. We’ll shun them for what they’ve done to us and this spectacular band. We won’t let them wear the makeup or play with us. We are Gods and they are mere human mortals with a lifestyle so different than ours we cannot possibly accept them. We used up as much of them that was beneficial to us and now refuse to even acknowledge their immense contributions for fear it would make us look bad. And besides, Tommy and Eric are our friends now. We can do that ya know, WE, and we alone are KISS. You watch…Gene or Paul will make it a point to talk about KISS now, right there in front of the other two guys actually being inducted. I just hope all the other musicians there have the integrity to vocally respond if that indeed happens. This could have been something really special.
If I was Ace’s or Peter’s manager, I would strongly advise them not to go and risk to be ridiculed as, as you said, outcasts or sth., physically and figuratively put aside at a table off centre – I would send video messages. As for Tommy and Eric, you know, I do not pity them, even though their feelings might be awkard, because they are getting paid for it, they are bound by contract, as it seems, to appear whereever G and P want them to appear and act like they are told to act. So they cannot complain, because, if they had a backbone or if sth. like this causes them pain or moral issues, they are free to go and do and be sth else.
This just in. The head of the RRHOF is requiring all member of Kiss and their families to sit at the same table or they won’t be admitted to the ceremony.
April Fools. This reminds me of family members who have a falling out and don’t speak with each other for years, and then one of them passes away and at the funeral think how stupid was this? In the whole scheme of things can’t they all get along and be friendly just for one night?
Morello is a marxist, Kiss are the opposite. I bet Morello asks Gene & Paul for a donation to the Che School Of Higher Learning in Cuba. I wonder if Gene gets some c-list stripper after the show.
Right on! Not sure of the Morello / KISS connection, but could there possibly be a worst presenter for KISS? Morello should deport himself.
Gene already has a c-list spouse by the name of Shannon …
The ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME should pay Mini-KISS to play instead!! I bet Gene,Paul, Tommy, Eric, Bruce and Peter would storm out of the ceremony! While ACE would be the only one there laughing!
Ace would be laughing because he wouldn’t know where he was.
wow that’s a very High School comment.
Quick hurry. make a new username KISS related of course because you are so cool
“they want me at their table” ? Has Kulick been so neutered? or broke he’d say that? That seemed to me almost high schoolish. Id love to hear what Vinnie Vincent would say if invited.
Vinnie is too busy hiding the 4th past due notice on his mortgage.
Don’t worry…Vinnie’s getting ready to sue again for not being invited.