During a recent appearance on producer Rick Rubin‘s Tetragrammaton podcast, KISS bassist and co-vocalist Gene Simmons once again reflected on the band’s final performance, which took place on December 2, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
While the show marked the end of a legendary era for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Simmons admitted that the moment was tinged with sadness due to the absence of original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Despite the band’s tumultuous history, Simmons shared that he’s “still sad” the iconic guitarist and drummer couldn’t be part of the farewell.
When asked whether the knowledge that it was KISS’s final concert changed how he felt on stage, Gene responded: “Very emotional. Pride, but also a little sad because… People who have been married, I’m guessing, a few times, but remember when it was real love and that magic of the thing, if it doesn’t last, there’s a sadness there. Sometimes it’s drugs and alcohol, sometimes they just go apart. But when it was great, it’s sad because not everybody survives life.
“And I’m still sad about Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer], who even today can’t enjoy the fruits of their labor,” he continued. “They were equally as important as Paul [Stanley, KISS guitarist/vocalist] and myself in the formation of the band and those first few years — there’s no question about it. It was a four-wheel-drive vehicle. And then the air started coming out of two of the wheels to the point where — as a matter of fact, when it was time for Peter to go, Ace voted, ‘No, he’s gotta go. He can’t play the drums anymore.’ And then Ace, using his words, walked out of KISS. Even though we said, ‘You can stay in KISS. Have a solo career. We don’t want a penny of it. Have your cake and eat it too.’ And he said to my face, ‘No, I can’t stay in the band. He said it in print, ‘If I do another tour, I’m gonna kill myself.’ That’s verbatim. And I didn’t understand what that meant. I didn’t wanna get into it. And then he said, ‘You watch. I’m gonna sell 10 million records.’ I can’t respond to that. I don’t know what that meant. Logically — stay in the band, have your cake and eat it too.”
In a last year’s interview with Rock Candy Mag, Frehley shared with journalist Andrew Daly the reasons behind his absence from KISS‘s final performance at Madison Square Garden.
“Fans would constantly reach out to me and say, ‘Ace, please come back to the band,’ Frehley explained. “So the fans were and are my primary motivators, and I want them to know that I did try, but I couldn’t make it happen. They never asked me.”
Frehley dismisses the idea that his well-documented troubles with drugs and alcohol could ever have been a reason for former bandmates and KISS leaders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley not reaching out to him.
“I’m sober, and all my friends and associates will tell you as much,” he states categorically. “I got to the point in life where drugs and alcohol had taken me over, and I’m just so happy to be away from all that.”
Despite the much-reported rifts with Simmons and Stanley over many years, nevertheless Frehley insists that he still has affection for both of them.
“I want people to know that I do love Paul and Gene,” he says. “I wish things would have been different, but it wasn’t to be…” Nor does Frehley hold any animosity towards his replacement Tommy Thayer.
“He’s a good guy and deserves a break. He’s not me, but he was never going to be me. In a lot of ways, his task was impossible.”
KISS recently revealed plans for a one-of-a-kind KISS Army Storms Vegas experience, set to take place November 14–16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. As part of the event, the band will deliver a special “unmasked” electric show featuring Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, giving fans a unique chance to see the rock legends in a more intimate and rare performance setting.
Source: metaladdicts.com
