In a new interview Terrie Carr of WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, the rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons reflected on the band’s classic debut studio album, which was released in February 1974 via Casablanca Records. Much of the material on the LP was written by Simmons and KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, with the two of them splitting the lead vocal duties fairly evenly. Gene said about the effort (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think probably it’s the most honest record we’ve ever done. It doesn’t have to be the best, but painters and artists talk about the honesty of innocence before you learn to do things. Like kids — the most honest art is when a small child dips into mud or poop in the bathtub and starts creating imagery and stuff. That’s the most honest expression of art before you know form and function and any of that stuff. So we didn’t know anything about the recording process. We barely knew how to tune the instruments, and we sort of could write songs and based on our love of… We were Anglophiles. We loved the English version of what the Americans invented, which was rock and roll and blues, and it became rap and all that. It all started here [in the U.S.], but come on, the English gave us THE BEATLES and [LED] ZEPPELIN and stuff, and we gave them THE GRATEFUL DEAD. It’s just leagues apart. Nothing American ever rose to that level with people that play guitar. Nothing — not even close. And when you list the top — I don’t know — 10 bands of all time, they were all English or Irish. THE BEATLES and THE [ROLLING] STONES and the English invasion and stuff — on and on and on. Amazing songs. And so we started writing songs like that, and not copying or anything, but within that vein. And it came easy. Paul and I were long students of songwriting and the English bands and everything. THE KINKS — oh my goodness, those early years. ‘Waterloo Sunset’ was so, so simple, stripped of even production.
“The thought behind those songs [on KISS‘s first album] was we wanted to put together the band we never saw on stage,” Simmons explained. “So on one hand we had sort of this love of Anglophile music and those English bands, but then there was the sameness of, if you didn’t know much, you couldn’t tell the difference between THE KINKS or THE STONES or THE BEATLES and everything. They all had basically the same hairstyle type, same age — except THE BEATLES, everybody sang, everybody was a star. That was a major, major difference. And so we looked at THE BEATLES as a template. Wouldn’t it be great if everybody sang lead? That was like, ‘Wait a minute.’ In THE STONES, it was [Mick] Jagger. In THE KINKS, it was Ray Davies — like on and on and on. AEROSMITH, it’s Steven [Tyler] — nobody else sings. But in KISS, everybody sings songs. And that was a thing that was appealing to us. Now, putting that together, you have to go through auditions, and eventually we found the right mix, those original guys. Having said that, sadly, not everybody is designed in their DNA to run marathons. Some people are just shooting stars — they just go for a little while. And Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer] were so perfect for the original lineup, but they just weren’t designed to last 50 years. So they were in and out of the band three different times.”
Less than two months ago, Simmons confirmed to Las Vegas Review-Journal that KISS will perform without makeup at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas as part of the three-day “KISS Army Storms Vegas” event, which runs from November 14 to November 16.
“KISS Army Storms Vegas” celebrates the KISS fan club’s 50th anniversary and will be the band’s first live performance since Simmons, Stanley, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wrapped up their “End Of The Road” farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in December 2023.
When KISS officially announced the “KISS Army Storms Vegas” event, the band said that Stanley and Simmons — along with “special guests” — would play at least one show “unmasked,” meaning without their iconic makeup. It was later revealed that Thayer would also be part of the event.
KISS had previously set a 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022 but ultimately canceled all of the dates.
Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden “End Of The Road” concert would mark “the final KISS-in-makeup appearance.”
Simmons recently postponed nearly 20 dates on his forthcoming solo tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND to 2026. Gene is now expected to launch the trek on May 2 in Peachtree City, Georgia, with dates scheduled through August 3 in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Source: blabbermouth.net
