During an appearance on the “Sound Up!” podcast with Mark Goodman and Alan Light, KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley was asked if “a lot of the negativity” surrounding the band fades away when he reflects on KISS‘s 50-year run, particularly as it relates to former members. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I don’t see a lot of negativity. People talk about the glass half empty or half full. I see it overflowing. I mean, I don’t have any negative memories because everything that happens both happens for a reason and is part of the end result. So, if you’re living with bitterness or anger, it means you haven’t gotten past it. And I have nothing but good things to say about everybody who’s been in the band. And we couldn’t have made it without all of them. Everybody contributed something, and certainly Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer], above everyone else, are the foundation of this. So, whatever spats there have been, or whatever bickering, I put it in perspective. If you win the lottery, you don’t complain about taxes.”
Back in March 2023, radio host Howard Stern asked Stanley why he and fellow original KISS member Gene Simmons didn’t perform with Frehley and Criss at the band’s 2014 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. Stanley said: “[The Rock Hall organizers] were demanding, quite honestly, that we play with the two original guys, Peter and Ace, and at this point, that would be demeaning to the [most recent KISS] band, and also would give some people confusion. ‘Cause if you saw people on stage who looked like KISS but sounded like that, maybe we should be called PISS.”
KISS played its two final shows ever in December 2023 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
The last show, held on December 2, 2023, streamed live on pay-per-view.
KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“End Of The Road” was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band’s classic song “Detroit Rock City” on “America’s Got Talent”.
Early last year, KISS sold its entire music catalog, likeness and brand name to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind “ABBA Voyage”. A biopic, an avatar show, and a KISS-themed experience are already in the works, with Simmons and Stanley playing key roles in the development of all these projects, working closely with Pophouse.
Using cutting-edge technology, Pophouse Entertainment Group, which was founded by ABBA‘s Björn Ulvaeus, will create digital versions of KISS. The project was previewed at the final KISS show.
Source: blabbermouth.net
