In a recent “Talk Is Jericho” podcast episode, Chris Jericho asked Paul Stanley about the absence of former KISS members at their final Madison Square Garden shows back in 2023.
“To be somewhat diplomatic, there were people who made unrealistic demands of what they required,” Paul said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And it’s not about that. It wasn’t, for example, a celebration of the beginning of the band; it was a celebration of 50 years of a band, as opposed to a tribute to the start. So, as far as Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer], they weren’t there for many reasons. And I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it another hundred times. We couldn’t be here today without what those guys did, and we couldn’t be here today with them.”
When Jericho asked about the absence of any mention of former KISS members like Eric Carr, Bruce Kulick, and Mark St. John, Stanley responded: “What are you gonna do? I think the best way to honor everyone is to be the best we can be. What are we gonna have — videos up on the screen or draped photos? The fact that we were there, we were there because of everybody who participated, some more than others, but the tribute to everyone is us existing.”
When asked about KISS‘s legacy, particularly compared to bands like THE ROLLING STONES who are still active, Stanley stated: “I think the legacy is only gonna grow. I think it’s only gonna get bigger. THE STONES are an interesting one. At some point, what’s it gonna be? THE STONE? ‘I’m gonna see THE ROLLING STONE.’ They have survived more decades than us, certainly, and are an institution. People go to see them because it’s THE STONES. So, I think that over time we’ll only get bigger because you become more powerful the longer you exist.”
“When we were doing the ‘End Of The Road’ tour, I think we became almost superheroes because we were timeless and we didn’t change that greatly. People would come to see us and go, ‘Wow, they look like they did 40 years ago.’ You didn’t get that close to us. But, yeah, I think KISS is timeless and that KISS will just transcend everything it’s been.”
On December 2, 2023, KISS performed the final concert of their “End Of The Road” farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
In a fall 2023 interview with Rolling Stone, band’s bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons emphasized that the band’s final performance on the “End Of The Road” tour would indeed mark their last show.
“My hand on the Bible,” he said. “And I should know because my people wrote that book. In fact, my people also wrote the follow-up book, the New Testament. And so I’ll say right here, right now, my hand on the Bible, it will be the final KISS-in-makeup appearance.”
Addressing KISS‘ decision to retire at this point, Simmons explained: “It has nothing to do with ticket sales or anything. It has to do with Mother Nature. And at a certain point, you have to understand that it’s going to be a point of diminishing returns because of the kind of band we are. I wear seven-inch platform dragon boots, each weighs as much as a light bowling ball, armor, studs, leather, all that stuff, and that weighs about 40 pounds in total. And I got to spit fire, and fly through the air, and all that, and you got to do it for two hours.”
Source: metaladdicts.com
