 |  | |||||
|
 All news should be considered an unconfirmed report unless verified, and all information published at KISS Asylum is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves. All information is confirmed where possible, and all publication is governed by common sense.
PAUL STANLEY on KISS' Rock The Nation Tour From: The Orange County Register By Steve Fryer The press releases promise that KISS' current Rock The Nation Tour will provide "more fire, more screaming guitars and more spectacle than ever." Given that a typical KISS concert rivals a post-baseball-game fireworks show, how can that be? "The bombs last night were the loudest I've ever heard them," KISS singer/guitarist PAUL STANLEY said the morning after the band's recent show in San Antonio. "And it takes a lot for me to say something like that." The pyrotechnics are fun for the fans, but Stanley is enjoying this tour more than any in a long time because of the music. After playing virtually the same block of songs for too long, KISS has exhumed some gems not heard live in many years. "The last six years," Stanley said, "we've played virtually the same set list. We'd almost become prisoners to the KISS classics. "There's no reason we can't play some of those songs every night and still give the audience that part of the band. But now we're at the point where, any given night we can shift in or out eight different songs. We're doing some songs that we haven't played live in 20 or 25 years, and some we've never played live, and that's what makes this show better." At San Antonio, and in Australia and Japan earlier this year, KISS has played several songs that were staples in the mid-ྂs "Alive" era, like "C'Mon And Love Me," "Parasite" and "She." Also making Stanley happy is the way KISS is playing the songs. Original band members Stanley and singer/bassist GENE SIMMONS are joined on this tour by KISS semiregulars TOMMY THAYER on guitar and ERIC SINGER on drums. Thayer, as he has done off and on in the past, replaces original lead guitarist ACE FREHLEY, and Singer, as he also has done before, takes the seat of original drummer PETER CRISS. Frehley reportedly is struggling again with substance abuse. "I haven't spoken to Ace in probably a year and a half, maybe two years," Stanley said, "so I really don't know what's going on. And, you know, we created so much together and accomplished so much together, I can't say too much negative about him. I just want to focus on the great things we did together." Criss' situation, Stanley said, is different, but he became a liability because he is unable to produce what Simmons and Stanley want from their drummer. "There were some issues on the last tour," Stanley said, "but I'd rather not get into them." Told that The Orange County Register's review of a December 2003 show labeled Criss' playing that night as "average," Stanley responded, "Well ..." and after a moment's silence, "at the end of the day, the most important people in this whole life experience are the fans. We owe them the best KISS we can be. That's why Eric's back in the band." So, if this KISS has only the half the members from the band's prime years — when it sold more than 80 million albums and launched an unprecedented merchandising campaign that includes everything from KISS condoms to KISS caskets — is it really Kiss? "Is it really THE Yankees out on the field these days?" Stanley replied. "The team and what the team believes in is way bigger than anybody that is on the team. "Look at it this way: If you want vanilla ice cream and instead you're given chocolate, isn't that better than having no ice cream at all? The audience will choose if they don't want KISS anymore, but they're telling us, resoundingly, that they still do." Stanley, 54, said he is not sure how much longer there will be a KISS, and how much longer he will be part of it. "I'll stop when I decide to stop," he said. "The audience, sure, that's part of the equation, but the only person who will decide when it's time to hang it up is me. Not the crowd, not the crowd size — me. "Hey, if there are only 5,000 people there to see me play, that's still 4,999 more than most people will ever play to. Some people see the glass as half empty, some see it as half full. My glass is overflowing." Perhaps Stanley's relationship with Simmons is half good, half bad. When asked what he admired most about Simmons and what about Simmons drives him crazy, Stanley declined to describe his relationship with his business partner of more than 30 years. But he gave some hints as he reacted with surprise when told that Simmons recently credited Stanley for coming up with the band's name and logo. "He's rather frugal with that, giving credit to someone else," Stanley said. "Gene can be rather liberal when it comes to interchanging the words 'I' and 'we.'" Stanley claims the "we" that is KISS these days, and on this tour, is, as the band's famous onstage introduction goes, "the hottest band in the land." "The band has never sounded better," Stanley said, "and the show has never been better." |
     | ||||
|
 KISS Museum
News Archive
Features
Tour Dates
Photos
KISS ASYLUM © 1995-2008, all rights reserved. KISS ASYLUM is an unofficial, fan run KISS web site. KISS ASYLUM is optimized for 800x600 screen resolution or higher using Internet Explorer 6.0 and it is recommended that you have the Flash, Real Player, and Quicktime plug-ins to experience the rich audio and video media. Have KISS News to report? Email us at news@kissasylum.com | | ||||
| | | ||||
