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GENE SIMMONS and KISS return From: Cincinnati Post By Rick Bird The reunion tour came in 1996. The farewell tour in 2000. It's 2004 and KISS is still at it. "We're having too much fun to stop," said GENE SIMMONS, KISS's fire-breathing, tongue-darting bassist. Kiss plays Riverbend Sunday. But for diehard fans, who know what's really behind the makeup and the flashpots, it's only half the real thing. Two original members -- drummer PETER CRISS and guitarist ACE FREHLEY -- are missing from this tour, as they were last summer when the band toured with Aerosmith. Kiss, as it often has in the past, remains in the hands of frontman PAUL STANLEY, 52, and Simmons, 54, who have always been the group's best bombastic promoters. "For people who have never seen KISS, it's close enough. For people who have, it's not nearly close enough," said Michael Walter, WEBN-FM marketing director. He's practically a charter member of the KISS Army, having seen the band more than 20 times. The first time was in 1978 when he was 12 years old. "My dad took me to Freedom Hall (in Louisville). The tickets were $7.50 and he thought that was outrageous." Walter, like many original fans, says it's not quite KISS without the original members. "They don't do any Ace songs," he lamented. "Ace had all the different guitars that lit up and shot bombs. It was just great. His goofy manner was an integral part of that whole kabuki theater angle. Now they are playing for fans who have seen the tribute band." Simmons would differ, noting KISS has always had what he calls a strong bench. Filling the catman (Criss) and spaceman (Frehley) roles on this tour is drummer ERIC SINGER and guitarist TOMMY THAYER. Indeed, both have played with the band before. Simmons doesn't miss Frehley and Criss still taking inflammatory shots at his former bandmates as he has often done in the past. "Now that we have a lineup that actually can rock and not worry about substance abuse and excuses and lazy rock star behavior, we have a band that actually has the musical muscle to just on the spot move the set around," Simmons said. Simmons seems to have a tough love attitude when it comes to Frehley's long substance abuse battle. He says a lot of this will be made clear in an upcoming VH1 special "When KISS Ruled the World" in which Ace acknowledges, according to Simmons, "If I'm going to be out on tour I'm going to kill myself." Simmons said by the time the farewell tour was winding down it was clear Frehley couldn't continue. "Ace's health was a lot more important than if we stayed out on tour. So when it looked like it was getting serious, including substance abuse, we said, 'OK, let's get off the stage and maybe save someone's life.' -- The road is not an easy place. Everybody thinks it's good times." Meanwhile, Criss walked off the tour in 2001, upset over his salary, according to reports at the time. In Simmons' mind, that was indeed the farewell tour, the last with the original lineup. But KISS is still out there, because, as Simmons likes to point out, the fans still want them. And he thinks too much is made of this original member stuff. "If it's about original members you have to take that argument to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Van Halen, AC/DC, or any band you can name. None of them have original members." KISS's musical theater defined the arena rock scene in the late '70s and attracted plenty of kids because of their cartoon appeal. Indeed, the marketing arm at the time cranked out a Marvel comic book along with KISS pinball machines, trading cards, lunch boxes, a TV movie, makeup and masks. Behind the fire-breathing, blood-spitting pyrotechnics was plenty of solid music. The band has some of the greatest fist-pumping, soaring rock anthems of all time, from "Rock 'n' Roll All Night" and "Strutter" to the power ballad "Forever." It was a musical sound a decade ahead of its time as the slick pop metal feel would become the standard for many of the big hair bands by the late '80s. And that's why hard-core fans like Walter were so excited when the original members reunited in 1996. Walter figured fans had suffered through the no makeup KISS tours of Simmons and Stanley. "Everybody was waiting for it," Walter said. "It was also a good way to make up to the fans for the (stuff) they did in the early '90s. I saw some KISS shows that rivaled Spinal Tap." The reunion tour got rave reviews. But some longtime fans say they are done with the band and that Stanley and Simmons should retire the act. For some, the official KISS Koffin, marketed in 2001, was symbolic of what the group has become. By all accounts, the current tour does not disappoint. It's loaded with the usual anthems, an all-new stage show and more pyrotechnics than ever. Judging by a varying and deep set list, Simmons is right that this lineup is more musically versatile. Simmons likes to look out at the crowds. "There are dads with their kids on their shoulders sharing a cross-generational moment. How often do you see that? Maybe at a baseball game, the circus, real American kind of things. KISS has become Americana." Walter might have been a little ahead of the curve when his dad took him to that KISS concert more than 25 years ago. "It wasn't because he was a fan, but he'll never forget it," Walter said with a laugh. A few years ago Walter was able to meet the band through his radio job. "I had Gene and Paul autograph one of my KISS bubble gum cards to my dad. I had it laminated and gave it to him as a bookmark for Father's Day." |
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