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 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.
Just remember this: KISS is now in bliss From: Columbus Dispatch by Aaron Beck 
Kiss might not be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but its marketing abilities might someday land founding members GENE SIMMONS and PAUL STANLEY honorary MBAs from Yale.
With 2,500 licenses for KISS products, images of the band's greasepaint-splattered faces have been emblazoned on everything from condoms and caskets to Visa cards and ceramic wall tile. Kiss, which was on the cover of Forbes magazine in 1996, has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide since it played its first concert in 1973 in the New York borough of Queens. Simmons, in 2001, told The New York Times: "Music was never the point. "I believe that music and inspiration and creativity are all way overblown and overemphasized and overvalued. Everybody who is in the 'arts' likes to emphasize the romantic because it makes good copy. If you're in the arts for a paycheck, that's supposed to be pathetic. The guy who works and digs the ditch for money is noble, but if an artist wants to get rich and famous, then that's pathetic. "Well, I don't believe a word of it. I have a little bit of advice for all the new rock stars and all the new artists. If you're uncomfortable and queasy about all the money you've made, here's the answer: Sit down and write a check to GENE SIMMONS for your entire net worth." Simmons - born Chaim Witz on Aug. 25, 1949, in Haifa, Israel - moved to New York when he was 8 with his mother, Flora Klein, a Hungarian Jew and concentration-camp survivor. Today, he lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., with actress Shannon Tweed, his partner of 20 years, and their children: Nick, 15, and Sophie, 11. Kiss these days is bassistsinger Simmons, with guitaristsinger Stanley and KISS company employees ERIC SINGER (drums) and TOMMY THAYER (guitar) - replacements for original members PETER CRISS and ACE FREHLEY, who were sacked or forced to retire for incompetence and drug and alcohol abuse. Simmons called from the road to promote the band's "Rock the Nation 2004" tour. Q: How was the show last night? Was it any different from the thousands of other shows KISS has played? A: Without giving anybody a sound bite, it's a real privilege. It's a fun idea - you get to go onstage and live out your dreams. You know when you win the lottery or you're a girl and you get to be Miss America and you get to walk down the aisle? I get to do that many times every week. Q: So the question "Why is KISS touring again?" is going to be a silly question? A: Only white people have these kinds of notions. Nobody ever asked Ray Charles until the day he died why he continued playing until he dropped dead. It's a fascinating idea why people keep complaining about Mick Jagger and everybody else: "Why don't they retire?" Whereas black people see it as a source of pride that B.B. King is 80 years old and right now is playing someplace in the world. Q: Will the members of KISS play when they're 80? A: We'll both find out together. Either you're in this and you're serious, or this is a parttime job, and you know what? The last time I checked, we're pretty damn good. Q: The set list for this tour has changed a lot since . . . A: The set list this time has a lot to do with being flexible because Eric and Tommy have added new blood into the band and because we have more musical muscle than we've ever had. This lineup shows up on time, does the work and doesn't complain and moan and is straight. As much as people want to talk about the original lineup, it couldn't have pulled this off. "We're so proud of how we're playing and looking and everything that people can actually, at the end of show, pick up a double CD of the actual night's event." (For information at the concert, look for the Instant Live booths.) Q: Are these songs you wanted to play for some time? A: That's exactly right. This lineup knows all the material, so in the middle of the set you can say, "Hey, why don't we do that?' " In the past we had to rehearse - I'll be blunt - Ace and Peter. TOMMY THAYER, who's been with us a few years now, had to teach Ace his own parts because Ace just couldn't remember them, and Peter as well. I'd have to sit there just reviewing the stuff because they just couldn't maintain the information. That doesn't mean we don't love Ace and Peter and that they're not sweethearts. They were every bit as important to the formation of the band as anybody else. But truth is an important issue. After a certain point, the kids grow up and have to find out about Mom and Dad. Q: There was never any talk about bringing those guys back for this tour? A: How many times, you know? How many times are they gonna leave and come back? The road is not good for Ace and Peter. They need to be home so they can be happy. They both deserve happiness, and so does KISS. The road is not for everybody. Q: Why didn't you ever drink or use drugs? A: It was a personal decision for me in my life. My mother's gone through the German Nazi concentration camps of World War II. I'm an only child, and life is precious. So, the idea that I would voluntarily hurt myself is the height of lunacy. Q: Did having kids at all change the way you lived? A: In only one way: I've been happily unmarried for 20 years to the same girl. Marriage is out of the question. As we all self to answer to, and no one had the right to comment. Actually, my kids do have a right to comment. It doesn't mean I have to agree, but they are voices that I listen to. Q: How is touring now versus the 1970s? A: The '70s were very difficult. We were in a dysfunctional band. I've saved Ace and Peter's lives, literally; from drowning in pools and all kinds of things. But also we were trapped. We couldn't show people who the know, the only thing wrong with marriage is one of the two is a man. I thought having kids would prevent me from working and being as ambitious as I am. The opposite is true: Because I have kids, I work harder than I ever have - not because I have to but because you want to leave a legacy or something. There's a greater idea. Finally, I thought, every decision I ever made I only had mypeople were under the makeup because there was a price on our heads. . . . I tell you, 30 years on, we're just having the times of our lives. Q: What's the most frustrating part of life for GENE SIMMONS? A: I really don't have any frustrations. All the headaches have been cut out of the band. Every day's a party. We really do rock and roll and night and party every day - sometimes with your sister and sometimes with your mommy, too. |
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