 |  | |||||||
|
 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.
From: KNAC He's the quintessential rock and roll front man, and according to PAUL STANLEY he's been the quiet captain of the ship, keeping KISS out of troubled waters. Now, after 33 years of KISS, Stanley feels he and KISS are finally in a place where he can make his own music, and do what he wants for a change. Tuesday, October 24 Stanley's first solo album since the 1978 KISS Solos, "Live to Win" hits the stores, followed by a multi-city tour. Here's my conversation with an American rock icon. KNAC.COM: Hey Paul, how's the family? STANLEY: Everybody's great. I've got a 5-week old who seems to have my pipes. And I've got a 12-year old who seems to be on the verge of leaving me in the dust playing guitars. So, things are great. KNAC.COM: The legacy is passed on. STANLEY: Well, you know, it's in the genes. What can you do? KNAC.COM: Where are you today? STANLEY: I'm actually still in L.A. and getting ready to head to rehearsals. Reheasrsals have been probably 6 hours a day and, I gotta say it sounds just hellacious. I mean, it just sounds amazing. Everybody who comes by seems to agree, so we're having a ball. KNAC.COM: That's good news. The last time we spoke, you were in Toronto doing a Broadway style musical. STANLEY: Well, I was doing Phantom (Of the Opera). Which ran there for 10 years and I did the last 6 months, did 8 shows a week and closed the show. KNAC.COM: Did you get the Broadway bug out of your system, or are you going back some day? STANLEY: Oh no, I've got to do more of that. It's a great discipline and I really dig it. It's live entertainment and there something about live theater where you know immediately whether you suck or not, because, you know, when people stand up and they're not heading for the door, that means you're getting a standing ovation. So it's pretty cool. KNAC.COM: As one press release put it, you are to KISS what as Paul McCartney was to the Beatles. I can certainly see the songwriting parallel, but does that also mean you, like McCartney, are the least controversial member of the band? STANLEY: That's interesting. I'm certainly, you know, I mean I don't go for controversy just for the sake of press. I'm not certainly going to be in the press doing all kinds of noticable or notable, which ever you want to call it, things. So, in that way, it's a flattering comparison, but if I could shine McCartney's boots I'd be in good shape. KNAC.COM: Hard not to be controversial in a band like KISS. Ironic, the Beatles comparison…considering what you listened to when you started playing guitar as a kid. STANLEY: Well one thing, I mean, the comparison holds true when you think about having a band where all four members are known, iconic and have their own fans. So, there's a lot of bands where the members aren't very recognizable but, arguably you could take a picture of KISS to anyone around the world and they might not be able to tell you that much about it except they would look at the picture and go, "That's KISS." Those kind of parallels are very nice, but again, to hear you name mentioned next to the Beatles is a bit of a stretch to me. KNAC.COM: "Live to Win" sounds like a motto. Is it yours? STANLEY: Sure. I mean, it got me where I am. I really believe, you know, some people might say it's corny, but that's tough. I'm not hear to make converts, but the truth of the matter is, I'm a big believer that you set your goals and you go for them and you don't let anybody get in the way. and, if you stick to your guns, you win, even if you don't succeed. You win in defeat because you did it your way. So, living to win doesn't mean that you always succeed, it just means that you win by virtue of not compromising. I think there's a lot to be sad for that, and, if somebody finds it corny, tough. KNAC.COM: Is that what the album about and is it sort of, autobiographical? STANLEY: Well sure, I mean I write like how I think most people do, I write from my own experience, and whether I'm writing about relationships or I'm writing about my point of view, it's me. I tend to write about things that are close to me. KNAC.COM: Tell me about some of the people you've got playing on this album. STANLEY: I was very lucky, I basically stayed under the radar, I wasn't interested in using people just for marquis value. In other words, so that people would want to get the album because "so-and-so" was on it. So, all the players are just top notch, kick-ass players. One of the main guitar players, a guy named Corky James, he's played on a lot of Avril Lavigne and a lot of stuff for a production team called The Matrix. The Drummer Victor Indrizzo played with Macy Gray and Beck and Redd Cross and Scott Weiland (Velvet Revolver, Storm Temple Pilots). You know he's done a lot of great stuff. John 5 came in, he plays with Rob Zombie and Marylin Manson. But mainly, I only use people who it made sense to use musically. I had a very clear picture of what I wanted to do and there really wasn't a whole lot of room for people to come in with their own agendas or a primadona attitude. So, this was really me making my album, and the truth is, nobody heard it until it was done. I wasn't interested in opinions, I wasn't interested in critiques, I wasn't interested in suggestions, I wanted to do my album. KNAC.COM: And a guy like BRUCE KULICK, who you didn't mention, is always welcome to have that guy come in, he adds the glue to a project, doesn't he? STANLEY: Yeah, Bruce was great. Surprisingly maybe, I'm a big fan of his bass-playing. So there were some tunes I just thought Bruce would do a great job playing bass, so that's what he did. It was a great experience, because following that same point of view, I did it my way, I wasn't interested in other people's ideas, this is my album, and I'd rather, again, you know, if it succeeds, I take the accolades, and if it fails, I'm totally OK with that, too. KNAC.COM: Yet you collaborated with some song-writers, did you not? STANLEY: Yeah. But, I mean, I've always tended to collaborate with songwriters. I've got a bunch of guys that I respect and admire their work. The philosophy is you write songs that have memorable hooks, and great melodies. To me, that's what a song is about. If you can't play it on a guitar, and have it sound great, then you don't have a great song. It's not about production or what you add to it, that's all icing on the cake. So, the songwriters I tend to work with are people who come from the same point of view as I do, which is, it's really about the song. KNAC.COM: Is this album going after the KISS audience, or is this built for a broader audience from the git go? STANLEY: I have no idea. It was built for me. I would think that because I like it, there's other people who will like it. There's no escaping that I sing most of the big KISS songs, so yeah, you're going to hear a voice that you recognize, and certainly some of these songs could have been played by KISS although we would have played them differently. So, is there a KISS connection that will serve it well? Sure. But I don't think necessarily somebody has to like KISS to like this album. KNAC.COM: This is your only solo album since the 1978 KISS Solo's, right? Why so long in-between? STANLEY: Yeah. Good question. You know everybody was always running off to do their own projects on the side...I always thought that KISS needed some attention and, you know, if everybody's running around, who's minding the store? There have been times where I think the band was in some danger, and some trouble and somebody needed to be there to bail water, otherwise I think the "Good Ship KISS " could have sunk. So, I saw that as my responsibility and I did it, and finally it reached a point where I think that the band is solid and will do what it needs to and can do whatever it wants to. And I felt it's really my turn and my time to go do an album. It won't be another 28 years before the next one. (Laughs) Otherwise the next one I told people instead of being called "Live To Win" it'll be called "Hope To Live" (Laughs). KNAC.COM: You said you're doing a great deal of practicing, so tell me about the touring plans? STANLEY: Our first show is on the 21st. and, we're just doing 18 shows. And then probably I'll go home and reassess what I feel like doing and more than likely go out and do more shows. I've got an amazing band, I got the house band from the TV Show "Rock Star" which whether you like the show or not is good enough reason to watch it. the band is amazing, and we're just tearing it up every day. The songs we're playing are everything from the first solo album, to the KISS classics, to some really cool KISS songs that have never been played that I really like and things from "Live To Win". So, it's a full, full evenin'. KNAC.COM: Another first for you since…1989? Didn't you do a brief solo tour back then? STANLEY: Yeah, I did a quick solo tour after we finished a KISS tour. I love playing. Clearly other people want to see this, because the tickets have just sold out pretty much as soon as they've gone up, so it raises the bar for me because it means, you know, I really feel a responsibility to give everybody something really special. So...so far, so good. KNAC.COM: How hard is it for you to separate yourself from the KISS…uh, there's really no better way to put it, the KISS industry…and forge your own place in the music business? STANLEY: Well, you know, I've always existed within-without the band. That's something that always continues. I consider myself an important member of the band, but I know where I draw the line and life goes on outside of that, so I have no problem differentiating. KNAC.COM: During the '80s you almost produced albums for Guns N' Roses and Poison, but it never happened. Why? STANLEY: All kinds of reason STANLEY: politics, personality clashes with some of the people involved, but everybody's done very well and I'm happy for everybody. It's great to see other people succeed and it's nice to be a part of people's success but when you can't, you know, it's really not the end of the world. Everybody has managed to do quite well with me and without me. KNAC.COM: Gene's done a lot of producing…is that something you want to do? STANLEY: I'm pretty selective in how I use my time. The idea of just producing for the sake of producing is not of any interest to me. For something to take up my time it has to be something that I feel is worth sacrificing something else. (If) the right project comes along, sure, but just to, you know, to me there's a way people can seem to be busy and it's not that different from being on a stationary bike. You're pedaling a whole lot but you're not going anywhere. That's not to draw a comparison to Gene, it's more about the idea that I'm real selective in what I do and you only have so many hours in the day and the time you spend doing one thing means you're not doing something else. KNAC.COM: Speaking of Gene…I know he's got to be like a brother to you…but he doesn't even hide it any more…the blatant "if I can make a buck, I'll do it" attitude…do you think it helps or hurts KISS…and your efforts to be your own artist? STANLEY: I don't think it helps. But, you know, he's certainly entitled to say what he wants. We don't always agree, and I think that there are certain things he does that don't reflect well on the band, but, that's life. It's important for people, as much as possible, to realize that the squeaky wheel doesn't always have to get the oil. In other words, the person who is the most vocal isn't necessarily saying things that are reflective of the band or the point of view of the band. I think Gene often says things to get a rise out of people or to get press space, and that's fine. but it really doesn't necessarily mean it's more accurate. KNAC.COM: Will KISS record again? STANLEY: It's possible. You know the problem with KISS recording is that the songs that everybody thinks of as the classics are much more than music at this point, they are really, I guess like snap shots of a point in somebody's life. People remember what they were doing when they heard a certain song. People remember who they were with, who they were screwing, whatever they were doing, so it makes those songs much bigger than just playing music. The problem with that is that no matter what, KISS would go in and record today, it's never going to measure up to that. Not because it's not as good, but because it doesn't have the history. I mean, you go to a (Rolling) Stones concert, and truthfully, you tolerate the news songs, but you're not there to hear them, you're waiting to hear "Brown Sugar", you're waiting to hear "Honky Tonk Woman". It's just a matter of whether or not you're willing to accept that. Some bands want to continue making new music for their own creativity. I respect that. I just wonder if I'm up to putting that amount of effort into an album only to have people listening to say, "Oh, well, that's really nice. Play "Love Gun". (Laughs) So if I can reconcile that then I'd go back in, but I would want, you know, I would pretty much at this point, if we did a KISS album I would want to control it. you know, I'm not really in a place now where I want to compromise or dilute an album for anyone's quota of songs or anything like that. At this point I'd really want, I'd pretty much want to steer it. KNAC.COM: I guess after 33 years of KISS, you've earned it. Looking back, then thinking of your reaction today to this longevity, is it that hard to conceive of a 50 year anniversary tour in 17 years? STANLEY: Anything's possible. We're in uncharted water. What happens with KISS is anybody's guess, including mine. Anything is possible. That's the beauty of the band is, I never say never anymore. |
     | ||||||
|
 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 | | ||||||
| | | ||||||
