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From: Herald Sun You're touring your first solo album in 28 years, Live to Win. How is it playing without wearing make-up and no special effects? Surprisingly for some, there's arguably more power than some of the arena shows we do with KISS. There's nothing there to confuse anyone as to what the source of the power is. It's deadly good fun. This whole tour has reconnected for me why I got into music in the first place. I remember going to concerts as a kid, seeing Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin playing for a couple of thousand people. It wasn't about big-stage presentations, it was about big belief in music. The setlist contains a handful of solo songs and many KISS songs. There's so many great songs to play it'd be foolish to deny myself or the fans all the great tunes I've written that KISS does. You hear all those songs the way they were supposed to sound. I wasn't interested in changing Love Gun into a reggae tune. You're refreshingly honest about KISS fans not wanting to hear new material when you play. How have they reacted to hearing new PAUL STANLEY songs on this tour? It's gone down tremendously. People come knowing they are going to get a night of me. I believe this is a very intimate, but very potent evening. I don't know who's smiling more, us on stage or the audience. The setlist features a few more obscure KISS songs... The show is about me doing my favourite songs. It was really that simple. By chance or circumstance, some of my favourite songs are songs KISS hasn't played or has rarely played. This is about specifically doing something that is catering to me, my likes, and it's nice to not have to compromise or dilute them. The Rolling Stones struggle to get radio play for their new material. Have you had the same problem with Live to Win? That's why I've been reluctant to record new material with KISS. The Stones do it, they're well aware radio doesn't take to it. Quite honestly, when you see the Stones live most people tolerate the new stuff to hear the hits. I've tried to avoid that. My new album, if I said the record company did a pathetic job that would be saying they did anything. They really have done nothing. It's really about me doing what I love doing. Your record company is happy reissuing old KISS material. It pays quite well I have to say. Though it's not instigated, for the most part, by me and the band, the truth is a record label that owns an album or albums has the right to do that. Likewise, you have the right not to buy it. They wouldn't come out with product unless people were buying it. You released a Kissology DVD compilation in the US last year. That's five-times platinum in the US. We're already working on Volume 3. The KISS vaults must be huge. Yeah, and we own it all, which is quite brilliant. We only have to go into our own archives to get the material for these. When we were doing Kissology it took me back to the roots of how this started, which was as a band that believed in taking no prisoners, going out there to rock. Your solo band is the house band from the two series of Rock Star. Is that the closest you'll ever get to doing a reality-TV show? Oh God, I'd rather take a bullet in my head. You can either have reality or you can have TV, the two cannot co-exist. I have no desire to have my life played out to the public. I'm very happy to have my life for myself and also have my life on stage. They both make each other possible. Have you seen GENE SIMMONS' reality show Family Jewels? Honestly, I haven't. People say it's very good. He's happy. That's part of his personality and not mine. You've said you believe the number of things Gene does outside KISS lessens KISS's impact. I think so. But he has every right to do them. I think some of his choices are questionable, but so what? God knows we've earned the right to go and do what satisfies us. What's the status of Kiss? We turned down a summer tour - for some reason it just wasn't that appealing. Truth be told I wouldn't mind going out and continuing with my solo band. But KISS absolutely will be out on tour again. It's inevitable. Gene came to your solo show. What did he think? He was blown away. From what I heard, he posted something to that effect on his website. It's undeniable. It's as good as anything out there and better than most. What did you think of Gene's solo record Asshole? It's not the album I would have made. It's not the album I would have hoped he made, but I'm only accountable for what I do. You turned 55 in January. How did you celebrate? I have a four-month-old son (Colin), that kind of precludes making it too crazy or late a night. My wife and I went out for dinner. You've also had hip-replacement surgery. How's the new hip? All I can say is I've been scoring knockouts every night. Is it true you spent the last few years of KISS tours in pain before the operation? I'm a firm believer that when people pay for tickets they don't need a disclaimer from anyone on stage about their health or limitations. If you have to do that, you'd be better off giving everyone their money back. People don't come for excuses or to hear about your circumstances. I was in pain for years, it reached a point where it was literally difficult to get up the stairs to the stage. There was not much choice to become a little bionic. Live to Win (Universal) out now. PAUL STANLEY, Palais, April 20, on sale Feb 12 from Ticketmaster, venue 9537 2444. |
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