Kory Grow | Rolling Stone
Paul Kane
For over a decade, Kiss‘ Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer have both worn makeup associated with the band’s founding guitarist and drummer, respectively. Although the move has sparked some controversy among Kiss fans, singer-bassist Gene Simmons tells Rolling Stone it doesn’t bother him.
“Why wouldn’t we use the classic makeup?” he says. “We own it.”
The subject came up during an interview regarding the 40th anniversary of Kiss’ Destroyer album, when Simmons bemoaned founding guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss’ acrimonious departures from the group within its first decade.
“The saddest thing of all is here we are, top of Mt. Olympus with all this cool stuff happening, really enjoying ourselves, the fans are thrilled, and nobody ever holds up a sign, ‘Where’s Ace and Peter?'” he says. “Anybody that’s in a band goes, ‘Oh, they can’t exist without me.’ They are sadly mistaken. Whether you’re AC/DC or Van Halen or anybody, they can actually not only exist without you. Even if you’re the lead singer, they can actually get twice as big.