Hart Baur | Miami Herald

Paul Stanley doesn’t do anything half speed. The KISS frontman is now getting into the restaurant biz. He and bandmate Gene Simmons will co-host this weekend’s opening of Rock & Brews in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. There are plans for 50-plus locations in North America, possibly Miami.

So taking on the restaurant business now?

Absolutely, man. Obviously for me to get involved in something worthwhile is important. I’m not out there selling liquid, soap or detergents. The idea when I got involved was that I was never going to be in the back seat. I have a pizza oven at home, I grow my own produce, so I know a lot about what we are doing.

Is KISS ever going to show up and play?

There is no live music. You can see the lyrics on the screens so you can pick up the words you’ve never heard before [laughs].

Want to talk a little bit about the latest ‘Monster’ album?

I couldn’t be more pleased or proud of it. It speaks a lot about the band and it really backs up what this band is about, what it’s been about and what the future holds for us. One of my rules for this album was no recycled old material. And don’t reinvent the wheel. A lot of times as you grow you learn your craft better, but you don’t necessarily become better at it. You may become a technically better songwriter, but you’re not writing better songs. So the idea for me was: Let’s simplify things and don’t over-think things.

You have four kids now. How is dad doing?

I am a lucky guy. Amazing wife [ Erin Sutton], amazing kids. Emily is 19 months now, Sarah is 4, Colin is 6, Evan is 18. I’ve been busy and staying busy.

Word is Evan is an amazing guitarist.

He is. He is phenomenal. He was born to play. A lot of people have heard him and ask why I wasn’t as good as him at his age and I say I’m not as good as him now!

Sounds like things are going well.

I live a life that I am proud of and I sleep well at night. You have to like who you see at the end of the day and I do.