Randall Roberts | LA Times
Cesar Aguilar
Call it a clash of egos, a publicity stunt or merely one more battle in the long-running war between Boston and New York City, but Aerosmith‘s recent dismissal of KISS as “a comic book rock band” has prompted a response from KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley.
Last week, for no apparent reason, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith decided to denigrate KISS on Florida radio station the Bone. Responding to a question about the 2003 KISS/Aerosmith tour, Tyler fired this shot: “Kiss is a comic book rock band and they got a couple hits, but they’re more of a comic book. You see them in their spackled faces.”
Ouch.
Tyler continued: “We were always a band that had something to prove. We always wanted to blow off whatever band it was, and I remember when we went out with KISS in ’76 or something, one of our roadies got into a knife fight with their guys. So I hated them ever since.”
He then compared KISS’ guitar work with Aerosmith’s, calling them “two different worlds.” The distinction between the two bands, he concluded, was that “we really do take ourselves seriously.”