Graham Hartmann | Loudwire
Kevin Winter
Earlier this year, KISS were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, it was too little, too late for frontman Paul Stanley, who admits he felt slighted by the Hall and questioned their motives.
During a new interview with KNPR News, KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley spoke about his ill feelings toward the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Firstly, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wanted nothing to do with us; they begrudgingly let us in,” Stanley begins. “And my sense was that we were going to be a dog-and-pony show. They wanted to have the original guys play in the band, and all of us in makeup, and, quite honestly, I think it would have done the band a disservice.”
“That lineup has not been together for 14 years, and physically, perhaps, wouldn’t have looked that great, and musically, undoubtedly, probably, would have sounded a bit suspect,” Stanley continues. “So, to have people watch it on television and identify that as KISS because there’s four guys in makeup would not send a great signal to the people who are not following the band in its current permutation, or what it is today.”
It seems like if the Rock Hall wanted a classic KISS reunion, they should have acted sooner. KISS became eligible for a Rock Hall induction in 1999, when the classic lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss was back together for a handful of years.
Speaking of longevity, Stanley adds, “So many bands are very demographic-specific in terms of age. We don’t have that. We have younger brothers, we have dads coming, we have your neighbors coming, and everybody’s there as part of this huge secret society. To lead something like that for 40 years against the grain, against the current, against people like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and to not only survive but to thrive is something I take incredible pride in. And this is… it’s a victory lap for me.” [via Blabbermouth]
KISS will begin a Las Vegas residency at the Hard Rock Hotel tonight (Nov. 5), concluding on Nov. 23.