Developer Max Nobel, purchased the 2-acre property on Benedict Canyon Drive from Simmons for US$16 million in 2021 according to Mansion Global.

After an extensive renovation that added 3,000 square feet to the residence, Mr Nobel initially listed the property for $48 million in 2023.

The property has undergone several price adjustments since then, including a $5 million reduction in November and the most recent $1 million cut.

The home was briefly taken off the market before being relisted in January at $34 million.

Mr Simmons had owned the property for nearly four decades, having purchased it in 1984 for US$1.35 million before selling it to Nobel.

According to the listing, the renovated mansion now spans 16,390 square feet and features seven bedrooms and eleven bathrooms.

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The Canadiens held their first-ever KISS Night at the Bell Centre and fans, including mascots Youppi! and METAL!, got dressed for the occasion.

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Queensrÿche guitarist Mike Stone was recently interviewed by Marko Syrjala for Metal-Rules. Stone played on Peter Criss‘ EP Criss (1993) and the album Cat #1 (1994).

Calling the well-read and those who love to shred.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library has teamed up with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to launch the free “Part of the Machine: Rock and Pinball” exhibition, which begins March 4 at the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 S. Grant Ave.

Through May 22, programming is available for all ages of music lovers. Guests can explore the history of rock ‘n’ roll, play pinball on six working rock ‘n’ roll machines and check out a drum set used by the band KISS.

A spokesperson for the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Ben Zenitsky, said multiple library departments collaborated to create rock ‘n’ roll programming for all ages.

“We’ll have rock ‘n’ roll-themed storytimes for the little ones. We will have pinball competitions for teens and adults. We will have music classes where kids can explore and play different kinds of instruments and touch and interact with instruments,” he said.

Zenitsky said the work of iconic Columbus-born Rolling Stones magazine photographer Baron Alan Wolman will be on display as a part of the historical content within the programming.

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KISS fans and Monopoly fans rejoice! These two strong brands have merged into one awesome new game, KISS-OPOLY! The Game Includes: Tokens: Gene & Pauls Guitars, Genes Boot, Pauls Fire Hat, Bag of Money, KISS Army Logo. Board Spaces: Gene Simmons Solo Album, KISS Pinball Machine, Detroit Rock City, KISS Platinum Gold Box Set. Cards: You broke a string on the Starchilds guitar; Pay $50. You took 2nd Place in the Girls of KISS Beauty Contest; Collect $100. Your in the Army now! All tokens advance to All Access Pass. Very hard to find item. Still sealed.

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Ace Frehley was always a great lead guitarist in Kiss, but it took a long time for him to make his mark as a lead singer.

It was on the band’s sixth studio album, Love Gun, that Ace finally recorded a lead vocal – on a song he wrote, called Shock Me.

Speaking toMusicRadar, he recalls how he wrote, played and finally plucked up the courage to sing that song.

“How do I come up with anything?” he says. “How does anybody write anything? Sometimes riffs come first, and sometimes it’s lyrics. It can be a chord pattern, a melody, or a rhyme I wrote. Whenever I’m inspired… that’s when it happens. It’s really that simple.

With Shock Me, I was sitting around, fooling around with my guitar, and a riff came into my head. I developed a melody line, but I mean… to me, writing a song is really easy. I’ve written songs in minutes.”

His lyrics for Shock Me were based on his own near-death experience – being electrocuted on stage during a Kiss concert in 1976.

“I almost died in Lakeland, Florida,” Ace says. “I was standing on top of four Marshall cabinets on a staircase when I got shocked. I had a heavy Les Paul around my neck, and my body should have fallen forward—but I didn’t.

Ace admits he finds it difficult to explain how he writes and plays.

“Shock Me is a chord inversion – that’s as much as I can say about that. I’m not really good with musical terms!

“Funnily enough, I tried to do an instructional video on Shock Me for YouTube, which was ridiculous. There was a guy sitting off the side explaining to me what to say, and they’d stop the camera, he would tell me, and then I’d do the video.

“I was like, ‘Fuck, man! I don’t know how to explain what the fuck I’m playing!’ I play by ear. I just turn the volume up and play.”

Ace says of his solo in Shock Me: “If my memory serves me correctly, I did the solo in just one take. Back in the day, it was a lot harder to edit. If you didn’t get it right, the editing process was using a razor blade to cut the tape. There was no picking the best parts and piecing them together like nowadays.”

“As for the gear, I used all sorts of stuff in the studio. A lot of people don’t realise it was that way by the time we did Love Gun.

“I’d use acoustics, Strats and Les Pauls to layer sounds on top of each other, like Pete Townshend would do with The Who. It added thickness.

“I did that a lot on Love Gun, but with Shock Me, I think it was mostly a Marshall and my Les Paul. I had a few old Vox amps. I might have used one of those, too.”

But what made Shock Me such an important song for Ace was the fact that he sang the lead vocal for the first time on record.

He had written key songs on previous Kiss albums, including Cold Gin on the band’s self-titled debut album, and Parasite on the follow-up Hotter Than Hell.

But while rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss all sang lead vocals from the first album onwards, Ace had always lacked the confidence to do so.

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Ace Frehley recently spoke with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. During their conversation, Ace discusses new music in development and reflects on the passing of Karl Cochran.

SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, hosted by Eddie Trunk, airs daily at 3 PM, ET on SiriusXM’s Faction Talk. Audio clips and transcript below courtesy of SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation.

Ace Frehley talks new music in development:

Eddie Trunk: “You working on the next record? What are you working on in the studio?”

Ace Frehley: “Origins Vol. 3.”

Eddie Trunk: “How far along are you?”

Frehley: “Origins Vol. 3 and I decided to reconnect with my old producer, Alex Salzman.”

Trunk: “Oh, okay.”

Frehley: “So it won’t be me and Steve Brown. It’ll be me and Alex Salzman collaborating on that record since Alex did Origins Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. And we have a formula that we came up with and it seemed to work. I was listening to the records last night on YouTube, you know. In my office, on my desk, I have a set of both speakers and the album sounds just as good as the new album, 10,000 Volts. So I’m gonna keep that. I’m gonna go back to my old formula with Alex and maybe I’ll bring back Steve to do the studio album since he’s a very, very good songwriter and guitar player and engineer as well.”

Trunk: “Have you decided what you’re gonna cover yet? And are you gonna also do remakes of some KISS songs like you did on the last one too?”

Frehley: “I haven’t decided. I have a list of about 50 songs, so you know, I really don’t want to give anything away. It’s too soon.”

Trunk: “You want to get it out this year?”

Frehley: “I could have it ready, but, you know, I can do the album in a month because I don’t have to write the songs. That’s the beauty of the Origins series. I don’t write. So the recording process is pretty seamless. And wrap it because all I have to do is “Ace-ify” it.”

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https://www.podbean.com/ep/dir-8vimq-2401bc23

During an appearance on the latest episode of “Talk Is Jericho”, the podcast hosted by wrestling superstar and FOZZY frontman Chris Jericho, KISS guitarist Paul Stanley was asked why there weren’t any guest appearances by former KISS members at the band’s final shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in New York City in December 2023. Paul responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “To be somewhat diplomatic, there were people who made unrealistic demands of what they required. And it’s not about that. It wasn’t, for example, a celebration of the beginning of the band; it was a celebration of 50 years of a band, as opposed to a tribute to the start. So, as far as Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer], they weren’t there for many reasons. And I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it another hundred times. We couldn’t be here today without what those guys did, and we couldn’t be here today with them.”

Asked by Jericho about the lack of any mention of other former KISS members, such as Eric Carr, Bruce Kulick and Mark St. John, Stanley said: “What are you gonna do? I think the best way to honor everyone is to be the best we can be. What are we gonna have — videos up on the screen or draped photos? The fact that we were there, we were there because of everybody who participated, some more than others, but the tribute to everyone is us existing.”

Regarding how he feels about KISS‘s legacy, especially in light of the fact that bands like THE ROLLING STONES are still continuing to play and record music, Paul said: “I think the legacy is only gonna grow. I think it’s only gonna get bigger. THE STONES are an interesting one. At some point, what’s it gonna be? THE STONE? ‘I’m gonna see THE ROLLING STONE.’ They have survived more decades than us, certainly, and are an institution. People go to see them because it’s THE STONES. So, I think that over time we’ll only get bigger because you become more powerful the longer you exist.”

Paul added: “When we were doing the ‘End Of The Road’ tour, I think we became almost superheroes because we were timeless and we didn’t change that greatly. People would come to see us and go, ‘Wow, they look like they did 40 years ago.’ You didn’t get that close to us. But, yeah, I think KISS is timeless and that KISS will just transcend everything it’s been.”

Last year, ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick told Finland’s Chaoszine that Stanley and fellow KISS founder Gene Simmons “missed a really huge opportunity” when they failed to acknowledge any of the band’s former members during the final concert. “It’s not just about me,” Bruce clarified. “[They also didn’t mention late KISS drummer] Eric Carr, Ace and Peter, and [late KISS manager] Bill Aucoin. Come on. Terrible. They really missed making a better feel-good evening for everyone when it was much closer to every night before. And those who say, ‘Well, I saw you up on the screen.’ They’d been doing that for years where they’d have little things. So they didn’t feel it was important. I feel they missed an opportunity.”

In January 2024, Frehley explained to Rock Candy magazine why he never made it on stage with KISS for their final show at Madison Square Garden after last leaving the band back in 2002.

“Fans would constantly reach out to me and say, ‘Ace, please come back to the band,'” Frehley explained. “So the fans were and are my primary motivators, and I want them to know that I did try, but I couldn’t make it happen. They never asked me.”

Frehley dismissed the idea that his well-documented troubles with drugs and alcohol could ever have been a reason for Simmons and Stanley not reaching out to him.

“I’m sober, and all my friends and associates will tell you as much,” he stated categorically. “I got to the point in life where drugs and alcohol had taken me over, and I’m just so happy to be away from all that.”

Despite the much-reported rifts with Simmons and Stanley over many years, nevertheless Frehley insisted that he still had affection for both of them.

“I want people to know that I do love Paul and Gene,” he said. “I wish things would have been different, but it wasn’t to be…” Nor does Frehley hold any animosity towards his replacement Tommy Thayer. “He’s a good guy and deserves a break,” Ace said. “He’s not me, but he was never going to be me. In a lot of ways, his task was impossible.”

In November 2023, prior to KISS‘s final concert, Frehley told Mark Strigl of SiriusXM‘s Ozzy’s Boneyard that he didn’t hold a grudge against KISS, despite all the badmouthing that had gone on between him and some of the other original KISS members in recent years.

“I wish KISS the best, all the best on their final shows for the ‘End Of The Road’ tour,” he said. “There’s really no hard feelings. We say things sometimes in the heat of passion or sometimes our memory isn’t… [we don’t] recall things. But I love those guys. We’re all getting old, our memory isn’t what it used to be, so I just let it roll off my back.”

Also in November 2023, Simmons lamented the absence of Frehley and Criss at KISS‘s final shows, telling 519 Magazine: “I feel sad. I feel sad and angry that both Ace and Peter aren’t here. I mean, they’re alive, but they’re not here to enjoy this unbelievable journey with us. They were there at the beginning and deserve all the credit. And when they look in the mirror, the only reason they’re not here with us is themselves.

“Inviting them was as much for the fans as it was for us. KISS has always been about the whole, not the individual. It would’ve been fitting to have all of us there, one last time.”

In June 2023, Gene was asked by Barbara Caserta of Linea Rock about the possibility of Ace and Peter making guest appearances at the band’s last-ever concerts in December 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He responded: “For the fans — the older, older fans — the ones who’ve been around for 50 years, they’re old, and some of them wanna see Ace and Peter. The newer fans never saw them and they don’t know. But the older fans wonder about Ace and Peter. Well, I asked both Ace and Peter a few times: ‘Do you wanna come out for the encores? Do you wanna do some shows?’ And they both said ‘no.’ So, I don’t know what to say about that… But it’s always welcome. But there are many other big stars, superstars, who wanna jump up onstage and play a song. But we’re not sure about that. Maybe the best thing to do is to end the way we started: four guys with guitars. No keyboards, no synthesizers — nothing. Just playing.”

In April 2023, Frehley told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he was still open to playing with KISS at the band’s final shows in New York City. “Money motivates me, just like it motivates them, but I don’t put money before God,” he explained. “If I got a quarter of a million dollars a night, and I can make half a million dollars for playing three or four songs, five songs, I’d take the money. [I’d] buy a Ferrari… buy a Maserati. [Laughs] I don’t really wanna play with those guys ever again after what they’ve done, but money can change my mind.”

Frehley continued: “Look, I’m a capitalist. I grew up in America. But I’d never put money before people’s feelings. I like money as much as the next guy does, but money isn’t my God, like it is theirs. They’re all atheists. Whatever they can do or say, whether it’s true or false, as long as it makes them the most amount of money, they’re gonna do [it].”

Ace also addressed the issue of whether he would perform with KISS at the band’s final concerts while wearing his trademark “Spaceman” makeup — the same makeup his replacement Tommy Thayer had been sporting for more than two decades. “Sure. For a quarter of a million dollars,” he said, explaining that “I’m a good-looking guy. I don’t need the makeup.”

When Trunk pressed Ace about what he thought the odds were of him playing with KISS at the final concerts in New York, Frehley said: “It all depends on money. If I get a formal invitation with a check, I’ll be there. But they’ve gotta have deep pockets… If they don’t wanna pay me, I won’t be there, ladies and gentleman.”

Ace also once again confirmed that he had never received a formal invitation to join his former bandmates at their last-ever shows. “Absolutely not,” he said. “From what I understand, the shows are sold out. The only reason they sold out is they made innuendos that me and Peter were gonna be there, [that] they invited us. I wasn’t invited. They lie all the time. Haven’t they said, ‘We’re inviting Ace and Peter to come up and play?’ Or at least me? Multiple times. So, people bought the tickets. But I haven’t been given a formal invitation or given an offer monetarily. And I’m probably not gonna get one now after this interview. And guess what: I don’t give a shit.”

Despite everything that has been said between all the parties, Ace claimed that he still looked back fondly on his time with KISS and he didn’t hate his former bandmates.

“Look, the bottom line is this: deep down in my heart, I love those guys, because we created something so special that it will be remembered for years,” he said. “When we’re all dead and buried, there will still be people listening to KISS music. And I’m overjoyed. But I want my legacy to be cleared of any of this bullshit and lies.”

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“End Of The Road” was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but was later extended to late 2023. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band’s classic song “Detroit Rock City” on “America’s Got Talent”.

In a June 2022 interview with Finland’s Chaoszine, Simmons was asked if Frehley and Peter would have any involvement in KISS‘s final concerts. He responded: “We’ve tried. I keep trying. Paul and I met with Ace, trying to convince him to come back. He said, ‘I want this. I want that.’ Well, we can’t do that. I asked Ace and Peter to be in the documentary [‘Biography: KISStory’, which premiered on A&E in June 2021]. They said no. They might do it if they have complete control of the edit. I said, ‘We can’t do that, because even we don’t have that. But I won’t control what you say; you can say whatever you want.’ The answer is no — both of them. I asked Ace and Peter, ‘Come out on tour. We’ll get you your own room and everything. Come out on the encores.’ Ace said, ‘No. The only way I’ll come out is if I’m the Spaceman and you ask Tommy [Thayer, KISS‘s current guitarist] to leave.’ I go, ‘Well, that’s not gonna happen.’ First of all, I care about Ace, but he’s not in shape — he can’t play that way and doesn’t have the physical stamina to do that…

“Look, we care about them,” Gene added. “We started this thing together and they were equally important to the beginning of the band with Paul and I — no question. But as time went on… Not everybody is designed to run a marathon. Some people are designed to be in a band for a year or two, or a few years, and then that’s all they can do. And both of them have been in the band three different times. How many chances in life do you get? All I know is when I put my hand in fire the first time, I got burnt; I didn’t get a second or third chance.

“So, the answer is the door’s always open,” Simmons said. “If they wanna jump on stage at any time and do the encores with us, terrific. But no, we’re not gonna get rid of Tommy or Eric [Singer, current KISS drummer]. In fact, Tommy and Eric are the best things that happened to us. They gave us new life [and] new appreciation for what we do because they were fans first. And every once in a while, Eric or Tommy will turn around and say, ‘Wow! Isn’t this great?’ And it makes us realize, ‘Yeah! Wow! Isn’t this great?'”

Gene was also asked if he saw any of the video footage from the May 2022 Creatures Fest in Nashville where Criss, Frehley and fellow former KISS members Vinnie Vincent and Bruce Kulick all performed. He responded: “Somebody showed me about 30 seconds, yeah. It was very sad. I felt sad for Peter… When I called to invite Peter to be in the documentary, his health isn’t what it should be. I don’t wanna get too specific because it’s part of his private life. But no, physically, he wouldn’t be able to do it. Neither would Ace.”

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They were made for lovin’ music, too! Evan Stanley (son of KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley) has teamed up with Nick Simmons (son of KISS singer-bassist Gene Simmons) to record an album’s worth of music together.

Late last year, Evan and Nick posted a video of them singing an acoustic version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” on Instagram. Now, they’ve taken their musical partnership to the next level.

A few days ago, Evan posted a photo of himself with Nick, captioning it, “One song turned into 10 real quick.” He followed that up with another post of the two performing one of their new tunes alongside singer-guitarist Jacob Bunton (Steven Adler, Mars Electric, Lynam), writing, “Wrote this one with our buddy Jacob yesterday.”

Paul Stanley commented on the performance simply with the word, “Magic!!!!,” while Nick’s sister Sophie Simmons wrote, “WE WANT THE ALBUM.”

Evan is already an accomplished musician, as the 30-year-old singer-guitarist fronts the band Amber Wild, who opened for KISS on the latter’s farewell tour.

The 36-year-old Nick, meanwhile, is known for appearing in the A&E reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. He also created a comic book series called Incarnate, and did voice-over work on Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken. While he doesn’t have a long résumé when it comes to music, he did contribute vocals to Gene Simmons’ 2004 song “Carnival of Souls” and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick’s 2010 tune “Hand to the King.”

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These are the rare hard to find Spencer Gifts KISS house slippers. This is the Demon version. Released late 90s. Look to be in Mint shape no noticeable issues. Still has tag. Been in storage for years. Size M/L.

Order now at KISSArmyWarehouse.com!

Guitarist Bruce Kulick reflected on getting the chance to jam with other former Kiss axemen, Vinnie Vincent and Ace Frehley, revealing what was special about this occasion.

Although Ace is the original one, Kisstory praises all the guitar players and other musicians who joined Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley throughout the years. Bruce played an important role, providing lead parts on several classic albums during his time in the lineup between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s.

However, getting Bruce, Ace, and Vinnie on the stage is something else, and that exact thing happened back in 2022. While interviewing Bruce Kulick late last year, we took a moment to ask him about the occasion and what the performance was like.

You played with Vinnie Vincent and Ace Frehley in 2022 as part of Creatures Fest. How was that experience, and would you ever work with Vinnie again?

“I had a lot of high hopes. First of all, the concept of the Holy Trinity, put on by that promoter, was really fascinating, because you got Ace, Vinnie, myself. Now, Vinnie being the Howard Hughes, that was my quote with Rolling Stone ages ago, which was pretty true, actually coming out and being visible again… yeah, he did it at one event, like a year or two earlier or something, but not to the exposure that this event would offer him.”

“And the promoter was very tight with him and gave him every opportunity to really have, like a showcase ‘Vinnie Vincent day.’ The tank [a replica of part of the ‘Creatures of the Night’ and ‘Lick It Up’ tours] is built, which, believe me, the promoter had other reasons for that. He’s also in a tribute band. He could use it. But the tank is certainly more related to Vinnie than Ace or I, even though it’s iconic Kiss staging from Lick It Up, and with Eric Carr being gone, so who’s going to enjoy that other than a tribute band or Vinnie Vincent?”

“So I had no clue that the tank would be rolled out. Vinnie would be on the top, and then I’m over here, and then Ace would follow me. It also was understood. I worked with the guy who worked on the music as part of the backing tracks that we’d have a drummer, and there’d be a bass player, and somebody that would sing. And suddenly, there is no drummer. And it’s just tracks. I knew the guy who was working with Vinnie, and I liked him, and I knew he was professional, so I could vouch when Ace said, like, ‘What the hell is going on? Where’s the drummer?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know. But all we have is this track. I know the track works, but what do you want to do?'”

“We were both in a weird situation, you know, get all ‘rock star stomping feet and attitude’ about it, or give the fans what they want, and let it be what it’s going to be. And I always tend to take the high road and try not to focus on anything that… You lied to me! It was supposed to be this!’ You know what I mean? Because I just don’t see the end results, helping the situation.”

“So, we made a pact. Ace was like, ‘If you’re going to do it, I’m going to do it, but I’m only going to do it because you’re going to do it.’ It was like, this funny kumbaya with Ace, that I that I did bond with him. And I said, ‘But we’re just doing it for the fans. I mean, no one’s going to control the narrative here.’ Vinnie wanted to, and in a sense, unfortunately, he did. But it was for the fans. So, we’re going to go out there.”

“And it was hard because there is no drummer to look at going like, ‘I’m ready count it off, 123.’ So there was those ‘snafus,’ shall I say. And it’s questionable how much Vinnie really played or didn’t. I ran into him on the way to the stage, and I asked him. I said, ‘Are you taking the high part here, or the low?’ Because I knew that what the tracks are supposed to be like, and he was being extra, extra like, ‘Whatever you want to do, this is your moment.’ I’m like, ‘That’s a funny way to try to defuse me, if I had any anger.’ And I don’t like to carry any anger.”

“So I was just like, ‘Alright, well, I like doing the…’ I forget if I told him it was the high or the low, you go to the other one. So I just told him. ‘This is all about you guys.’ But they’re all out there, it’s the Vinnie Vincent day! I get it that the three of us will be there. He knew how to be politically correct at a moment when he was actually pulling some strings with how that was going to go. But ultimately we pulled it off.”

“The weirdest thing was, sadly that at the very end, unfortunately, and this happens sometimes, especially when you don’t have your whole road crew and stuff, where Ace’s amp went down. I’m sure that the speaker cable came out. And then suddenly, I’m the only one really playing at the end of ‘Cold Gin.’ And they didn’t want video. Some people snuck video, of course, but Vinnie put the word out there. They didn’t want it filmed. The lighting was intentionally, I called it ‘Star Trek Voyager Blue Borg Look’ or something. It was very weird. And the next thing I know, it sounded like I was the only one playing with the drums and the bass. So, it was a surreal experience. It was. And that being said, I don’t wish anything against Vinnie, but I don’t have any interest in really trying to work with him in any capacity.”

Did Vinnie appreciate you wearing a bandana with Egyptian crosses on it?

“That was definitely planned by me. I’ve been wearing these headband things since, really, 2000, when I started to perform with Grand Funk and a lot of outdoor gigs: there’s no way I need my hair flying all over the place. And it’s not what it was from, y’know, 1980, 1990, right? But I remember finding those headscarf things, [which is] very hard. They’re Indian cotton, and no one really sells them anymore. It’s kind of weird, but they were very popular on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. So, I remember saying to Lisa, my wife, ‘I don’t wear this anhk one very often,’ partially because it was something connected to Vinnie and Kiss.”

“But as you know, it wasn’t created that way. That’s a symbol, just like I have the Yin Yang one, and I have some skulls, and I have pirate-looking ones. But I said, ‘At the Holy Trinity gig, I’ll wear it. And I did point to it. I mean, it wasn’t hard for Vinnie to see it. He’s like, up on the top of the tank, and I gave him a little thumbs up. I mean, again, we showed it’s that respect, that even when you know, if you’re debating someone and you’re politicians, you know you should always come out and shake hands.”

“I mean, even though you hate the other person and you don’t want him to win, it’s just… they probably shake in a gunfight, back in the day. Or these ultimate fighters, and they’re just going to kill each other as soon as the bell rings, right? So we’re all kind to each other. But I pointed it out to Vinnie. Ace was very cool with everything, and we posed with Vinnie. And Vinnie, actually one thing I did want to mention is he knew all about my wife and I during the pandemic, we were working on these pancake sites, you know, ‘Kulick’s pancake recipes.’ He knew all about it. He loved it! It was so funny. And I’m thinking, ‘Alright, so that’s what he’s doing? He’s making pancakes at home from my wife’s recipes?'”

“But the ankh was obviously a tip of the hat to him, and what that represented from his era in Kiss, because it does have value. There are certain fans that love it. And at some point I knew there would be a fan that would ask me about it. And sure enough, it’s proudly in this guy on the East Coast in his collection now, and I’m very happy for that.”

“We all got to sign, in fact, the guitar that I played. I remember people getting excited, ‘Do you want to sell that?’ And all three of the guys wound up signing it: myself, Ace and Vinnie, which is really cool. So, to me, I always try to keep the respect of all eras, all the artists, everybody in the band high. And I think that event did really, it was a special one. I mean, nothing like that may happen again, but I’m just glad that the people there, they had their opinions. They were vocal about it in many ways. But it was certainly a fascinating footnote in ‘Kisstory,’ no doubt.”

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KISS played their final show in December 2023, but for Paul Stanley, coming to terms with the end of the band is still a work in progress.

Speaking on the Off The Cupp With S.E. Cupp podcast, the longtime frontman reflected on the farewell tour and what his life looks like now that it’s over. He made it clear that while he misses performing, there was no other choice. “Do I miss being on stage in front of 50,000 people? Hell yeah,” Stanley admitted. “But there’s a difference between missing it and yearning for it. I miss it, but there’s no going back.”

The End of the Road tour wrapped up KISS’s legacy in the way Stanley and Gene Simmons wanted. “We needed to decide when it ends rather than just have it peter out,” Stanley explained. “That wouldn’t be KISS-like.” The band left Madison Square Garden with a spectacle worthy of their 50-year career, closing the book on their time as a touring band.

That also doesn’t mean KISS is completely gone.

Stanley and Simmons sold the KISS brand to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment last year, paving the way for new projects—including an avatar show produced by George Lucas’ team. “The Starchild can live forever,” Stanley said. “But I can’t.”

For Stanley, KISS was never about just standing at a mic and singing—it was about the full experience, the costumes, the energy, the athleticism. He’s at peace with the fact that, physically, it couldn’t last forever. “If I had the luxury of going on stage in street clothes, sure, I could do it forever. But that’s not KISS,” he said.

Life after KISS has been an adjustment, but Stanley has no regrets. “It’s been a year since we played our final show, and yeah, there’s a void,” he admitted. “But that’s life.” Now, he’s focused on what’s next, embracing what he calls QTR—Quality Time Remaining. “At some point, you have to decide how you want to spend the time you have left,” he said. “And I’ve got a lot I still want to do.”

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