Paul Stanley Feels ā€˜Kind of Disorientedā€™ After Farewell Kiss Tour

Now that Kiss‘ farewell tour is over, Paul Stanley has admitted he feels a bit adrift.

“There’s no way to give that up and not feel a sense of, if not lost, kind of disoriented,” he recently explained on the podcastĀ Rock of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern.Ā 

“It was time [for Kiss to stop touring], and intellectually it made sense, but that doesn’t mean that emotionally, it doesn’t play a part in it,” he continued. “So, yeah, being home, as I am right now, is normal. What’s not normal is I’m not going back out.”

Stanley clarified that he sees a difference between the continuing legacy of the band, as well as his stage persona, and his real life.

“Kiss remains,” he said. “We’re so involved in what’s going on now and the future and this phenomenal, mind-boggling Kiss avatar show. But, yeah, to not be up there ā€” I see video from 10 months ago, 11 months ago, and it almost seems like a lifetime ago, because I’ve kind of come to grips with not doing that again. … Star Child is forever ā€” but me up there, that’s done.”

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Rest In Peace ANDREW FRENCH

Andrew French performed in multiple KISS tribute bands over the years and even had a role as one of the band doubles in the Detroit Rock City movie. Every time I crossed paths with him, he was always warm and friendly. Itā€™s heartbreaking to share that he passed away this week. Watch him in action in this video clip.

The Led Zeppelin album that changed Ace Frehleyā€™s life

Led Zeppelinā€™s monumental influence on rock ā€˜nā€™ roll is undeniable. Their legendary series of albums, spanning from their 1969 debut to 1975ā€™s Physical Graffiti, laid the groundwork for heavy metal and solidified the bandā€™s place in rock mythology.

The blend of folk and blues infused their powerful songcraft with a grounded, mystical quality that kept them from veering entirely into the grandiose excesses of progressive rock. Embracing the album-oriented rock (AOR) movement, each record became something of a mystical artefact, acting as a portal to realms far removed from the room where the music was playing.

During an interview last year with Goldmine, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley revealed the ten albums that changed his life. Naturally, The Bronx Spacemanā€™s list is peppered with guitar-focused records from his youth and during those crazy years of Kissā€™ greasepaint classic era. A healthy love of the British invasion is clearly evident. Thereā€™s Meet the Beatles!, the American iteration of the Fab Fourā€™s second LP, The Kinksā€™ conceptual Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, and of course, The Rolling Stones get a shoo-in with their raw classic Out of Our Heads.

One record in particular that made Frehley bestow high praise is Led Zeppelinā€™s explosive self-titled debut. He elaborates: ā€œIā€™ve said it before, and I think we all know that Jimmy Page is one of my favourite guitar players. This album greatly impacted me as a kid growing up in the Bronxā€.

Frehley added: ā€œI love all of Zeppelinā€™s records, thatā€™s the blueprint of rock and roll right there. But the first does it for me the most. I covered ā€˜Good Times, Bad Timesā€™ on my lastĀ OriginsĀ record as a sort of homage to Page and what he was able to do on that album. Amazing music, a fantastic record, and totally influential to me as a guitarist before I truly knew what I was doing!ā€

While Kiss never reached the critical adulation that Zeppelin enjoyed (which they never sought), you can certainly hear their influential effect on Kissā€™ early records. ā€˜Cold Ginā€™, penned by Frehely, struts itself with Jimmy Pageā€™s sense of ballsy big riff swagger, and ā€˜Black Diamondā€™ attempts to reach for Zeppelinā€™s folk touches on the trackā€™s intro. Frehley sticking to his rock guns on the ill-conceived ā€™78 solo series, itā€™s his quarter of the shabby quadruple that holds up the best, doing his homework and studying rockā€™s ā€œblueprintā€ while Gene Simmons was singing Disney songs (yes, really).

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