KISS announced last week that they would be embarking on a final tour, but fans have heard that news before. In 2000, the band set out on a farewell tour that ran into 2001, only to declare the next year that the band wasn’t ready to hang up their platform boots.
In a new interview with the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley says this time it’s for real, explaining, “The [2000] farewell tour was at the end of the time that we had brought back the two original members [guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss] and it was such drudgery and so difficult and so unhappy that it just seemed like ‘let’s put the horse down.’”
He added, “After the tour was over, it didn’t take me very long to realize I didn’t want to say goodbye to the band; I wanted to say goodbye to two members.”
Speaking of those founding members, Stanley won’t rule out the idea of having them or other former members be a part of the upcoming farewell trek, saying, “This will be a celebration of KISS and not any individual lineup or any individual members. I wouldn’t rule anything out but it’s not the crux of what we’re doing… and I’m not being coy either. I don’t want to mislead anybody, really that’s not something that’s been given a lot of thought at this point.”
Earlier this month, Gene Simmons seemed to mock Stanley over some recent vocal issues, with Simmons saying onstage during a solo show in Australia, “I’ll sing everything, because my voice always works! I don’t lose my voice. I don’t lose my voice… Paul Stanley.”
Rolling Stone asked Stanley about the incident, and he responded by taking a swipe at Simmons’ solo gigs, saying, “Gene and I have been together, I think, 47 years or something around that. He’s out having a great time. He’s doing these – most of them are free concerts, and when he charges tickets they don’t sell a lot of tickets – and I’m sure he’s trying to keep it light for the couple hundred people or whatever, and that’s great! I was just with Gene, obviously, day before yesterday and we have a bond that is enviable.”
However, Stanley does admit that his voice isn’t quite what it used to be. “If you want to hear me sound like I did on KISS Alive!, then put on KISS Alive! ”
KISS announced their final tour during an appearance on America’s Got Talent last week. The trek will be dubbed the “End of the Road World Tour”, with dates expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. Update – October 29th: Dates for the tour have now been revealed, and you can find them here.