Kiss confirm they’re writing new material

By Scott Munro
( Classic Rock )
published

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons says they’re writing new material - but maintains he’s reluctant to work on another album

Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons

Kiss bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons reports that he and the band are writing new material.

He said back in March that he had no inclination to record a new Kiss album due to the fact some people would “steal it and download it and file share it.”

And while he maintains that stance, he says things are going on behind the scenes.

He tells the Michael Cavacini blog: “There’s some writing going on. Not too long ago I wrote a song called Your Wish Is My Command.

“It sounds anthemic, like something that might have come off Love Gun, maybe. But I’m not incentivised.

“The idea that you work your ass off and then someone with freckles on their face decides they want to download your music and file share – that’s not what I work for.

“How’d you like to be a plumber, come over somebody’s house and work all day to fix their plumbing and then when it’s time to get paid they say, ‘No, I just wanted to say thank you.’ No.

Simmons adds: “I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, you have enough money.’ That’s what I need – an 18-year-old kid telling me when enough is enough.

“It doesn’t affect me at all. And it doesn’t affect the Stones or U2 – a lot of the bands that do well. There’s only a handful, actually.

“The saddest thing of all is that the next great bands, with the talent and the charisma and all that stuff, will never have the chance that we did – because there’s no music industry.

“There’s no way for them to pay the rent. They’re going to have to give away their music, practically, for free.”

Kiss are currently on tour across Europe and will play Dortmund’s Westfallenhalle, Germany, tonight (May 12).

Kiss 2017 tour dates

May 12: Dortmund Westfallenhalle, Germany
May 13: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
May 15: Torino Pala Alpitour, Italy
May 16: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy
May 18: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
May 20: Brno BCC, Czech Republic
May 21: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
May 23: Franfurt Festhalle, German
May 24: Rotterdam Ahoy, Holland
May 27: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK
May 28: Birmingham Barclaycard Arena, UK
May 30: Manchester Arena, U
May 31: London O2 Arena, UK
Jul 14: Bridgeview Chicago Open Air, IL
Jul 15: Hinckley Grand Casino, MN
Jul 16: Bridgeview Chicago Open Air, IL

Kiss welcomed to Helsinki by statue tribute

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.