Kiss vocalist and guitarist Paul Stanley has spoken about the band’s upcoming End Of The Road farewell tour.
They announced their intentions to hit the road one last time in September when they appeared on the season finale of America’s Got Talent.
And while dates have still to be announced, Stanley has stressed that he, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer thought it was important to have a “victory lap” rather than just fade away.
Stanley tells Rolling Stone’s Music Now podcast: “At some point, maybe you want to address the elephant in the room. It only makes sense because of the nature of what we are.
“We're not a band of guys in jeans and sneakers, standing on stage, playing. We're athletes. We're Superman playing a guitar. At some point you look at each other and go, 'How long can we do this the way we want to do it – and how long can we do it, and love it?'
We beat the odds. We kicked everybody's ass. We outlived the naysayers.
Paul Stanley
“If you're smart, you plan so that you can make the most of something, rather than just fade off into the sunset. I didn't want that to happen. I don't want to suddenly, after a tour, go, 'Let's call it a day’ or have a year go by and we go, 'Nah’.
“I’d rather take the victory lap. We beat the odds. We kicked everybody's ass. We outlived the naysayers. I want to go around and high-five everybody around the world.”
Last week, former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley said he was “hoping” to take part in the final run of shows. And when asked if having ex members join them on tour was a possibility, Stanley says: “I really can’t say.
“This will be a celebration of Kiss and not any individual lineup or any individual members. But I wouldn’t rule anything out, but it’s not the crux of what we’re doing. It really isn’t at the heart of what we’re doing.”
Pressed again if he’d rule out the possibility, Stanley responds: “No, but 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.”
Further tour details will be announced in due course.
