Having performed for nearly 50 years, KISS decided to end their time on stage with one last farewell tour. Kicking off the End of the Road World Tour in 2019, KISS performed for four years, producing their last show in New York City in December 2023. Although marking the end of their careers, KISS hinted at the future when they announced an upcoming show that would feature digital avatars of themselves. Wanting the good times to keep on rolling, not every fan was thrilled about the announcement. And according to former guitarist Bruce Kulick, he wouldn’t count KISS out just yet.
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Speaking with Loaded Radio about his time with KISS and his thoughts on the avatar concerts, Kulick seemed enthusiastic about the new venture. “I hate to ever count out the capabilities of creative minds with a lot of money and means. If you think about what the makeup characters represent, I’ve seen it in a comic book form. There were fanzines even that were drawing them. I was even included, not as necessarily a makeup person, but you know what I mean. ‘The Beatles meet KISS, ‘Asylum’-era KISS,’ stuff like that.”
Bruce Kulick Understands Some Still Need “Something Organic”
Taking the funding out of the equation and Kulick still couldn’t get past the power of technology. “There’s something about technology that they have all these really great people who I know the way… I don’t know much about the company that bought them, but I know they were very successful for the group ABBA. So will they be able to recreate that success for KISS? I say don’t count them out, but I don’t know what the public will think.”
Although Kulick is waiting to see what KISS produces, he promised, “There’ll always be a certain part of the fans that needs something organic, just like maybe the CD will never go away, vinyl will never go away, cassettes will never go away.”
Even with all the criticism KISS received after announcing the new concerts, Kulick insisted, “I’m glad that they’re recognizing that to do this right, it might take a lot of years. And let’s see what the future holds for bringing people together in an environment to see KISS put on a show like no other. Who knows?”
(Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
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