Back in 1973, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Paul Stanley joined forces in New York City to create KISS. Shining a light of shock-rock, the band took over the music industry with their crazed antics and wild concerts. Having no limits when it came to performing, the band gained a mountain of backlash and criticism of their lyrics. Still, KISS sold over 100 million albums and gained entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ending their run in December 2023 with one last concert, Simmons recently looked back on the band’s legacy and shared his sadness about how Frehley and Criss never got to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
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Sitting down with Rick Rubin on the Tetragrammaton podcast, Simmons recalled what it was like to travel to New York City for the last concert of KISS. Expecting an emotional moment given the decades he poured into the band, he remembered the entire city overrun by KISS fans. “You went to get a pizza, the outside of the pizza boxes, [there] were our faces in your face. There were KISS pop-up shops. Basically, if you started a new religion and called it Kisstianity, that’s what was going on. It was like a total takeover… We just couldn’t believe it”
When it came time for KISS to take the stage, Simmons was overcome with emotion. Although proud of what they produced, he compared it to marriage. “People who have been married, I’m guessing, a few times, but remember when it was real love and that magic of the thing, if it doesn’t last, there’s a sadness there. Sometimes it’s drugs and alcohol, sometimes they just go apart. But when it was great, it’s sad because not everybody survives life.”
What Ace Frehley Said To Gene Simmons When Leaving KISS
As for the legacy of Frehley and Criss, Simmons admitted his sadness over how it ended. “ I’m still sad about Ace and Peter, who even today can’t enjoy the fruits of their labor. They were equally as important as Paul and myself in the formation of the band and those first few years — there’s no question about it. It was a four-wheel-drive vehicle.”
While Simmons wasn’t able to change the past, he recalled the moment Frehley decided to leave. Even with KISS wanting him to explore a solo career and still work with the band, the musician insisted, “He said to my face, ‘No, I can’t stay in the band. He said it in print, ‘If I do another tour, I’m gonna kill myself.’ That’s verbatim.”
Although KISS played their final concert almost two years ago, the band will continue on with a new digital avatar version of their famous concert. Selling their likeness and music catalog to Pophouse Entertainment, the new digital concert is expected to kick off in 2027.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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