KISS' Paul Stanley / Photo by Joe Gall
For millions of Americans, KISS concerts are a tradition. You go, you watch Gene Simmons breathe fire and spit blood, things explode, you listen to Paul Stanley's amazingly brash between-song banter, more things explode, you sing along to "Rock and Roll All Nite," have about as much fun as is legally possible at an arena, and then experience the spectacle again the next time the band is in town.
That time is now. Starting July 23 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, KISS (with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer having long ago replaced original bandmembers Peter Criss and Ace Frehley on drums and guitar, respectively) brings its tour in support of 2009's stellar Sonic Boom back home after a lengthy run of European dates.
"Right now, we're doing the biggest tours we've ever done," says ever-voluble singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, 58. "The KISS legacy is amazing. Whether you're looking at the stage or on the stage, everyone involved is having a great time. 37 years into our career, it's a good be a KISS fan -- and I'm as big a fan as anyone."
On the eve of the tour's first date, Stanley spoke with SPIN about the shows, the plans for a new album, and the future of the band -- a future he may not be a part of.
What will KISS fans see on this tour that they haven't seen before?
There's more pyro. The whole stage, in essence, is a video screen -- all the amplifiers double as video screens and there are massive video screens behind us as well. The projections on them are phenomenal. There's a part of the show where [drummer] Eric [Singer] and [guitarist] Tommy [Thayer] do a great musical duel. We're using technology to make a bigger and better gun.
A love gun, if you will.
[Laughs] It's a gun that's better than having guys dancing around trying to mount each other while somebody lip-syncs.
You've been onstage with fireworks going off behind you for 35 years. What keeps it fresh?
The first order of business is to please ourselves. Are we changing things up for the fans? We change things up for us. You have to bear in mind that we started out wanting to be the band that we never saw. That continues to be the philosophy. We want to do the greatest show we can for us. I want the band to live up to everything it can possibly be. So this tour, which is a continuation of the Sonic Boom Over Europe tour, is by far the best and greatest show we've done. I think so. The fans think so. And the critics, by god, think so too.
What's your favorite moment in the show?
Flying out over the audience is always cool. The entrance to the show is pretty amazing. It's heroic and exhilarating. Look, subtlety is not in our name. If you think you're going to spend your hard-earned money and see some guy with an acoustic guitar sitting on a rug singing about saving the whales, you're at the wrong show.
How much time do you guys spend thinking about the theatrical elements of the show as opposed to the music?
We spent all of last week just rehearsing the music. Anybody with money can put on a KISS show, but they can't be KISS. After all the smoke and all the fire and all the big lights have gone off, you better have some good music or it's not going to be enough.
I'm a big fan of your stage banter. Do you know that there's a compilation called "Let Me Get This Off My Chest" where someone put together a bunch of the stuff you say in-between songs? It's sort of a cult favorite.
Yeah, I know about it. I'm not a ham, I'm the whole pig.
Do you plan your banter?
