KISS bassist Gene Simmons has been busy making the rounds promoting the band’s farewell “End of the Road” tour. He previously addressed accusations of “selling out” and even reached out to original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley to join the band “for encores” on the trek. Recently, Simmons was interviewed by Full Metal Jackie on the KLOS radio show, “Whiplash.” “Well, first, the reason for stopping touring is because of pride and self-respect and a love and admiration for the fans,” Simmons said.
The fire-breathing KISS co-founder said life after KISS would “be a different kind of a thing.” “The last thing you wanna be is to be a world-champion boxer and stay in the ring too long. It’s only a matter of time until your legs are not gonna be able to hold you up, and you’re gonna lose. We’ve also seen boxers who’ve stayed in the ring too long and bands who continue touring too long. And they forget lyrics and you can see the deep wrinkles in their faces. I mean, it’s just the nature of life as we know it on earth. So we’re doing the right thing. We’re gonna quit while we’re on top, do the best we can, and it’ll be sad, but it’s also gonna be happy. On the last show we ever do as a touring band, I’ll be crying like a 12-year-old kid whose foot you’re stepping on. On the other hand, it’s gonna be happy because it’s the next chapter. Same thing will happen to you, if you’re lucky to have a mom and dad, you live under their roof and you have food and safety, at some point you’ve gotta go out on your own and start the next chapter. So it’s gonna be a different kind of a thing. It won’t be as exciting as touring and putting on more makeup and higher heels than you ever wore, but life continues.”
KISS is unquestionably the most marketed band in rock history, so Simmons’ business exploits related to the KISS brand should certainly keep him plenty busy in the future. As of 2014, there were more than 3,000 KISS-licensed products in the global marketplace including caskets, lunch boxes, comic books, credit cards and condoms, among many others. Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley also have the rock-inspired restaurant chain Rock & Brews. Simmons also hinted possibly performing with the Gene Simmons Band, his solo outfit that he has performed around 50 shows with.
