Legendary KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley is the latest guest on “Talk Is Jericho,” and he chatted about a variety of subjects including how he developed his onstage persona, the musician who inspired him the most, the thought behind KISS’ setlists and more. He also reflected on the band’s final shows at Madison Square Garden in December of 2023.
Chris Jericho asked Stanley why former members of the band didn’t appear during KISS’ final shows. “To be somewhat diplomatic, there were people who made unrealistic demands of what they required,” Stanley said. “And it’s not about that. It wasn’t, for example, a celebration of the beginning of the band; it was a celebration of 50 years of a band, as opposed to a tribute to the start. So, as far as Ace and Peter, they weren’t there for many reasons. And I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it another hundred times. We couldn’t be here today without what those guys did, and we couldn’t be here today with them.”
When Jericho asked Stanley why previous members including Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick weren’t mentioned, Stanley said: “What are you gonna do? I think the best way to honor everyone is to be the best we can be. What are we gonna have — videos up on the screen or draped photos? The fact that we were there, we were there because of everybody who participated, some more than others, but the tribute to everyone is us existing.”
Listen to the full interview here, and watch a clip of Stanley talking about the progress of the previously announced KISS avatars below.
