Gene Simmons openly mused on some ways in which Kiss could continue after he, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer play their inevitable last show, hinting that a completely new cast of young musicians might don the iconic make-up and keep performing in some capacity.
There’s an undeniable sense of bittersweet euphoria as Kiss keeps powering through their massive “End of the Road World Tour” as this time around, the iconic rock band seems to be serious about retirement.
And while the tour’s final date still hasn’t been announced – earlier this July, Gene said that Kiss will be adding 100 more shows to their existing schedule, dashing Paul Stanley’s previous plans of the tour ending in “early 2023” – there will have to be one, sooner or later.
However, in a new interview with Dean Delray, Gene Simmons hypothesized how the end of Kiss doesn’t need to be the end of Kiss – and he’s not just talking of continuing to make albums while ditching the touring bit either. Speaking about where the (current) band’s final show is going to take place, Gene began (via Blabbermouth):
“We don’t know if it’s [going to be in] New York. I have good reasons why it should be, but the important thing is when it’s the last show, it’ll be the last show. Kiss the touring band will stop. But the touring band. Kiss will continue in other ways. I have no problems with four deserving 20-year-olds sticking the makeup back on and hiding their identity.”
Naming some other traveling productions that saw a rotating cast of masked performers, Gene mused about what sounds like a crossover between a “regular” Kiss show and a semi-autobiographical rock opera:
“Kiss will continue in ways that even I haven’t thought of. But I can conceive of… You know, the ‘Blue Man Group’ and ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ tours around the world with different personnel.
“There could and should be a Kiss show, kind of live on stage with effects and everything else, but also semi-autobiographical thing about four knuckleheads off the streets of New York that ends with the last third as a full-blown celebration, a full-on performance. Not with us. Although not a problem stepping in every once in a while.”
Last June, Gene Simmons spoke about the possibility of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss reuniting with the band on some of the ongoing “End of the Road Tour” shows, saying that the “offer still stands” for his former bandmates, but that there’s no possibility of them returning in full makeup and/or replacing either Thayer or Singer:
“So, the answer is the door’s always open. If they wanna jump on stage at any time and do the encores with us, terrific. But no, we’re not gonna get rid of Tommy or Eric. In fact, Tommy and Eric are the best things that happened to us.
“They gave us new life [and] new appreciation for what we do because they were fans first. And every once in a while, Eric or Tommy will turn around and say, ‘Wow! Isn’t this great?’ And it makes us realize, ‘Yeah! Wow! Isn’t this great?'”
