During a recent Q&A session at KISS Kruise X, KISS bassist Gene Simmons and singer/guitarist Paul Stanley talked about classic members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
“I want to say something on behalf of Ace and Peter, and this is important — through the years there have been some bad decisions made. My heart breaks that they can’t be here and see your beautiful faces. They started with us, they were equally as important as Paul and myself in starting the band,” Gene said.
“We wouldn’t be here without them, it’s so tragic because of bad life decisions that they can’t be here to enjoy all of this.”
Paul added: “But good things come from things that sometimes seem bad, and the good things that came from their departure from the band are sitting up here with us. Not to dwell on that, we couldn’t have made it without Peter and Ace, and we couldn’t continue to this day with them. So they are strong parts of our foundation but this is what’s building the monument today.”
During an appearance on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” this past September, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley once again said that he is up for a reunion of the original band, but only if the price is right.
Ace said: “Anything’s possible — I’ve always said that. That’s the first question so many people have asked me over the years: ‘Would you ever consider doing a KISS reunion?’ I said, ‘I never closed the door on anything.’ If the money’s right and it’s presented to me in the right way, anything can happen.
“I’m on good terms with Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons], which is nice, because we created something really special in the early ’70s that has outlasted so many other bands. And God bless ’em. They’re still doing it; I’m still doing it. Peter [Criss, drums] is still around. I’m not quite sure why Peter hadn’t toured over the years as much as I have, but it is what it is.”
In a 2018 interview with VintageRock.com, Frehley said that “the only way” he would “seriously consider” taking part in “End Of The Road” is “if I took back my make-up and costume and my character — which I designed.” He added that current KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer “is not a bad guitar player, but he basically just mimics everything I wrote, and tries to imitate my persona. He’s been doing it for 15 years,” he said. “But the reality is I’m the original guy. And nobody can really copy the way I play guitar.”
When asked if he would still consider participating in the tour if Criss was not involved, Ace responded: “I think it would be great if Peter was involved. Obviously, at this point in his life, he wouldn’t be able to do a two-hour show. But I can see if we worked out a situation where Peter came out at the end and did three or four songs — sang ‘Beth’, did ‘Black Diamond’ and a couple of others, I think that would be fun.”
