In a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, KISS bassist Gene Simmons was asked about his New Year’s resolutions and hopes for 2022.
“I’d like to be a better, kinder, better-looking and richer guy,” he responded. “Not all of that’s gonna happen, but I can certainly become a better person — be kinder, give more to philanthropy, reach out even to people who you disagree with completely.
“We all live on this planet, and you’re not gonna be able to change everybody’s mind. And that’s okay. Agree to disagree. ‘Hey, I don’t agree with you. Let’s go have some coffee.'”
KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 and part of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a last year’s interview with Ultimate Classic Rock magazine, Paul Stanley says that the final concert of the band’s “End Of The Road” tour will likely happen within the next year and a half.
“I believe strongly by the beginning of 2023 we will be finished,” Stanley said, adding that “it seems only natural [for the final show] to be in New York. That is where the band started, and that was really the background for the band getting together and writing these songs and played loft parties and played clubs starting with an audience of probably 10 people,” he said. “It seems we should go full circle.”
He went on to say that unlike KISS‘s 2000-2001 tour, which was also supposed to be its last, “End Of The Road” will truly be the last time KISS performs live.
“It’s a different time than we had pondered [farewell tours] in the past,” Stanley said. “The fact is that, physically, it’s incredibly demanding to do what we do. Look, we played [recently] in Austin, an outdoor show, 100 percent humidity. We’re running around for two-plus hours, not only with guitars, but I’ve got 30-plus pounds of gear on. There’s a point where you go, ‘You know what? This is more challenge than I want.’ And I only want to do it as long as I can do it smiling.
“There’s really no thought about changing our minds,” he added. “It has nothing to do with personalities in the band or tensions or a difference of opinion or musicality. It’s purely practical. You can play beat the clock, but ultimately the clock wins.”
