KISS announced that they will go on as digital avatars, after ending their “End Of The Road” farewell tour with a final show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night (December 2).
The virtual KISS took over the stage for an encore of “God Gave Rock And Roll To You”, after the current members of KISS — Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, who founded the band, along with Tommy Thayer on guitar and Eric Singer on drums — exited the stage.
The KISS avatars were the result of a collaboration between Pophouse Entertainment, a Swedish company that financed and produced the show, and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Pophouse Entertainment is also the company that produced the successful “ABBA Voyage” show in London.
Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse Entertainment, told the Associated Press this new technology allows KISS to continue their legacy for “eternity.” He explained: “KISS could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That’s what you could do with this.”
Stanley said: “What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are. It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see KISS immortalized.”
“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” Simmons added. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
