KISS is celebrating the 50th anniversary of when they first formed. The band has entertained audiences worldwide with energetic rock n’ roll music and an eccentric flare while performing. While they would love to rock and roll all night, eventually, the time comes for them to slow things down and retire. Gene Simmons says Kiss is retiring from touring while they’re still on top.
Gene Simmons says KISS is quitting while they’re ‘on top’
KISS is currently on their End of the Road World Tour. The tour started in 2019 and is set to end on Dec. 2, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The band isn’t splitting up, but they are retiring from touring. In an interview with The Sunday Project, Simmons explained why they’ve decided to retire now.
Simmons, 73, said he and his band members are beginning to feel their age and want to go out “on top.” He doesn’t want to be in a band that becomes lackluster as time goes by. So, they are quitting while “the quitting’s good.”
“I don’t wanna be in one of those bands where the fans just say, ‘Oh, you should have seen them back in 1804 when they were really rocking,’” Simmons said. “Right here, right now, either be a champion or get off the stage.
So we’re gonna quit while the quitting’s good, while we’re on top,” he continued. “And gratefully, I don’t know how to verbalize what an amazing journey it’s been, and it’s only due to the fans. Without them, I’d be asking the next person in line if they’d like some fries with that. Don’t kid yourself!”
Simmons says other bands stay on for too long
Gene Simmons says that KISS still looks pretty good, even in their 70s. However, mother nature comes from everyone, and their armor on stage can’t protect them from aging. He wants to leave with “dignity and pride,” and said many other bands don’t know when to get off the stage.
“Well, look, at a certain point, Mother Nature takes over no matter what your plans are,” he said. “And at a certain time, you’ve gotta have the dignity and pride but also the love and admiration of your fans to know when it’s time to call it quits. We’ve all seen boxers that stay in the ring too long, and we’ve all seen bands that stay on the stage too long.”
So, I’m still looking pretty damn good,” Simmons added. “But that’s not the point. The point is the physical nature of what we do is gonna limit how long we do it. And we remember we introduce ourselves with ‘You wanted the best. You got the best. The hottest band in the world.”
The band wants their final tour to be a celebration for their fans
The End of the Road World Tour consists of 244 shows; 139 in North America and 105 in multiple other countries. Many of the shows scheduled for 2020 and 2021 were postponed due to COVID-19. In the tour program, guitarist and lead vocalist Paul Stanley said this tour is a “celebration” of the connection between KISS and their fans.
“Kiss is much more than a rock and roll band,” Stanley said. “The band and its fans are a tribe. It’s humbling for me that we can be the magnet that brings people together. What we have with the fans is reciprocity. The fans are our oxygen, they are our blood. They make it possible for us to exist. This tour is a celebration of 40 years of that connection between Kiss and the fans.”