Gene Simmons insists Kiss is done after Madison Square Garden show in 2 weeks
NEW YORK — Gene Simmons insists Kiss will be done for good after their Dec. 2 performance at Madison Square Garden.
“I’ll say right here, right now, my hand on the Bible, it will be the final Kiss in makeup appearance,” he told Rolling Stone.
Simmons, 74, formed the makeup-wearing rock band 50 years ago in New York City. Though they wrapped their “Farewell Tour” in the spring of 2001, they kicked off the “End of the Road World Tour” nearly two decades later, which concludes in two weeks with back-to-back concerts at MSG.
Tickets are sold out for Kiss’ final show, but the performance will be broadcast on pay-per-view.
Not all is lost for Kiss fans, however. Simmons fronts another band as does singer Paul Stanley, with whom he formed Kiss.
It’s not hard for Simmons to imagine them playing together again, he told Rolling Stone, but said he’s done wearing makeup, sporting heavy armor and lacing up 7-inch platform boots to take the stage, where he then spits fire and performs aerial stunts for a couple hours each show.
“It has to do with Mother Nature,” he said. “At a certain point, you have to understand that it’s going to be a point of diminishing returns because of the kind of band we are.”
Fans shouldn’t expect a new Kiss album either. According to Simmons, streaming has made recording albums less lucrative and “Kiss is not a charity.”
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