Gene Simmons has admitted that he wished his ex-bandmates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss would have been a part of the KISS “farewell” cycle that concluded last year, but added that it was their own actions that prevented it from happening.
In a new interview, Simmons bemoaned the fact that he wasn’t harder on his bandmates about their past affinities for alcohol and drugs, which he believes led to both Ace and Peter exiting and rejoining KISS multiple times during the band’s five-plus-decade run. As Simmons told YouTube channel Backstage Pass, as someone who didn’t indulge in those vices, he found it difficult to relate.
“Well, I’m sad in retrospect — you know, hindsight’s 20/20 — I’m sad that I wasn’t more hard on Ace and Peter, the two original guys who played guitar and drums in the band,” said Simmons when asked if there was anything he could go back and change about the past 50 years. “I’d never been high or drunk and never smoked cigarettes, so I’ve always been an outcast in that way. The rest of the world seemed to be drug-fueled.”
Speaking more on the legacy of the original KISS lineup, Simmons continued: “Ace and Peter… have as much credit for the beginning of the band as Paul [Stanley] and I do. There’s no question it was that chemistry. And they both had unique voices, unique personalities and all that. And they should have been here with us 50 or 55 years later and enjoying the fruits of their labor.”
He added, “But sadly, they’re not. And it’s their own doing. They were in and out of the band three different times. They were let go three different times because of the same old thing. It’s not even unique. Go to almost every band [and] you’ll find people ingesting stuff more than the bum on the street corner, except they’re richer and they can afford to ingest more. It’s sad.”
As KISS approached the final shows last December, rumors swirled about the potential for Ace and Peter to don the makeup one last time for a final reunion of the original lineup. But, typical of the band, feuds took place instead, with Frehley and Stanley trading barbs in the media, culminating with Frehley attempting to upstage KISS’ victory lap by simultaneously dropping his own solo material. Sadly, things were never reconciled before that final gig in New York City.
Below you can listen to the full interview with Simmons.
