Paul Stanley: Hall of Fame’s ‘A Farce,’ Criss and Frehley ‘Don’t Belong’ in Kiss
Another day, another drama for Kiss. Founding member Paul Stanley hasn't been shy about sharing his opinion on a variety of subjects as he promotes his new autobiography, 'Face the Music: A Life Exposed,' and gears up for Kiss' entrance into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
"The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is fluff. It's a farce," Stanley told CBS reporter Anthony Mason, "It's like an Addams Family bar mitzvah. I'm gonna go, but let's not kid ourselves, you know. That's not the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is walking the streets." Stanley playfully joked Kiss were not being inducted, but rather indicted. "I see it as dubious," he continued, "We are the bitter pill that they ultimately had to swallow, because they don't like us. And the only reason they're inducting us is because they begin to look foolish at some point for not having us in."
Regarding original band members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, Stanley flatly said, "They don't belong in the band, and they don't belong in a position to represent the band. We were asked by the Hall Of Fame to have the original members put on the makeup and play with us. We're not other bands. You can't just have guys get up there. We're not in blue jeans, we have a uniform that represents who we are. If the original lineup goes up for the sake of nostalgia, for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, who I scratch my head about in the first place, I run the risk of negatively impacting what I've spent 40 years doing."
Stanley then humorously draws a parallel between the past and the present saying, "How bout for old times sake you go back and spend the night with your ex-wife? You wouldn't make good music."
And what about his relationship with Gene Simmons? "There's days he annoys me. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Hes this guy who everybody sees as the brains behind kiss, really what he is, is the mouth behind Kiss. I always tell people he lives two minutes away and I can see his ego from here."