Paul Stanley has told Rolling Stone magazine in a new interview that KISS has every intention of resuming its “End Of The Road” tour once the pandemic has subsided. “Totally,” he said. “We were 120 shows into it and having a ball [when the pandemic began]. I mean, most of the time when you lose somebody or the situation changes, you find yourself saying, ‘Gee, if I had only known,’ whereas here, you have a situation where we’ve come to the conclusion that we can’t continue [as a touring band]. It’s not feasible. If we were wearing jeans and T-shirts, we could do this into our eighties or nineties, but we’re carrying around 40 and 50 pounds of gear for a couple of hours. There’s an age factor, which makes it more real for people who may have doubted the idea of the ‘end of the road.’But that in mind, it gives us a night with people where we really get to share what we built together. … So the ‘End Of The Road’, I don’t see it as bittersweet. I see it as sweet. And will there be tears? Sure. But oh, my God, look what we’ve been given. And from what the fans say, look what we gave them. It’s unlike other bands.”
KISS‘s farewell trek was launched in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last well into 2022.
Last December, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told the 95.5 KLOS radio station that KISS has “a hundred and fifty” shows left in its “End Of The Road” tour, including a stop at “the coldest place on earth.”
KISS last performed this past New Year’s Eve in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The concert broke Guinness world records for highest flame projection in a music concert and for most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert.
KISS‘s current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).
Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first “farewell” tour in 2000, the last to feature the group’s original lineup.
In its 48-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band.
