The rock band's co-founder, who was forced along with his bandmate to postpone their 'End of the Road' tour due to COVID-19, stresses it has nothing to do with 'tensions or a difference of opinion.'
- Oct 11, 2021
AceShowbiz - KISS star Paul Stanley won't be extending the band's farewell tour beyond early 2023, because he's beginning to feel his age onstage.
The rockers had to press pause on their "End of the Road" tour due to the pandemic - and again recently when both Paul and bandmate Gene Simmons tested positive for the coronavirus - and now singer Stanley insists a new final date is in sight.
"I believe strongly by the beginning of 2023 we will be finished," he tells Ultimate Classic Rock.
"The fact is that, physically, it's incredibly demanding to do what we do. We played in Austin, an outdoor show, 100 per cent humidity. We're running around for two-plus hours, not only with guitars, but I've got 30-plus pounds of gear on. There's a point where you go, 'You know what? This is more challenge than I want.' And I only want to do it as long as I can do it smiling."
"There's really no thought about changing our minds. It has nothing to do with personalities in the band or tensions or a difference of opinion or musicality. It's purely practical. You can play beat the clock, but ultimately the clock wins."
The final KISS show was originally set to take place in July, but due to the lockdown delay, it's now looking like it will be the end of 2022 - in New York.
"It seems only natural to be in New York," Paul says. "That is where the band started, and that was really the background for the band getting together and writing these songs and we played loft parties and played clubs starting with an audience of probably 10 people. It seems we should go full circle."
Meanwhile, the rocker insists there are still no plans to include former members, like Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick, in the final shows.
"Honestly, we haven't really thought that far down the road," Paul adds. "We're having a ball. The show is everything that I would like to see the band history culminate in. In one way or another, every night all the former band members are represented by the songs we're doing. We're hitting all eras for the band, and I salute everybody who's been in the band and champion not only their participation but their contribution. As to where that will lead, I have no idea."
