GENE SIMMONS Says KISS's 'End Of The Road' Tour Could Last More Than Three Years

November 12, 2018

In a brand new interview with KTLA anchor Frank Buckley, KISS bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons was asked if the band's upcoming "End Of The Road" tour will truly be fans' last opportunity to see the iconic rockers perform live. "This is real," he responded (see video below). "Folks play that game," apparently referring to other bands who have announced farewell tours, only to change their minds at a later date. "And I'll tell you why it's real. Because I'm 69; I still have some hair on my head [and] lots more on my back. It has to be [real], because I wear seven-, eight-inch platform boots; our outfits… mine wears at least 40 pounds; I've gotta spit fire and fly through the air and do all that kind of stuff. I don't like heights, so if you put [Mick] Jagger and Bono, who are both great, and you stick 'em in my outfit, they'd pass out in a half hour. We're the hardest-working band in show business — period. This is a good time to go — have some dignity, go when you're doing… So this is gonna be a long tour — two to three years… maybe longer. Two, three years we're gonna stay out there while it's still good. The last thing you wanna do is introduce yourself, and we have been, for 45 years, 'All right' — put in the city — 'you want the best. You've got the best. The hottest band in the world: KISS.' Why would you wanna do that when they [see] four fat guys walk out there with the jowls hanging off of 'em. No, you don't wanna do that."

In September, KISS announced its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on NBC's "America's Got Talent", and two weeks ago, the band revealed the first set of dates and cities in North America, produced by Live Nation. International markets were announced simultaneously.

The North American leg of "End Of The Road" will launch January 31 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Rogers Arena and will hit an additional 43 cities.

As most fans remember, back in 2000 and 2001, KISS already performed a "Farewell Tour". The trek, which was the last to feature both Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, played 142 shows over five legs, covering North America, Japan, and Australia.

KISS's current lineup features Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.

Stanley has hinted that Frehley and Criss could make appearances on "End Of The Road", but KISS hasn't promised anything beyond a longer set and newly designed band costumes.

Find more on Kiss

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).