You ever wonder what goes down behind the face paint, pyro, and tongue-wagging theatrics? Well, it turns out that inside KISS, the biggest explosions weren’t always onstage — sometimes, they were in the writing room.
And today, we’re talking about a recent interview where Paul Stanley, Mr. Star Child himself, took a not-so-subtle dig at Gene Simmons’ songwriting.
Stanley’s comments came in response to a question about whether there was ever competition within the band regarding song selection and creative direction. When asked about potential competition with Gene Simmons over song choices, Stanley explained his selective approach to songwriting.
“Although we’ve had very brotherly ego competitions, I think Gene’s been very pragmatic in that case,” Stanley said. “For me, it’s always been a conscious effort to write the opening track. Big difference between Gene and me has always been that Gene will write songs that are really good and other songs that are not so good,” he explained. “He just writes and I self-edit.”
Stanley went on to highlight the fundamental difference in their creative processes. The guitarist also emphasized his quality-over-quantity philosophy when it comes to songwriting.
“A song takes work,” Stanley continued. “It takes effort and if it’s not going great or if I don’t think it’s great or serving the purpose, I throw it away. I move on.”
“So on most albums, I’ve written five or six songs,” he added. “I didn’t write 10 songs. I certainly didn’t write 20 songs. I write and go, ‘Okay, this is my contribution to the identity of the album.’”
Stanley’s selective approach to songwriting has deep roots in KISS’s history. It reflects the creative dynamics that have shaped the band’s five-decade career.
Stanley’s quality-focused method proved particularly effective during the mid-to-late 1970s, when he went through a prolific creative period.
