The former demon turned… retired demon, Mr. Gene Simmons, who no longer sports makeup and flashy outfits, has emerged from wherever he has been lurking recently to inform the world about a controversy that transpired in the good old days. It’s not how much those high-heeled shoes cost that Kiss wore on stage, or about the amount of money they spent on hairspray.
According to Blabbermouth, Kiss celebrate their unique contribution to the world of rock for 50 years, the latest issue of Rock Candy magazine brings a massive 20-page KISS special including new and exclusive interviews with both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Both founding members dive deep into all aspects of Kiss’s career, with Gene in particular opening up about the often-fractious relationship he and Paul had with guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss.
“On one occasion Ace said, ‘I can’t come down today guys. I’ve got a card game,'” Simmons told Rock Candy writer Andrew Daly. “What were we supposed to do? The answer was we had to get other people. And like Ace, Peter had his demons. We all understand or at least suspect what drugs and alcohol can do to you. But you’d like to think that the people around you will prevent you from going down that route. Or at least will prevent you from doing a lot of it. That just didn’t happen with Peter. We held out as long as we could, but it got to the point where he was sabotaging the band. The three of us — me, Paul, and Ace — voted to remove Peter from KISS.”
