KISS frontman Paul Stanley recently spoke about Stanley Simmons, the collaborative project of Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons, sons of Paul and Gene Simmons, respectively, from KISS. They released their debut single, “Body Down”, in December. A full-length album will tentatively arrive later in the year.
In a new interview with The Drew Lane Show, Paul Stanley said that Nick and Evan have known each other most of their lives but only became close recently, which led them to start making music together. He praised their album as outstanding—calling it one of the best he’s heard in decades—and highlighted its natural, organic feel.
“Nick and Evan have basically known each other their [whole] lives, but didn’t really get close until the last year where they said, ‘Oh, let’s try singing or writing. Their album, which I’ve heard, is frigging phenomenal. I mean, it’s as good as anything I’ve heard in the last three or four decades. It’s that good. So it’s terrific, and it’s organic.”
“The idea of nepotism — if you suck, you’ll fall on your face. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking advantage of having some sort of familiarity. But ultimately, most people who trade on that fail because it’s not enough. So, I think Stanley Simmons, it’s just fantastic and I can’t wait for them to start playing live.”
Paul Stanley dismissed nepotism claims about Stanley Simmons, saying talent ultimately matters more than connections. He believes many who rely only on family ties fail, but praised the duo as genuinely talented and expressed excitement to see them perform live.
“I think they ask — I know Evan asked me my opinion of things. And I always preface it by saying, ‘It’s just my opinion, and you have to go with what you believe.’ And he does. I said, ‘I can give you my point of view.’ And I think it’s great that anyone asks somebody else’s opinion, and uses that to their advantage, but to rely upon me to make decisions — I’m not qualified to make decisions about what [he should do]. Only he is.”
