The latest episode of the Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast featured KISS frontman Paul Stanley. During the interview, the veteran rocker reflected on the end of KISS’ touring days while also discussing what the band his in store for the future, particularly its highly anticipated avatar show.
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Host Steve-O asked Stanley how he felt about KISS playing what the group has insisted was its last concert ever when it finished its End of the Road farewell tour in December 2023.
“For me, obviously, it’s pretty crazy,” the 72-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said. “And yet, it makes sense. It made sense. Athletes can’t do what they do forever, and in some senses that’s exactly [the same for us]. Whether vocally … or running around on stage, you can’t do it forever.”
He continued, “[I]t was the perfect time for us to go out with the ultimate show that would really not only be a thank-you and a goodbye, but also kind of like cross the t’s and dot the i’s.”
Stanley added, “This tour was about people being able to go, ‘Once upon a time, there was a band,’ you know? … And it’s surreal to leave it behind. And yet, the band can continue in so many different forms. So, it will evolve.”
About KISS’ Avatar Show
Of course, one way KISS plans to evolve is the avatar show the band announced at its final concert. To create the upcoming multimedia presentation, KISS has teamed with George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic visual-effects company and Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish company behind the popular ABBA Voyage virtual concert experience in London.
Stanley told Steve-O, “[W]hat we’ll be doing with these amazing avatars … will take us to another place, another level.”
When KISS announced its planned avatar show, it debuted a preview video debuting virtual likenesses of the band’s members. Those images, which included Gene Simmons sporting demon wings, received some negative media comments, but Stanley insisted that the likenesses in that video were rudimentary and that the ones in the actual show will be far superior.
“I had mixed feelings about showing those [initial images], because they’re so early on,” Stanley said. “They look nothing like that. I mean, the avatars … look like us. And I think the idea [for the preview video] was really just to show people that we’re going to move on and continue, but it won’t be like that.”
Paul then declared, “[W]hat we’re putting together with George Lucas and Pophouse … is an immersive experience that you’ll come to and there’ll be heat and fire and wind and things flying around. … I would say it’s Cirque du Soleil meets Star Wars … and a KISS concert. So … it’s going to be amazing.”
KISS Also Is Planning a Biopic
Stanley also confirmed that a KISS biopic is in development with Netflix. He noted that the band took its time to find the right collaborators for the project, because they wanted to make sure the movie is of the highest quality.
“Look, we could have done a film years and years ago, but you get one chance, and I’d rather not do one then do a bad one,” Stanely noted. “I mean, we all remember Kiss Meets the Phantom,” referring to the cartoonish 1978 sci-fi/horror TV movie featuring the band.
Paul added, “So yeah, the people who we connect with and who’ve gotten us to this stage are people that we’ve spent a lot of time with and respect and have a lot of faith in.”
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