KISS' planned avatar show continues to take shape.
Paul Stanley, on Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast, says, "We're creating something that's not a concert... Frankly, I would find that that boring. I mean, how long can you go, 'Gee, that looks just like an amp.' So what we're creating is an immersive experience that KISS fans will love and people who have never been exposed to KISS or might not like certain aspects of the band will have to see. It's a must-see go-to experience. So it's beyond anything that anyone else has contemplated. The whole idea, again, of doing a simulated concert is — that's the dark ages to us."
Stanley adds that they'll soon meet to "fine-tune the show and the presentation," and this includes how their music will be utilized. If all goes according to plan, the show will premiere in 2027.
Gene Simmons has never been shy about his love of money so why should he stop now.
Asked in an interview with Forbes why he still continues to perform, given the fact that he's loaded, he says, “I don’t like that phrase -- ‘It’s not about the money.’ Money has been vilified and I take offense to that as a human being, sharing the planet with the rest of the people. I’ve heard that phrase, ‘Money can’t buy happiness.’ That’s one of the biggest lies of all time...
"It’s funny what money does. You have to be kind and you can’t treat people badly. But money gives you a really good buffer that if you’re going to be critiqued – and food for thought, not everybody likes Jesus, either – if you’re making up a new reality and well good Lord, if you’ve got a [boatload] of money around you, say whatever you want! I don’t know how else to say it...
“Fame, by the way, is highly overrated because one of the things that keeps eating away at fame is age. … The more money you’ve got, the more you can bear it.”
Simmons is 75 and has been the only member of the last incarnation of KISS to continue to tour, having just finished a European tour with his band last month.