Kiss’ Simmons Says Frehley and Criss ‘No Longer Deserve to Wear The Paint’
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has fired another blast in the ongoing war of words between current and former stars of the famous group, declaring that founding members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss "no longer deserve to wear the paint."
"The makeup is earned," he explains in a new interview with Rolling Stone. "Just being there at the beginning is not enough… And if you blow it for yourself, it's your fault. You can’t blame your band members. 'Oh, look what happened to me. Oh, poor me.' Look at my little violin. I have no sympathy." Simmons has frequently criticized Criss and Frehley for allegedly letting drugs and alcohol interfere with their musical growth and the band's success.
Original lead guitarist Frehley suggests, however, that the real reason Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley aren't up for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reunion is that it will mean people won't be interested in the current lineup of Kiss anymore. "The reason they don’t want to perform with me and Peter is because the last time they did, they had to do a reunion tour. We play three songs, the fans go crazy. They don't want to open up a can of worms."
Last month, Stanley and Simmons stated that they would not perform "in any lineup" at the upcoming ceremony because the organization refused to induct anybody but the group's original four members, and wasn't interested in having the current lineup participate in the music portion of the evening.
Interestingly, Frehley also implies that at some point in the near future he will regain the rights to his "Spaceman" makeup, currently worn on stage by guitarist Tommy Thayer. To which Stanley replied: