Original Kiss Manager’s Partner: ‘Do It For Bill Aucoin’
The chorus of critics questioning why Kiss isn't performing with all four founding members as part of its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is growing. Now, Roman Fernandez, the former partner of Bill Aucoin, has joined its ranks, and weighed in on how their former manager would have handled the situation.
"I’m pretty sure this is what Bill might have said in light of all this nonsense," he tells Eddie Trunk. "'Find a compromise, put everything aside for one night, be the larger than life rock stars you know you are.'"
The late Aucoin, who died in 2010 after a bout with prostate cancer, discovered Kiss and shepherded them through their seminal years from 1973-82 -- a period in which Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss together established the band's legend. Since, Stanley and Simmons have carried on with a series of different collaborators, save for a late-1990s reunion of the original quartet.
Over the weekend, Kiss announced that it will not perform in any configuration at this year's Hall of Fame ceremony, since the group has been denied a chance to induct key later-era band members.
Fernandez says that's a grave misunderstanding of this moment's importance: "I don’t believe Bill would begrudge any reasoning for the band members feeling however they may about one another," he adds. "But, I also believe he would have recognized this as one singular night to put unresolved issues aside. Life is too short to waste such a precious opportunity. If for no other reason, do it for Bill Aucoin."