KISS fans disappointed by the hottest band in the word deciding not to play with the original four at The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction were even more disappointed when it was revealed KISS wouldn’t be playing at all. However, Scott Ian of Anthrax, a known KISS fan, has spoken out about the band’s decision and defends their choice not to play.
Speaking with Cleveland radio station WMMS, Ian says:
“Look, I’ve got Gene Simmons tattooed on my leg, so whatever Gene says is what goes.”
He continued: “I’m a [KISS] fan, just like everyone else, and would I wanna see, if I was going… I’m not going to the Hall Of Fame thing, so would I wanna see the four original dudes back in makeup one more time? Of course I would, as a fan. But bands don’t do things dictated by what the audience wants. A band would last about a year if that’s how you worked. You have to do things the way you wanna do them.
“KISS has been around for 40 years and are bigger now than they were in 1977 because Gene and Paul make smart decisions — that’s why. So, as a fan, and if you love them, you have to abide by the decisions that Gene and Paul are making for their brand and their band. So, why people get so upset over these things, I really don’t understand. Like, if they decided they were playing with [current KISS members] Tommy [Thayer, guitar] and Eric [Singer, drums], so fine. That’s what they’re doing. This is their band. This has been the lineup for a long time now.
“I get it — those two guys [Tommy and Eric] aren’t the guys who are getting into the Hall Of Fame [with Paul and Gene], it’s Ace and Peter… you know, I get it.
“So I think they made the right decision now by saying, ‘We’re just not gonna play. You can’t please everybody. We’re just gonna shut it down and just not do it.’ I get it. I understand.”
Ian does touch on a point about letting fans dictate what the band does. It’s true that many bands would take a turn for the worse if that’s the way it worked and that you can’t always please everyone. It might be a little much to ask fans not to get upset over things, considering half the time that’s what fans are doing anyway, but we see where he is coming from.
[via]
