Gene Simmons recently spoke with The Sunday Project on why KISS should resign while ‘the quitting’s still good,’ referring to the band’s forthcoming farewell tour. The bassist also criticized some bands for’staying on stage too long’ and never knowing when to step away, while disclosing why he wanted to leave KISS so badly, stating: “Well, look, no matter what your plans are, Mother Nature takes over at some point.” And knowing when it’s time to call it quits requires not just dignity and pride, but also the love and adoration of your followers.
We’ve all seen boxers who spend too much time in the ring, and we’ve all seen musicians who spend too much time on stage. So I’m still in very excellent shape. But that’s beside the point. The argument is that the physical nature of what we do will restrict how long we can do it for. And we recall introducing ourselves with “You wanted the best.” You have the greatest. “The world’s hottest band.” As a result, it was critical for Simmons to finish things up while they were still ‘the hottest band in the world’:
“I don’t want to be in one of those bands where fans say things like, ‘Oh, you should have seen them back in 1804 when they were really rocking.'” Either be a champion right now, or get off the stage. So we’ll quit while the going is good, when we’re on top. And thankfully, I don’t know how to express what an incredible ride it’s been, and it’s all because of the fans.
Without them, I’d be asking the person in front of me whether they wanted fries with that. “Don’t fool yourself!” Gene had recently made news after a performance in Brazil went awry, with the 73-year-old bassist struggling to perform and having to take a seat to continue the show before bandmate Paul Stanley intervened. So it’s logical to presume that the incident played a factor in his present eagerness to end things while’still looking his best.’