Gene Simmons regrets not being tougher on Ace Frehley and Peter Criss for their substance abuse issues.
The bassist recently sat down with Backstage Pass for an interview and said:
“I’m sad in retrospect. You know, hindsight’s 20/20. I’m sad that I wasn’t more hard on Ace and Peter, the two original guys who played guitar and drums in the band.”
Despite his regrets, Simmons thinks that Frehley and Criss are responsible for their own departures, and substance abuse issues were not just in KISS but in many bands:
“It’s not even unique. Go to almost every band and you’ll find people ingesting stuff more than the bum on the street corner, except they’re richer and they can afford to ingest more. It’s sad.”
Simmons Thinks KISS Wouldn’t Survive With Ace And Peter
KISS ended their decades-long career last year with a final show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on their End of the Road tour. Frehley and Criss were not part of this farewell. Simmons spoke with USA Today before the concert and mentioned his concerns about their past unprofessional behavior:
“Ace and Peter had been in and out of band three times. We love and cherish them and they will always be part of the KISS family and we’ve had many differences about unprofessional behavior. KISS has always been a machine. We show up on time and we tried on three occasions over three decades to bring them back into the band and it always wound up the same.”
The rocker explained why he believed the two didn’t fit with the band anymore:
“And what do you do with Tommy and Eric who have been loyal and professional and never turned their back on the band? Now, I do know, KISS would not have happened without Ace and Peter. There’s no question of the chemistry. But I don’t think KISS would have survived with Ace and Peter. Not everyone has the DNA. It’s hard damn work to stick through it for 50 years.”
Guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer joined Simmons and Paul Stanley in the lineup for their last shows. Thayer has been with the band since replacing Frehley in 2002, and Singer joined a few years later as a permanent member.
You can watch the rest of Gene’s interview below.