KISS Singer Reacts To ‘Complaining’ Fired Bandmates

Kiss member Paul Stanley recently weighed in on the Ace Frehley feud.

During a recent appearance on the Sound Up! podcast with Mark Goodman and Alan
Light, the guitarist was asked if the negativity around the band fades when he thinks about KISS’s 50-year history. He said:

“I don’t see a lot of negativity. People talk about the glass half empty or half full. I see it overflowing.”

He added, “I mean, I don’t have any negative memories because everything that happens both happens for a reason and is part of the end result. So, if you’re living with bitterness or anger, it means you haven’t gotten past it. And I have nothing but good things to say about everybody who’s been in the band.”

“And we couldn’t have made it without all of them. Everybody contributed something, and certainly Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer], above everyone else, are the foundation of this. So, whatever spats there have been, or whatever bickering, I put it in perspective. If you win the lottery, you don’t complain about taxes,” Stanley shared.

KISS’ original lineup, including Peter Criss and Frehley, was the most successful. However, they left in the early 1980s due to personal issues. Although Criss and Frehley returned in 1996, they parted ways again in the 2000s. Stanley and Gene Simmons have commented on their departures, with Stanley once accusing Frehley of anti-Semitism.

“Ace, and particularly Peter, felt powerless and impotent when faced with the tireless focus, drive, and ambition of me and Gene,” Stanley wrote in his autobiography.

“As a result, the two of them tried to sabotage the band – which, as they saw it, was unfairly manipulated by us, money-grubbing Jews.”