Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons responded to criticism over the name of their new project, Stanley Simmons, saying the choice was not meant to take advantage of their fathers’ fame.
The two musicians are the sons of KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, and some listeners accused them of leaning into that connection by using their last names as the band name.
Speaking on SoundExchange’s Sound Advice series, Evan said the name came naturally because the project formed very quickly.
“This happened so quick,” Evan said. “We were just, like, ‘Here’s the Venn diagram of what we both love. Here’s the overlap. Let’s do that.’”
He said they looked at other groups that had simply used their surnames.
“Crosby, Stills & Nash used their names, and Simon & Garfunkel used their names.”
Nick added that the same idea had been used by other artists.
“Hall & Oates. Even Jimmy Page, when he left Led Zeppelin, did Coverdale-Page.”
According to Nick, the goal was to keep the project simple rather than create a gimmick around their family background.
“This whole thing was supposed to be not a gimmick. It was supposed to just be sort of us being kind of, ‘Here we are. Here’s what we like,’ without much affectation.”
He said he did not expect people to read the name as an attempt to use the KISS connection.
“There was a couple of comments of, like, ‘Oh, they’re leaning into the dads.’ And we were, like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even really think about that.’”
Nick continued:
“It’s my last name. I wasn’t trying to like whack that nail real hard on the head there.”
Evan also addressed the criticism directly, arguing that their family connection would follow them no matter what career they chose.
“I could be a landscaper, and if I was the best landscaper in the world, someone would be, like, ‘But his dad’s in KISS, so he was around plants growing up.’”
He added:
“You can’t escape it, so you just gotta do you.”
For Evan, the idea that the name Stanley Simmons is an attempt to use their fathers’ fame does not make much sense.
“It’s on my birth certificate, man. What do you want me to do?”
Nick said he does not want to run away from the connection, but he also does not want it to become the main reason people pay attention to the band.
“I don’t wanna get away from it, and I don’t wanna use it.”
He added:
“I hope everybody treats me as harshly as they would any new band.”
Stanley Simmons are now preparing to release their debut album, ‘Dancing While The World Is Ending,’ on August 28.
For both musicians, the name may immediately connect them to KISS, but they say the project was built around their own songs rather than an attempt to turn that family connection into a marketing idea.
