Jay Jay French Shares The Plan That Paul Stanley And Gene Simmons Had For KISS

Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French was interviewed by Ultimate Guitar and revealed what Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley planned when they founded KISS. The guitarist also drew attention to the band’s success and credited their plan.

As you may know, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons started their professional music career when they started playing in Wicked Lester. However, both Stanley and Simmons wanted to create a more different style than their contemporaries, who were following a pop-oriented style like their predecessors. Thus, they decided to form a new band in 1973.

Thus, one of the most popular and commercially successful rock bands of all time, KISS, hit the rock scene with their extraordinary stage performances, looks, and iconic records. Jay Jay French, who met the KISS members years ago when he auditioned to become the band’s lead guitarist, said that Simmons and Stanley always had a plan for their music career and artistic direction.

During his recent interview, Jay Jay French unveiled that KISS frontman Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons were the most focused people he had ever seen. They determined what they were going to do to achieve their dreams. According to the guitarist, this is the main reason behind KISS becoming one of the most influential rock bands in the world.

Here’s what French said in his interview:

“I was 20 when I met them, and they were 22 – Gene and Paul, I met them together – and they were the first people I ever met who had an idea of who they were. Up until then, all the musicians were just hippie musicians I played with – nobody said, ‘This is a plan that we have.’ When I met Gene and Paul, this was a plan, you know, they had this plan.

Now obviously, Gene and Paul had decided at that point that they were going to break up this band called Wicked Lester to do this other thing which became KISS. They just said to me, ‘The demo you got – we’re gonna break that band up. We’re gonna start all over.’

He continued:

“However, they didn’t talk about makeup. They just said like, ‘We’re gonna be heavy, and we’re gonna wear platform shoes,’ ’cause platform shoes were just starting to come out – you know, this was 1972. I have a magazine called Rock Scene Magazine from 1973 and New York Dolls are on the cover – and Twisted Sister and KISS are in little black-and-white photos inside saying, ‘These are the bands that are coming.’

Which is kinda interesting if you think about it. But when I went down to see KISS rehearse with Ace as KISS – they just changed their name – it was impressive. It was like they knew exactly what they wanted to do. I had never met people that focused before. So, it was interesting to see those guys, and it doesn’t surprise me how successful they got because they were that focused.”

It can be said that young generation musicians and bands, who want to become successful and famous like KISS, should focus on their plans for their future, and make sure they stick to it. In this way, they may get a chance to reach millions of people with their works and performances.