KISS concluded their End of the Road farewell tour with a final show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on December 2, revealing plans to carry on as digital avatars.
Following their performance of ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’ as the last live song of the evening, Paul Stanley addressed the audience, hinting at a new journey following the end of their current one. Shortly after, KISS left the stage amidst a spectacular display of pyrotechnics.
The Emergence Of KISS Avatars
As this happened, digital representations of their iconic characters – the Demon, Starchild, Catman, and Spaceman – appeared on screen, accompanied by the song ‘God Gave Rock n’ Roll to You.’ The digital versions of KISS were made by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and funded and produced by Pophouse Entertainment from Sweden.
Planning For KISS’s Digital Future
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, together with the CEO of Pophouse Entertainment, Per Sundin, the creative director at JOCOUP Creative, Thierry Coup, and VFX Supervisor at ILM, Grady Cofer, recently had a roundtable discussion about the band’s upcoming avatars. Stanley said:
“What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are. It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see KISS immortalized. I mean, we’ve spent 50 years building it to this point.”
Simmons also added:
“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before. The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
A History Of Goodbyes And Returns
KISS has a history of farewell tours followed by comebacks. They announced a goodbye tour in 2000. The band embarked on what was marketed as the ‘Farewell Tour,’ suggesting it would be their last. This tour, featuring the original members – Stanley, Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss – was initially intended to be a final bow for the band.
Despite the ‘Farewell Tour,’ KISS did not permanently disband. In 2003, KISS returned to touring with the ‘KISS Symphony: Alive IV’ concert, featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Post-2001, KISS saw several lineup changes. Original members Frehley and Criss left the band, and Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer took over as the Spaceman and Catman.
You can see the video of how the band announced their avatars below.
