During a recent appearance on the debut episode of the Stories To Tell With Richard Marx podcast, Paul Stanley talked about life after KISS’s farewell tour.
“There are people who are touring constantly because they’re empty and because they need that audience positive response,” the guitarist explained. “Years ago for me, probably decades ago, that may have been the case. At this point, it’s been incredibly gratifying.”
Stanley went on to say, “The last tour was just a chance to really take in how valuable and how much this meant to me. But I couldn’t keep doing it any more than Michael Jordan could.”
“I’ve always been more than a musician or performer — I’ve been an athlete — and you realize that you can only do that so long,” he added. “I’ve been blessed to do it into my 70s, which if you told me that 50 years ago, I’d say you’re out of your mind.”
The rocker then shared, “So, yeah, I miss it, but I don’t crave it. I think the people who really crave it are the ones who don’t find other means for gratification either from other people or self-gratification, whether it’s, for me, painting or my family or friends.”
KISS performed their final two shows in December 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The last show, on December 2, 2023, was streamed live on pay-per-view.
In December, Stanley joined an interview on Gibson TV’s The Collection and explained why he stopped playing guitar after KISS’s farewell. When host Mark Agnesi asked how long it was before he picked up a guitar again, Stanley responded, “Last week, I was trying to figure out why I haven’t picked up a guitar.”
He continued, “I’ve played a couple of guitars in here, but really, I haven’t played much. And I couldn’t figure out why. Then I thought, if I started playing, I was afraid that I would miss playing with the band and doing what we do.”
Stanley previously announced that the band is making a five-part documentary about their ‘End of the Road’ farewell tour. The musician shared the news by posting a photo of his wife, Erin, being interviewed for the film.
