Kiss might be done, but Gene Simmons isn't. Simmons is taking his Gene Simmons Band down to the Summer Breeze festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 26, making it the first time they've performed since 2018. The Gene Simmons Band includes guitarists Brent Woods (Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil) and Zach Throne (Corey Taylor), as well as drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner).
Obviously it's not Kiss, but every single Gene Simmons Band show that's ever happened has been Kiss covers. So y'know, a great way to get around the whole "Kiss will never play live again" thing.
As for Kiss, they've got their first digital avatar show coming up in 2027 (not a typo). All we know is that Simmons recently said the avatars are gonna get "better" and that there's $200 million going into them.
"They're gonna get better, that animated stuff," said Simmons. He then added: "There's so much being planned, even beyond my comprehension. But they're spending, oh, about 200 million [dollars] to take it to the next level."
One thing is for certain, though – ex-Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley isn't a fan of the avatars. In a recent interview with Rock Antenne, Frehley stated in no uncertain terms that he doesn't feel the whole "digital avatar" thing embodies rock.
"I'm happy it's over, because I'm not gonna be compared to them anymore… But I don't get this avatar thing that they're gonna do," said Frehley. "I mean, I saw some of it on a video on YouTube last night. It kind of looked like it was geared towards children. And it's not rock and roll. I get up on stage without backing tracks, plug my amp into it, plug my guitar into a Marshall and go. That's it. It's always been that way and always will be."
