KISS vocalist Paul Stanley says “too much” of contemporary rock music
lacks the “imperfection and spontaneity” of years gone by.
In a wide-ranging new interview with Business Jet Traveler, the singer was asked about his thoughts on state of rock music today.
Paul said: “Too much of it is faceless and interchangeable; between that and autotuning and mechanical beats, there’s a loss of what made all the music that came before so great.
“What we loved about Motown and Philly soul and the Beatles era was its imperfection and spontaneity. You’re missing that now.”
The sexagenarian rocker also admitted that it’s harder for bands to make an impact nowadays, explaining: “I was talking to Rod Stewart a couple of days ago, and I said, ‘Boy I wouldn’t want to be starting now,’ and he said, ‘Amen.’
“It’s a very different world. The income stream is so much less and there’s so much grey area and so many bands. I think that social media and the Internet have made for something that, besides the monetary aspect, is very homogenous.
“There was a time where there was much distinction between acts and there were far fewer of them. You didn’t have a situation where, for example, you can either take what’s offered to you in terms of a fee for your music or somebody will take it for free. That’s not how things are supposed to work.”
Paul was also asked who is the real frontman of KISS, after bassist Gene Simmons once declared himself to be the face of the band.
“A frontman is the person who does the talking and who gives a group its identity and communicates to the audience,” Paul explained.
“There’s only one person on the stage who does that. If that’s the definition of a frontman, then it’s undisputable (that I’m the frontman). If you interpret frontman as something else…if it’s being in the media, well then, it’s different.”
Elsewhere, Paul seemingly confirmed that KISS are highly unlikely to ever make an album again, saying: “I don’t know (whether we will make an album again). Invariably when people come to see us live, they want to hear classics.
Paul said: “Too much of it is faceless and interchangeable; between that and autotuning and mechanical beats, there’s a loss of what made all the music that came before so great.
“What we loved about Motown and Philly soul and the Beatles era was its imperfection and spontaneity. You’re missing that now.”
The sexagenarian rocker also admitted that it’s harder for bands to make an impact nowadays, explaining: “I was talking to Rod Stewart a couple of days ago, and I said, ‘Boy I wouldn’t want to be starting now,’ and he said, ‘Amen.’
“It’s a very different world. The income stream is so much less and there’s so much grey area and so many bands. I think that social media and the Internet have made for something that, besides the monetary aspect, is very homogenous.
“There was a time where there was much distinction between acts and there were far fewer of them. You didn’t have a situation where, for example, you can either take what’s offered to you in terms of a fee for your music or somebody will take it for free. That’s not how things are supposed to work.”
Paul was also asked who is the real frontman of KISS, after bassist Gene Simmons once declared himself to be the face of the band.
“A frontman is the person who does the talking and who gives a group its identity and communicates to the audience,” Paul explained.
“There’s only one person on the stage who does that. If that’s the definition of a frontman, then it’s undisputable (that I’m the frontman). If you interpret frontman as something else…if it’s being in the media, well then, it’s different.”
Elsewhere, Paul seemingly confirmed that KISS are highly unlikely to ever make an album again, saying: “I don’t know (whether we will make an album again). Invariably when people come to see us live, they want to hear classics.
“If you watch a live DVD of McCartney or the Stones, you’ll see that
every time they are playing a new song, the audience sits down. So, if
you want to do a new album purely as an artistic endeavour, that’s
great, but I am not sure that there aren’t other things I’d rather spend
that time doing.”
