KISS’s Gene Simmons Compares Ace Frehley And Peter Criss To Two Flat Tires That Needed Changing

Never one to miss an opportunity to lash out at his former bandmates, Gene Simmons has compared Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to flat tires that were in danger of stopping the KISS juggernaut in its tracks.

During an interview with Guitar World, Simmons turned that notorious tongue of his in the direction of KISS’s original lead guitarist and stick-man and was pretty scathing about the pair.

Discussing KISS’s final tour and the chances of his and Paul Stanley’s old sparring partners returning for a quick one, two, three, four through some of the band’s classic back catalog, Simmons announced he’d love to have them back on stage for a few numbers, “here and there” but they’d never be fully-fledged members of the band again because they couldn’t be depended upon to deliver a full set night after night, and also, “life doesn’t give you three chances.”

“Ace and Peter have gotten three chances. They were in and out of the band – fired – three times. For drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional. They weren’t carrying their load. You can’t be in a car with two flat tires. It’s not going to go anywhere. It’s your responsibility to change the f**king tires so the whole car doesn’t stop. It’s nothing personal.”

Simmons went on to add that Frehley and Criss made the cardinal sin of forgetting that being in a successful rock band was about as far removed from physical hard work as you can get, but in his opinion, they still managed to blow it.

Turning his attention to his long-term brother-in-arms, Paul Stanley, Simmons said that they are “two different sides of the same coin.” He called Stanley the brother he never had and enthused that they share the same values, such as working hard, prioritizing their families, and showing up on time.

Simmons also stressed that KISS’s End Of The Road tour means exactly that because being the hottest band in the land on stage is the only thing that matters to KISS and they want to go out on top.

Simmons also reflected he’s 69 now and still feels and looks good but by the time the tour wraps up he’ll be 72, and will probably be hard pressed to deliver the goods in the way he once did.

“If I was in the Stones or U2 I could run around onstage in sneakers and a T-shirt and never break a sweat. Those bands are great but KISS is a different animals. We’re like heavy artillery. We’re armored. I wear eight-inch platform heels.”

Simmons went on to clarify that as much as he loves Jagger and Bono they’d probably drop dead in a half hour if they put in the amount of work KISS puts in.