He came for Madonna too, girls:
At a Tuesday press conference in Hollywood, to announce their co-headlining tour, KISS and Motley Crue bragged that their show would feature live, take-no-prisoners rock and roll.
“No karaoke singers allowed. No fake bullsh*t,” scoffed KISS bassist Gene Simmons. “Leave that to Rihanna-Schmianna and everybody else whose name ends with an ‘a.’” [Madonna shade]
Later, Simmons’ cohort, Paul Stanley, took the diss even further in an interview with CNN.
“When you think about a lot of the shows you go to see, they’re not live!,” said the guitarist. “You go to these shows and you go, ‘Wow, it sounds just like my album. It IS the album!”
“All they gotta learn is the choreography and lip-syncing,” he continued.
The members of KISS clearly aren’t concerned with coming off as politically correct.
Stanley explains, “We’re not going to be preaching about saving the whales. We’re not going to be talking about toxic sludge. We’re up there to rock and roll. Everybody deserves a night off, and that’s what this is.”
KISS and Motley Crue have named their trek of 40-plus American cities, “The Tour.”
“It IS ‘The Tour,” explained Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx. “Motley Crue and KISS put on two of the biggest shows in rock. And to do it together and in one night? It’s ‘The Tour!’”
Stanley concurs. “It’s not a rock concert. When you put us together, it’s an event. It’s bombastic. There will be a no-fly zone over the arenas and amphitheaters. We’re going to have more artillery than most third world countries. People are going to come and go, ‘I know why these bands have lasted.’ Because we know how to do it.”
Even though it’s a co-headlining tour, Sixx says Motley Crue will take the stage before KISS — and rightly so.
“I remember in Jerome, Idaho, 4,000 people — I had a KISS poster, an Aerosmith poster and the Sweet on the wall. And for me, to go out and do this together, it’s an honor,” he said.
Simmons joked that the show’s opening act should feature a certain video from Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.
“We’re actually in the middle of giving scientists a chance to do a 3-D version of Tommy’s sex video,” he quipped.
“It’s going to poke your eye out, that’s the problem,” added Stanley.
“I think this is a perfect, perfect match. Maybe a match made in hell — some places in America might maintain — but a perfect match. It’s going to be all-night-long hits, bombs, girls — topless, a few — and Motley Crue and KISS. I can’t wait to experience it myself,” Sixx concluded.
“The Tour” kicks off July 20th in Bristow, Virginia. Tickets go on sale Friday at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com. Fan club pre-sales for both bands begin today.
Gene Speaks