In late March 2025, it was announced that Kiss would be “storming Vegas.” People weren’t sure what that meant at first, other than some version, or perhaps a partial version of Kiss, probably with founders and forever holdovers, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, performing at the event.
Soon after Kiss Army Storms Vegas was announced, onlookers found out that it was, in fact, true and that Stanley and Simmons would be performing. But not only that, but that they’d be doing so without their trademark kabuki makeup. And as is always the case when Kiss does anything, the rumors began to swirl, and the reactions began to swell. Such is life within the world of Kiss.
In recent weeks, Simmons has made it clear in interviews that, no, Kiss won’t necessarily be performing a whole set. And no, this is not Kiss doubling back on their promise to get off the road, an era which ended on December 2, 2023, at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
And now, in conversation with Guitar Player, Kiss’s Starchild, electric guitar player Paul Stanley, has weighed in, clarifying, with outright simplicity, what Kiss’s forthcoming Vegas shindig actually is. “Let’s just call it a Kiss Kruise,” Stanley says. “But landlocked in Vegas.”
Within that context, the idea of Stanley, Simmons, and company, climbing up onstage as Kiss, without makeup, isn’t a state-of-the-art idea. Historically, Kiss Kruise’s, throughout their 12-year existence, as per the name, have always featured performances by Kiss, without makeup.
They’ve also always featured a roster of bands and artists, ranging from Kiss alumni, such as Bruce Kulick, who will be in Vegas come November, current members of the band, like Tommy Thayer, who will be with Stanley and Simmons in Vegas, and Ace Frehley, who, much to the chagrin of the Kiss Army, will not.
Elsewhere, the Kruises have featured all sorts of period-correct acts, and to that end, Kiss Army Storms Vegas will be no different. Still, Kiss’s ranks are part of an ever-evolving beast, populated by career rule-breakers.
To that end, there’s more to be announced when it comes to this impending Vegas shebang. “There’s so much yet to come,” Stanley says. “We’re not any other band. We don’t live by those rules. And I think that’s the double-edged sword.”
“It makes people love us, and it makes other people despise us,” Stanley says. “And that’s good! You know, I judge myself by the people who love me, and by the people who hate me.”
What’s the story behind Kiss Army Storms Vegas?
Well, there’s going to be some really exciting changes that enhance what it already is. Let’s face it, it’s what we’ve spent 12 years building, and really, polishing, which is the Kiss Kruise. But does a Kiss Kruise really need to be on a boat? Everything that we do on a Kiss Kruise can take place virtually in any place.
So there’s even bigger news with regard to the event to come?
I think everybody is going to be very excited. Whether it’s the Kiss Army, the Navy, the Kruisers, or fans, in general, it’s turning into something that everybody has loved and that we’ve nurtured over the last 12 years. So I’m looking forward to it. More will be coming shortly, and I think all the announcements are going to make everybody that much more excited.
When you put it into perspective, performing in this fashion, as you’ve done on Kiss Kruise’s, isn’t new per se. So you must have had to laugh when everyone got the idea that this was the proper live return of Kiss.
I’m flattered by suppositions, or any ideas that people have, but they often go way deeper than reality. You know, the Kiss Kruises have been something that everybody has loved, including us. And again, the lack of a ship this year doesn’t mean the lack of a Kruise, you know?
It’s really not down to its location; what we’re going to do is going to be very, very exciting. And quite frankly, it has us that much more excited. When everybody reads, sees and hears about what’s going on, as far as the new announcements, I think everybody is going to be very excited.
You must be excited about getting back up onstage with Gene and Tommy?
As far as playing live, other than either somebody who is deaf, or somebody who decides that they vehemently don’t like the band… Gene is a phenomenally ferocious and creative bass player, and I certainly miss the camaraderie onstage and with Tommy. It's going to be exciting. I look more and more forward to it as we polish the diamond, so to speak.
When this was announced, the first thing that came to people’s mind is that Kiss hung it up after the End of the Road tour. But to be fair, I don’t recall you or Gene saying you’d never perform again in any capacity, just that you wouldn’t tour. What is it about Kiss that every time you guys do anything, everybody's imagination runs wild? Does that come with the territory of the band?
When everybody reads, sees and hears about what’s going on, as far as the new announcements, I think everybody is going to be very excited."
— Paul Stanley
Well, it’s flattering. I mean, it’s either very positive in terms of people’s reaction, or venomously negative. And to the people who want us to go away, we pick and choose when and if we go away. And for the other people, they’re thrilled with any prospect of us doing something.
Among the roster of artists playing at the Vegas event is Bruce Kulick, a key cog in Kiss’s non-makeup era. Seeing as you and Gene won’t be performing in makeup, will we see Bruce join you onstage?
Well, Bruce has been at our events before. And he’s a storied part of the history and our past foundation. But I don’t see any plans for him to play with us, but that’s me speaking at the moment.
But as a rule, we’ve had Bruce there before; it’s just another way to celebrate the history of the band. And regardless of whether he plays with us, or another band, his contribution to Kiss is huge.
How about Ace? He’s performed on Kiss Kruises before, but he doesn’t appear to be on the roster for the Vegas event. Are there any plans in the works for Ace to be a part of this, or did he decline?
We always invite, or open the door to, past members. But I also respect their declining, or unrealistic, required requests, or demands. So no, I don’t believe… I would be fairly certain that you won’t see, you know, the two original guys [Ace Frehley and Peter Criss] there. And that’s nothing new, either.
What makes Kiss unique is that the band doesn’t play by the rules of conventional rock groups, a template you set a long time ago. So, do you see Kiss Army Storms Vegas as a yearly event in lieu of the Kiss Cruise? And if so, do you see yourselves performing in makeup again at these types of events?
Let me just say that I’ve never called it Kiss Army Storms Vegas. Now more than ever, it deserves to be called a Kiss Kruise. And that goes against, you know, some people’s definition of a cruise, but everyone who has any questions will soon find out that it is indeed a Kiss Kruise in Vegas.
We always invite, or open the door to, past members. But I also respect their declining, or unrealistic, required requests, or demands."
— Paul Stanley
Ultimately, be it on the water or on land in Vegas, these events are a great way to celebrate the Kiss Army and keep you and Gene connected to them.
Well, the Kiss Army is not only important to us, but it’s the template for every other band’s fan club. It was snickered at when it first came about because fan clubs weren’t considered cool. But in reality, it came from the fans. The army is a volunteer army, and the Kiss Army started with fans in Terre Haute, Indiana, in the ’70s, demanding that the local radio station play Kiss music.
With that said, why is the Kiss Army important to you, and where would Kiss be without their support?
Those fans in Terre Haute, Indiana, if the station didn’t play Kiss music, they would surround the building. And they did that, and that was the birth of the Kiss Army. So, I can’t say enough about them. I’d like to believe that their feelings toward us are based on realizing and seeing our feelings toward them.
So, lo and behold, every band has an Air Force, or a Tank Squad, or a Bubble Bath Brigade, or whatever they have. [laughs] But it all started with the Kiss Army.
