GENE SIMMONS: KISS Will Listen To Scientists, Not Politicians, About When To Resume Farewell Tour

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During a May 7 Facebook Live chat with Scott Brown, the United States ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked when the band plans to resume its "End Of The Road" farewell tour. He responded (see video below): "First and foremost, it doesn't matter about me, me, me and the band and all that stuff. The most important thing is to keep you guys safe, 'cause we love you. Without the fans, we're nothing and we're nobody. I'd be asking you, if you were next in line, if you'd like some fries with that. In fact, that person is cooler than I will ever be. So it's less about self-aggrandizement and more about we are going out there once it's safe. Once we have a vaccine out there and the scientists — not the politicians — are telling us, 'Okay, open the doors. Celebrate life. Go out there and enjoy yourself.' Then we're going out there. "We've already done 110 cities in the world [on the 'End Of The Road' tour]," he continued. "We were coming to New Zealand and Australia, and first time Paul [Stanley, KISS frontman] hurt himself, and that's been in the papers, and we had to cancel that, and New Zealand as well. "I promise you, as I'm sitting here today, we look forward to coming back." Simmons was then asked if there is a certain number of people that he would feel comfortable performing in front of once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided. He replied: "There are different rules [for different regions]. There are more people in Los Angeles county than there are people living in Australia — 28 million, something like that, in the county. There are more people than New Zealand. L.A. specifically, and New York specifically, especially New York, people are on top of each other. There are so many people, it's difficult when you're in an apartment building to come out of anywhere and keep social distancing — it's almost impossible. So we have to figure this out — the scientists and the politicians, and hopefully they'll get together. [There should be] New York rules, London rules, Paris rules, Tokyo rules… There are more people in Tokyo than these other cities, where everybody is in large buildings packed in together. Never mind India and China, where you have a billion and three hundred million people and a billion and four hundred million people packed into one country. Those are different kinds of rules — and should be — than rules in New Zealand, where you have lots of clean, fresh air and distancing between the people. So I would urge all politicians… And New Zealand's got a terrific prime minister — very, very impressive… I hope the politicians and the scientists get together and understand there needs to be different sets of laws depending on how closely packed we are to each other. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out." In January 2019, KISS launched "End Of The Road", which is scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City. KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991). Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup. In its 46-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band.