KISS frontman Paul Stanley has criticized established bands who rearrange their classics for live performances, telling Build during a recent interview (via Blabbermouth):
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“We don’t rearrange songs because we’re bored. There’s nothing worse than people paying money to go see their favorite band, and the band is bored with a song, so they’ve rearranged it.
“You came to hear those songs the way they were originally recorded. That’s what you deserve. If a band is bored with their songs, it’s because the song’s not good enough.”
Drummer Eric Singer chimed in:
“Some bands become a little too self-indulgent. I get it -you have to enjoy what you do as well, but I think sometimes, they start thinking… I’ve heard some musicians say, ‘I play for myself. If people like it, great.’ – almost like you’re doing them a favor.
“No – you should play the music that the fans want to hear. That’s why they came to see you.”
During the conversation, bassist Gene Simmons said that even after all these years, he’s still not tired of playing the classic stuff, saying:
“You might say, ‘Aren’t you sick and tired of hearing that?’ But I will tell you the roar of the crowd, the smell of the greasepaint, there ain’t nothing like it. When you hear everybody getting jazzed about that and you get off the stage… it’s like the fire in the belly.
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“You’re dog-tired; you’ve just done a big show, and you get up on that stage, when you see the joy in everybody’s face… We’ve seen it all. We’ve been around for generations, but when you see a little five-year-old kid in KISS makeup on his dad’s shoulders who’s wearing KISS makeup, next to his father…
“We’re badass kind of guys – nothing affects us much – but that stuff will put a lump in your throat. You have to turn around for a second. It gets me. Yes, it’s music, but it’s generational, and it brings families together instead of separating them.”