John Corabi has defended KISS against criticism over the band’s recent live performances, saying that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley deserve a lot of credit for putting on great, energetic shows even though they are almost 70 years old.
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Corabi, a former member of MÖTLEY CRÜE and THE SCREAM, whose current band, THE DEAD DAISIES, spent several months on the road in 2016 as the support act for KISS, addressed Stanley‘s vocal issues during a brand new interview with Mariskal Rock TV. He said (see video below): “I think a lot of the fans forget… ‘Cause I’ve been hearing different things about… They’re, like, ‘Well, Paul didn’t sing,’ or, ‘Gene‘s not singing that well,’ or, ‘Paul‘s not singing that well,’ or, ‘They didn’t play very good.’ Every band has an ‘off’ night once in a while — that’s gonna happen.
The other thing, too, is I don’t think a lot of people take into consideration that they are almost 70 years old. And I’ve gotta be honest with you. We were on tour [with KISS] last year or the year before, and just for the hell of it, I said to one of the wardrobe girls… I just wanted to pick their boots up. And Gene‘s boots, honestly, it’s probably 15 pounds each boot; they’re heavy, heavy boots. Same with Paul‘s. And I just sat there and I put it in perspective.”
Corabi, who previously played with KISS drummer Eric Singer in the ERIC SINGER PROJECT(ESP), continued: “I did another interview in New York, and the guy was talking about… he was complaining about KISS. And I go, ‘How many 70-year-old men do you know who can’t even get off the couch, let alone go up and do a two-hour set in boots that each boot weighs 10 pounds, or five kilos, and they’re running around, jumping and doing all this stuff for two hours every day — and singing.
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It’s not easy to do… And I just sit there and I go, ‘Okay, this is like my dad…’ I mean, think about it — he’s 70 years old. It’s your dad putting on, like, 30 pounds or 40 pounds of gear and running around for two hours and singing and performing. I personally don’t know a lot of people at 70, other than those guys — [and] Steven Tyler — but the fact that they’re still doing it at 70, I’ve got nothing but props for that. you’ve gotta give ’em credit for that.”