Gene Simmons has defended KISS over the high prices of tickets to the band’s “End Of The Road” tour.
Here’s the statement:
“Unless you’re willing to live in your mother’s basement and have a job and do music as a hobby, which is wonderful, being in a touring band is big business.”
“You’ll see a show out there that is as good, or better, than anything else. If you’ve got one guy with an acoustic guitar, you can charge less. We’ve got 60 people on the crew and 20 trucks and who knows how many buses, and a jet.”
The standard VIP package for “End Of The Road” costs $1,000 and includes a photo op, a lithograph, a $100 merchandise voucher, a laminate, a private venue entrance and “access to crowd-free merchandise shopping.” The “very limited” Ultimate Kiss Army Experience package, which runs for $5,000, includes a private backstage meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with the band and the opportunity to “(w)atch the whole show from the pit (no fans have ever had access to the pit).”
It also includes a “backstage tour with your personal KISS Concierge” including access to areas that only the band and limited members of the crew can visit; beginning by “stepping foot on the holy ground that is the KISS stage.” Those purchasing the package can also “sit on” Eric Singer’s “drum stool at his drum kit” and “stand at Paul [Stanley], Gene and Tommy’s [Thayer] microphones.” They can also hold Stanley’s Cracked Mirror guitar, Simmons’s Axe bass and Thayer’s signature Epiphone guitar. In addition, they can visit the band’s wardrobe, “where you can see the band’s outfits up close and try on the real KISS boots.