Asked in a brand new interview with Rock Titan, Tim Ripper Owens discussed Ronnie James Dio Hologram & KISS.
He said:
“It was great. It’s funny, the difference of the hatred beforehand and then having people come to it and watching the show and seeing it and just seeing the difference of how it changed a lot of people when they witnessed it. ‘Cause it’s a show — it’s entertainment.
“We don’t need a hologram to continue on Ronnie James Dio‘s legacy — Ronnie James Dio‘s music is his legacy, and you will always have that,”
“This is just something to go to a concert and go to a venue and experience a show and have fun with it. You don’t have to have that, but his legacy continues.
“To me, I would love to see a David Bowie [hologram] show, because I didn’t see him, and his career is like Ronnie James Dio that went so long. David Bowie kept reinventing himself as time went on, so I think it would be fantastic to watch Elvis [Presley] or watch David Bowie or watch a Lemmy hologram with Mikkey Dee and those guys. I think it would be fun. It’s not replacing stuff — it’s just a show, and to kind of go out and have some drinks.”
He further added:
“When somebody dies in the movie industry, they make a digital person to finish the movie. This is what it’s all about; this is how they move forward. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. I mean, sometimes I think it might be better to watch a hologram of KISS right now than watch the actual band.
“STATIC-X goes out and they have a guy wear a mask of the singer who passed away, and I read these reviews, and people are, like, ‘This thing is the most amazing thing ever. It’s such a great idea.”
“I’m, like, ‘Dude, it’s a guy standing there with a mask.’ Or another thing — you watch tribute bands of Ronnie James Dio play all the time, and the guy tries to look like Ronnie, and that’s fine. And it is fine to me — all these things are fine. I love music, and I love to celebrate it. But that’s fine, but yet you do something like this… People just look at stuff to complain about. That’s all it is — they just like to complain.