In an interview with Kevin Frazier of ET Online , Gene Simmons KISS 's trademark stage persona: their heavy costumes. According to the bassist, dressing like that for years is no easy task and requires a lot of physical conditioning; something he thinks some of the biggest names in music couldn't do.
“We work hard for this. We don’t do drugs, we don’t drink, we don’t smoke. We don’t do any of that stupid rock 'n' roll lifestyle stuff. I hike almost every day with Shannon [ Tweed ]. We do 4 to 8 kilometers a day and it’s hard to keep up like that,” says Simmons.
“Listen to what I’m saying – we love [ Mick ] Jagger , Bruno Mars , Bono [ Vox ] and all the rest, they’re great. But if you put those guys… Beyoncé , put Beyoncé in my outfit with 15-centimeter platforms, dragon boots that weigh the same as a bowling ball each, the whole costume – the pins, the leather and the armor – is about 18 kilos. The guitar and the pins are 5 kilos alone. Plus, you have to breathe fire, fly through the air and do that for two hours. They’d pass out in half an hour,” he said.
In October, Paul Stanley had already commented that the heavy equipment KISS uses on stage was one of the main reasons why the band would be retiring from touring . Currently, KISS is on its farewell tour, End Of The Road , and Stanley said he "strongly believes" that the band "will be finished" by early 2023.
READ ALSO: Paul Stanley again dismisses the possibility of a new KISS album: "Why would we need that?"
