PAUL STANLEY Talks About Marriage, Hip Replacement Surgery And Possibility Of New KISS CD

KISS' official web site, KissOnline.com, has been updated with part three of a brand new interview with KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley. It is reproduced here in its entirety:

KissOnline.com: I know you like to keep KissOnline.com mainly focused on KISS, but can we ask you some Paul Stanley questions?

Paul: "Sure. Fire away!"

KissOnline.com: First off, how is married life?

Paul: "Married life in general or mine? Mine's a dream come true. My married life is everything married life should be. You only have to look at the divorce statistics to see that there aren't enough great marriages. When one marriage doesn't work, it's the relationship that failed. A great marriage is freeing rather than imprisoning. If you feel you've lost your freedom or identity, you need to get out. If you feel you have to be someone you don't want to be, you need to get out."

KissOnline.com: Earlier I saw Paul Stanley, the proud father. Can you tell me more about your son, Evan, taking up guitar?

Paul: "Evan has always played piano but about a year ago he came to me on his own and said he wanted to play guitar. I was shocked. I've always tried to let him make his own decisions about music and hobbies and not try to push him towards the obvious. I always say no one wants to grow up being Frank Sinatra, Jr. It has to be very difficult being compared to a famous father's accomplishments or living in their shadow. A little over a year ago he said he wanted to play guitar and I explained to him that it would take a lot of work, but I'd help. I showed him some chords and the next day he was playing and I mean really playing the guitar! We play JIMI HENDRIX and GREEN DAY together. He plays well and has a great feel on guitar and bass. You can teach somebody to play but you can't teach feel. It's very weird to see someone who's not twelve years old yet, so far ahead in the game. He asked me if he would ever be as good as me and I said in five years you should be way beyond me. You know, that's another joy as life goes on, watching your children defining who they are."

KissOnline.com: We've received lots of e-mails from fans and friends that are worried about you and your hip problem. How are you now?

Paul: "You know things did not go as well as they could have or perhaps should have. Hip replacement is major surgery yet it's fairly routine. It's done so often. The actual procedure has changed so much that you basically have the surgery and are walking that day. But there's a saying, minor surgery is what somebody else is having. This clearly was not minor surgery and the first one did not go well and kept pulling out or dislocating almost immediately. So within two months I went back and had it done again, which seemed to fix one problem and start others. The recovery has taken way longer and been more painful than I expected. It will never be great."

KissOnline.com: Most fans never even knew you had a problem. How did you hide that you needed hip replacement surgery for almost a decade while jumping around in KISS boots?

Paul: "By the last tour, I knew I had to do something because the only way I could get up to the stage was by holding the rail and hopping up the steps. Backstage, if the dressing room was on a different floor, I stayed in the dressing room because I couldn't go up and down flights of stairs. What ever I did on stage was as much as I could do and towards the end of the last tour I was actually limping during shows. Despite the injections and adrenaline, it was getting so bad that literally going out walking was almost impossible. I spent most of my time in one place. But I'm just not a whiner. That's why with different lineups of the band there have been times when people were complaining about their toe or their pinky, or their this, that or the other thing. I'd tell them that if I complained about everything that hurt, I'd never stop complaining. There have been times I've been in pain twenty-four hours a day but you have work to do and you have obligations and frankly most people aren't concerned with what you're going through especially if they're paying you. If you can't deliver the goods, then don't show up."

KissOnline.com: You know the question that's coming. Everyone wants to know what's going on with your album. I heard from one source that it's been shelved and from others that you're having trouble getting a deal.

Paul: "I have a deal with one of the major labels and we're putting together the campaign and shooting for a September release. People who have no involvement and know nothing say things to make others think they're important and have inside information. In this instance, they don't have any accurate info and usually never do. There never was a shortage of offers from the day I completed the album. If I had just wanted to get it out, it would have been easiest to go with the label I was originally signed to. I wanted to be with a company that I thought had a staff that was behind the album and also had the ability to promote it properly. I worked too hard to settle."

KissOnline.com: Sounds like you've got everything the way you want it now. You haven't mentioned the label. Anything you want to say?

Paul: "I feel really good about what's coming up and I'll fill in the blanks real soon."

KissOnline.com: Are you still planning to tour to support the album?

Paul: "You bet. I was just talking last night with Eric and he had some suggestions about possible band members. I've got some great players who want to do it, so it should be pretty awesome."

KissOnline.com: With all that's going on with KISS and your solo project is there any chance of you doing some shows of your paintings?

Paul: "I'm almost done with the KISS series. I've been concentrating on abstract pieces and I never really intended to go in that direction but it was such a natural and has been a lot of fun painting the members of the band. I should be done in the next two weeks. Right now I like to keep the shows fairly casual. You can always go see my work. Now we're working on putting the paintings in around thirty galleries around America. They've done amazing well in the limited galleries they've been in. Honestly I'd be kidding everyon, if I didn't say how appreciative and surprised I am of how well it's done."

KissOnline.com: Is it possible that we will see a new KISS record?

Paul: "You know, I don't rule it out at all. I was just talking with some people a few days ago about the possibility of a new KISS album. It would have to follow my line of thinking on everything now. It has to be as good as I think it can be. Selfishly now, it has to meet my idea of what the standard should be. That may mean I may need to control it more. Everybody has their ideas, their requirements to do certain things to end up being fulfilled. Doing another KISS album would mean doing a lot of work and if I was compromising it in any way, I wouldn't have any interest in doing it. If it can be done properly, and I mean properly in my estimation, then I'd be interested. If it can't be then I'd just as soon leave well enough alone."

KissOnline.com: Has there been a record in your entire career that met that standard?

Paul: "Different albums were great for other reason but again those were different times. There were early albums that I think were obviously great and groundbreaking. Much to some people's shock, everyone in the band didn't contribute equally to those albums but it was the chemistry that made them work. There's been a lot of albums that I liked for different reasons from different times. Although the mind set has always been the same, different lineups and different circumstances have made for different results. 'Revenge' is a great album and I think we could do an even better album now. But I have very clear ideas of what I think it should be and the sticking point may ultimately be that I won't compromise that."

KissOnline.com: Let's end with a fun one. I know you're a very positive person but honestly what would you say to someone, if it was 1973 and they told you in the year 2006 that KISS would be American icons and that a feud between two "little people" KISS cover band would be TV network and major newspaper news?

Paul: "What drug are you taking? Nobody could have ever foreseen the impact and longevity that KISS has had and the fact that KISS will continue, inevitably continue without any of the original members. I'm in awe and proud of the fact that we have created, protected and nurtured through good and bad times, a band so unique that it will ultimately have a life of it's own without any of us."