Eric Singer: Kiss fans too 'emotionally' attached to old lineups

Eric Singer
Eric Singer at the Annual Race To Erase MS Gala in LA (Image credit: Getty)

Kiss drummer Eric Singer has suggested some fans get too emotionally attached to the band’s previous lineups.

The sticksman has had three stints with the veteran outfit since the death of Eric Carr in 1991. Singer then came on board permanently to replace Peter Criss in 2003 at the end of the ‘Farewell’ reunion tour.

Singer tells CRR: “I have many friends that will say their version of Kiss was Animalize or Hot In The Shade or it was another era. How can they say that? But I respect what they are saying.

“For that person, that is when they discovered Kiss and that was the time of their life when it really affected them and they had a connection to them. Everybody has a different timeline of the band when it emotionally connected with them.

“Sometimes people say, ‘I was eight years old when I first saw the band.’ I say, ‘If you were eight years old and you saw any band that you liked then you would think they were gods. You would have thought they were a lot better than they really were just because of your knowledge and experience you had at the given time.’

“It is all relative. When I think of the age I was at then, it makes sense of why that period affected me. It was the age I was at.”

“How much musical knowledge do you have at eight years old? Not a lot. If you see a band like Kiss come on stage at that age and you see that spectacle, how could that not blow you’re fucking mind as a little kid?”

He continues: “I’m not saying this to take away from Kiss at all, but Kiss was really about the show. What attracted you to them was that image and that show. If Kiss just stood on stage and played songs without the show then I doubt they would have held your attention.

“I understand that you can’t try to take the emotional factor out of the equation. To fans that is impossible. It is not going to happen.

“They wear their hearts on their sleeves and they look at it from an emotional point of view. I get that and I respect it. You’re not going to get me to think that way. I have a unique perspective in Kiss.”

Meanwhile, singer Paul Stanley recently hinted the band could make another album – but only if they had the creative desire to do so.

Kiss tour dates 2016

Jul 15: Spokane Spokane Arena, WA
Jul 16: Bozeman Breeden Fieldhouse, MT
Jul 18: Colorado Springs World Arena, CO
Jul 20: Independence Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, MO
Jul 22: Lincoln Pinnacle Bank Arena, NE
Jul 23: Springfield JQH Arena, MO
Jul 25: Wichita Intrust Bank Arena, KS
Jul 27: Sioux City Tyson Events Center, IA
Jul 29: Cheyenne Cheyenne Frontier Days, WY
Jul 30: Minot North Dakota State Fair, ND
Aug 01: Mankato Verizon Wireless Center, MN
Aug 03: Duluth Amsoil Arena, MN
Aug 05: Moline iWireless Arena, IL
Aug 06: La Crosse La Crosse Center, WI
Aug 08: Milwaukee BMO Harris Bradley Center , WI
Aug 10: Green Bay Resch Center, WI
Aug 12: Fort Wayne Allen County Memorial ColiseumIN
Aug 13: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI
Aug 15: Saginaw Dow Event Center, MI
Aug 17: Springfield Illinois State Fair, IL
Aug 20: Rockford BMO Harris Bank Center, IL
Aug 22: Dayton Nutter Center, OH
Aug 24: Toledo Huntington Center, OH
Aug 26: Youngstown Covelli Centre, OH
Aug 27: Erie Erie Insurance Arena, PA
Aug 29: Rochester Blue Cross Arena, NY
Aug 30: State College Bryce Jordan Center, PA
Sep 01: Allentown Great Allentown Fair, PA
Sep 03: Worcester DCU Center, MA
Sep 04: Portland Cross Insurance Arena, ME
Sep 07: Bridgeport Webster Bank Arena, CT
Sep 09: Richmond Richmond Coliseum, VA
Sep 10: Huntington Big Sandy Arena, WV

A - Z Of Kiss

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.