AEROSMITH/KISS Summer Tour Back On?

The joint AEROSMITH and KISS tour is apparently back on for this summer, according to Launch. Promoters are said to be reporting that the two bands are currently putting together an itinerary that is likely to play mostly in arenas, although some stadium dates are also possible.

When asked about the possibility of an AEROSMITH/KISS pairing late last year, AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford confirmed that talks had taken place of a possible joint summer tour, but indicated that he didn't think it was likely to happen. "The truth to the rumor is that KISS would like us to do the show with them," he said at the time. "AEROSMITH's just not that keen on doing the package. I think it's much higher on their wish list than it is ours. I think it might be a good package, and I wouldn't be surprised if maybe a coupla shows did happen — maybe a couple of shows somewhere did happen with KISS and AEROSMITH — but as far as I know, we're not planning on doing that. It doesn't do anything for us. We just don't think it's the right way to go, for us."

KISS guitarist/singer Paul Stanley was equally non-committal last year when asked about the rumors of a KISS/AEROSMITH package. "We're in this enviable position that we're still finishing up our farewell tour, and we've already had about two million people say, 'Don't stop,'" Stanley said. "And at that point, we're kind of scratching our heads and wondering what we're going to do next, so we're really kind of keeping our options open. If the right situation came along, anything's possible."

Next up on KISS' agenda is a Feb. 28 show with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Australia, as well as three dates (March 11-13) at Budokan Hall in Tokyo. Drummer Peter Criss will be rejoining the band for these shows, while lead guitarist Ace Frehley has indicated that he has no plans to return to the group at this time.