KISS Frontman: 'If Someone Wants To Take A Potshot At The Band, You Don't Do It In My House'

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

KissOnline.com: Recently we've seen some changes on KissOnline.com. What's your involvement in those changes?

Paul: "Over the years it was obvious to anyone who looked at it that KissOnline was in serious trouble. I would look at it and it would look like a band's obituary as opposed to something celebrating a band that exists now and the band's rich history. I had tried in different permutations and combinations of people to get it to what I thought it could be and should be and it was virtually impossible without basically cleaning house, and maybe to somebody on the outside, that seems like something that can be done overnight, but to do something properly is more involved. There's an old saying that you don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water, you don't want to dump everything good and bad. So it was a series of trial and error and once things were clearly turning around it was important to bring somebody in who could take it the next step with me and the organization. I was very hot on the idea if bringing in Keith Leroux, because Keith is not only a fan, but has shown what he is capable of with Kiss Asylum in the last few years. So my ambition and challenge was to take the best of what Keith was capable of doing and adding it to what no one could do that did not have access to the band. So the idea was to once and for all and at any cost, and I mean dollars and feelings, to finally see KissOnline be what it should be."

KissOnline.com: How do you feel about the fan-run sites?

Paul: "The thought and purpose behind sites is often a little more unclear than it appears. They certainly are there to celebrate the band but they also are there to make money. There's not a site around that does not in some way, shape or form, supplement its loyalty to the band with the loyalty to the dollar, and that's OK. I appreciate all the websites. Some do a better job than others and some of them have access to sources that us, in our position, don't necessarily have. The idea in KissOnline now is to try to take as much under our umbrella as possible to make this truly the website of the band and the fans. The fact that KissOnline is a money-making enterprise only means we do it better than the other sites. But no one should kid anybody, it permeates every website and every club. The issue is only how well you do it and is it worth the money."

KissOnline.com: One of things we like about you, Paul, is that you don't say anything about something until it happens. With that being said, can you mention anything we will see at KissOnline in the future.

Paul: "Not everything yet, but again, we're trying to make KissOnline as much an interactive website as possible. We want our site to be a place where people can research and find what they're looking for and have up to the minute news. I'd like to see KissOnline as somewhere between the latest issue of a newspaper and an encyclopedia on KISS."

KissOnline.com: Where you're at with your career right now...Why be so active and involved in KissOnline?

Paul: "Because what I've seen over time is that nobody has the dedication or the amount at stake that we do. Ultimately whatever goes on is a reflection on me and KISS. Ultimately KISS has to stand or fall by everything that has our name on it."

KissOnline.com: I know in the past some KISS items came out that you were not proud of or were not done the way you wanted. Will you be involved as much in the merchandise and with the licensees as with KissOnline?

Paul: "There clearly has been inconsistencies in some of the products and I can remember pulling a jacket last year that was for a tour of the '70s but had head shots of the band with Vinnie [Vincent] and Eric [Carr] in it. So those are the kind of things that we need to monitor more closely. Again, one of the reasons to bring Keith in was to supervise and oversee the products. Also, to go for some sort of a tighter product control, at least in the sense of making sure that anything that comes out, meets our standards and criteria. Whether the fans like everything is irrelevant, I'm not here to please everybody every time, but I want to make sure that anything that comes out is high-quality and has integrity, in terms of the uniformity of lineups and products that reflect different periods of the band."

KissOnline.com: What do you say to the people who say that KISS is just about the merchandise and making money now?

Paul: "I make no apologies and owe no apologies for anything that I do. The idea of being compensated or finding avenues to be compensated in is nothing to be ashamed of or make excuses for. A band that can't merchandise itself is usually a band that nobody wants merchandise from. The fact is, you don't have to buy the products. You can come to the shows or you don't have to come to the shows, you can buy the products or not. You can love the cologne and you can hate the T-shirts. It doesn't matter. All I would like to see us do is make sure we put out quality products that people enjoy. If it was just a matter of putting out things whether they sell or not, I'd be an idiot and we'd all be idiots. So the fact remains that for all the crybabies or for whoever the people are that are stomping their feet, the fact remains that there are more people out there who applaud it and buy it and that's why it's out there. We're not here to fit your concept of what KISS is supposed to be, that's why I got into this in the first place, to do it my way. If one reason you love the band is because we make our own rules and do things 'our way,' I can't help it if it's not always 'your way.'"

KissOnline.com: Some people complain that there is no chat board or that KissOnline does not allow negative letters or posts. What do you say to these people?

Paul: "KissOnline is here to celebrate the band and if someone wants to take a potshot at the band, you don't do it in my house. If you want to go out in the street and yell, be my guest, but you're not invited inside here to do it. There are rules and there are ways you have to conduct yourself. You are certainly entitled to your opinion but why in God's name would I want KissOnline to be a haven for people to take potshots or slag off the band? It's not gonna happen here and it never should have in the first place, because it's an abuse of what I think the site is. Start a site that doesn't like the band. I've seen them. They exist. Go join them. All others are welcome here."