Sons Of KISS's PAUL STANLEY And GENE SIMMONS Defend Decision To Call Their Collaborative Project STANLEY SIMMONS

STANLEY SIMMONS, the collaborative project of Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons — sons of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, respectively, from KISS — was featured on a recent episode of "Sound Advice", an ongoing content series by SoundExchange where musical artists, comedians, and creators share firsthand lessons, career guidance, and industry insights.

Regarding the decision to call the project STANLEY SIMMONS, Evan said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This happened so quick. So, February 3rd, 2024 is when we wrote [the first song] 'Temporary Love', and I think we were a band by — what? — February 14th or something. So it all happened really fast. And we were never gonna be, like, "THE da, da, da.' That just seems super lame. And the whole thing had started so organically, and there wasn't really any trying. We were just, like, 'Here's the Venn diagram of what we both love. Here's the overlap. Let's do that.' And we figured, well, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH used their names, and SIMON & GARFUNKEL used their names.

Nick chimed in: "HALL & OATES. Even [Jimmy] Page, when he left [LED] ZEPPELIN, did COVERDALE-PAGE. It is what it is. This whole thing was supposed to be not a gimmick. It was supposed to just be sort of us being kind of, 'Here we are. Here's what we like,' without much affectation, hopefully. And I didn't anticipate, actually… These are our last names. We were, like, 'Oh, SIMON & GARFUNKEL did it. We can do it.' And then there was a couple of comments of, like, 'Oh, they're leaning into the dads.' And we were, like, 'Oh, I didn't even really think about that.' It's my last name. I wasn't trying to like whack that nail real hard on the head there."

Evan continued: "But that's one of the weird things, is, like, look, I could be a landscaper, and if I was the best landscaper in the world, someone would be, like, 'But his dad's in KISS, so he was around plants growing up.' It's so silly. You can't escape it, so you just gotta do you. And I feel like for us, yeah, people are, like, 'Yeah, they wanna get away from their dads. They're using STANLEY SIMONS.' Like, it's on my birth certificate, man. What do you want me to do?"

Simmons added: "I don't wanna get away [from it], and I don't wanna use it. It's the least interesting thing about me. I don't think it makes me cooler or more worthy. I hope everybody treats me as harshly as they would any new band. I don't really give a shit. I don't think it makes anyone cooler or more deserving of attention than anybody else. I hope people react to the songs as the songs, and if they hate it, I hope they express that equally harshly. I don't mind. I welcome it.

"I think there's a lot of us who are tangentially related to show business, and the ones that stick around, like the Nicolas Cages and the Angelina Jolies of the world, are the ones who deliver good work at the end of the day," Nick explained. "So that's really all I care about, is trying to make this thing any good at all. The rest is not something I care about or think about at all."

Stanley said: "All art is entirely based on the market, and if there's no demand, then it goes away. People might listen to something the first time because of a name, for sure. But they're not gonna listen the tenth time. They either connect with it or they don't, and I think at the end of the day, we're just trying to make music that we love."

Simmons concluded: "Our lives are lovely because of it, and it's not something I can change. The only thing I can do is earn my luck in retrospect by working really hard."

STANLEY SIMMONS's debut album, "Dancing While The World Is Ending", will arrive on August 28.

STANLEY SIMMONS has released six singles so far from the 12-track effort, "Body Down"; the title cut, "Dancing While The World Is Ending"; "Temporary Love"; "Cellophane"; "Don't Leave Me Here Like That"; and "Lilith".

STANLEY SIMMONS's first-ever U.S. tour will kick off on September 14 in Dallas, Texas and conclude on November 3 in West Hollywood, California.

STANLEY SIMMONS made its live debut on May 4 at the House Of Blues Voodoo Room in San Diego, California.

Though Evan and Nick have been close since childhood — raised on the road by their fathers — the idea of collaborating musically never crossed their minds. That changed in December 2024, when an impromptu Instagram reel brought them together in front of microphones for the first time.

"We were shocked," Evan and Nick recalled. "The chemistry was instant. The way our voices locked together… it was undeniable."

What began as a casual moment quickly evolved. By February 2025, Evan and Nick tried writing together — again, just for fun — and lightning struck twice. STANLEY SIMMONS was born. The pair soon realized they had stumbled into the project each had always hoped to make: a return to something expressive and organic, driven by musicianship, storytelling and emotion.

Early bedroom demos caught the attention of legendary producer Rob Cavallo (GREEN DAY, FLEETWOOD MAC, PARAMORE, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, Dave Matthews),who immediately signed on to produce the duo's debut full-length record and stepped into the role of manager.

This past March, Paul dismissed accusations which have been leveled at STANLEY SIMMONS for supposedly leveraging their famous parents to gain a head start in the music industry, telling "The Drew Lane Show": "The idea of nepotism — if you suck, you'll fall on your face. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking advantage of having some sort of familiarity. But ultimately, most people who trade on that fail because it's not enough. So, I think STANLEY SIMMONS, it's just fantastic."

As for whether Evan and Nick ask their dads for any advice regarding their music careers, Paul said: "I think they ask — I know Evan asked me my opinion of things. And I always preface it by saying, 'It's just my opinion, and you have to go with what you believe.' And he does. I said, 'I can give you my point of view.' And I think it's great that anyone asks somebody else's opinion, and uses that to their advantage, but to rely upon me to make decisions — I'm not qualified to make decisions about what [he should do]. Only he is."