Paul Stanley recently spoke with Louder Sound about how they attempted to be fair to AC/DC while on tour with them.
Stanley remembers seeing AC/DC for the first time in Los Angeles’ famed club, Whisky A Go Go, in the early 1970s, when they opened for KISS. “A little later [he saw the band in the L.A. club], we took AC/DC out as the opening act for KISS, and they were fantastic,” he added. We made sure they had the best sound, as Angus stated, and we always had the same mindset with opening bands.” The rocker went on to say that ‘unrightfully’ overshadowing AC/DC or any other opening act was not what KISS desired: “Undermining or sabotaging them [opening acts] is cheating.” If you’re the headliner, you should be the champ, but if the champ can only win by having the contender fight with one hand tied behind their back, you don’t deserve to be. So that’s a factor.”
While discussing AC/DC, Stanley was extremely lavish with accolades, praising: “I also believe that what AC/DC has is something that all of the great classic bands have, without exception.” Audiences can identify to the chemistry between two people, the yin and yang, and the sense of friendship.”
He continued by providing other examples of the ‘chemistry’ in question: “It’s in all the great bands. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend are there. It’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. It’s Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. Down the line, it’s me and Gene, then Axl and Slash. AC/DC had it with Bon and Angus, and Brian and Angus had it as well.” Although KISS did not appear to sabotage their opening acts, there have been occasions in rock history when other bands attempted to. You may read about Steven Tyler’s attempt to’sabotage’ Kansas while the two bands were on tour here.
