Kiss's Stanley Says He's Happy With Criss-less Lineup

NEW YORK (AP) - The members of Kiss have previously revealed to their intentions to continue the farewell tour they began last year into 2002, with no firm end yet in sight, although bassist Gene Simmons writes in his autobiography, Kiss And Make-Up, that there will be a final show at New York City's Shea Stadium someday soon. The question Kiss fans want answered is: Who will play drums on those dates?

Original skin-pounder Peter Criss was booted earlier this year because of financial disagreements and replaced by latter-day Kiss drummer Eric Singer, who also donned Criss's trademark cat makeup for spring dates in Australia and Japan.
Singer-guitarist Paul Stanley tells that he would be happy to see the revised lineup continue. "As we've said before, the team is more important than the individual players, and if somebody doesn't want to play ball, then the team doesn't go home," he says. "The shows in Australia and Japan featured sometimes five encores, and I couldn't have been more proud of the band or more happy to be in it. Were that the lineup that would continue, I'd be more than happy with it."

The group is preparing for the release of Kiss: The Box Set on Tuesday (November 20). Simmons's memoir will be published on December 11.