Paul Stanley Slams The Rock And Roll HOF

No one really cares about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I don’t really care either, except this year KISS is being inducted. In fact, the ceremony is tonight, April 10th (it will air on HBO in May), and hours before the event articles and video clips are popping up with Paul Stanley slamming and discrediting the HOF. And why shouldn’t he? KISS has been snubbed by the HOF for 14 years, despite having been around for 40 years and selling more than 100 million records, and they are probably the most recognizable band on the planet — ever! And they’re influence stretches far and wide.

It’s no secret that KISS has been dissatisfied with the HOF, nor have the founding members Gene Simmons and Stanley kept it a secret that they don’t feel honored at all. But it’s a whole other thing when you hear Stanley speak so eloquently and intelligently about what the HOF is and his feelings about the circumstances under which KISS is being inducted. Basically, Paul Stanley is the mutha-fuckin’ man!

Watch the AP video in the player above for some straight-shooting from Paul.

In an interview posted at cbsnews.com, Stanley said:

The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame is fluff. It’s a farce. It’s like an Addams Family bar mitzvah. I’m gonna go, but let’s not kid ourselves, you know. That’s not the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame is walking the streets.

From the same interview with Anthony Mason, I personally love Stanley’s response to why he doesn’t want to perform with co-founders Ace Frehley or Peter Criss; it’s just so much more tactful than the way Simmons says things:

Mason: Gene Simmons says they’re not fit to wear the makeup anymore.
Stanley: It’s a great soundbite.
Mason: Do you agree with it?
Stanley: I agree that they don’t belong in the band. And they don’t belong in a position to represent the band.

And when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame asked the original members to perform together again, Stanley resisted.

Mason: For old time’s sake, one more time, you wouldn’t want to do that?

Stanley: How many times have you been married?
Mason: Twice
Stanley: How about for old times sake you go back and spend the night with your ex-wife?
Mason: That’s the way you look at it?
Stanley: That’s the way you’d look at it. You wouldn’t make good music.

What do you think of Paul Stanley’s position on the HOF? Do you think the HOF has any credibility despite being a privately owned entity?

Rock Hard \m/