Rock ‘n’ roll legends Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the band KISS have cut back their concert schedule to about 70 shows a year now.
Stanley is finishing his autobiography. The pair are opening a chain of restaurants/bars.
And they’re anticipating the start of the Arena Football League season, where the new team they own, the L.A. KISS, will debut at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
In video interviews with The Times this week at the Ducks’ home opener at Honda Center, Simmons and Stanley discussed their vision and hopes for the team.
Simmons also talked about singing the national anthem at last month’s Minnesota Vikings-Pittsburgh Steelers’ NFL game in London.
Stanley, who lives in Beverly Hills and has children ages 2, 4, 7 and 19, said part of his motivation in forming L.A. KISS – he designed the helmets and uniforms – is to make it community-friendly with $99 season tickets, a KISS concert as part of the deal and donations to organizations like Wounded Warriors.
“We can serve as an inspiration and spotlight other organizations,” Stanley said. “I can have a ball doing something and give back.”
Simmons said the team represents a compelling intersection of pop culture, sports and business, and he’ll invite his celebrity friends to the games and push to sign name players like Tim Tebow, a faithful Christian like Simmons.
Does he want involvement in, say, an NFL team in Los Angeles?
“One planet at a time,” Simmons said. “We want to show the big guys how the little guys can get even bigger. Fans don’t need to mortgage their houses to come to our games.
“And we didn’t need to spend a dime to build a stadium.”
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