Gene Simmons on KISS' Last Tour and How He Retains His Stamina at 72 (Exclusive)
etonline.comGene Simmons is getting ready to rock out for one last time. The KISS musician spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier in Las Vegas during a three-part interview at Simmons' home and the KISS World Museum at the Rio Hotel and Casino, where he dished on the band's world tour, which will mark their final time touring as a group — and how at 72 years old, he still has the stamina to do it all.«We start playing the outdoor stadiums of South America, literally within two weeks, and continue on to Europe and Australia and eventually North America, Japan, all that stuff.
Mexico,» Simmons told ET. «And this is going to be the last tour. We're done.»«We're approaching 50 years of doing this, which is unbelievable because we never thought we'd last more than a few years,» he added.Simmons said that he and the band have recognized the right time to «get out of the ring.»«The last thing that you want to do is be a guy that stays in the ring too long and gets his a** beat,» the rock and roll legend shared. «Get out of the ring when you're a champion.»As far as how he's able to still hit the road at his age, Simmons said staying away from drugs and alcohol has helped.«We work hard at it,» Simmons maintained. «No drugs, no booze, no smoking.
None of that stupid rock and roll stuff. I hike almost every single day with Shannon, we do three to five miles a day, and it's hard to keep this going.»Being in shape is necessary for some of the stunts the band performs and the outrageous outfits they wear at every performance.«You got to understand — we love Jagger and Bruno Mars and Bono and anybody else, they're all great, but if you put those guys — Beyoncé, put Beyoncé in my outfit with seven to eight-inch platform heels, dragon boots that each.
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