‘I Didn’t Want to Become Fat, Bloated, Naked Elvis’: Why KISS Called It Quits on Touring (And What They’re Up to Now)

It’s been nearly three years since KISS played its last concert as a touring act — and in makeup. Now the group is giving fans a look behind the scenes of its End of the Road World Tour, a globe-spanning farewell trek that was bumpier than the KISS camp let on. Explore See latest videos, charts and news The revealing KISS: End of the Road documentary drops Nov. 19 via KISSOnline.com, where it will be available for seven days before moving on to other platforms. The band will preview the film during its KISS Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas convention Nov. 13-15 at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, where it will also play acoustic and electric concerts and host a tribute to late original guitarist Ace Frehley, who passed away in October 2025 at the age of 74. KISS’ recent spate of activity also includes the release of box sets celebrating the 50th anniversary of the group’s fifth studio album, Rock and Roll Over, which spent 45 weeks on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 11 in 1976. At the same time, the KISS Army is awaiting an avatar show that’s been in the works for several years, as well as a biopic that’s also in process. “It’s as it should be,” the group’s Paul Stanley tells Billboard via Zoom about KISS’ continuing life after reaching the End of the Road. “KISS is larger than life, and KISS isn’t about the four individuals. It’s about the four persons, the four characters. It’s a timeless thing, so I totally get those four going on. I can get older, but he [Stanley’s Starchild character] won’t.” Gene Simmons, whom Stanley founded KISS with during 1973 in New York, adds that, “We’ve seen bands that wait too long to get off the road and it’s sad. I didn’t want to become fat, bloated, naked Elvis on the bathroom floor. So you have to know when to get off the stage as KISS. But that doesn’t mean (the band) has to end.” Back to the End The nearly two-and-a-half-hour KISS: End of the Road film shows in intimate detail that the conclusion of that phase of the band’s career was emotional, triumphant and trying. Directed by DJ Viola, who also helmed the 2021 A&E documentary KISStory, the chronicle focuses on the final 2023 leg of the pandemic-interrupted End of the Road World Tour, which started in South America and played North America, Europe and Australia before wrapping up with homecoming performances Dec. 1-2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Noting that KISStory was “what we call a ‘womb-to-tomb’ documentary,” Viola tells Billboard, “I wanted End of the Road to be almost the antithesis of that approach. Rather than having the guys tell us what happened, I wanted audiences to experience it as it was happening, from the first of their final 50 shows all the way to Madison Square Garden.” He and his crew became embedded flies on the wall during the trek, capturing planning meetings, backstage intrigue and plenty of onstage highlights, as well as interviews with band members, manager Doc McGhee, Simmons’ and Stanley’s wives and others. “For 50 years,” Viola notes, “KISS has been protective of what happens behind the curtain. Everyone says they want to show the ‘warts and all,’ but very few actually mean it. This time, the band opened that curtain completely. What you discover is that beneath all the makeup, pyro and spectacle is an unwavering commitment to giving their fans the greatest show possible. After 50 years, that dedication hasn’t diminished one bit.” There are warts aplenty, too, including: production difficulties early on that created significant tension in the touring party; Simmons being briefly incapacitated by dehydration during a concert in Brazil; and Stanley suffering from a severe flu that led to the cancellation of nine shows and put the last stretch of the tour in jeopardy. There are touching scenes as well, with the band and those around them talking about reaching the end of touring life. Stanley and Simmons both choke up during the final concert while talking from the stage about their parents and growing up in New York, and Simmons even shoos the camera crew away as he and Stanley exchange sentiments during that night’s sound check. The film ends with the two men meeting, post-tour, for a convivial conversation at a deli in Bel Air, Calif. “The trick to being unobtrusive in documentary filmmaking is to be ubiquitous,” Viola says. “You have to be there for the dullest moments as well as the most exciting ones…. The more you’re around, the more people stop thinking about the camera. Eventually, you’re just another person in the room. You have to become part of the team while remaining as invisible as possible. It’s a strange balance, but that’s where the best moments come from.” He adds that, “The trust we’d established during KISStory was essential. KISS allowed me into virtually every corner of their world, from rehearsals and travel to putting on their makeup, standing onstage during the shows and being there afterward when the makeup came off and they dissected the night’s performance. They knew I wasn’t there to manufacture controversy. I was there to authentically capture what was happening, good or bad.” Stanley says the band was not bothered by the constant camera presence, explaining that at this point, he and Simmons are more comfortable letting fans inside aspects of KISS that were previously kept under wraps — and deliberately so. “It’s more appropriate to do now,” he says. “It’s famously remembered that for the early years of the band, nobody ever saw us without makeup and that was part of the mystique, part of building this larger-than-life persona. At this point, it’s interesting to let people go behind it and in some ways, it makes it bigger because it’s such a Herculean effort to do what we’ve done. To have a band go on stage 50 years later and people go, ‘They look the same as they did,’ well, that doesn’t happen by chance. It’s all very encompassing, and always has been…. I think people can appreciate that now and realize that there’s a real person behind Superman with a Marshall amp.” Gods Still Thunder The End of the Road film nods to the past with historical footage, and it also provides a glimpse into the future by showing the group working with Sweden’s Pophouse Entertainment — which acquired KISS’ catalog and trademarks for a reported $300 million during 2024 — on the digital avatar show, which was previewed at the final Madison Square Garden date. “They’re great new partners,” Simmons says. “They’re infusing so much money into KISS; you’re gonna have theme parks and cartoons and movies…just some amazing stuff coming. They’re very cognizant of the fact that the same-old isn’t the way to do it… and want to make it easier for fans who want to control the content.” The KISS avatar show is still a work in progress, but Simmons predicts that it will arrive “in the next year to two years, at a place that is soon to be announced. They’re really putting a lot of effort into it.” Stanley notes that “it’s far more complicated than I certainly anticipated. It’s quite complex. But the rewards are that much greater, too.” And he clarifies that it will likely be something different from what’s expected. “The idea was never to replicate a concert. That’s not what this is about,” Stanley says. “It’s to create an experience and almost make us your tour guides into something unworldly, and yet totally based in the music. And the idea was never to do something that was appealing exclusively to a KISS fan; we wanted to create a must-see, so to speak, regardless of your taste in music. That’s what we’re creating.” The KISS biopic is also moving forward, with Joseph McGinty “McG” Nichol directing and casting. “Anybody who’s ever been involved in film knows you can get old waiting for a film to get made,” Stanley says. “It’s still in motion, and that’s all I can say. It’s very slow going; you can rush something out but, frankly, I love being in a position where if we can’t do a film that I’m proud of, I don’t need to do a film. It just doesn’t matter that much. It would be a nice feather in the cap, but it better be a good-looking feather or I don’t want it.” Shouting It Out Loud Simmons and Stanley may have more to reveal at the KISS Kruise. Both have been preparing for the band’s performances as well as the Frehley tribute, an all-star event during which Frehley’s band will back a roster of guests, including alumnus guitarist Bruce Kulick. The Rock and Roll Over sets, meanwhile, feature a new mix by original album producer Eddie Kramer, along with outtakes, alternative mixes, demos and a live 1977 performance from Japan. “To have Eddie Kramer go in and rethink things was great,” Stanley says. “And I’m certainly open to looking into other people working on other albums and go in and reimagine them, rebirth them. I’m always in favor of making something better when it’s possible.” Both men have their own projects as well: Simmons has dates booked into 2027 with his solo band and produced the film Deep Water; Stanley is actively painting “four or five days a week” and says his band Soul Station “will get back up and running soon.” Meanwhile, KISS is also approaching the one-year anniversary (Dec. 7) of its Kennedy Center Honor — and also potentially being part of the last class to be feted in the actual venue, whose main building is closed to the public amid disputes over U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to rename and remodel the historic venue. (This year’s Honors will be presented at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.) None of that has affected the way Simmons and Stanley view their honor, however. “All things must pass; nothing lasts forever,” Simmons notes. “I remember when Elvis (Presley) was invited by President Nixon to receive some kind of awards and stuff; I thought, ‘Cool.’ Do I agree with the politics of President Nixon? No, but he’s the duly elected president. President Trump is our president, and that’s it. What you think politically, that’s for the ballot box.” Stanley adds that, “I don’t believe anyone ever went to any of the (honorees) and said, ‘Who did you vote for?’ That’s supposed to be a non-issue. For me, getting it was just part of the trifecta, so to speak. We got the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We got the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and then to get the Kennedy Center Honor…. I’m at a point in my life now where it really comes down to, if you love me, let me know. Don’t put it in an obituary or my eulogy. If there’s an accolade you want to give me, I’m here.”