During a brand new appearance on “The Adam Carolla Show”, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons discussed some of his fellow popular musicians who are not appreciative of their success and position. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s not fair to point a finger, because everybody’s got their own dynamics with life and living experiences. But anybody who is lucky enough, on the face of a planet of seven and a half billion people, to have more money than you could ever spend in your life, have more chicks run after you that you don’t deserve ’cause you’re not that good looking. I’m talking about myself. Glory, fame — all that stuff. I don’t have to do a goddamn thing and people will give me free stuff. Where were they when I couldn’t afford to get on a bus? That you wouldn’t see how blessed you are is delusional; it’s criminal. Because there are millions of people who would kiss the ground you walk on just to be given the chance. So, for instance, we have Tommy Thayer [KISS guitarist] and Eric Singer [KISS drummer] who’ve been with us 20 years; we’ve been around almost half a century. And we are quitting very soon. But Tommy and Eric show up on time; they’re appreciative, professional — no drugs, no booze; nothing. And I can’t say the same thing about — I always wanna shut my mouth — Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist], who I love to this day, and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer]. They were every bit as important as Paul [Stanley, KISS frontman] and I in forming the band, but not everybody has the DNA to run a marathon. Some people are shooting stars; they look great for a short time, and then bye-bye.”

When Carolla asked Simmons why he thinks so many people engage in such seemingly professionally self-destructive behaviors, Gene replied: “I believe a lot of it has to do with insecurities, self-esteem issues and a survival method. It’s like mom likes you best. It’s just, like, who cares? So mom likes that one better. You’ll still get fed just as much food and you’ll go to the same college and all that stuff. No, no — mom likes you best, so you’re always in competition.

“We have four dogs — [my wife] Shannon and I — and we put some food down and they’ll kill each other to get at the food,” he explained. “And yet when the other dogs aren’t around, [they act like] ‘I’m not hungry right now.’ It’s just because there are other ones. And at the end of the day, we’re still animals. We have not evolved. When you really think about it, what are we complaining about? You’re never always gonna be the center of attention. Not everybody likes Jesus either. You need [somebody] to bitchslap you and say, ‘Get over it.’ But why do people do that? Even without drugs and alcohol, I see bad decisions all the time. I’ve made a few, and so has everybody. But when you continue to make lots of bad decisions, [there will be] hell to pay. And that’s not hairpiece that the devil wears.”

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last October, Stanley said that the final concert of the “End Of The Road” tour will likely happen by early 2023.

“End Of The Road” was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but has since been extended to at least the end of 2022. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band’s classic song “Detroit Rock City” on “America’s Got Talent”.

KISS’s current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Simmons, alongside later band additions, Thayer (since 2002) and Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Criss and Frehley, KISS’s first “farewell” tour in 2000 was the last to feature the group’s original lineup.

During a recent appearance on “Whiplash”, the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Wolfgang Van Halen once again said that he is hoping to begin working on the follow-up to MAMMOTH WVH’s self-titled debut LP at some point in the not-too-distant future. “Basically, I certainly don’t wanna take as long as it did,” he explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “I think throughout that first process, I was really just figuring out what it was and who I was as my own artist, finding my own sound and discovering who I was as a lead singer, as a songwriter. But when it comes to the next album, now that I’ve figured out what this is and who I am, within the context of it, I’m really excited to figure out how to condense that process to as an efficient of time as possible, so I can get an album done in a third of the time while it being twice as good. It’s always a personal challenge.”

“Mammoth WVH” arrived last June, some five years after the former VAN HALEN bassist began piecing together ideas for his solo career.

Last month, Wolfgang told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he has already gathered plenty of material for MAMMOTH WVH’s sophomore effort. “I’m very ready to get back in the studio,” he said. “We have some leftover tracks from the first album that I’d like to take another look at — maybe add stuff or maybe redo entirely — and then a bunch of new ideas to get into.”

MAMMOTH WVH and DIRTY HONEY kicked off their joint “Young Guns” tour on February 20 in Denver, Colorado. The 33-date co-headline North American trek will run through April 12, when it will wrap up in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour is making stops in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; New York; and Orlando, Florida, to name a few cities, and is seeing the bands alternating the closing slot nightly.

MAMMOTH WVH’s touring lineup features Wolfgang on guitar and lead vocals, Jon Jourdan on guitar and vocals, Garrett Whitlock (TREMONTI) on drums, and Ronnie Ficarro on bass.

MAMMOTH WVH’s debut album was released via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

During its summer/fall 2021 U.S. tour, MAMMOTH WVH played a mixture of stadium shows with GUNS N’ ROSES and headlining club gigs.

The brains behind Rainger FX on what inspired his crunchy reverbs, DJ-inspired compressors, drone machines, and pressure-sensitive expression controllers.

HEART’s Ann Wilson has praised Dolly Parton for offering to take herself out of the running for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s 2022 class of inductees.

Earlier in the month, the 76-year-old country music legend asked the Hall to withdraw her name from the 2022 ballot, saying “I don’t feel that I have earned the right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.”

Parton is one of 17 artists nominated for the Rock Hall class of 2022, along with Eminem, Lionel Richie, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, JUDAS PRIEST and Beck, among others.

Ballots are cast by an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists — including previous inductees — historians, music industry members and critics. Factors considered by voters consider include “an artist’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique,” according to a statement issued by the Hall.

Wilson, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2013 as a member of HEART, was asked about Parton’s offer to bow out of the highly esteemed honor during an interview with “The Chuck Shute Podcast”. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I thought that her response was beautiful. She doesn’t need to freeload on another genre. She’s totally cool for doing that, as far as I’m concerned.

“The Rock Hall is becoming less and less about rock,” Ann continued. “And I just thought that her response was perfect. And she maybe has always talked about making a rock and roll album, but I don’t know. She is country; she’s one hundred percent through and through country. That’s what so cool about her. She’s just one of a kind.”

Two weeks ago, Ann’s sister and HEART bandmate Nancy Wilson also praised Parton, telling the 95.5 KLOS radio station about Dolly’s offer to take herself out of the running for the Rock Hall: “How classy… It’s really cool for her to step down like that, because the category is so broad. Like, Dionne Warwick is not a rock performer, and a lot of them are not, and they should make different categories under the bigger Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame moniker. They should have a Country Hall Of Fame and a Pop Hall Of Fame and a Rap Hall Of Fame and a Rock Hall Of Fame. I think that would be really smart, if they started to do that. ‘Cause I’ve gotta vote for it, like, tomorrow.”

Nancy, whose band was inducted into the Rock Hall by fellow Seattle native Chris Cornell of SOUNDGARDEN, continued: “It’s really tough because Lionel Richie is in there. If you try to narrow it to what really is rock, it excludes too many others. So I think she’s really a class act to have done that. It makes me wanna write a rock record with her… I should give her a call. She can do anything. She’s written some of the best songs in our history. She can do it.”

On March 17, the organizers of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame declined Dolly’s request to pull her nomination, in part because voting is already well underway. That same day, during an interview on “Fox & Friends”, Parton doubled down on her discomfort with being included in the Hall’s pantheon.

“Well, I didn’t feel exactly right about that because my perception, and I think the perception of most of America, I just feel like that’s more for the people in rock music,” she said. “I’ve been educated since then, saying that it’s more than that, but I still didn’t feel right about it. It kind of would be like putting AC/DC in the Country Music Hall Of Fame. That just felt a little out of place for me.”

To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 1996 or earlier.

Inductees will be announced in May. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 induction ceremony will take place this fall. The date, venue, and on-sale information will be announced later.

The 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees were announced last month, with Dolly appearing on the ballot for the first time.

Parton told Billboard last month that she never thought of herself as a rock ‘n’ roller “in any sense of the word, but I guess they judge it on the music and the influence certain songs have had, and I guess I’ve had songs with other people in that realm,” she said: “I’m not expecting that I’ll get in. But if I do, I’ll immediately, next year, have to put out a great rock and roll album — which I’ve wanted to do for years, like a Linda Ronstadt or HEART kind of thing.”

Parton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1986, the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1999 and the national Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2001.

Ouranos delves further into electronic-influenced black metal on new album Voir La Lumière.
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