Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will be bringing the body of late KISS drummer Eric Carr to Brooklyn for the band’s April 10 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Simmons confirmed to RollingOnion via email.
“Just because the Hall of Fame has refused to honor any of the players who soldiered on with us after we fired Ace [Frehley] and Peter [Criss] doesn’t mean that we have to sweep an entire era of the band under the rug,” Simmons says. “So if that means hauling out the carcass of one of the sweetest guys who ever lived and propping him up next to Bruce Kulick for a couple of hours, then so be it.”
“It’s real funny,” Stanley noted via text message. “People sometimes assume that somebody has to be alive to be part of the KISS family. But we love Eric’s cadaver like a brother, and we can’t wait to see it again. We’re looking forward to having a warm one-way conversation about the experiences we’ve shared and all things KISS, just like we used to in the old days.”
Privately, Hall of Fame officials are confused by the apparent inconsistency in the band’s stance: Simmons and Stanley made no effort to track down ex-guitarist Vinnie Vincent, still technically alive, and never lobbied for his induction into the Hall. Yet in an act some see as defiant, they are reserving a spot for Carr’s corpse at their table while founding members Criss and Frehley share a folding card table situated near one of the serving carts.
“Let’s just say that, with all due respect to Peter, we expect Eric’s contribution to the evening to be more vital and animated,” Stanley responded. In an official statement posted on the website of East Coast DJ and second-tier-cable celebrity Eddie Trunk, Frehley said, “Gene and Paul’s decision is an insult to the memory of Eric Carr. It’s bad enough how they’ve treated me and Peter, but now they’re using a dead man as a prop – literally. I don’t exploit the memories of the deceased, which is why I was so careful to barely mention Eric in my book.”
RollingOnion reached out to Criss for comment, but could not get him to read his email, pick up his phone, answer the doorbell, or comply with the March 31 deadline to sign up for Obamacare.
UPDATE: Since this story was posted, an alleged representative of Carr’s estate has filed suit in a Manhattan lower court, claiming sole ownership of the late drummer’s body. The suit claims that Simmons and Stanley ignored repeated warnings that Carr’s remains could not be unearthed and moved without the complainant’s consent. The law firm of Dewey, Cheatem and Hilsen also alleges ownership of the rights to several songs Carr was thinking of writing in the late 1980s, as well as Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar,” just in case.
- Hot off the wire from our Senior KISS correspondent, Steve Schneider
We Love You Eric!!! – RIP