Kiss frontman Paul Stanley discussed the state of his singing voice and the stage set built for their farewell tour in a recent interview that followed speculation on both topics.

He was the center of speculation that he was using backing tapes to help deliver their End of the Road shows, while Nikki Sixx accused Kiss of having “stolen” the extending platforms used on Motley Crue’s final tour in 2015.

While not directly engaging with either topic, Stanley expressed some of his thoughts on both in a conversation with the Star Tribune. Asked how he took care of his voice, he replied, “I try not to talk to guys like you, for one. It’s hard to stay away from smoke, because the arenas are filled with it. But I do shut up as much as possible, and try other things.” He added: “There’s no denying, whether you’re an athlete or singer, that life goes on, and you aren’t who you once were. That’s life. I always say if you want to hear me sound like I did on Alive! go listen to Alive! That said, I have no problem doing what I’m doing and standing by it. The songs sound awesome.”

Asked about the “elaborate staging” on the tour, he said: “The show we put together is such a state-of-the-art elevation of everything we’ve done before. So on that level, it’s perfect timing to go out with this one. This is the ultimate Kiss show. I’ve always said all you need is a lot of money to do a Kiss show, but you still can’t be Kiss. That’s more true than ever. This is our stage, and nobody else could stand on it.”

However, he was less forthcoming on the subject of what Kiss might do after the tour comes to an end. “I hesitate only because there’s still so much ahead,” he said. “This tour is like Mount Everest. I’m just looking toward the top, looking at what it’ll take to climb it. Beyond that, I can’t say what’s on the other side.”

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