Tommy Thayer Opens Up About KISS’ Farewell, Not Being Ready to Retire, & New Avatars Era
With KISS having played the final show of its End of the Road farewell tour this past December, questions remain about what the band’s members will be doing moving forward. Guitarist Tommy Thayer recently chatted with Guitar World magazine about what might have been KISS’ last-ever concerts, while also reflecting on his own future plans and those much-talked-about avatars.
Regarding how he’s feeling now that the long trek is done, Thayer said, “I feel good, just unwinding and decompressing a bit. I’m happy and relieved that the tour went so well, particularly the final couple of months. But it was great.”
The last concerts took place on December 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, the band’s hometown, and a series of KISS takeover events and promotions were scheduled in the city at that time to commemorate the historic shows.
“The New York takeover was done well and was our town to take,” Thayer noted. “We’ve all done a lot to get KISS where it is today. I felt especially proud for [founding members] Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley], though—I really felt like it was their night.”
Thayer also was asked if it was difficult emotionally for the band to play the final shows, particularly Simmons and Stanley, who started KISS about a half century ago.
[RELATED: Ace Frehley Takes Dig at KISS Successor Tommy Thayer: “It’s Back to the Breadline for Him”]
“I’m sure they felt more emotion than anybody after a stellar touring career,” he maintained. “I take it one show, one song at a time, so I wasn’t thinking about the finality of it all necessarily, until it was over.”
He added, “[A]gain, I’m super-happy with how the band came to end this.”
Thayer’s Future Plans
As for what’s next for the 63-year-old guitarist, who became a member of KISS in 2003 after working for the group in various capacities for many years, Thayer admitted he wasn’t “completely ready to retire yet.”
“I have ideas and certainly options on the table,” he reported. “I’m not thinking of continuing to play in another band or that sort of thing—that doesn’t appeal to me. But I look forward to an exciting future, working hard and being a part of good things going forward.”
About the KISS Avatars
While KISS’ days as a performing group may be over, the band announced at its last concert that plans were in the works for it to live on as digital avatars. KISS teased that a virtual performance event or tour was being produced that will premiere in 2027.
Thayer told Guitar World that he’s enjoyed taking part in the project, while pointing out that it was a work in progress.
“It’s been interesting doing the avatars so far; it’ll take some time to get the imagery where we want it to be,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about what it all means in the big picture, but with technology evolving as quickly as it is, there’s no doubt that this is the direction a lot of entertainment is going.”