KISS' Tommy Thayer on band's final tour: “It is not a gimmick"

December 6, 2018

Classic rock icons, KISS, recently announced their final run as a band back in October, where they shared the first initial dates of the tour (and soon after, the second leg of dates.)

Following KISS’ announcement of their final world tour, the band’s guitarist Tommy Thayer has shared that this run will really be the band’s last.

Read more: This 144-song mashup will bring back all your 2018 memories

Thayer recently sat with Russian website Tass.com (via loudersound) where he further explained the band’s decision to do one final run:

“Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and myself, we decided that while the band is still very good and we are doing the best shows in the history of the band, that we wanted to go out when we’re in top form and do a final tour.

He then continued on to say that the final world tour is not a gimmick, as some thought once the news broke:

“It is not a gimmick, it is legitimate. This will be the final tour of Kiss. The shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg will be the last Kiss is going to play there.”

These remarks seemingly echoed what the band said in their initial announcement of the tour:

“All that we have built and all that we have conquered over the past four decades could never have happened without the millions of people worldwide who’ve filled clubs, arenas and stadiums over those years,” shared KISS. “This will be the ultimate celebration for those who’ve seen us and a last chance for those who haven’t. KISS Army, we’re saying goodbye on our final tour with our biggest show yet and we’ll go out the same way we came in… Unapologetic and Unstoppable.”

The band’s End Of The Road tour will begin on Jan. 31 in Vancouver, BC, Canada and it appears to be wrapping up in Oakland, California on Sept. 16 (when the second leg of the North American run will finish.)

You can get your tickets and see the full list of cities and dates by going here!

Check out the new and previously announced dates below!

Just announced – 25 NEW dates added in the US for the End Of The Road Tour! VIP packages on sale 11/27 at 10am local, KISS Army presale begins 11/28 at 9am local, and general onsale begins 12/3 at 10am local.
Visit https://t.co/EXSmgcUAhB for full dates and info. pic.twitter.com/DtBPOuzSDg

— KISS (@KISSOnline) November 26, 2018

Newly announced dates:

08/06 – Sunrise, FL @ BB&T Center
08/08 – Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Coliseum
08/10 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
08/11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
08/13 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
08/14 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
08/16 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
08/17 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
08/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
08/21 – Hershey, PA @ Hershey Park Stadium
08/23 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
08/24 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
08/27 – Syracuse, NY @ Lakeview Amphitheatre
08/29 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
08/31 – Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
09/01 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
09/03 – Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
09/05 – Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
09/07 – Bossier City, LA @ CenturyLink Center
09/08 – San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
09/09 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
09/11 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
09/12 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
09/14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
09/16 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena

Previously announced dates:

01/31 – Vancouver, BC, Canada @ Rogers Arena
02/01 – Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Moda Center
02/02 – Tacoma, WA @Tacoma Dome
02/04 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
02/07 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
02/08 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
02/09 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
02/12 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
02/13 – Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
02/15 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
02/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
02/19 – Corpus ChrisW, TX @ American Bank Center
02/20 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
02/22 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
02/23 – Memphis, TN @ FedEx Forum

02/26 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake
02/27 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
03/01 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
03/02 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
03/04 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
03/06 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
03/07 – Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center
03/09 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
03/10 – Moline, IL @ Mark of the Quad CiWes
03/12 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
03/13 – Detroit, MI @ Lible Caesars Arena
03/16 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
03/17 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
03/19 – Montreal, QC, @ Canada Bell Centre
03/20 – Toronto, ON, @ Canada Air Canada Centre

03/22 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
03/23 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
03/26 – Boston, MA TD @ Garden
03/27 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
03/30 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
04/02 – Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Centre
04/03 – Obawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
04/06 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
04/07 – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
04/09 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
04/11 – Tampa, FL@ Amalie Arena
04/12 – Jacksonville, FL @ Veterans Memorial Arena
05/13 – Birmingham, AL @ BJCC