Kinda funny, but one quote from Simmons really sums it up for me - "If we believed the critics, we would have lasted one tour."
My favorite quotes are from Ace.
"If I knew so many guitarists were going to be influenced by me, I would have practiced more"
Molly Meldrum interviewed the band in 1980, while the band were doing a promo for the Australian tour. Each member was supposed to introduce each other. Ace was drunk. After the third take, Ace forgot his line, and looked into the camera and said "Look .. .. .. It's Rock and Roll".
Tom Schnieder interview from 1979 - Tom introduces Gene Simmons - "You are the BASS player" - He then introduces Ace (Drunk) - "You are the lead guitarist ? " - Ace responds - "No, I'm the trout player".
There's no doubt KISS set the standard for live shows in the 70's. Even their Reunion Tour was the biggest tour of 1996/97. Watch the early live shows from the mid seventies - no one was doing that kind of show on that scale.