Is KISS A Band? Duo? Or Tribute Act?

Bands that aren't bands. There should be labels! Boston isn't a band. Its a duo! Tom Sholtz and long live Brad Delp. ELO. The Electric Light Orchestra. Totally Jeff Lynn and Bev Bevan. Some would say Aerosmith is a mirrored reflection of the toxic twins Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Not a duo. A band! Never take your eye off Tom Hamilton on bass. I thought Bon Jovi was a band until the most recent scandal busted Richie Sambora free from the stage. Jon's decision pretty much said, "This is my band." KISS was never a band. Staking the claim. Record producer Richie Wise. He worked with Simmons and company on their first two albums. 40 chapters later...he says Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were nothing more than hired guns. They won the audition. The story busted loose after Criss suggested that KISS today is nothing more than a tribute band. Wise doesn’t entirely discount Frehley and Criss’ contributions to Kiss. “Could those characters have been created with another drummer and guitar player? Yes, if you got another guitarist and drummer that bought into what Kiss was selling — the makeup, the stage show, the whole thing,” he states. “But those guys were perfect for it.” Although Gene and Paul are the major members in the band, Eric and Tommy, to them, it’s a job,” he told Eddie Trunk (quote via Classic Rock magazine). “He’s playing Ace Frehley licks to a tee; Eric’s playing my drum licks to a tee. They’re still playing the same songs that we made famous.”