Rolling Stone's first-ever Kiss cover story mostly focused on the original lineup of the band: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. The Rock And Hall Of Fame also chose to induct only those members – a decision Simmons and Stanley made quite clear that they opposed. They invited current Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer, current drummer Eric Singer and former guitarist Bruce Kulick (who played in the band from 1984 to 1995) to join them at their table for the April 10th ceremony, and thanked them from the stage for their contributions. Rolling Stone has now delivered KISStory-spanning conversations with each of those musicians. Excerpt below:

Rolling Stone: When Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent wore makeup in Kiss, they had new characters. Did you have any discomfort about simply wearing Ace's makeup?

Thayer: “No, first of all, I didn't have any input on that. That was a decision that those guys made. There was not even a conversation about it, because I think it was so obvious, that they weren't going to introduce new characters 30 years into the band. I never thought that there should be some new designs or something. I thought that would have been ridiculous. And the only thing is, you've got a lot of push-back from some of the diehards. And that's understandable. Hey, you know, if you lived in the Seventies and Kiss was your favorite band, and that's what you grew up with, and suddenly there's another guy wearing that makeup, I can understand how some people, it might not have appealed to them as much. But as time as gone by, a lot of people have changed their mind.”

Tommy Thayer:

Rolling Stone: You worked with Ace and Peter to help them prepare for the reunion tour.

Thayer: “They were off track and they weren't playing the stuff in the classic, signature way. So we had to help get those guys back into shape and it took a long time. It wasn't like it took a week. We spent a month or two working on that, before the actual four of them started rehearsing together as a unit. Ace was a little more on track, and his attitude at the time was a lot more easygoing that Peter's was, to be honest with you. Peter on the other hand would get more uptight and actually, he would get upset sometimes, with me giving him direction. At least, initially he was, and then he got more comfortable with it once we got going. But I couldn't believe how upset he got, because he basically said, ‘Don't you fucking tell me what to do’.”

Eric Singer:

Rolling Stone: You played with Kiss for a few years, and then they went off to do the reunion tour. How did you handle that?

Eric Singer: “I never burned the bridges with Gene and Paul. I never slammed them in the press. But I was mad. I was unhappy about the whole situation, but I've always told people, you know, you can't blame Gene and Paul for doing the reunion. It's like if I gave you the winning lottery ticket but I said, ‘You're going to get the money, but you have to do all this work first.’ That's what it was like for them. You have to do the touring, and I'd have done the same thing. I don't always agree with the way Gene and Paul do things at times, but I don't have to agree with them, it's their band. You hear people say, ‘Well if you want to do it differently, you have your own band.’ That is a true statement.”

About wearing the “Catman” makeup:

“I didn't really give it much thought. I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ I mean, honestly, I never looked at it emotionally like some people do. I don't look at it like it's sacrilegious. It's just a band. It's just music. No offense. And some people say, ‘You don't understand, though!’ No, I do understand! Because I was a big fan of, not just KISS, but a lot of bands, myself, when I was younger. But then I became a musician, and I have a different perspective. I know what it's like to be a huge fan, really love a band, and then also know what it's like to be in that band. And that's a unique perspective. This is just music. It's not solving the problems of the world. You know, the most important thing is – I tell everyone – ‘Look around you. If you have a kid, look at your kid. Look at her smiling. Look at your family.’ That's life. That's what's really important. Not what some band does.”

Bruce Kulick:

Rolling Stone: How did they want you to play?

Kulick: I remember the conversation. Paul was very specific – ‘I want you to be competitive with all of the current guitar players and also be familiar with where we started.’ So I was the right guy, because I was definitely hip to what Eddie Van Halen did, yet my love of rock guitar came from Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, etc.”

Rolling Stone: After Unplugged, how did they break it to you that they were reuniting the original band and that you were out?

Kulick: We literally just went to Gene's guesthouse. He just said, ‘Hey, since Unplugged, this is what's happened. And we're gonna do this. We're probably just gonna do it for a year, but it's now or never, and we realize we gotta do it.’ And I accepted that. But, you know, Eric (Singer) was in denial. He was like, ‘There's no way. No way Peter Criss could do this. No way!’ I was like, ‘Uh, dude, they're gonna do it. They'll figure it out.’ And they did. And they did it well. Obviously, the cracks started to show after some time. And then the machine keeps going. And it's a big machine, what can you do?”

Read the complete interview transcripts at this location.