KISS bassist / vocalist Gene Simmons was recently interviewed on The Adam Carolla Show. During his appearance, which can be seen below, Gene spoke about the impending KISS Avatar Show, created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind ABBA Voyage.
An excerpt reads as follows:
Gene Simmons: “This thing that we’re doing with Pophouse is a jaw-dropping, never-before-seen thing. And I can’t get too specific except to let you know the following, ’cause it’s out there. We flew up to George Lucas’s ILM and we did motion capture, just to make sure that it feels and moves like us, ’cause it is us. The experience is gonna be beyond anything you can imagine. Because imagine a caveman goes to IMAX and beholds, experiences a 3D event. They just wouldn’t understand. So, the only way I can describe what’s gonna happen in the next two years or so… Most of us know what virtual glasses are. And all of a sudden, the room and the world you’re in disappears. And if you look down, the floor that you’re standing on is no longer the floor. You could be floating in space or on another planet. So no matter where you look, in back of you, forward, up, down, you’re in this alternative universe. Now imagine that experience with sound and heat and all that kind of stuff without glasses.”
“If you go to The Sphere [in Las Vegas] or if you go to the ABBA show, and millions of folks have gone, you’ll swear to God they’re live on stage,” Gene continued. “But if you look down, you can see your hand and some person next to you. So it’s reality crossed with you can’t believe your eyes. The technology has improved so much that reality will disappear. You’re gonna be in an alternate… It’s tough to describe it.”
Adam Carolla: Could it be played at almost any venue, or does it need a special venue?
Gene Simmons: “Initially, we’re controlling every square foot of these huge places in the same way that IMAX 3D, they need special cameras, special lighting and all that. You can’t take IMAX and go to an outdoor property… It’s not linear. You’re not looking at a screen. It’s all around you. So if you pick your head up, your chair disappears. It’s difficult to describe it because nobody has seen this.”