“Doors are immediately opened for us, but once you’re in the room they don’t necessarily give you the benefit of the doubt”: Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons on the realities of making it in the music industry as the sons of two Kiss legends

Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons are part of a newer crop of musicians continuing their parents’ legacy through their own music. And if their surnames sound eerily familiar to those of legendary guitar and bass slingers Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, it’s because, well, they’re their sons.

The two youngins have known each other all their lives, but making music together didn’t happen until a chance hangout in December 2024, followed by an Instagram cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence.

“We were always homies but had our own things going,” Stanley tells Guitar World. “Then, since I moved back to L.A., we’ve hung out way more and were always kicking it. One day in December, we were hanging out. I thought, ‘I saw what he was doing, and I liked it.’ He saw what I was doing and said nice things, and we were like, ‘We should jam.’”

“It wasn’t a big idea,” Simmons relates. “It was just, ‘We should film a reel or something… people do that, right?’ We got together and figured, ‘Let’s do something we both love.’” And, just like that, Stanley Simmons was born.

Hailing from such a lineage comes with certain privileges that the two are quick to admit to, but Simmons also says that, “It’s a double-edged sword. Doors are immediately opened for us because of our family relationships, like with any business. So, in entertainment and music, we get to meet these people. But once you’re in the room, they don’t necessarily give you the benefit of the doubt.”

“What’s working well for us is that at the end of the day, people will decide what works,” he continues. “It’s not the executives. They’re either gonna like the songs or not.

“If they connect with it and it moves them, it’s just a matter of time before people in the industry catch on,” adds Stanley. “For us, the whole thing has been about having fun.”

For more about the new dynamic duo, and new interviews with fast-rising band Geese and pop-star-sideman-turned-solo-artist Mateus Asato, pick up issue 601 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.