Gene Simmons reflects on the possible departure of Kiss, looks around and declares Lady Gaga is “the only new rock star in the last twenty years.”
At an undisclosed location off the coast of Florida. Gene Simmons relaxing on the deck of a cruise shipwatching the hordes of participants Chris Cruz and reflecting on my status as “the luckiest man in the world”. with me Kiss ready to go on End of the Road Tour, his world is about to change. Radically.
When Kiss say enough, won’t you miss it all?
The tour will end, that’s for sure. But The kiss will continue differently. Let’s clear up all the nonsense that has been said. I’m 69 years old and this is the perfect time to say goodbye to everyone. I’m in great shape, I’m strong, I’m singing better than ever.. But at the end of the tour I will be 72 years old, maybe even older. Even just out of pride, self-respect and respect for our fans – and our story – why the hell would I have to rush around the stage in a high-tech wheelchair? If I did what he does on stage Sir Paul (McCartney) – who I admire and respect – I could live to be 70 or more. JaggerI must admit, it works great. I take my hat off to you. But if you’re just wearing a T-shirt and sneakers, you can do it even if you’re 75 or older. But I go on stage with more than twenty kilograms of armor. If Jagger, God bless him, had worn my gear, he would have passed out within half an hour.
In short, you want to quit while you’re still at the top.
You know how we present ourselves on stage, right? “You wanted the best, you got the best, the coolest band in the world”. Why should we go on stage on a day when we no longer feel like doing it? When you’re the heavyweight champion of the world and you knock everyone out, say hello when you’re upstairs. Don’t do this when some arrogant young man comes and knocks you out.
Kiss will continue as a studio band, am I right?
Cancer has now invaded the entire music business. Everyone downloads and shares files. Kiss doesn’t do charity work. I refuse to do anything for free.
Aren’t you interested in continuing to make records for creative reasons?
No. I’d rather accumulate playsand are releasing increasingly larger box sets from time to time.
Have you seen any bands that have impressed you this year?
Nobody. Did you know what Mother Nature already figured out millennia ago? What there is no one like you, you are unique. Your fingerprints are unique. And instead of many new bands have the same fingerprints as many others. They are interchangeable.
Don’t you think it was a good year for rock ‘n’ roll?
It was terrible. But this is nothing new. Thirty years passed from 1958 to 1988, during which we had The Beatles, Hendrix, Stones, Bowie, Prince, U2, Iron Maiden, Metallica And all the rest. From 1988 to today – another thirty years – who are the new Beatles?
But is there one name that you think is worth something more than the rest?
Lady Gaga: She’s the only rock star in the last twenty years. He has qualities: he can write, he can sing. If she decided to start a rock band – just her and three or four guys accompanying her with guitars and dancers and all that disco shit – you’d see a real rock star. He has balls.
How were things going with Kiss in 1998?
Well, it didn’t affect me, but The cancer of downloading and file sharing has begun to spread and it killed new groups. They could no longer earn enough to live.and so they no longer had time to devote themselves to music and their art, because they found themselves forced to return to work or seek hard and honest work.
If you hate digital platforms so much, why is Kiss on Spotify?
You can never stop it because fans will download and share anyway. And without serious legal consequences, because the law doesn’t think about it. Lawmakers have no idea what this means. They will tell you: “You already have enough money, what are you complaining about?”. My answer: “Fuck you. I didn’t ask your opinion. I’ll let you know when I’ve had enough.”.
What was it like forming the original PSYCHO CIRCUS lineup in 1998?
Actually, things didn’t go as you say. The band had an outside producer, Bruce Fairbairn. we started recording without Ace and Peter because they started all this legal stuff: I want this, I want that, I want more. And we said: “No, you were in and out of the group three times.”. In short, I don’t want to talk about it. And I wish Ace and Peter all the best. Ace is here at Kiss Kruise with Bruce Kulick, they’re playing their set and they’re welcome.. But you can’t go back. How many opportunities do you think life offers you? In our case there were three of them. You are closed. So, for PSYCHO CIRCUS we tried to attract them, but it didn’t work outand so they only appeared on two or three tracks.
The secret to your unshakable self-esteem?
If you believe in yourself, you have nothing to lose. Although you have a lot to lose if you don’t. Imagine that a beautiful girl is sitting there. You know very well that you are not handsome, but you come closer, straighten your back and try to behave gallantly. At best, he will tell you no. The secret is that there are many girls, and some of them may say yes to you. If you don’t try, you’ll never know. I think people have no idea about my self-esteem: I’m incredibly confident in myself. I know I’m not the most handsome man in the world, but when I walk in front of the mirror, it’s hard not to stop in complete admiration of myself. And I also know what people will say: – Damn, you shouldn’t say things like that about yourself. And I ask you: why not? Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror and laugh. That’s all we have”..
The full interview with Henry Yates can be found in Classic Rock n. 74, available here.