Legendary demon, Kiss co-founder, and bassist Gene Simmons considers himself the luckiest guy in the world.
These days, Simmons is touring as the Gene Simmons Band with select Canadian dates.
People always ask Simmons why he keeps writing, recording, and performing.
“If you create something out of nowhere from your imagination, “Imagine you’re the only one that gets to see it,” Simmons shared. “You’re just not going to get anything out of it.”
“If you paint a painting and you’re the only one who gets to see the painting, it’s hollow and it’s empty.” Simmons said. “If you write a song and you’re the only one that gets to hear it, that doesn’t give you much pleasure.”
Humans are social animals, and when people gather, you get to celebrate life, Simmons noted. “And be glad you’re above ground.”
“I thought I could stay away from it after being in Kiss,” he said.
Now 77, Simmons added he feels great, continues to write, and he’s never lost his voice performing live, despite never warming up.
“I can’t think of a better time than to be on stage,” he noted. “We have a ball.”
His three bandmates all sing lead and play multiple instruments. “It’s a great thing.”
Simmons said touring with his own band is simpler, with no manager, and only one guy on stage who sets up amps and other equipment provided by the promoter.
“We don’t have trucks, roadies, or nothing. It’s easy,” Simmons noted.
The Gene Simmons Band mixes Kiss hits with deeper cuts and covers.
“We’ll do some nuggets people haven’t seen. We do Spit off of a record called Revenge. If you only know Detroit Rock City, Deuce and Black Diamond — we’ll do that. We’ll do the hits like I Love It Loud and Rock and Roll All Nite. It gives us a chance to spread out and do fun stuff,” Simmons explained, which includes covers like ZZ Top’s Tush. “I’ll look at the guys and we’re off.”
Simmons sometimes invites fans who can sing or play an instrument onstage to show fans how amazing that feeling is. “It’s the best. There’s no limitations to what we could do.”
During the Kiss days, the band wouldn’t dare invite fans to come up onstage during a live show due to the band’s elaborate pyrotechnics.
“If you stepped in the wrong place, you’d be toast. There were so many fireworks on that stage. It wouldn’t have been safe,” he said.
Simmons often asks for the house lights to come on during a show. “It’s a party. It’s less about me and more about all of us.”
Simmons also discussed the Kiss Kruize: Land Locked event in Las Vegas, where fans gather from around the world.
The event combines obscure songs and favourites with questions and answers, a pick-throwing contest, and the Starchild Paul Stanley makes pizza.
Such gatherings keep Simmons grounded, as he joked, he would be far less popular as a dentist.
Simmons is eager to tour Canada again. His wife, Shannon Tweed, is from Newfoundland, and their children, Nick and Sophie, are Canadian citizens. “We made sure of that.”
With both children pursuing their own music careers.
Nick records and tours with Stanley’s son Evan in the band Stanley Simmons. Sophie has written, produced, and has provided vocals on a plethora of songs.
Simmons added neither child has asked their parents for musical direction. “You want your kids to forge their own path and figure it out.”
Thinking back on all the years of touring Canada, Simmons remembered touring with Rush, when the Canadian legends were just getting started out on the road. “We stayed pals even to the present day.”
Simmons recalled a hungry Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson visiting Kiss’ dressing room after not having any food provided at a show.
Simmons said he told the promotor if you didn’t feed Rush, Kiss doesn’t go on stage. “If you’re on tour with us, you’re family.”
He said former original drummer Peter Criss created a thing called ‘the bag’ where he “would put a bag over your head backstage and either Alex or Getty would sit on his lap like a puppet, and they would do this crazy act.”
Simmons described early Rush as more Led Zepplin-influenced, as it became more progressive with the addition of drummer Neil Peart.
Simmons and Kiss have always supported up-and-coming bands on the road, including AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Cheap Trick, and Motley Crue. “I have a soft spot because everybody began as a new band.”
Aside from being in a band, Simmons remains a listener, as well. “I’m a fan. When nobody’s around, I put on my favourite records.”
He shared Ozzy Osbourne’s favourite bands were The Beatles and ABBA — a reminder not to judge a person’s personal musical tastes, as they might stray from the music they perform.
Through Tweed, Simmons has learned a lot about Canada over the years, including Canadian hospitality.
“When 9-11 happened, all of the airlines flew up to Newfoundland. The local folks took in thousands of Americans who were stranded because you couldn’t fly in America those first few days. They put them up in their homes,” he noted.
Simmons also recalled his childhood fascination with Canadian television shows, including The Littlest Hobo and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, which was syndicated outside of Canada and provided Simmons a glimpse of Mounties, snow, and even snowshoes.
Other Canadian customs that surprised Simmons were block heaters and vehicles plugged into outdoor sockets in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. “I’d never seen that. Slowly, it was explained to me it gets so cold.”
His wife Shannon even has a street named after her in Saskatoon, Tweed Lane.
Simmons looks forward to returning to Canadian cities he hasn’t visited in decades.
“In some cases, Kiss was there, but in some of the other cities, I haven’t been there in like 30 years. The first shows Kiss ever played were in Edmonton. We were nobody and we didn’t even have the record out. We got four or five shows. There was a radio station called CHUM that immediately got on the record when they heard it. When we played at the university in Edmonton, there was no place to play, so they had the lunchroom and put tables across the back of the hall and our amplifiers, and we were on top of the lunch things, and it buckled because we had a lot of amps. These students came to see us, as we were in makeup and stuff and they were all sitting on the floor,” he explained.
“The first song was Deuce, and we had flash pots and it scared the crap out of them and some of them ran out and didn’t know what was going on,” Simmons joked.
Simmons said Kiss has recorded a new song written by Stanley, but said it’s like spoiling a Christmas surprise, and declined to elaborate. “It’s not the right time. It takes away the magic.”
Though the Lethbridge show was cancelled, the Gene Simmons Band will be performing live at the Grey Eagle Casino Event Centre in Calgary Dec. 1.
For tour dates, check out genesimmonsaxe.com.
