Gene Simmons on KISS’s final tour, befriending Twiggy Forrest and abstaining from booze
KISS’s Gene Simmons discusses his philosophy on money, his challenge for Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, and befriending an Aussie billionaire.
KISS’ Gene Simmons, 74, on his philosophy on money, wearing heavy dragon boots and armour, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, and befriending an Aussie billionaire.
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The emotional part of nearing the end of KISS’s final world tour is… when I see the look on the faces of the fans standing on their feet, screaming and pumping their fists in the air – and crying, because the songs are part of their life. The soundtrack of your life: it’s not just a song, you remember who you were with, what you were doing, where you were. There are popular songs today, but they don’t have the emotional depth until it connects with the human experience. We’ve been around long enough with these songs, going all the way back to Norman Gunston, God bless him.
The first money I ever made was… when I was six, my friend Solomon and I went up to Mt Carmel in Israel (where I lived until I was 8). We picked cactus, took the thorns out, put them in cold water and when the workers came home, we sold the fruit to them. I might have had something like 50 cents at the end of the day. I bought my very first ice cream cone with my own money: the best ice cream I ever had. The rest I brought home, and I’ll never forget my mother putting her arms around me, hugging me like crazy, and saying, “That’s my little man!”
My philosophy on money is… I’ve heard people say that money is the root of all evil, but only an idiot comes up with that. It’s actually the lack of money that’s the root of all evil. Think about it: if you had $100m in your pocket, why would you want to go to a 7-Eleven and hold it up? The world is a sad place. Philanthropy needs your money. You create jobs with your money. Without money, you can’t do anything. “Love is the greatest power on Earth” is bulls..t. Even though a mother loves her child, in a desert, if you don’t have money to buy food and shelter, you will die.
When I see the likes of Paul McCartney performing at 81… I love that so much. But I’m afraid we (KISS) are like knights in shining armour. It’s easier to walk around when you aren’t wearing about 40 pounds of armour. Sir Paul, yes, he can do it in his 80s; we can’t do that. I invite Sir Paul, Jagger and anybody else on that level: put on my seven-inch dragon boots, see if you can even walk, never mind the armour. And, oh yeah, you’ve got to spit fire at every show. Good luck.
The dirty little secret of being a musician is… you have to care. Anything you take for granted is going to be just ordinary, and I refuse to be ordinary. I always demand extraordinariness out of myself and anybody else. Ordinary people are just not stimulating enough, and that’s their fault. Because everybody can be extraordinary. It’s easier to just mope around and listen to old Angry Anderson records. You’ve got to get off that couch and do it, even if it’s philanthropy.
My routine for warming up before a concert is… I do nothing. I’ve never lost my voice. I don’t use (backing) tapes; never have, never will. It’s just me up there. Whether you love my voice or hate it – that’s me.
My Australian friend, businessman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest… is one of the finest human beings I’ve ever met. We’ve stayed in touch and we’re going to do some stuff together, but I don’t mean business. People may know about Andrew through Fortescue (Metals Group) – but I know him as a man with a heart of gold.
Not in my life anymore… my mother (Florence Klein, who died in 2018, aged 94). I’ve got photos of her all over the place. She raised me by herself, and she had me only a few years after she was freed from the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. Through her eyes and her wisdom, I understood the value of how important it is to appreciate the simple things in life.
Avoiding using alcohol and drugs throughout my life is… a personal choice. I’m not here to shake my finger in anybody’s face. But a motor in a car doesn’t work well if you mix cement with the gasoline. If you drink too much, you will throw up on the shoes your girlfriend just bought, and your schmeckle (penis) won’t work tonight, you won’t remember anything and you’ll have a headache. That’s what you like?
The best deal I ever made was… teaming up with Paul (Stanley, KISS co-founder), because he knows things I don’t, and I’d like to think I know things he doesn’t. In our case, it’s always been “one and one equals three”. Without him, I couldn’t be where I am.
Life at 74 is… probably going to be the best year. Who knows how long you’re going to be on planet Earth? I’ve always treated life that way. If God, or whoever’s in charge, gives you only 24 hours of life, what are you going to do with it? Are you just going watch a “footy show”, as you say? Or are you going to go out there, try to do some good, maybe say a kind word to somebody; drop some money in somebody’s coin box? Smile at a pretty girl? Do something. The best thing to do – and the hardest thing – is to live life, and well. And as the English say: so far, so good.
KISS will perform at the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne (September 30), followed by the band’s final Australian show in Sydney (Oct 7).
