Gene Simmons: Life After KISS

On December 2, 2023, Gene Simmons and KISS walked off the stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden after performing the final show of their 50-year career. While being a bittersweet moment for lifelong fans who idolized the rockers, Simmons knew that it was the right decision. “We have too much love, admiration, and gratitude to the fans who made our lives possible, so we went out on the high. If you’re a surfer and you have a chance at the end of your career to ride a tsunami, then quit after that. That’s what we did.”

Despite the band’s departure, the 75-year-old rocker didn’t consider retirement after removing his makeup and platform boots for the last time. Never one to sit still for long, Simmons remained busy designing and releasing his signature Gibson G2 Thunderbird bass, starting a film production company (Simmons/Hamilton), running his restaurants (Rock & Brews) and wine and soda business (MoneyBag), and most recently, touring with his own band. 

But don’t expect pyrotechnics, makeup, or over-the-top costumes for his solo sets, as Simmons is embracing the stripped-down nature of his small-venue appearances. Ditching set lists in favor of playing an impromptu mix of originals, KISS favorites, and rock & roll covers, Simmons is interacting with fans and taking requests in a more casual environment. For the price tag of $12,500, you can even hang out with him for the day and act as his roadie. While this might seem like the exact opposite of the lifestyle that he lived for five decades, that’s exactly why he is enjoying it so much. “This truly feels like it did when we started way back in the beginning — driving vans to gigs, playing smaller venues where you can see everyone’s faces in the crowd, and just showing up in street clothes. This makes it all about the music. Even with all of the fame and obsession that came with KISS, it was all about the music. This just lets me experience it all over again.”

How does it feel getting back on the road with this band you assembled?

It feels great how easy it is and much fun we’re having. The first gig with this lineup played last year in April when we headlined the Summer Festival. The promoter told me that if I put a band together, I could headline the festival, and I agreed. I was lucky to get three guys who are multi-instrumentalists, who play great, and can also all sing lead. They each take a tune to sing. Our drummer, Brian Tichy, does “Ace of Spades,” and I do deep cuts of Van Halen songs that were never recorded. I produced their first 15 songs that ended up on their first two records. One of the tunes on there was never released and it’s possibly my favorite Van Halen song. It’s a steamroller called “House of Pain,” but a different version than they recorded. It’s a two-guitar army that I have for this band, so it’s “Detroit Rock City” kind of harmonic stuff. We even do “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and it sounds like Thin Lizzy meets the Beatles. 

You’ve been making headlines for offering fans the chance to be your personal assistant for a day. 

Yeah, I wanted to do something to let longtime fans get behind the curtain and see what it’s really like. They go with me to my hotel, they go to the soundcheck, they do all the stuff a roadie would do — be onstage, take photographs, hang in the green room, make out with our drummer during the guitar solo, you know, the usual stuff. It ain’t cheap because we have to insure everyone who goes with us, but it’s a whole experience.

I don’t have to walk around in dragon boots or spit fire or fly through the air.
It’s been a real hoot. And because of the nature of it, I have more energy to do it.
I could do two shows a day easy.

What is it like playing these venues after coming off the big KISS farewell arena tour?

It’s very much a Wizard of Oz behind-the-curtain kind of thing. It’s very informal. I don’t have to walk around in dragon boots or spit fire or fly through the air. I may mount your dog when you’re not looking, but other than that, it’s just a straight-up rock show. I’m literally free to point to anybody or a few folks in the audience and bring them up onstage. If you can play drums or if you can sing lead, then I’ll bring you up. Sometimes I even fill the stage with the fans to do a kumbaya with “God Gave Rock and Roll to You” or “Rock and Roll All Night.” It’s been a real hoot. And because of the nature of it, I have more energy to do it. I could do two shows a day easy. I never lose my voice, and I feel great. It’s really a lot of fun. 

How did you form the band?

I’ve known [guitarist] Brent Woods for a few years, and he’s a triple threat. He and Taylor Hawkins had the band Chevy Metal, which was a fun group. Before he sadly passed away, Taylor would go out on the road and play just because he wanted to play. He didn’t want to just do Foo Fighters shows — he wanted to play ZZ Top, KISS, the Beatles, and whatever he wanted to do. That’s what that band was all about, and the shows were a lot of fun. Brent also has a studio, and whenever I’ve needed to do demos I would jump in there and play as much as I could. When I was putting the band together, Brent was the first guy. The rest were friends that I acquired right before we played our first show. 

Which basses do you have out on the road with you for this?

I’m only bringing one bass, and that’s my Punisher bass. All I really need out there is one bass. We either fly commercial or we drive an SUV to the shows. No frills or nothing. We don’t have manager, no road crew, no trucks, nothing. It’s so easy. It’s like your favorite band decided to set up in a garage in the neighborhood, and everybody comes down and listens. 

Is this a way for you to get back to how it all started for you in the beginning? 

That’s exactly it. Even before we did our first big show as KISS, on New Year’s Eve 1973 — maybe it was 1873, actually — we did three club shows, and we would jump into any song we knew. There were no rules, because there was no real stage show. It was great and we loved it. Then on New Year’s Eve, the drums went up and I was spitting fire and right away we got into it. So this is a way for me to just enjoy the shows and not worry about anything. There are no stage outfits, no pyrotechnics, nothing. Just the music. 

I’m only bringing one bass, and that’s my Punisher bass. All I really need out there is one bass. We either fly commercial or we drive an SUV to the shows.
No frills or nothing.

What’s your rig for this tour?

An Ampeg SVT 360 amp and SVT cabinet and that’s it. 

Gibson released your signature G2 Thunderbird bass a couple of years back. What was that process like? 

It took a while, because I wanted the neck to feel more natural for smaller hands. When instruments come out, you assume that everybody has hands that are your size. Most basses are comfortable for grown-ups, but what if you’re 14 or 15? Guys with big hands like myself can wrap our fingers around any necks, but why not make it more accessible for younger players picking up their first instrument to use. That was one of my concerns, and the other is that I don’t like instruments where the neck drops because it’s heavy. You want to be able to do the Jesus Christ pose and have the bass comfortably hang. So we worked all of those things out, and now they’re some really beautiful basses.

It sounds like you were really hands-on in the process. 

It started off with me having a one-on-one with Ceasar [Gueikian], their new CEO, who grew up a KISS fan. He reached out to me, and I said, why not? I hadn’t had a relationship with Gibson since the ’70s, so it was fun. 

You’ve played a lot of basses in your career — from the LoBue bass to Gibson Grabbers and Rippers, to Pedullas, Spectors, and of course your “axe bass” and the Punisher. What makes a good bass to you?

It’s particular to me. If you’re playing in a band with Skunk Baxter and there are nuances and subtleties, then you want toggle switches and lots of tone options and to be able to change the sound. If you’re playing slap bass [like] Flea, then that’s a totally different sound you’re going for. On my bass there aren’t a bunch of knobs; there’s just the level. A lot of people use pedals and they like to EQ it differently, but they’re fooling themselves, because the guy mixing you is controlling the sound. You’re better off getting a sound you like and hoping that it translates out to the crowd through the board and the sound system’s big speakers. No matter what you think it sounds like onstage, ultimately and invariably — and other big-sounding words — you’re going to sound like the guy who mixes you in the house. 

A lot of players believe that tone comes from the player’s hands. Do you not agree with this?

It depends on the material. The more jazzy or Steely Dan you are, the more subtleties there are. Chances are pretty good in the rock days that Geezer [Butler] would get a sound with Sabbath, or [John] Entwistle would get a sound with The Who, and then once they got that sound, that was it. They didn’t change their tone throughout a set. I’m a pick guy and I play with a pick because in a large arena or stadium, anyone who thinks they can be heard playing with their fingers really doesn’t understand how the bass projects. There isn’t definition in those types of spaces, but with picks you get that point and that attack. For me, the SVT is an all-purpose amp that isn’t too technical. You can use the modern solid-state stuff, which is fine because it tries to mimic the sound, but why not use the SVT? I’ve been using them for 50 years now. It covers a lot of stage room. The real sound comes out through the audience when you mic it and go direct. I don’t use in-ear monitors, either; I like using what I came up with, and that’s a big ol’ wedge right in front of me. I grew up before wireless mics and all of that stuff. I use long cords and plug into the amp. And absolutely no autotune. I even tune my bass by ear. I like things really easy-peasy. 

I’m a pick guy and I play with a pick because in a large arena or stadium, anyone who thinks they can be heard playing with their fingers really doesn’t understand how the bass projects. There isn’t definition in those types of spaces, but with picks you get that point and that attack.

Do you have any plans to record new material soon?

I am, as a matter of fact. I gave Ace [Frehley] a song called “Your Wish Is My Command,” but I borrowed it back and rewrote it, just because. As for an album, I don’t know. I don’t really think about it. When you’re in the middle of a party, you’re not thinking of what your next steps are, because you’re having too much fun. That’s what this tour has been like for me. I take it a day at a time with no rules. And of course there’s no more record industry anymore, so the incentive isn’t much. 

The industry has changed a lot since the days when KISS formed. 

It breaks my heart, because there’s so much talent out there, and new bands are never going to get the chance that we did. They won’t be able to quit their day jobs, because they won’t be able to afford being in a band. Nothing will change and bands will die until legislators pass laws to protect artists and make it illegal to get music for nothing. You always hurt the ones you love. Rock is dead. Name a big stadium or arena rock act after Foo Fighters, who have been around almost 30 years. You can’t. I’m not saying there aren’t terrific bands out there. But playing the big halls is a vicious cycle until you become famous. 

You’ve said before that rock is dead and it’s the fans who killed it. What do you mean by that?

It’s the Wild West out there. The value of things is based on money. We can talk all we want about how the Ramones are your favorite band, and that’s great, but they only have one Gold Record. Chicago may not be your favorite band, but they have 22 Platinum Albums in a row. People talk about respect and accomplishments — and oh yeah, I got the cover of Bass Magazine — but there’s only one law of the people, for the people, and by the people: money. Unless they gather in numbers, it’s difficult to survive. That’s not the way media and press like to talk about it, because it takes the romance out of it. But the reality says that gravity is here, whether you like it or not. It’s not how you feel about it, it just is. 

The bottom line is that if bands and musicians aren’t making money and can’t support themselves, then they can’t continue to make music. There’s no minimum wage for musicians, no retirement fund. You’re out there by yourself, so we need to protect new babies and feed them, and not make them rich right away, but support them so they can support themselves. The support system used to be record companies who gave you non-recoupable advances that you got to keep so that you could quit your day job and devote your time to your art. But that doesn’t exist anymore, not for rock. So fans don’t want to hear it, but rock is dead. From 1958–1988 you had Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones, Queen, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Maiden, and Metallica, and hundreds of bands who thrived. And then from 1988 to today, where are the Beatles? Who are the new Beatles? There isn’t one. In pop, artists can thrive. Taylor Swift is the closest thing we have to the Beatles now. And by the way, as a sidenote, you can look up Taylor and her band in full KISS makeup at one of her shows. 

I’ve done well and it breaks my heart that new bands, even if they’re in Bass Magazine, are just never going to be able to climb the heights of Mt. Olympus like we did. Their music is almost worthless thanks to the system. Imagine a supermarket where you can walk in and fill up your cart with everything you like and on the way out put in a dollar and just walk out. How long do you think that supermarket is going to exist? 

If you’re not insane and delusional, you have to understand that at a certain point — while you’ve still got some hair on your head and your stomach isn’t being dragged in back of you — that 50 years is plenty of time.

How does it feel to say goodbye to KISS after 50 years?

Proud. If you’re not insane and delusional, you have to understand that at a certain point — while you’ve still got some hair on your head and your stomach isn’t being dragged in back of you — that 50 years is plenty of time. We’ve all seen boxers who stayed in the ring too long, and bands who played for too long. Elvis kept on going until the end, but he was all bloated, and I don’t want to do that. It’s up to each person who gets up onstage to make their own rules. We did the right thing.