There is no doubt that
he is The Great Master behind the Kiss brand
, the intuitive businessman who turned his rock group into a factory of accessory projects and products to the musical phenomenon that gave rise to the empire.
But everything finally ends, everything ends, and
Gene Simmons assures that together with Paul Stanley they will put an end to 50 years of history
.
Before, luckily, he will return to Argentina for the Monsters of Rock, on
April 28
in Parque de la Ciudad.
The Kiss story began as one more example of
previous work, success, decline and rebirth
.
But there came a point where the group became a true classic that went beyond the commercial result of a new album.
With his hits he was enough and enough to travel the world
, as they did during the last four years with his endless farewell tour.
Gene Simmons, much more than a bass player in a successful band.
A marketing visionary and a savvy entrepreneur.
This is how last year KIss filled the Polo Field with three generations of fans, and now surprises with a new visit, this time within the framework of a festival where Deep Purple will also be present, another classic that started in the '70s.
In this regard, he says: "Deep Purple is a great band and they have been playing for decades, but our job as the main number of the night is to make you forget all the bands that played before."
"I always loved Argentina"
-How are you with this return to Argentina so soon?
Kiss live in Argentina in 2022, at the Polo Field.
Photo: Martin Bonetto.
-I have always loved Argentina
(he pronounces it in Spanish)
and you have to say it the right way: Ar-gen-ti-na.
I like culture, food and girls.
There can be nothing better.
We have wonderful memories of Argentina, but this time it will be the last visit, seriously.
On December 2 we play Madison Square Garden in New York and it will be the last show that Kiss will ever do on the entire planet.
And that's a good thing, not a sad thing.
All great things come to an end, and after 50 years I think that's enough, right?
-What do you remember about your first visits to Argentina?
-Of course I remember. It was wonderful!
The first thing, as soon as we landed, was to surprise us with how nice the people are.
The women were stunning and beautiful!
And if you were a straight man and you liked women, there was no better place in the world.
And the food was incredible!
Later we learned about history and geography, with the pampas and the gauchos and all that.
We thought it was just another South American country, but we understood the cross with the Europeans and the diversity of cultures that came to Argentina.
It is one of my favorite places in the whole world.
-Would it be correct to say that the Argentine public is the most euphoric and passionate in the world?
-Yeah.
The people in Argentina are very crazy at the shows.
There are other countries where they are also very passionate, but they are very different cultures.
In Japan, for example, we played in a stadium in Tokyo and we saw that during the songs people don't stop.
When the song ends they stop and go crazy, but immediately sit down again.
It is another culture, and we must not forget that until recently there were geishas, with all those ancient dresses.
"I never dreamed beyond the first album"
-Do you remember if when you started Kiss you thought it would last so many decades, or you thought it would only last a couple of years?
-It's a very good question.
I never thought anything would happen beyond the first record.
When we first went to Electric Lady studios, to do our demo 50 years ago, my biggest dream was to put out an album on a record label and be able to go to a record store to buy my own record.
And as soon as the first record came out, I went to a record store not far from Electric Lady and bought it!
It was the biggest thrill of my life: I was in a studio, I was in a band, and I was buying myself a record that others could listen to.
It was something unimaginable!
Shortly after we played our first show, which was in Canada, because people found out about us long before MTV, cell phones and social media.
Magazines started publishing photos of us and it was incredible.
I never expected it to be so big and successful, let alone last half a century.
Kiss at a press conference in New York in 1996. File photo.
-Ozzy Osbourne commented something similar: he never thought he would make a second album.
-I have known Ozzy for many years and I really believe that one does not forget how honest and sincere the dreams of when one was little were.
One cannot imagine things beyond what one imagines, for example a first album.
I remember someone told me that I should meet a guy named Paul, because he wrote songs.
And I made my own songs since I was 14 years old and they were terrible, but I couldn't imagine that other people also made songs.
Because the Beatles and the Stones made songs but they were from another planet.
I didn't know that there were ordinary people who did it too.
So I met him, I asked him to show me and the first one I heard was
Sunday driver (Let me know),
which was great.
"It's a Kiss World"
-What is it like to be able to dream up new projects and make them come true?
-There are many Kiss things that are happening, even new toys.
It is a different world.
It's a Kiss world and we own the brand.
But the greatest emotion is when we meet other artists and they tell us that they grew up listening to Kiss, that it changed their lives.
I'll tell you a story: Paul and I were awarded in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which is very prestigious and has figures like Gershwin and Bob Dylan, with whom I wrote songs, by the way.
The speech was given by Dave Grohl, my whole family was there, and across the room was a guy named Max Martin.
I didn't know who he was, so I asked my daughter Sophie why everyone was greeting him.
She told me that she made all the hits for people like Britney Spears, and that they made the newest music, unlike mine, which was very old.
After a while I see him coming towards us and she wants to say hello but he walks past and comes towards me and says, "My God, it's Gene Simmons! I had posters of you in my room when I was a kid."
So I looked at my daughter and said, "I won."
Those things are the best prizes: that an artist admires you or a fan buys a ticket for a recital.
Gene Simmons in 2001 with Paul Stanley and his girlfriend Shannon Tweed.
Photo: AFP
-I suppose that this last tour was exhausting for such a long time, with so many trips. Aren't you tempted to do a residence in a fixed city in two or three years?
-(thinks about it) I don't think so.
I don't know, but I think not.
We are doing many other things.
We have chain restaurants, movies, the Kiss World museum in Rio de Janeiro, Kiss cruises, and cartoons that we're producing now.
There are many things that can happen from here on out.
Paul has his own band, Soul Station, which does R&B-style songs, and I have my Gene Simmons Band.
We will do other things and I am sure that we will continue to see each other;
we live just a couple of miles away.
We always introduce ourselves saying "They want the best, we give them the best: the hottest band in the world", and if we can't put on the best show like we've always done, we don't have to do it anymore.
If you're the world boxing champion, retire when you're at the top: don't keep boxing until someone knocks you out.
Gene Simmons in 2022 in Argentina.
Photo: Martin Bonetto.
-Do you see any possibility that the band will continue without you, with other musicians chosen by you?
-Everything is possible.
Thank you very much Gene.
-
(in Spanish)
You're welcome.
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