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From: Underground Online These days, rock gods and reality shows seem to go hand in hand, and there's none bigger than the legendary GENE SIMMONS, bassist and co-founder of the world-renowned band KISS. Not only did Gene and his famous bandmates turn KISS into one of the most influential rock bands in history, Simmons also helped turn the band into a marketing powerhouse and global merchandising force to be reckoned with. Add to that, his most recent venture into the world of IndyCar, his many projects in music, TV and the literary world, and GENE SIMMONS continues to be a living model for success. His most recent foray into television with his "happily unmarried" partner Shannon Tweed and their children Nick and Sophie, GENE SIMMONS' Family Jewels recently became the most-watched series premiere on A&E since Dog The Bounty Hunter. Airing Mondays on A&E, GENE SIMMONS' Family Jewels is yet another great offering in the land of cable. If there's one fact that's abundantly clear after chatting with the legendary rock god, it's that GENE SIMMONS is truly "the man." UGO: I heard you were recently in Kentucky for the IndyCar race. How was the experience? GENE SIMMONS: Fantastic. This has been like a sleeping giant and the biggest kept secret in America. Indy used to be #1 and they fell asleep at the wheel. NASCAR became #1, but NASCARs are much slower cars. They go at about 150mph and Indy cars go at about 220 to 230mph, like nothing you've ever seen. UGO: You're heavily involved in IndyCar on a business level as well. GENE: The Simmons-Abramson marketing venture that I have with my partner Rich Abramson does the worldwide branding and marketing for all of the Indy races, including the Indy 500. If you go to GeneSimmons.com, you'll see Simmons-Abramson Marketing and a picture of myself and Rich that tells the whole story. UGO: Family seems to be the focus of your life right now with the appeal of IndyCar and the TV series. Are they both interrelated in that regard? GENE: Well, everything connects with everything else. Everything I do, I do full-hearted, and anything worth doing, is worth doing well. That adage is certainly old because it stood the test of time. Whether it's family or work, do it well or don't do it at all. UGO: That's a great philosophy to live by, even as a parent. GENE: You know, it's a fascinating idea. I've gotten truckloads of e-mail saying how amazing it is that Nick and Sophie, my two kids, are so well-behaved. Something struck me about the many two-year-olds across the country, the ones that are allowed to scream and control the household. Here's a lesson in discipline. If mom and dad aren't in the room and this devil from hell, the two year old brat who is used to getting its way by crying and thinks the world owes it a favor, crawls up to the dog and puts its hand into the dog's bowl as it's trying to eat, that's the last time that little brat will do that. My question to all of humanity on the face of this planet is; if a dog knows how to train your child, how come you don't? That child will never do that again, even as a grown up, because the line in the sand has been drawn. The reason why children past the amoeba stage, cry, scream, and rant and rave is because that's allowed. That's never been allowed in our household, which is why they've never whined. UGO: On the show, you never really finished your thought on this, but what is it about marriage and women? GENE: It's not about marriage and women; it's about marriage and men. If women married each other, they'd stay together longer. UGO: With marriage and men, on both Jimmy Kimmel and The View you recently talked about full disclosure. GENE: Well, the first thing I did with Shannon before we moved in, I said, "You should meet the real GENE SIMMONS. You'll never find anything written about me in those rags that women are addicted to in the supermarket, because there's nothing left to tell, nothing that I wouldn't tell you or the world, because ultimately no one has squat to say about it." Guys deal with questions like, "Did you do this? Did you do that? Where are you going?" The answer is, "Well, who wants to know?" UGO: So you're saying that going into a relationship, it's better to get it out of the way and be upfront? GENE: Well, even if it's not, if somebody questions you, by answering them you validate the power. The only one who ever had the right to ask me anything gave me birth, and that's my mother. Although I worship and adore Shannon and have never, so help me God, raised my voice or much less raised my hand at either my kids or Shannon, the rules are very clear. I belong to GENE SIMMONS. I answer to my conscience, my ethics, and myself and so on. I don't want to get married and those are my decisions. No one is allowed to question that. UGO: You once mentioned that marriage is the biggest sham ever created. How did you arrive at that? GENE: Well, again, it's the best thing for women, because at the core of what marriage is about, it's a contradiction to what the blueprint of life of the male of the species is. If we believe that there is a grand designer, God has designed the male of the species to manufacture billions of sperm every single day; he has no choice in the matter. The female of the species is born with all of the eggs she will ever make in her life at birth, and by the time she's in her mid-forties, she stops making eggs, stops being able to conceive, so she's got something called a biological clock. We do not, that's why she tends to want to settle down. Also, most importantly, she only manufactures one or two eggs per month. We make hundreds of millions of sperm every day. So either God has a great sense of humor, or he's trying to tell everyone something. UGO: What if people don't get it? GENE: Well, everybody knows the same thing. Every woman who is getting married and every guy who promises fidelity and stuff like that, everybody knows the fact of life - it's only a matter of time. And the only choice women have is either you're going to be lied to, or you're going to hear the whole truth before hand. The problem with marriage is that one of the two tends to be a man. That's not being cynical; I'm just bearing out what the statistics tell us. Man does not want to be married, period. Even the ones that say, "I do." UGO: So would you say that people fall in love with the fantasy of marriage? GENE: Women do. Men are stupid. When the emotion or the lust of the moment overcomes us, we say and do all kinds of things. Women are much clearer; they have a plan, which is why they care if we have a job. Their plan is, "I have to nest and my child has to be taken care of. I'm going to get married and I've got to find Mr. Right." So, they have a plan. There's no such thing as Miss Right for us. For the male of the species, the most beautiful girl is the closest one. UGO: Obviously, unmarried life has been good to you, but on the show Nick actually said you were whipped. So, does that mean Shannon really does wear the pants in the family? GENE: Yes. You allow. Ultimately, the alpha male, whether you're a lion or a T-Rex, after you kill your meat and bring it home, you allow the little cubs to crawl all over you and bite your tail. You allow it. My rules, my house. UGO: It seems that earlier in your career you spent a lot of time building up the mystique of GENE SIMMONS, but now with the series it seems as though you're tearing down those walls. Is that true? GENE: I don't think so. I am who I am, and I've always said I'm that person. What part is being torn down? UGO: What about the mystique of GENE SIMMONS, the demon? GENE: It is me. You've never seen that, but I've never hidden it. I've always espoused a personal philosophy of no drugs, no booze, and no alcohol, period. I'm ambitious more so now than I ever have been before, and I believe that money is good. More of it is even better. That's always been my philosophy and I never pretended, nor will I ever now or in the future, not to be attracted to all living females who have ever existed on the face of this planet. Any guy who tells you otherwise is a liar. That includes your father, your brother, your preacher, and your teacher. Yes, that also includes you. UGO: In that regard, how was the decision process behind making your life even more public with the TV series? Was it easy for the kids to be in the limelight? GENE: I said we were going to do a show and they said, "Okay," because the decisions Shannon and I made in the past have been smart ones. I would never do this if I didn't think both Sophie and Nick were ready for it. Sophie is 14 now and more mature than most 20-year olds I've seen. UGO: That's truly reflected in the show. GENE: Oh, it's very easily seen. She's smart as a whip and has her own sense of who she is. She does not define herself by boys, whereas most of the women out there do. Most of the women out there buy these magazines, "Ten Ways to Keep Him Happy," because without him, of course, you're nothing. UGO: Don't you think that's a superficial approach to a relationship? GENE: Well, once again it's women realizing the biological clock is ticking and they want to reproduce before their mid-forties. They have nothing to say about it. UGO: How did you want to set yourself apart from the obvious comparisons to The Osbournes? GENE: Oh, it doesn't matter to me. I can say who we are and what we believe in. Whether that's similar or not to anyone else, it doesn't matter. All talk shows are the same and all situation comedies are the same. By in large, we're the same as anyone else except we've never been married, we do very well in life, work hard, there's no drugs or booze, and the kids are straight-A students and perfectly well-behaved. If there's another show out there that shows that, then we're like them. If not, then we're different. UGO: There's an interesting contrast with you and Ozzy from a "Say No to Drugs" standpoint in that you've never been addicted to drugs or alcohol and his message comes from the affects. GENE: More specifically, I've never used. I've never had cocaine or marijuana in my hand, much less up my nose or any other body part. UGO: Yet family seems to be the foundation for both of you guys. GENE: No, I'm the foundation. Everybody's got a family, and everybody loves family, but I see families are dysfunctional, because the male doesn't stand up and say, "My rules." Remember the old adage, "Wait until your father gets home." That used to mean something. Love your mother; fear your father - that no longer applies. UGO: So, do you see it as the deterioration of the family unit? GENE: No, it's man's fault for becoming feminized, for allowing words like "metrosexual" to apply not only to gay men, but also to straight men. Any straight man who wants to identify himself as "metro" dilutes the alpha male and makes himself more feminine. It's interesting to note, and I welcome anyone for rebuttal, the male apparently needs to be in touch with his feminine side. Nobody's forcing any females to be in touch with their masculine side. UGO: Throughout the years, you've been called a marketing genius. How do you deal with the notion that once you start making a lot of money from what you're good at, you've somehow sold out? Among the fan community, that seems to be a prevailing thought often projected at certain bands once they make it big. GENE: You're damn right I sell out, every night. Who wants empty seats? What's so glorious about being a failure and poor? You've got all the credibility and you can't pay your rent. By in large, people will always be on the sidelines and some people have a problem with success, but that only means that they're not. Successful people don't begrudge somebody else for being successful. In fact, they celebrate it. Only losers talk about words like credibility. Credibility to whom? Not to my banker. UGO: It should be credibility to yourself, really. GENE: Well, first and foremost, but even above that, unfortunately, money is the currency of life. No matter how much I like myself, it's not going to buy me a loaf of bread, money will. UGO: What can you tell me about the six-hour KISS boxed-set that's coming down the pipe and the other things the band has going on? GENE: People are questioning me a lot about that. It's forthcoming and we'll let Universal take the lead as to when they want to announce it, but there's also KISS Online that talks about all things KISS. There are many more action figures, toys, and games on there too. The first KISS Coffeehouse opened in Myrtle Beach about a month back and we'll have many more KISS Coffeehouses around the country. That's going to be a franchise. KISS just came back from Japan where we played a bunch of outdoor shows, like the Mt. Fuji Festival and so on. You know, eventually, maybe in a year or so, we'll go back out on tour, but in the meantime every day is full. |
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