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Q & A With GENE SIMMONSFrom: Vancouver Sun An interview with GENE SIMMONS of KISS and designer Jason Dussault at Leone's store in Vancouver, Sept. 14, 2007. The occasion was the launch of their new clothing line, Moneybag. Jason Dussault: "Gene created this logo 28 years ago and trademarked it, which is obviously a moneybag. What a brilliant thing to trademark. He has also trademarked some other great names, like Dominatrix, which you would assume would be trademarked. I think he just trademarked that a year ago. "We met a year ago. I made Gene this leather jacket, which was the demon smiting a samurai. It was my version of the demon from KISS for Gene, his character. He really liked it, he liked the quality of the brand. He said 'I've got this logo, I'd like to do a high-end brand with it. What do you think?' "I said 'Yeah! Of course, are you kidding? Let's do a deal.' So we struck a deal. A year down the road we've got these beautiful products, which is leather carry-ons, leather laptop bags, some great wallets, some handmade T-shirts. These are all hand-dyed, I actually dye them myself. Very forward thinking, different fashion for the alpha male." Vancouver Sun: So why did you [Gene] want to get involved with something like this? GENE SIMMONS: "I'm involved in a few different businesses that have nothing to do with each other, [including] a marketing company called Simmons Abrams Marketing that works on the Indy Car series, and NGTV.com, which does live broadcasts on the Internet. And I'm in KISS, I get up onstage, I'm behind the scenes. "But at the end of the day it all comes down to people. You don't want to work with somebody who looks at the clock, who looks at a nine to five thing. Jason is a possessed man. If you can channel that passion for stuff into business, into a point of view. It's a work ethic. Most people worry about jobs, we simply love work. There's a difference. We don't look at the clock. And that's the kind of partner I want to be involved with, a guy that actually sees the big picture and [will do] whatever it takes, no matter how long. That will think out of the box, go for it. "We're doing lots of stuff together, this isn't the only business we're involved in. There will be others, because he's a multi-faceted kind of guy. Most people do one thing, they're masters of one trade. One trick pony, they call 'em. [Jason's] in the investment community, in the creative community. That's the way to do it, you've got a nice broad range. "See, the problem with asking me a question is that I will talk your head off. So be careful what you ask for." Sun: Why did you copyright 'moneybag' back in the 1970s? Simmons: "Actually there's a distinct difference between a copyright and a trademark. I started signing Simmons with a double slash, just because I was... arrogant... like most guys who play guitar. Before I really knew what it was. Then we brought out our [Kiss] signatures as jewelry. An astute lawyer said 'Gene, maybe you want to trademark the two lines going through the S.' And I did, and there was no sort of challenge to that. Then I was wondering if anybody actually owned the moneybag logo, with the dollar sign inside. It turned out no-one had [trademarked it], so 28 years ago I trademarked that, and have been using it. "I used to have a magazine, GENE SIMMONS' Tongue, Simmons records, Simmons books. In other words, engage in inter-state commerce, so it bolsters the underlying rights of the trademark." Sun: And you love the moneybag, clearly. You love money. Simmons: "Well, I think any fool that tells you he doesn't is a fool that I call a liar. Because if God appeared to every person on the face of the planet and says 'I know what's in your pocket.' I'm going to give you two choices. I can make you have less money, or I can make you have more money. Because after all, I'm God. What would everybody answer?" Sun: More. Simmons: "Yeah. So I'm just like them. And anybody who says I'd rather have less money, send your cheques to GENE SIMMONS, P.O. Box.... Sun: Do you ever take it easy, though? I was watching your TV show... Simmons: "Wait, wait. You start a question and follow it with a paragraph, you're killin' me. Yes, there's lots of time to take it easy. It actually says Rest In Peace at the end, when they stick you in the ground. While you're alive, in all seriousness, every day, if you treat it as if it's the only day you'll ever have to live, is going to be a really rewarding day. Surround yourself with the great things in life. Great people, good food. Work your butt off and go to sleep at night totally exhausted. You'll sleep great, food will taste great and your schwanz will work magnificently. "Is schwanz a Canadian word?" Sun: I think that's an international term. Simmons: "Schmeckel?" Sun: I've never heard schmeckel. So last night on the Family Jewels... Simmons: "Oh you mean GENE SIMMONS' Family Jewels. It sounds better that way, don't you think?" Sun: Anyway your wife... Simmons: "Whoa, slow down. What was that word you said?" Sun: She's not your wife? Simmons: "Why does everybody say that? No, I've never been married. I've never even thought of it. I think it is a beautiful ideal, but the only thing wrong with marriage is that one of the two tends to be a man. We can't do it. That's why there is so much misery. Every woman in the world is tortured, she can't figure out why the marriage thing doesn't work for men. And it is because marriage doesn't work for men. We try, we really do. We can hold our breath, but not forever. "Have you been married?" Sun: No. Last night on the show they stole your black book to try and get you to take some R&R. [This leads Simmons to lift up his leg, roll up his pants and take the black book out of his cowboy boot.] Simmons: "This is how I know what's going on. It tells you the phone number I have to call this morning, then it tells me which hotel I'm in. A year from now, if I want to know what did I do today, I know exactly." Sun: Richard Branson's number is here. Why are you going to be phoning Richard Branson? Is that Richard Branson's home phone number? Simmons: "Yessssss..." Sun: Can I copy it down? Simmons: "But he won't take your call. We have some business together. That might include getting him into Indy Car. You know, people are fascinated by celebrity. Listen. There is no difference between the people that everybody hold in high esteem, celebrities, even beautiful women, you think they're really special and stuff, they're really not." [He turns to four buxom women in lederhausen behind him and they giggle, collectively.] Simmons: "They're not. They're not. And I'll tell you why. Walk up to any girl and treat her like a human being first and foremost. If you talk to her about her beauty and stuff, it's very shallow. If you engage in a conversation, respect people as people... it's not about the celebrity, it's about the people. And if you can make a connection with a person... that's why [Jason] and I are in business together. I've made a connection with who and what he is. I know what's inside, a hard-working guy who loves the work of it... Sun: KISS was supposed to play a gig this weekend, but it got cancelled. Simmons: "I know very little detail about it, except there's a local promoter and it was supposed to be at Mount Whistler. I would urge people to find out what happened by talking to the promoter. Our legal team is scouting the woods of Canada to find this guy. More than that I honestly can't tell you, I don't know the details." Sun: So it wasn't you guys cancelling the gig? Simmons: "Oh no." Sun: How many gigs do you play with KISS a year now? Simmons: "This last year I think we played five. Four. We played outdoors, mostly playing to the Indy Car series of races like the Indy 500, which our company does branding and marketing for. Takes up time. We also have our TV show on NGTV.com and a lot of other things. So there isn't that much time. but we will go out. Everything takes time, and everything that's worth doing is worth doing well. It will take a year or so. We've been talking with Queen. KISS and Queen, would you like that? [Slips into an English working class accent] It's a bit of all right, you know what I mean?" Dussault: "I saw the second-to-last show, and it was unbelievable. I still can't believe he can spit blood and blow fire and groove around like he was in his 20s. And the voices sound, without offense, actually sound better, deeper. It was a fantastic show, I'm sorry that Vancouver missed it." Simmons: At the same time, by the way, I'm putting together the GENE SIMMONS Big Band. Twenty horns, about six girls...who can sing. Emote. Keyboard players and stuff like that. We're going to debut it in Las Vegas for our TV show in a short while. In fact the last day of rehearsal is the day before the Dussault Custom Ink event is going to happen. Tell him the details." Dussault: "We're opening a Melrose location [in Los Angeles], which is going to be our flagship store. 8010 Melrose, it'll be open Nov. 8th. It's going to be unbelievable. We're going to close down an entire block." Simmons: "What he's saying is, he got certain people to call the mayor's office." Dussault: "There are certain benefits to knowing GENE SIMMONS, for sure." Sun: You called the mayor of L.A.? Simmons: "Sure." Dussault: "He shut down the street for us." Simmons: "And why not? We're bringing in the Indy Car series to L.A., which is going to bring $1.2 billion [worth of] business into L.A. Why can't I call him anytime I like? "By the way, he's a good guy. It's all about business. It's not about the celebrity, it's not about that. It's about 'Close down this street and here's why.' If it makes sense, you do it. And we'll have some guests and some other TV people coming." Dussault: "We do yeah. GENE SIMMONS' Family Jewels will be filming live, as well as Criss Angel Mindfreak. We'll also be working on some big bands." Simmons: "Is Criss going to be there?" Dussault: "Criss is going to be there." Simmons: "Really? I'm excited. How did you get Criss?" Dussault: "A powerful and attractive man got me on the phone with him, what can I say? Actually that's a great story, and that's the way it works. I came to Gene and said I'm having a big launch, we're having a big opening, we want to make a big splash, what do I do? Is there a big band I should hire, what do you think? He said well you know what, bands are okay, but then everybody's going to be there to see the band and they're going to be loud and you're not going to be able to talk. The best way to do this is to get someone like Criss. Someone who's on his A game right now, who's in the press all the time, he's sleeping with big celebrities." Simmons: "Allegedly." Dussault: "Allegedly... It just happens that easily. [Gene] picks up the phone and gets in touch with his people, who happen to be The Firm in L.A., one of the largest talent agencies." Simmons: "He's also got his own TV show, so you get double bang for the buck." Dussault: "Exactly. You get two A&E shows filming." Simmons: "So what it the cost of doing all that?"[He makes a zero with his hand.] Sun: How big a store is it going to be? Dussault: "It's not the size that matters... [Everyone laughs.] Not to say it's a small store, it's about 3,000 square feet. It's two separate stores, one is private shopping for celebrities in the back, the other is the full experience. It'll be called the Dussault Motel. It was inspired actually by Rob Zombie, his 1970s horror movies. The minute you walk in the door you go through a diner that's set in the `70s. I had set designers and builders and painters paint it out so it looks like it's been there for 40 years. The clothing is in the motel rooms, and the checkout is where you get changed. "I've had sales people that I've been poaching from some of the top stores in Los Angeles come in and say they've never seen anything like this before. I've travelled the world, and spent a lot of money on clothes, and I've never seen a store like this. It will be the hottest retail experience in the world." Sun: Speaking of a lot of money on clothes, these aren't cheap, these clothes. Dussault: "That's exactly right, they're not cheap, they're high quality. The attention to detail, nobody has taken something like a hoody, which is one of the most popular clothing items in the world right now, and taken it to the level that I've taken it to. The sales people here, they sell through monthly our products because of the attention to detail. People don't want to take it off." Sun: There are some autographed T-shirts? Dussault: "Yeah, there are some t-shirts here that are autographed. This is for the alpha male, this is for the guy who wants to be a little bit different and wants to wear something no one else wears. If you want to wear what everybody else is wearing at the club or walking down the street, this isn't for you. This is for someone who is different... Gene was good enough to sign a number of these, so Leone's is the only place on the planet where you can buy this shirt. We're sold out online. If you want a signature shirt you have to get it here. Hand-dyed, hand-painted. This is all vintage material. A lot of designers with this logo may have just done a checkered pattern shirt or whatever, but I wanted to do something that was completely different." "I think, I know, that from a lot of the other interviews I've had in the U.S. that the hip-hop culture goes for this, the rocker culture goes for this. It spans all the way across." Simmons: "Chicks like money, too." Sun: And you were attracted to this because... Simmons: "It's because it's the American dream. I know you guys are sick and tired of hearing the American thing, but... I feel for you. But it is the American dream. I am an immigrant, I'm a child who came to America, heard about the promised land and have made all my dreams come true. "Unfortunately, no matter how nice everybody is in Vancouver, and how much I love Canada - and I do, you make the most beautiful women in the world, I live with one. But there's only so far you will go. That's just life. The hustle and the bustle and the deal-making... you guys should invade America and make it part of Canada, then you'd have enough people and a lot of money and no limits. "You've got to understand that the guy who runs California, one of 50 states, is the head of the fifth largest economic power on planet Earth. Do you understand the scope of that? Ninety-five per cent of the countries of the world don't make as much money as just the state of California. It's enormous. There are no limitations. "So when a band comes here and says we've sold 10,000 or 50,000 records, or we played to 5,000 people, great. I don't want to tell them, it's a popcorn fart. "Look, live in Canada, wave the maple leaf, love your country, but go and get the money in America. Go in there, grab the money and bring it back here, Because if you want lots of money, it's there, not here." Sun: Let's go back to KISS for a second... What gave you the idea to dress up in the first place, to do the KISS uniforms and then do the other stuff? Back in 1972/73, nobody else did that. Simmons: "Look, originality is highly overrated. It doesn't mean a lot if you're the first or the last. The only thing that matters is that people pay a lot of money to go to an event, a live concert. Mostly it's guys in tie-dyed T-shirts looking at their shoes who look like they should be delivering Domino's Pizza. "I went to concerts and I listened with my eyes. Otherwise, why get up out of bed? Stay at home and listen on your stereo, it'll sound better and nobody is stepping on your feet. So a live concert is an event. And as far as we're concerned, we had the point of view that the people onstage who are getting more of your money for a ticket than the cost of a few CDs deserve to give you something more than 'Here's my next song.' And therein lies the thought. 'Let's put together the band we never saw onstage.' Audio and visual overload. "We went as far, in 2002, we did the first and only 3D tour. You came in, you got your tickets and 3D glasses, and we invested millions in these 3D screens, so that when you saw us onstage, you saw it real. When you saw me reaching and pointing, it would come right into your face. It's never been done before because it's so expensive, but you know what? You gotta give, you've gotta give back to the fans. Ultimately they're my bosses, they're your bosses. We'll all in the same business. You're in the media, I'm in a band, Jason's in streetwear and other stuff. We're all in the same business, the people business. We have to figure out how to give bang for the buck, so they like us." Sun: So what gave you the idea to do the blood, the tongue? Simmons: "Well, the tongue is really the result of the doctor pulling me out by the wrong appendage... I grew up in America with a lot of imagery. Television mostly, and comic books and superheroes. By the way, Simmons comic books is up and running, check it out at genesimmons.com. Love the Americana part of it. Where else were superheroes invented? "I guess I became a sort of a pastiche. Oh, a little French, francais, je comprend. Kind of a puzzle of Americana, from Godzilla's boots to that stuff. None of it made any sense, it was free association. It was almost impressionistic. I would be more of an impressionistic artist than a realist. You get up onstage - if Shakespeare is right and all the world is a stage, we're all trying to figure out how to get people's attention... "We were just trying to be different. In terms of meaning? Highly overrated." |
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