Katie Sheehan | Artist Direct

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons is like a warrior going into combat when he hits the stage, telling VH1 Classic Radio that he doesn’t get tired when taking the stage, even at age 62.

“Physically you can be tired but you can’t be tired unless you’re mentally tired,” Simmons said. “That’s called fatigue. When you’ve got mental fatigue, it doesn’t matter what shape you’re in, you’re done. If you’re excited in your mind, actually something happens physically which is adrenaline is released into your system and you get that get-up and go thing. You know, whether you’re completely insane, mad men are difficult to bring down – you can have five cops trying to bring down a man who’s insane because there’s so much juice going through his system, and that’s sort of like what happens on stage.” Sounds like an accurate assessment!

He also broke down how hitting the stage in all his costuming is like doing so with tactical gear. “When we hit that stage, I’m on seven or eight-inch platform heels, carrying a 12 to 15-pound guitar, plus studs and armor and stuff like that. You are probably close to 40 pounds of additional weight. It’s like a Marine doing a 20-mile hike with a 30 pound backpack. You are physically exhausted, but because there is so much juice going through your system, you do it the next day and there’s nothing like that. I’m telling you, there are nights I walk off the stage with cuts, bruises, black and blue marks – don’t feel it until hours later.”

What a trooper!