Eric Lacy | mlive
DETROIT, MI — The phone conversation last week started a bit awkward.
Me: “Hi Gene! My name is Eric Lacy and I’m a reporter with MLive.com. We own eight newspapers in the state of Michigan and cover Detroit entertainment.”
Gene Simmons: “I’m sorry.”
Fortunately KISS’ on-stage demon warmed up quickly after I asked him to reflect on the impact the Motor City made in the early 70s when the band needed some love.
“We broke in Detroit before any other city,” Simmons said quietly, seemingly with conviction. “We did it even though we’re from New York.
I caught up with Simmons last week to find out more about the band’s relationship with Detroit and Michigan through the years, its future that includes a variety of projects and a current tour with Def Leppard.
The tour makes an Aug. 23 stop at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston.
During the chat, Simmons broke some news when he revealed that a movie about KISS’ 1975 visit to Cadillac, Mich. is fully-funded and in pre-production.
Enjoy the interview and feel free to post any questions/reaction in the comments section below.
What does playing in Detroit mean to you after all these years knowing this city helped get the band popular across the country?
It was the heartland of America because America was built on wheels. Without cars and trucks and stuff like that, we wouldn’t have the structure of the highways and everything else. Detroit was the heartbeat of that; it was the Motor City. And it wasn’t just the home of Americans working their butts off so that the rest of us could ride in comfort and create the infrastructure, but also the home of America’s music, this kind of amalgam of R&B, soul and Motown.
I mean, for God sakes, I even lived with the Queen of Motown — Diana Ross. We broke in Detroit before any other city even though we’re from New York. You can’t name a band from New York other than KISS that played stadiums all over the world — not one. Not the (New York) Dolls, not The Ramones, not anybody; these were small club bands. And that’s because we had a lot more in common with Detroit.
With that area, Alice (Cooper) broke there, the MC5, Ted Nugent, Iggy (Pop), Grand Funk Railroad, Bob Seger — all this great heartland music that wasn’t about style. It was about heart. We’ve always had an affinity for Detroit which is why Detroit Rock City came out; it starts off (the) Destroyer (album).
Paul Stanley said “Where would we be without Cobo Hall?” during the KISS show a few years back at DTE, a stop during the tour with Motley Crue. Where would the band be without Cobo?
It would have taken longer (to get fame and notoriety). We would have (made it), but it would have taken much longer. (Playing at Cobo Hall) was sort of the crossroads for the band starting to make some noise — before MTV, before digital, even before voicemail. There was nothing in those days. You got into the back of your car or your truck and you went from town to town and took your gigs to the people.
In those days, we must have played 200 concerts a year, six days a week, 50 weeks out of the year. All of sudden we got this opportunity, then there were hallowed halls with the biggest bands everywhere coming to play. We decided because it was such an event that we were going to record it which is wherethe guts of our “Live I” record came out (KISS Alive). It was that record, and that city, and that music and those people that really propelled us so that within a year and a half of forming we’re headlining Anaheim Stadium in California.
What keeps the band going after all these years when you could all just easily give touring up and enjoy retirement? What did you learn after all these years that maybe helps or motivates you to keep going?
A lot of young people have stupid ideas. And a lot of young people have stupid ideas because they are young; it’s called the folly of youth. We think we know it all; we actually don’t. We’re idiots — myself included. And I remembered as a kid ‘Never trust anybody over 30.” Well, guess what? The the coolest people are. The people that play stadiums around the world are not only over 30, but they’re over 60. Will you still love me when I’m 64? F***, I’m going to be 65, (Mick) Jagger is 71, (Paul) McCartney is 72 I think it is. They’re playing stadiums! Who’s 20 years old playing a stadium? Nobody! So all those silly ideas as kids are based on how far we could see. And life is actually much bigger than we think it is.
What should KISS fans expect down the road besides more shows across the globe, a KISS cruise? What’s up with this football reality show?
It’s coming out on AMC this coming month and you can also see our games on ESPN, KCAL and CBS Sports, although the season is now finally over. Anything we do we do big. Do it big or go home. Your girlfriend has been lying to you all this time!
It really is a behind the scenes look at the personalities that make up the heartbreak, the drama, and this is really serious stuff. One of our guys was injured so badly — and you have to understand that if a 300-pound guy comes at you full force you can get injured badly — and he’s flat on his back for a year and a half.Broken arms, broken legs, joints out of whack — it’s very serious. LA KISS is not just kind of sugar-coated football team. We’re going for it.
KISS has always been known has a band that’s had an incredible work ethic. Where did it come from for you?
The immigrant work ethic. I came to America with my mother — as legal immigrants I might add. There is a difference. And when I realized the greatness of America — even though I was born in Israel — I knew this is the promised land. As you know, there’s a big arab population in Michigan, but in American everybody can walk side by side and have a discussion and nobody trying to kill each other because of their ethnicity or religion. American is a holy land. It’s just the place where people can just work it out and talk it out.
What does playing “Detroit Rock City” mean to you after all these years? Even after all these years, you can’t go to a Detroit Tigers, Lions or Red Wings game without hearing it.
Well, it really is a sort of call to arms and it’s actually a sad song. It’s about the tragedy of a fan wanting to get to Detroit, but he actually crashes along the way because he’s driving too fast. You gotta get up … you’re gonna lose your mind in Detroit Rock City. You know he’s looking forward to (the show). The song? I have to say we’ve played it in the encore; we’ve begun shows with it. Whenever that show comes on, people pump their fists in the air. It’s kind of a national anthem of rock if you will. Sure, ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll All Night’ is a celebration, but there’s something about Detroit Rock City that just says ‘Heartland.’
What’s this tour with Def Leppard been like so far?
Since the beginning of the tour, (Def Leppard’s) Joe Elliott has been asking ‘Please, let me introduce the band’ and he actually got the chance to do that a few shows ago and he just rocked it. If you go to KissOnline.com you’ll see behind the scenes show introduction. You’ll see him say ‘You wanted the best, you got the best!’ He’s screaming his heart out.
Anything you’d like to add since I fired a lot of questions at you?
Yeah, we got the Hollywood Star Walk of Fame and we got the Rock& Roll Hall of Fame and all that stuff, but none of it means anything if the fans aren’t there. It begins and ends for us as a live band. Everything we do is to respect that stage. For us it’s an electric church. Very few people deserve to be on that stage, and we take it seriously. We take it really seriously.
That’s why we have the balls to introduce ourselves by saying ‘You wanted the best, you got best … the hottest band in the word!’ And to that end we’ve really wrapped up the show. You’ll see it. There’s really nothing like this one. There’s a huge spider that’s part of the live show that can do everything but give birth. It’s an overall amazing show and we’re very proud of it.