Gene Simmons just couldn’t stay away. KISS may have played its last show in Dec. 2023, but that doesn’t mean Simmons is done with music. Instead, the band’s co-founder put together Gene Simmons Band. The group went on tour in 2024 and will continue to do so this spring and summer.
“I tried to stay away from being on stage, but it’s too much fun,” Simmons told Ultimate Classic Rock. “I thought I was gonna take a few years off after the band I was in for 50 years decided to call it quits.”
Simmons noted “I have other stuff—a restaurant chain, a movie company, a lot of stuff,” but simply put, he “couldn’t stay away” from music.
He decided to put a band together last April when he was approached to headline the São Paulo Summer Breeze Open Air Festival.
“We did this before; when Kiss took some time off I put together a band of usual suspects,” he said. “We have a ball. Most importantly the fans and the band are having the time of our lives—that’s what this band is about.”
The Gene Simmons Band Experience
Per the outlet, so far Simmons’ shows have featured Kiss songs, Simmons’ solo releases, and covers of people including Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.
“The shows are almost never alike,” Simmons said. “We toss around songs; if somebody in the band says, ‘Hey, why don’t you do [Cream’s] ‘Sunshine of Your Love?’ we look at each other and go, ‘What key?’ and there you go.”
“We’re like a commando unit; there’s no manager, no road crew, no trucks not buses, nothing. No big PR campaign. We fly commercial or we’ll get an SUV and travel from city to city,” he added. “The promoters provide the backline, the amplifiers and drums; we just come with a guitar and a guitar pick. It’s really fun.”
A constant throughout all the shows is that Simmons does not sport his iconic KISS makeup or outfits.
“I’ve been there, done that,” he said. “Half a century of that is plenty of time, and I firmly believe—and Paul [Stanley] believes the same thing—you take something as far as it can go and finish on top.”
Instead of the typical KISS performance, the performer said that seeing Gene Simmons Band “is more like if your favorite band comes to your house and sets up in the garage and opens the garage door and the whole town comes informally and hangs out.”
“We have conversations and bring kids up on stage, teenage musicians,” he added. “It’s just about having a good time.”
The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience
Fans who want an even more intimate experience at a Gene Simmons Band show have two options to make that a reality.
Simmons recently announced that, for $6,500, fans can partake in the Gene Simmons Bass Experience. The package includes a meet-and-greet with Simmons and a personalized bass. For those willing to shell out more cash—$12,500 to be exact—that personalized bass will be one that was played onstage.