In an interview with radio show Lipps Service, Gene “The Long-Tongued” Simmons opened his big mouth. Take a look:
“At the end of the day, it is about the material and about the culture.
“Because there are better musicians – jazz musicians – that will never be able to make the money that people who are less talented but have charisma [are able to make].
“You can go to school to learn guitar or bass – you can’t learn, ‘You’re exciting. You have charisma.’ There’s no school for that. Walk this way, do it that way. You just have it or you don’t.”
Asked if the band’s upcoming farewell tour will indeed be their last, Gene replied:
“The answer is yes, and I’ll tell you why. It’s always interesting marketing when you say, ‘I promise,’ and all that. KISS are the hardest-working band in show business – period. It doesn’t mean we’re the best, although we call ourselves that.
“But I wear about seven-inch platform dragon boots. Each one weighs 10 or 11 pounds. That’s 20-plus pounds on the legs. It’s like working out with bowling balls. Then on top of that, there’s another 30 pounds or so between the armor [and the rest of the outfit].
“And so if you put [Mick] Jagger and Bono – [who are] both great – in my outfits, they’d… like little girls, they’d fall down… They can’t do this.
“And I’ve gotta spit fire and fly through the air and all that. It is physically exhausting… So the idea is – go out with some dignity.”
