Gene Simmons – 2015

Gene Simmons, at Fashion Rocks in NYC, 2014
Gene Simmons, at Fashion Rocks in NYC, 2014

Quer esquecer a corrupção e ficar rico? Líder do KISS tem a receita

How’s your Portuguese? That’s the UOL headline for my interview with Gene Simmons in April 2015. It translates as: Want to forget the corruption and get rich? KISS leader has the recipe.

Click here to see the whole thing.


I interviewed Simmons on the phone, primarily because I needed a celeb soundbite for a story I was writing about the upcoming 50th anniversary of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The best way to get him on the phone was to tie it in with a KISS project, which is easy because Gene is always selling something. In this case, KISS was days away from embarking on a South American tour, and Gene had just published a book, Me, Inc. So I killed two birds with one stone, and got two stories — and two payments — from a single 15-minute interview.

Here are some excerpts from the transcript. I did not use the political stuff in my story. Gene is not as politically savvy as he likes to seem. He endorsed Rick Perry last time. When I asked him about Rick Perry’s prospects this time around, he had forgotten who he was:

AT THIS EARLY STAGE IN THE HORSE RACE, WHO IMPRESSES YOU IN THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?

Oh. I think whether you like it or not Hillary Clinton’s going to be the next president.

DO YOU LIKE IT OR NOT?

I certainly think she’s more qualified than a lot of other people. She goes around the world as a foreign dignitary. I know she’s fairly aggressive in her foreign policy. I like drones. I’m a big fan of it. When I know that there’s a nest of bad guys, I wanna send drones there.

PEOPLE WILL BE ASKING WHY SHE DIDN’T SEND IN THE DRONES WHEN THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR WAS MURDERED IN BENGHAZI.

Well, that’s for her to figure out in front of judge and jury if there’s a trial. I’m not here to say that I know all the answers. But I like the idea that some people are beyond rehabilitation and need to be gone.

I THOUGHT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HER!

Ooooh!

WHAT MUTUAL FUNDS AND ETFs DO YOU INVEST IN?

It’s not fair to do that because I’m neither a financial expert nor someone you should listen to. But if you’re just starting off and you’re a novice, become a Warren Buffett fan. Over the long haul he’s been very successful and you may want to take a few thousand dollars and throw it wherever he throws it. Just as a beginning and learn as you go.

###

NOTE: An extensive 1993 interview with Gene Simmons appears in my gossipy rock anthology, Strange Days: The Adventures of a Grumpy Rock ‘n’ Roll Journalist in Los Angeles, available here. For more info, go to strangedaysbook.com

Copyright © 2015 by Dean Goodman. PLEASE DO NOT CUT AND PASTE THE WHOLE THING