GENE SIMMONS: 'I'm The King Of The World'

Kate Fillion of Macleans.ca recently conducted a lengthy interview with KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Macleans.ca: You're currently touring with KISS. Do girls line up at the stage door every night?

Simmons: Oh yeah.

Macleans.ca: Aren't groupies boring after a while?

Simmons: Well, you're a woman, so you don't understand the psyche. It's like a vegetarian asking a carnivore, "What's the big deal with meat?" Look, you only drop two eggs a month, and in your middle years you stop dropping them completely. We manufacture hundreds of millions of sperm every day. We even make sperm after we're dead.

Macleans.ca: If you're saying it's a biological imperative to sleep with groupies—

Simmons: A biological urge. The urge to merge.

Macleans.ca: Then why stay with Shannon [Tweed, Simmons' longtime girlfriend]?

Simmons: This is the hottest woman on earth. And she's an alpha female. She doesn't talk about whether the vacuum cleaner works or not. Doesn't sweat the small stuff. Has a strong moral centre, no drugs, no booze. No whining. No bad hair days.

Macleans.ca: Is it okay if she sleeps with other men?

Simmons: People will do whatever they want to do. So it's best to just relax and hope for the best. Get a hobby.

Macleans.ca: It's clear on the show that your kids love their mother very much. Does it bother them that you're not monogamous?

Simmons: Who said I'm not?

Macleans.ca: Well, you do. Don't you?

Simmons: No, not necessarily. And I'm not sure Bill Clinton or anyone else should be talking about those areas to strangers. Aren't you ever going to ask me about KISS?

Macleans.ca: Why are you stalling?

Simmons: Look, it's the 21st century, and the thing women have been clamoring for is finally upon us: you're free. You're no longer indentured slaves. You no longer have to be in the kitchen, or leave the smoking room so the men can talk. And the greatest asset Shannon has is that she's a modern woman. Besides being stunning, six feet tall and, of course, a Newfie, I worship the ground she walks on. But part of the relationship is that it's no-nonsense. We don't call each other "honey" and "sweetheart” and all those clichés. That's television talk, just a paint-by-numbers relationship. When I talk to her, it's straight ahead, like an equal partner, and she to me.

Macleans.ca: A tape surfaced on the Internet last year, of you having sex with another woman. Were your kids upset?

Simmons: We talked about it a little bit, but they understand. It was made a long time ago, and not with my consent. But?.?.?.?move on. Why do people care?

Macleans.ca: How do you talk to your daughter about all this?

Simmons: Hopefully, the one thing I gave Sophie was the clear information that she should never define herself by men. Women's magazines are ego-destroying, the worst piece of trash you can read. Here's why: they feed the insecurities and weaknesses of women. There are always lists: "10 things he likes about you," "10 things to look younger" — this endless self-torture. Men's magazines never, ever talk about what women want. Men don't care.

Macleans.ca: So would it bother you if she said, "I'm going to be like you, Dad, and have thousands of sexual partners?"

Simmons: Once Sophie becomes a mature woman, it doesn't matter what we think or say, these will be decisions she has to make and live with. But of course there's a double standard.

Macleans.ca: Does being 60 feel the way you thought it would?

Simmons: I don't mean this to sound cornball, but I don't really celebrate birthdays. I mean, yes, I eat cake — God help me, do I eat cake — but I celebrate every day above ground as the best holiday there is. I don't wait for the calendar to tell me to celebrate. But I will tell you that it’s surprising how fantastic 60 is.

Macleans.ca: What's so fantastic about it?

Simmons: I'm the king of the world. Are you kidding?

Read the entire interview from Macleans.ca.