GENE SIMMONS On Performing With His Solo Band: 'There's A Magic That Happens Up There That Words Don't Describe'

During an appearance on a recent episode of Billboard's "Behind The Setlist" podcast, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons spoke about how he now tours and performs with his solo band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I thought I could stay away from the stage [after the completion of KISS's 'End Of The Road' farewell tour]. It bears noting that there's a magic that happens up there that words don't really sort of describe. It's a feeling, and it's tough to talk about feelings. It's probably closer to… There used to be a guy named Dr. [Arthur] Janov and he had a kind of a strange hippie point of view about people having their stuff pent up. So you put people in a padded room. And it was called scream therapy. You go in there and you just let loose and reportedly — I was never part of that, but reportedly — people would come out drenched in sweat and relieved and tired and you expel all this stuff. And going through life, there are rules. You can't compliment women too much. There's no more hugging. There's all these rules. You can't do trans jokes, gay jokes, Jew jokes, black — you can't do any of that stuff because we're very sort of… There are subtle rules that we all have to be aware of. Not on stage. You are free. You just expel all this energy, and it's this celebration of life with the fans and you, and you get to this kind of joyous place. So the GENE SIMMONS BAND is a chance for me, with some friends who are monsters on their instruments, to go out there and just have a great time. It bears noting we don't have managers, road crew, nothing. No trucks, nothing. The local promoters provide the backline, and we just get up there and play. And there are no set-in-stone setlists. Fans can yell, 'Hey, why don't you do 'Almost Human' from 1804?' You betcha. And you break into it. Or, 'Do you guys know 'Whole Lotta Love'?' 'Yeah, I think so.' And you break into it. Or you jam. And at every show we bring fans up on stage. 'Can you sing?' 'Can you play? Let's have a party.'"

When asked how the idea for touring without managers and a road crew came about, Simmons replied: "Actually, it was done by black musicians when they played the Chitlin' Circuit, what used to be the black clubs, 'cause they couldn't play white clubs. So Chuck Berry, as an example, famously would show up with his guitar, and there was a local band. Now, I don't do that — I take my band with me — but Berry would show up, and he'd tell the guys, 'Study the records, learn these songs, I'm gonna show up,' and no rehearsal, nothing. Just let it happen. And you can be as tight as THE [ROLLING] STONES. I don't know if you've ever seen THE STONES live. No matter how much they rehearse, there's this kind of sloppy, greasy way of doing it. And you never quite know where the end of the song is — it never quite ends — because there is no end; you just kind of feel it. So it's very easy. We have a lot of fun. The fans are, as they say on the street, digging it. And then you die. That's all there is."

Regarding what the difference is to him financially when he plays shows with his solo band compared to how it was with KISS, Gene said: "I make more [with my solo band]. Yeah, there's no managers, no private jets, no 20 tractor trailers, no 60-man crew, no huge shows. And the pyro alone for every [KISS] show was 10 grand, sometimes 50, depending if you go outdoors — enormous, enormous costs for doing that — but proud to have done that with [fellow KISS founder] Paul [Stanley] and the rest of the guys in the band. But this is a decidedly different thing. It's almost as if you decided to rent some amps in a garage and plug in and then everybody from the neighborhood comes in and you have a much different relationship. There's none of that sort of prepared thing. It's very informal and an awful lot of fun."

In addition to Simmons, the GENE SIMMONS BAND members include guitarists Brent Woods (WILDSIDE, SEBASTIAN BACH, VINCE NEIL) and Zach Throne (COREY TAYLOR) alongside drummer Brian Tichy (LYNCH MOB, THE DEAD DAISIES, WHITESNAKE, BILLY IDOL, FOREIGNER, PRIDE & GLORY, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT).

The GENE SIMMONS BAND played its second concert of 2024 on April 26 at the Summer Breeze festival at Memorial Da América Latina in São Paulo, Brazil. The setlist included a number of KISS classics alongside covers of MOTÖRHEAD's "Ace Of Spades" and LED ZEPPELIN's "Communication Breakdown".

Three days earlier, the GENE SIMMONS BAND performed at the grand opening of the Rock & Brews restaurant at the Ilani dining and entertainment destination in Ridgefield, Washington. It marked the KISS bassist/vocalist's first live appearance since the legendary rock act concluded its "End Of The Road" farewell tour at New York's Madison Square Garden in December.

Prior to the Ridgefield appearance, Simmons told ABC Audio about the show: "There are no rules, which is my favorite thing in life. Anything is bound to happen. I may jump off the stage and get into the audience. We may pull some folks out of the audience. You wanna sing 'I Was Made For Lovin' You'? Here's the mic. Good luck."

Regarding the setlist for the concert, he said: "We get a chance to play songs KISS has never played and some songs have never been recorded. So it's a very exciting event."

Back in 2017 and 2018, the GENE SIMMONS BAND played a number of shows with a lineup that consisted of Simmons alongside guitarist/bassist Jeremy Asbrock, guitarist Ryan Cook, guitarist Phil Shouse and drummer Brent Fitz.

Six years ago, Simmons stated about his solo shows: "Doing these smaller concert halls, which hold a thousand to three thousand people, means they get filled up by real diehard fans. They don't want to hear the 'same old, same old.' They want to hear nuggets, as they say. It's a hoot for me because I've never really had a chance to do this stuff live. It's been a lot of fun." Gene told the Chicago Sun-Times: "By the end, I get the chance to bring as many people from the audience as we can fit on the stage to sing with me."

Regarding how the idea for a solo tour came about, Simmons told Australia's Advertiser in a 2018 interview: "The GENE SIMMONS BAND was not a plan or anything. About a year ago, a corporate event asked me to be keynote speaker … then they said, 'Won't you get up and sing a few tunes?' I explained that you can't just do that, you've got to have a band and rehearse and all that. They said, 'Well, we'll pay you X dollars more,' and I said, 'I like you!' "So I put together a band from Nashville — these guys back up Kid Rock and lots of other people — and without a single rehearsal, I just told them which songs I wanted to do and they learned them. It just sounded natural — there is such a thing called chemistry. They don't teach that anywhere — I mean, they do teach 'chemistry' but not the kind I'm talking about. It felt right and as soon as the videos went on YouTube and such, people were calling. This little GENE SIMMONS BAND never tried to be KISS… It was just a little bit of fun and stuff. Now all of a sudden, we're headlining festivals in the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany… It's crazy."

KISS played the final concert of its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on December 2, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.