GENE SIMMONS: Wherever You Go, The Word 'Asshole' Follows You

KISS bassist Gene Simmons recently spoke to Canada's Globe And Mail about his upcoming solo album, "Asshole", and his philosophy on life. The following are some of the highlights of that interview:

On the album title, "Asshole":

Gene Simmons: "For a while, I thought I would be respectable. But then I thought, nah. I think it's a funny word, I don't find it vile or malicious. Wherever you go, it follows you. ... So I'm going to have asshole parties. And you'll have to be a real asshole in order to attend, and I will determine who is. And a girl will be an assholette or an assholesse, and once you come in, you'll get a certificate to say you're a real asshole. And once you leave, and someone says, 'What are you? Some kind of asshole?' you can say, 'Well, as a matter of fact I am. I'm a real asshole. Gene Simmons says so, and he's the biggest asshole."

On why rock 'n' roll is always about "the mouth": [interviewer's suggestion, not Gene's]

Gene Simmons: "Well, women are so repressed sexually. They don't really get a chance to go to strip clubs. Strip clubs are an everyday fact of guys' lives, ogling women, breasts and hips. We're all about that. Women watch soap operas and read romance novels, and there's no in-your-face sexuality. So when a performer gets up on stage, whether it's Tom Jones shaking his hips or Gene Simmons sticking his tongue out, it's an in-your-face sexuality. She says, 'Finally, a man that just puts his appendage on the table and says, 'Here it is, baby.' "

On why he continues to put out records when he's already got lots of money:

Gene Simmons: "Because I want more." Asked if he's insatiable, he said, "Insatiable has negative connotations. The notion of life is to do more. And the time to stop is when you're dead. . . And after [KISS] scaled all the heights and broke every attendance record that the BEATLES or ELVIS ever set, and after being the number-one-group-gold-record-award-winning champions of all time in North America. I don't feel I have anything left to prove."

On sex and marriage:

Gene Simmons: "Well, first you want the sex. Then comes the real price to pay. You want the house, the picket fence. Women and marriage are like quicksand. Very easy to get into, but you're going nowhere, you're stuck, and you're not getting out."

On his 20-year relationship with former model/live-in Shannon Tweed:

Gene Simmons: "I have been happily unmarried to her. But the idea that any other human being, especially a woman, would ever delude herself into thinking that she had a right to ask me where I'm going, who the . . . wants to know?" Asked what makes it work for her, he said "I don't care about that. I only care what I care about. And she cares about what she cares about. It's only about me. If I choose to be with her, it's a daily decision."

On not wanting to have his picture taken by the window:

Gene Simmons: "The reason that's not a good idea is that the light will diffuse the thickness of my hair."

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