Report: GENE SIMMONS Fans Line Up For Fragrance, Photos

October 20, 2006

Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

When KISS rock star Gene Simmons comes to town to sell his fragrance and sign autographs, what other option do you have but to call into work sick and start waiting in line at 9 a.m.?

For Kenneth Hathorne, it was no decision at all.

"For me to meet him in person, I'll be lucky if I don't have a heart attack," said Hathorne, a 44-year-old car mechanic from Suwanee.

At the Mall of Georgia in Buford on Thursday, Hathorne was not at all alone amongst KISS devotees who dropped at least $50 for either "KISS Him" or "KISS Her" and the chance to meet their hero. They were not disappointed in coming face to face with Simmons, the co-founder of the 1970's heavy metal group known as much for face paint and costumes as music.

When the scheduled three-hour signing began just after 4 p.m., perhaps 500 fans were already in line. Belk store manager Lori Brown-Jackson, standing in front of seven empty display tables that had been stocked with KISS fragrance, said the store moved more than 1,000 bottles.

"Wow," said Hathorne afterwards after his seven-hour wait and brief audience with Simmons. "Oh, man. This is the best present I ever could have got, or am ever going to get."

Simmons and his bandmates have made their band something of an industry. Simmons' Web site sells everything from KISS coasters to lip balm to personal checks.

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