Let's KISS and make up at the Arena
AS KISS arrive all flame-throwers blazing tomorrow don't expect any modesty from the mighty Gene Simmons.
"I love the sound of my own voice," he admits at the start of our face to (make-up-free) face chat in a swanky London hotel.
But for the all the bravado and bombastic stage shows, the KISS bassist and lead singer is a big man with a big heart, not least when it comes to seeing the influx of new young fans in the crowd having caught the KISS bug, thanks partly to their long overdue album Sonic Boom.
"It's the kick of a lifetime and sometimes very emotional on stage," says Gene. "I know this sounds likes a soundbite, and I accept that criticism, but when I'm on stage I have a Jekyll and Hyde kind of thing.
"When I get up on stage it's full-on who I am at that time. I'm sweating like a pig even though I'm not out of breath, you're adrenaline kicks in, your heart's pumping, you're chest cavity gets bigger.
"And when I look out into the audience and I see a five-year-old kid in KISS make-up on the shoulders of his dad in the same make-up, it really affects me emotionally. I have cried on stage and when they see it, they cry.
"There's this band-fan connection. There is a KISS nation, a KISS army."
Some of Gene's softer side has been witnessed by the 84 countries that broadcast the at-home show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
"I am that person at home and I am who I am on stage. We thought T-Rex was just a predator. It was discovered recently it was not, it was a very loving parent and took care of its young."
Back in eight-inch heels, Sonic Boom has restored the sense of excitement about KISS, but it was a long time coming.
"A car doesn't go very far, no matter how good it is, without a highway. You need a road and without Walmart, our retail partner, I'll be damned if I'll be involved in a record that somebody gets to download free.
"It's ridiculous and is an insult to people who work hard writing songs, recording, only at the end to have somebody not pay you for it.
"How would you like to be a plumber working on somebody's house and then they say 'I'm sorry, you didn't expect to get paid for that did you?' Last time I checked, KISS is not a charity and we don't pretend to be."
Money aside, certainly there is a sense of KISS seeking to restore some of the values that have been lost amid the internet boom.
"The sad part is the next Beatles or the next KISS, the next new band that comes out of a small town, without a record company as a support system, couldn't go anywhere.
"A record company has distribution, marketing and sales people, posters and records going to record shops.
"It's very sad deserving new bands will not get the chance because some college kid some place believes he doesn't have to pay for music.
"But we're changing all that with our relationship with Walmart and we'll find retailers who are willing to sell the records and with that you can have an internet conduit.
"Going to a record shop...it's exciting, seeing what's new. You meet your mates there. That's the buzz, that's how it spreads."
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