Gene Simmons, As Usual…Is An Ass

Earsucker covered this briefly the other day. I don’t mean to show her up but I’m going to elaborate a bit more on it.

Gigwise.com covered an article yesterday saying:

Simmons said that bands have a responsibility to provide a spectacle for their fans and shouldn’t just stand static with a guitar.

“I admire bands like Radiohead, but the idea of being that serious?
Fuck that, get up on stage and blow shit up,” Simmons said.

Simmons went on to compare live performances to films, saying that they require audio and visual elements.

“If you’re not fulfilling the visual part it’s like watching a movie with your eyes closed,” he told WENN.

“One of the biggest compliments we get is (when people say), ‘I f**king hate their music but that’s the best show I ever saw in my life.’”

So Radiohead got some flack for some bad reviews from saying that the band didn’t put on their best performance during the opening gigs of their European tour. It happens. But to say that bands should blow shit up is over the top. Some fans just want to see and hear their favorite band perform. I’d rather see radiohead stand still and perform their music than to see Paul Stanley in lipstick doing his silly little dance in his spandex tights with his gut hanging out and barely getting a word in the microphone. Or Gene Simmons sticking his tongue out dressing like a “Demon” with sword of fire and dripping blood from his mouth.

Not everyone needs a super dose of visual stimuli to appreciate a rock show. To some people it may be about the “Spectacle” of it all but honestly I think to most it’s about enjoying the music. If I want to see blood and fire I’ll watch a Disney movie. I enjoy the music during a show, if the bands on stage doing acrobatics with out of tune guitars and shitty rhythm then it’s not a show, it a circus…I Psycho Circus (Pun intended). Get over yourself Gene!

Image Source: Newscom.com