Five artists Gene Simmons hates
The line between rebellion and ridicule is extremely thin, and this lack of a grey area has seemingly cursed the modern rock star. Gene Simmons has fallen victim to the strange place that rockstars find themselves in as he has taken a stand against people in positions of authority (which is very rock ‘n’ roll) but he has also struck out against Prince, people dealing with depression and other genres of music (which is the antithesis of rock). He likely thought most comments he made would land him applause, as people say, “Wow, that’s pretty badass”. Instead, it has led to some of his contemporaries calling him one of the biggest bullies in music.
No matter what point in his career Gene Simmons has found himself at, a plethora of controversial comments have followed him closely behind. He is no stranger to feuds against other musicians and, as such, has launched a number of smear campaigns against rock stars that other people hold close to their hearts. These include lead singers from other bands and former members of his own band.
While these kinds of feuds have always been at the heart of rock music, it has to be said that many of the disputes Simmons finds himself at the heart of seem incredibly unnecessary. Ironically, the man who is often praised for his musical know-how and flamboyancy needs to learn when to hold his tongue rather than let it dangle with slander spilling from it as he so often does.
Here, we will look at some of the biggest artists that Gene Simmons hates and analyse his ongoing feud with them.
Five artists Gene Simmons always hated:
Ronnie James Dio
While Ronnie James Dio is a heavy metal pioneer who seems to be loved by all, he and Gene Simmons were involved in a decade-long debate. The two of them locked horns in a dispute over who pioneered the iconic devil horns action in rock.
Simmons was always adamant that he first used the signal on Kiss’s ‘Hotter Than Hell’ tour, whereas Ronnie James Dio said he was shown it by his grandmother, who introduced the symbol when he was a kid. It was an Italian superstition that they would do to ward off people who were giving them evil looks. “Gene Simmons will tell you that he invented it,” Dio once joked, “But then Gene invented breathing and shoes as well, you know?”
The feud turned dark when Ronnie James Dio passed away, and Gene Simmons used the opportunity to seek exclusive rights to the gesture. This would mean musicians would have to pay Simmons royalties anytime they did the gesture. Simmons faced a lot of backlash and eventually withdrew his claim; however, he didn’t show much sympathy afterwards as he said, “I regret nothing. People said, ‘You can’t do that’. Actually, bitch – I can. I can do anything I want to do.”
Axl Rose
During his controversial career, Axl Rose hasn’t struggled to amass a plethora of enemies; however, very few people have criticised him in the way Gene Simmons has. Upon the original line-up of the band disbanding, Simmons criticised Rose for seemingly wasting the band’s potential. “Guns N’ Roses could have been the biggest band in the world,” he said, “And the reason they’re not is because of Axl Rose.”
Simmons said that Axl Rose wasn’t built for the rock ‘n’ roll industry because he lacked the longevity required to be a professional rock star. Simmons said that rock music was a marathon rather than a sprint, and when asked what Rose could have done differently to change his path, the Kiss bassist replied candidly, “A good beating would have helped.”
Ace Frehley
A lot of people gloss over the drama within Kiss because while members might change, the characters on stage remain the same. However, there was an ugly feud between Simmons and former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. Frehley left the band and said he did so because of creative differences, while Simmons said substance abuse led to the guitarist’s firing from their band.
The two were locked in an ongoing debate for years, with Simmons describing Frehley as a “cancer”. Frehley said that Simmons was nothing like his former self and that the modern version of him is devoid of both humanity and friends. While they have shared the stage together in brief reunions since, their relationship remains frosty.
Vinnie Vincent
The bad blood between Simmons and Frehley seemingly trickled down into Frehley’s replacement, Vinnie Vincent. Shortly after joining the band as the new lead guitarist, it became fairly apparent that Vincent was not a good fit for the band as his and Gene Simmons’ personalities would clash frequently.
Vincent was fired after just a few shows, but the band had already booked studio time to record their new album and couldn’t find a replacement guitarist in time. Subsequently, Vincent was brought back in, and tensions in the studio grew to uncomfortable levels. “Vinnie wanted to make every solo this massive thing,” said Simmons, “Everything that Vinnie did sounded like [it was] on crack. It was ridiculous, and it certainly wasn’t Kiss. It got to the point where we had to put our foot down.”
Vincent was let go from the band once again, which led to him filing a number of lawsuits against the band for unpaid songwriting royalties. Unfortunately, Vincent lost every single case, which led to him declaring bankruptcy and having to sell his Kiss songwriting copyrights so that he could pay for legal damages.
Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana is celebrated by many as one of the most rhythmic and melodic guitar players on the planet. As someone true to their music, he was never a big fan of the over-the-top nature of Kiss, and claimed they wore all of their make-up to hide the fact that they didn’t have a lot of talent as a band.
“[Gene’s] not a musician, he’s an entertainer,” said Santana, “Kiss is Las Vegas entertainment, so he wouldn’t know what music is anyway. That’s why he wears all that stuff. A musician doesn’t need the mask and the mascara.”
Seemingly not happy with Sanatan’s comments, Simmons fired back during an interview when he was also promoting the band’s upcoming tour. “It’s time for us to go out and show the little boys how the big boys do it,” he said. “I’m sick and tired of these bands like Carlos Santana looking at his shoes and thinking that’s a rock concert.”
