Gene Simmons doubles down on 'rock is dead' stance

He also claims new bands don't create 'glamour and excitement'

KISS bassist Gene Simmons
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 4th Jan 2021

KISS bassist Gene Simmons has once again doubled down on his stance that rock music is “dead” and accused new bands of not creating “glamour, excitement and epic stuff."

In a typically outspoken recent interview with Gulf News to promote the KISS 2020 Goodbye concert in Dubai on New Year’s Eve, The Demon was asked about his views on the current state of rock and roll music.

Echoing comments he has made in multiple interviews, Gene proclaimed: “Rock is dead. And that’s because new bands haven’t taken the time to create glamour, excitement and epic stuff.

“I mean, Foo Fighters is a terrific band, but that’s a 20-year-old band. So you can go back to 1958 until 1988. That’s 30 years. During that time, we had Elvis, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, on and on. In disco, you had Madonna, and then you had your hard rock, you had AC/DC, maybe us, a few others. Motown, all that great music.

“From 1988, until today, that’s more than 30 years. Tell me who the new Beatles is. You can’t. There are popular bands. BTS is very popular. All kinds of bands are very popular. That doesn’t mean iconic and legacy and for all time. It’s different.”

KISS

Asked if some of today’s artists will be considered iconic in 30 years’ time, Gene replied: “I doubt it. Because the singularity that was the Beatles is a band that wrote their own songs, arranged it themselves, produced it themselves, mostly played all their own instruments. No backing tracks. No digital enhancement. No vocal correctness. Yeah, not gonna happen again.

“You know, the modern artists rely so much on technology. You may not be able to recognise the artist if they record themselves singing in the shower. You’d be shocked. And none of the rappers play instruments. Don’t write songs. They write words. But chords, melodies, harmonies and stuff. It doesn’t mean that rap isn’t important. It’s very important. But it ain’t the Beatles.”

In a 2017 interview with Detroit's 94.7 WCSX, Gene argued that new rock bands don’t stand a chance nowadays as “generations of fans have been trained not to pay for music.”

"The business is dead,” Gene decreed at the time. “Not for us, we can continue to tour, and The Stones can continue to play the songs everybody loves and so can Paul McCartney and stuff. But for a new band, it's dead.

“You have to give away your music for free, because generations of fans have been trained, shamefully, not to pay for music. Download, fileshare, view, I don't care what you call it, the truth is new bands don't have a chance."

The KISS 2020 Goodbye concert on New Year’s Eve broke two Guinness World Records – the highest flame projection in a music concert and the most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert.

KISS will headline Download Festival on Friday 4th June 2021.

The real names of famous rock stars:

Cozy Powell’s real name: Colin Trevor Flooks


Alex Lifeson’s real name: Alexandar Živojinović

'Lifeson' is a semi-literal English translation of the Yugoslavian surname Živojinović, which means 'son of life'

Ginger Baker's real name: Peter Edward Baker


John 5’s real name: John William Lowery


Yngwie Malmsteen’s real name: Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback


Rudy Sarzo’s real name: Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont


Eric Carr's real name: Paul Charles Caravello


Vinnie Vincent’s real name: Vincent John Cusano


Tina Turner’s real name: Anna Mae Bullock


King Diamond’s real name: Kim Bendix Petersen


Joey Tempest's real name: Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson


Michael Monroe’s real name: Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm


Mikkey Dee’s real name: Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou


Jonathan Cain’s real name: Jonathan Leonard Friga


Nikki Sixx's real name: Frank Ferrano


Steven Adler’s real name: Michael Coletti


Axl Rose's real name: William Bruce Rose


Bon Scott's real name: Ronald Belford Scott


Fish’s real name: Derek William Dick


Eddie Vedder's real name: Edward Louis Severson III


Peter Criss’ real name: George Peter John Criscuola


Freddie Mercury's real name: Farrokh Bulsara


Flea's real name: Michael Peter Balzary


Perry Farrell's real name: Perry Bernstein


Geddy Lee’s real name: Gary Lee Weinrib


Mick Mars' real name: Robert Deal


Tré Cool's real name: Frank Edwin Wright III


Courtney Love's real name: Courtney Michelle Harrison


Pat Smear's real name: Georg Albert Ruthenberg


Gene Simmons' real name: Chaim Klein Witz


Spike’s real name: Jonathan Gray


Iggy Pop's real name: James Newell Osterberg, JR.


Alice Cooper's real name: Vincent Damon Furnier


Slash's real name: Saul Hudson


Mike Dirnt's real name: Michael Ryan Pritchard


Ronnie James Dio's real name: Ronald James Padavona


Brody Dalle's real name: Bree Joanna Alice Robinson


Skin's real name: Deborah Anne Dyer


Nicky Wire's real name: Nicholas Jones


Amy Lee's real name: Amy Lynn Hartzler


Bill Wyman's real name: William Perks


Izzy Stradlin's real name: Jeffrey Isbell


Paul Stanley's real name: Stanley Eisen


Vince Neil's real name: Vincent Neil Wharton


Duff McKagan's real name: Michael McKagan


Jack Black’s real name: Thomas Jacob Black


Lemmy's real name: Ian Fraser Kilmister


John Paul Jones' real name: John Baldwin


Joan Jett's real name: Joan Larkin


Eric Clapton's real name: Eric Patrick Clapp


Siouxsie Sioux's real name: Susan Janet Ballion


Rachel Bolan’s real name: James Richard Southworth


David Bowie's real name: David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones


Little Richard's real name: Richard Wayne Penniman


Sid Vicious' real name: John Simon Ritchie


Ace Frehley's real name: Paul Daniel Frehley


Lou Reed's real name: Louis Firbank


Joe Strummer's real name: John Graham Mellor


Marc Bolan's real name: Mark Feld


The Edge's real name: David Howell Evans


Meat Loaf's real name: Marvin Lee Aday


Steven Tyler's real name: Steven Victor Tallarico


Ozzy Osbourne's real name: John Michael Osbourne


Jon Bon Jovi's real name: John Francis Bongiovi


Joey Belladonna’s real name: Joseph Bellardini


Jack White's real name: John Anthony Gillis


Bono's real name: Paul David Hewson


Sting's real name: Gordon Sumner


Billy Idol’s real name: William Michael Albert Broad


Geezer Butler’s real name: Terence Butler


Pat Benatar’s real name: Patricia Mae Giraldo


Bo Diddley’s real name: Ellas McDaniel


Muddy Waters’ real name: McKinley Morganfield


Stevie Nicks’ real name: Stephanie Lynn Nicks


Doro’s real name: Dorothee Pesch


Sebastian Bach’s real name: Sebastian Philip Bierk


Joe Perry’s real name: Joseph Pereira


Jimi Hendrix’s real name: James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix)


Zakk Wylde’s real name: Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt


Maynard James Keenan’s real name: James Herbert Keenan


Blaze Bayley’s real name: Bayley Alexander Cooke


Biff Byford's real name: Peter Rodney Byford


M. Shadows' real name: Matthew Charles Sanders


Syd Barrett's real name: Roger Keith Barrett


Chris Jericho's real name: Christopher Keith Irvine


Ginger Wildheart's real name: David Leslie Walls


Paul Di'Anno's real name: Paul Andrews


Phil X’s real name: Theofilos Xenidis


Peter Green’s real name: Peter Allen Greenbaum


Nicko McBrain’s real name: Michael Henry McBrain


Noddy Holder’s real name: Neville John Holder


Steel Panther’s real names

Michael Starr: Ralph Michael Saenz, Satchel: Russell John Parrish, Stix Zadinia: Darren Leader, Spyder: Joe Lester.

Lexxi Foxx’s real name: Travis Haley


Jet Black’s real name: Brian John Duffy


Buddy Holly’s real name: Charles Hardin Holley


Elvis Costello’s real name: Declan Patrick McManus


Rikki Rockett’s real name: Richard Allan Ream


Blackie Lawless' real name: Steven Edward Duren


Maxim's real name: Keith Andrew Palmer


Rat Scabies' real name: Christopher John Millar


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