Gene Simmons Says What We Already Knew: “I Don’t Have Friends”
Other than being the bassist, vocalist and one of the faces of KISS, Gene Simmons is known for being an enormous fucking asshole. While on the band’s hefty farewell tour, Stanley spoke to Goldmine magazine, where he told the interviewer his closest friend is KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, who he only sees for band business. Otherwise, he doesn’t really have any friends, offering a contrarian explanation as to why.
“Even today as I sit here, other than Paul, and we only get together when we do stuff for the band… How do I say this without sounding inhuman? I don’t have friends.
“Yeah, if friends means, ‘Gee, I don’t know what I’m going to do this afternoon. Hey, you want to come over and hang out?’ I’m more interested in what I want to do, and I don’t want to pretend that I’m interested in what you want to do because I am not.”
Simmons also reinforced the size of his own ego when he told the interviewer that he is a hoarder of all things Gene Simmons.
“Did you ever see the TV show Hoarders, where these sad people just find it impossible to throw away anything, so literally their homes are filled from floor to ceiling with God knows what? If they go to McDonald’s to eat, they leave the sandwich with the wrapper and everything else is left in the living room and it piles up. So I’m sort of a Gene Simmons hoarder. I’m surprised I’ve thrown away the toilet paper I wiped my ass with because I kept everything. And over time, like many things, the value of things you thought were unimportant goes up.”
If you want to be Gene Simmons’ friend, you can see KISS on tour:
Sep. 21 – Boise, ID @ ExtraMile Arena [tickets]
Sep. 22 – West Valley City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre [tickets]
Sep. 23 – Sparks, NV @ Nugget Event Center [tickets]
Sep. 25 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre [tickets]
Sep. 26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion [tickets]
Sep. 28 – Hidalgo, TX @ Payne Arena [tickets]
Sep. 29 – Del Valle, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater [tickets]
Oct. 01 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena [tickets]
Oct. 02 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center [tickets]
Oct. 05 – Biloxi, MI @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum [tickets]
Oct. 06 – Lafayette, LA @ Lafayette Cajundome [tickets]
Oct. 08 – West Palm Beach, FL @ iThink Financial Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 09 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre [tickets]
Oct. 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood* [tickets]
Oct. 13 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake* [tickets]
Oct. 15 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre* [tickets]
Oct. 16 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre* [tickets]
Oct. 17 – Dayton, OH @ Wright State University Nutter Center* [tickets]
