Gene Simmons says it's ‘better to be rich' after defending $12k package to be his tour assistant
'All I ever did was try to figure out how to become powerful and make lots of money, for survival,' the Kiss musician, 75, said in a preview of his new podcast interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. 'The only thing money ever does, really, is give you the freedom to do stuff you actually like doing.
'It's better to be rich than poor, it really is,' he continued. 'And if you're a miserable f*** it's still better to be a rich, miserable f***. That's all I ever tried to do.'
Elsewhere in the interview, Simmons said he enjoyed the fame that came with being part of Kiss, the storied rock band he formed in 1973 alongside Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss.
Yet, he argued notoriety isn't always as rewarding without money.
'There are a lot of famous people who are relatively poor, that's not a lot of fun,' he noted, adding: 'There's a lot of industrial types whose names you don't recognize who are filthy rich.'
Simmons's comments come nearly a week after he defended charging over $12,000 for an assistant job experience on his upcoming tour, set to begin on May 2 in Georgia.
Entitled 'The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience,' the opportunity includes helping the crew set up, sitting in on sound check, arriving at the venue with the band, and hanging out backstage.
Instead of a normal job application, interested fans must pay exactly $12,495.
'When I was a kid and went to see shows, I was always curious, 'What's it like when they're in a hotel? What's it like when the stage is set up? What's it like being onstage when they're performing and seeing the audience from the stage?'' Simmons told the New York Post.
'I decided, 'You know what, nobody's ever done it. Why not open the idea to be my personal roadie for the day?'' Simmons said.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
'You meet at the hotel where you have breakfast together or, you know, whatever floats your boat,' he explained. 'You ride with me to the gig. You can set up amplifiers and drums to your heart's content. You're onstage, right offstage to my right. You can video the crowds, whatever. And I pull you onstage to sing a song with me.'
When it comes to souvenirs, the rockstar plans to give each roadie a signed set list, a signed rehearsal bass guitar and allow you to bring up to four personal items for him to sign, providing they are not instruments.
Photos are permitted, and one guest is welcome to tag along.
Simmons was meant to start his tour on April 3 in Anaheim, California, but he postponed 17 of his 26 tour dates until the beginning of 2026.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE All the grifting stars exploiting fans for more cash... and the worst offender is worth $400 million
Gene Simmons sparked worldwide backlash last month when he proudly announced - and later defended - his decision to charge a fan $12,495 to be his PA for the day. The KISS icon - who is worth an estimated $400million - was swiftly called out for his 'greedy' antics after it emerged he was charging the hefty sum - but he's far from the only famous face padding their net worth via fan encounters.
Metro
6 days ago
- Metro
Fans of 70s band blast 'awful' biopic casting of Nick Jonas as rock legend
Nick Jonas has been cast in a new biopic about an iconic rock band – but fans aren't happy (Picture:) KISS fans have expressed their disappointment over the 'awful' and 'ridiculous' casting of Nick Jonas as frontman Paul Stanley in an upcoming biopic. The Jonas Brothers singer, 32, is reportedly set to star as the legendary musician, 73, in Shout It Out Loud, a biopic charting the 70s band's rise to fame. KISS – made up of Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss – formed in 1973 and went on to become one of the most influential and biggest-selling rock bands of all time. The film will be directed by McG, famed for his work on Charlie's Angels and Transformers. But fans aren't happy Jonas will be playing the Starchild, taking to social media to air their frustrations and vow to 'never see the film.' 'This casting just assures I will never watch this,' one person commented on a Reddit post about the casting news, while another simply added, 'Oh f**k no' and a third wrote, 'Absolutely not, that's awful.' Jonas will play KISS frontman and guitarist Paul Stanley (Picture: Robert Cianflone/AFL Photos/via Getty Images) Fans of the shock rockers have dubbed the casting 'awful' and vowed not to watch the film (Picture:) Shout It Out Loud will follow the band's rise to fame in the 1970s (Picture:) Others noted the band had enjoyed its fair share of controversy over the years. Several of its members openly admitted they had taken advantage of their star status to sleep with up to 5,000 women, while the band also caught flak for marketing a KISS-themed coffin. 'Absoultely (sic) ridiculous casting,' a commenter declared. 'But then we are talking about the band who replaced their lead guitarist with a roadie.' Elsewhere, commenters complained that too many music biopics had been released lately, with movies about the lives of Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, and Amy Winehouse all released in the last two years. 'I'm sure a lot of people must love them, but I cannot describe how happy I would be if they just stopped making most musician biopics,' one wrote. Other fans were more supportive, with Iamacannibal commenting: 'Nick is actually a really good actor. He was in a show called Kingdom a while back that is fantastic and he was great in it.' 'Oh I can totally see why they picked him he will really pull it off!' Rap_A_Toni93 posted, with other users drawing similarities between Jonas and Stanley's appearances. Some fans felt there had been too many music biopics in recent years (Picture: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images) Further casting is yet to be announced (Picture: Medios) The Hollywood Reporter reports Jonas is in 'final talks' to take on the role of Stanley, while movie bosses are still looking for an actor to play the singer's bassist bandmate Simmons. The group is helping to develop the project while Stanley and Simmons are among the producers, along with McG. Deadline reports Jonas plans to take on singing duties in the film and needs time to train his voice to be able to emulate Stanley's signature vocals. Longtime KISS manager Doc McGhee previously revealed the movie would focus on the band's first four years together after forming in the 1970s. Speaking to Talking Metal in 2021, he explained: '[The script is] completely done … And the script is about the first four years of KISS. Basically, it's before they were famous – it was up to Cadillac High [KISS' famous gig in a high school gym in Cadillac, Michigan in 1975] , that kind of thing. 'And I think it's a very interesting look at the formation of KISS, the mindset of how that came about, the social pressure that everybody was in in the '60s and '70s that brought something like Kiss to the forefront, that it could actually happen. Longtime manager Doc McGhee said the film would explore the formation of the influential band (Picture:for SiriusXM) Stanley (left) said he would be 'there and watching' the casting process (Picture: Ginny Winn/Michael) 'So it's a very interesting, and I think it's a well-written movie.' Stanley has also previously spoken about the movie, telling broadcaster Kylie Olsson in 2021: '[The movie is] definitely happening. And that's gonna be really interesting. The script was really good. And we really waited until we felt comfortable.' Speaking of actors who could play him in the film, he added: 'I will tell you this: for casting to be accurate in terms of age, we are looking at actors in their early 20s. 'Honestly, I don't know a whole lot of actors in their early 20s. When people get asked these kinds of questions, they'll say, 'Oh, Brad Pitt,' or this one or that one.' He went on to say that he will be 'there and watching' as the casting process continues, so if that remains true, surely Jonas has the stamp of approval from the man himself. 'But as the casting process goes on, I'll certainly be there and watching. It'll be interesting to see how someone else- be it the casting people or the director – how they view who I am and who they see doing that. 'I think I'll learn a lot about their perception of me by who they cast.' The biopic was originally slated for a 2024 release date on Netflix, but so far, a revised release date has not been announced. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. Arrow MORE: Box office bomb with 40% on Rotten Tomatoes set to hit streamers after scandal Arrow MORE: Hollywood legend unrecognisable after dramatic transformation for new true story film
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Scottish Sun
World's sexiest volleyball star Kayla Simmons spills out of tiny bikinis as fans hail ‘dreamy girl in a dreamy world'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KAYLA SIMMONS left little to the imagination with her latest steamy social media posts. The social media and volleyball sensation is a regular sharer of risque photos and videos on her Instagram and TikTok pages, which have a combined TWO MILLION followers. 9 Kayla Simmons put on a breathtaking display in her latest Instagram post Credit: INSTAGRAM @kaylasimmmons 9 The former volleyball player is no stranger to sharing risque snaps Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS 9 Simmons blew away her followers with her latest series of saucy snaps Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS 9 The former Marshall University attendee left little to the imagination with her bikini snaps Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS But the American nearly caused an international incident with her latest IG photo dump, which well and truly set her followers' pulses racing. On Wednesday, Simmons shared a series of snaps of herself at the beach along with two eye-popping selfies in a viral post. Simmons donned multiple barely-there bikinis, which struggled to contain her assets, in the snaps, which received thousands of likes. Her accompanying caption for the post read: "Recent favs." Scores of the blonde bombshell's followers flooded the comments section to relay their amazement at her sizzling snaps. One commented: "Dreamy girl in a dreamy world." Another said: "Unbelievably gorgeous as always, Kayla!!!" And another said: "Hands down second to none." JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 9 Kayla Simmons' racy snaps have belt her quite the following on social media Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS 9 She has over a million followers on Instagram and over 900,000 on TiktTok Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS 9 Her followers are regularly treated to an array of bikini snaps Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS One remarked: "You're absolutely amazing." Another chimed in: "Such a goddess." World's sexiest volleyball star Kayla Simmons nearly crashes into the camera in bikini as she shows off her skills Simmons rose to global fame during her time on Marshall University's volleyball team. She has since become a successful model and regularly shares snaps of her heart-racing shoots on her social media pages. Simmons also gives her most loyal supporters the chance to interact with her on OnlyFans. Simmons isn't all about self-promotion on social media, regularly using her platforms to raise awareness of social and world issues. 9 Kayla Simmons regularly uses her platform to promote causes close to her heart Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS 9 In 2023, she urged her followers to do their bit to help keep the oceans clean Credit: INSTAGRAM@KAYLASIMMONS In 2023, she called on her followers to do their bit to help combat the oceans. She said: "Our oceans are threatened by pollution, overfishing and climate change. "The ocean covers 70 per cent of our planet, but only EIGHT per cent is protected. "Let's all do what we can to make a difference."
