24MusicWeek 13.07.12 SECTORPROFILEROCK
next Elvis and Beatles and the next Kiss have a chance to become what they could be.But without the structure around them, that’s just not going to happen anymore.
Isn’t there an argument to suggest that the internet has created a level playing field for bands that otherwisewould never have been picked up by a label? It’s chaos. It’s like saying, all cars should cost the same price, but then theMercedes and the Rolls Royce are going to become extinct and everything’s going to be Volkswagen. Level playing fields and communismin general,
where everybody earns the same amount ofmoney, simplymeans there’s no incentive for things of quality to come
out.That’s the problemwith it. The brutal world of capitalismand competition
with different prices actually allows the best to become the best and the best should be paid the most amount ofmoney.Who determines that? It should be the people.
ROCKAND ROLLGENE S
INTERVIEW BY TOM PAKINKIS
et to release their 20th albumMonster this year,Kiss are veterans of the rock genre and true over the top embodiments of its
philosophy.As the band visited theUKto performa Help ForHeroes charity gig lastweek,MusicWeek caught upwithGene Simmons to get his perspective on rock in 2012...
Howis the rock genre different today compared to when youwere first finding success? We didn’t have today’s technology when we started. There were noDVDs,CDs,MTV or VH1. In those days you didn’t take randomletters of the alphabet and have themmean something.You called it radio and you called it television, you didn’t even call itTV. You had to roll up your sleeves and go fromcity to
city, town to town, and take your case to the people. Your partner in life was the record
company.That was the best friend you had, despite all the arguing that bands did because they didn’t understand the
suits.At the end of the day, the record companies manufactured the records and put up your posters in record shops. And the record stores were your friends, they were
the places where everyone went to get your stuff. With the advent of the internet it’s chaos.Even though I havemy own record company, Simmons through Universal, you’ve got a situation there. The tragedy is that the next Beatles or the next
Elvis is not going to happen and that’s because there are no record
companies.Nowadays, new bands, tragically, have to do all the
work.They give away theirmusic for free - so how are they possibly supposed to survive?
ABOVE Give us a Kiss: The band’s Monster album will go on sale alongside a coffee table book that measures four foot when open. Simmons says, “The book is the coffee table.”
Why don’twe see overnight rock sensations likewe do in pop? The only reason pop creates overnight sensations is because they do television.
Howdo you getmore rock onto television? It’s not really the sort of thing thatmum and dad like to see popping up on the telly. So instead you have cutesy boys on there. It’s theHerman’sHermits syndrome; it’s cute and frilly
pop.Very young people are impressionable and its easymusic to like when you’re at that age. Then when you get older pop is not the
music that
sticks.Themusic that sticks with you isThe Stones and AC/DC. The stuff that sticks to the bones has to do with
guitars and
drums.The same bands that you liked when you were 12 are the same bands you’re going to like when you’re 40, but not the overnight sensation, not the sweet stuff.
What do you think about the fact that a lot of music festivals are headlined by heritage rock acts? It’s very tough and the festival phenomenon isn’t worldwide, it’smore linked to the UK and Europe. The real stadiums of the world are being played by bands that have been around for a long time. It’s difficult for a new band to rise to that level, again, because it’s chaos out there. The college kids who are downloadingmusic are
actually killing the bands that they love by doing
that.This isn’t amusic charity, it’s themusic business – and without business you have chaos. It’s like a baby born in a jungle rather than a
hospital without doctors and nurses to nurture it. New bands are like babies and they should be nurtured and loved and taken care of so that the
What kind of success are you predicting for them? Kobra AndThe Lotus will be a stadiumband in three or four years.You can tell by the reaction when they open a festival.Kobra Paige, the lead singer of the band, is just over 20 years old and writes all the material. She’s going to be a star. The Envy is going to be all about the songs in the
same way that when you see ChrisMartin you don’t think ‘star’but when you hear the songs you think, ‘That’s a great band.’
Who’s the best record executive you’ve everworked with andwhy? That’s a very good
question.They tended to be Americans because they invented rock and roll in the first place, as well as blues and country and hip hop. I’d probably go with CliveDavis who signed everyone fromSpringsteen,Dylan, Santana. If you go right down the line, he was responsible
for
everybody.And Clive has toldme he’s tone deaf. He understands something about the nature of songs that goes beyond whether it’s exactly in pitch.
What’s coming up for SimmonsRecords? We have a newmetal band called Kobra AndThe Lotus (below),which is already playing festivals and opening for Judas Priest and
others.Their first albumis being released on August 6, I believe.We also have a group calledThe
Envy.They’re in the U2/Bon Jovi world with great
hooks.They look great and they play great. We’re very excited about both bands and we’re looking to sign sixmore bands.
www.musicweek.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56