Gene Simmons (born Chaim Weitz Hebrew: חיים ויץ; August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American rock bassist, singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and businessman. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.
Simmons was ranked number 12 in Roadrunner's list of 50 Best Frontmen in Metal History
Simmons became involved with his first band, Lynx, then renamed The Missing Links, when he was a teenager. Eventually, he disbanded The Missing Links to form The Long Island Sounds, the name being a play on words relating to the estuary separating Long Island from Westchester County, New York,Connecticut and Rhode Island. While he played in these bands, he kept up odd jobs on the side to make more money, including trading used comic books. Simmons attended Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York. He then joined a new band, Bullfrog Bheer, and the band recorded a demo, "Leeta"; this was later included on the Kiss box set.
Simmons formed the rock band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Stanley Harvey Eisen (now known as Paul Stanley) and recorded one album, which was never released. Dissatisfied with Wicked Lester's sound and look, Simmons and Stanley attempted to fire their band members; they were met with resistance, and they quit Wicked Lester, walking away from their record deal with Epic Records. They decided to form the ultimate rock band, and started looking for a drummer. Simmons and Stanley found an ad placed by Peter Criscoula, known as Peter Criss, who was playing clubs in Brooklyn at the time; they joined and started out as a trio. Paul Frehley, better known as Ace Frehley, responded to an ad they put in The Village Voice for a lead guitar player, and soon joined them. Kiss released its self-titled debut album in February 1974. Stanley quickly took on the role of lead performer on stage, while Simmons became the driving force behind what became an extensive Kiss merchandising franchise. The eye section of his "Demon" makeup with KISS came from the wing design of comic book character Black Bolt.
In 1983, while Kiss' fame was waning, the members took off their trademark make-up and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity that continued into the 1990s. The band hosted their own fan conventions throughout 1995, and fan feedback about the original Kiss members reunion influenced the highly successful 1996–1997 Alive Worldwide reunion tour. In 1998, the band released Psycho Circus,. Since then, the original line-up has once again dissolved, with Tommy Thayer replacing Ace Frehley on lead guitar and Eric Singer (who performed with Kiss from 1992 up through 1996) replacing Peter Criss on drums.
Instruments
Gene Simmons has used various bass guitars during his career including:
- Axe Bass (Kramer and now Cort)
- Punisher Bass (Now made by Cort)
- Spector Gene Simmons Signature
- Pedulla Basses (mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s)
- Gibson Grabber (mainly in Kiss' early years)
- Gibson Ripper (mainly in Kiss' early years)
- Cort Guitars Signature GS-1 Bass
He uses Ampeg SVT CL Series amps with 8x10 cabinets. He uses Silver Herco Flex .75 Nylon Flat Guitar Picks. In 2010 Gene Simmons collaborated withCort Guitars to make his own signature bass line called the GS-AXE-2.