June 23, 2025 • 21 mins
Gene Simmons joins us for an unforgettable masterclass on business, life philosophy, and how KISS built a billion-dollar brand through strategic thinking and trademark protection.
• The precious nature of time and why "you will never get this day back"
• Why the "get rich slow scheme" is more reliable than get-rich-quick fantasies
• How KISS became the only band whose faces are trademarked like Disney characters
• The recent billion-dollar sale of KISS to Pop House company
• Coming from humble beginnings with a Holocaust survivor mother who taught resilience
• The dangers of telling small lies versus "the biggest, most monstrous lie"
• Why Gene's solo band sometimes makes more money than KISS with 60 personnel
• The power of opportunity and why most people miss it
• How AI and algorithms are already reshaping industries faster than most realize
• The importance of having a laser focus and clear vision for success
Every day above ground is a good day. If you're surviving in America with food in your belly, you have nothing to complain about.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Main Street Business Podcast with
your distinguished hosts, mark JKohler and Matt Sorenson.
Both are bestselling authorsand have over 25 years of
industry experience, with 10,000client consultations, making
them the leading tax and legalexperts in the nation.
Together, they'll unpack themost complex tax, legal and
financial strategies crucial forsaving more, stressing less and
(00:22):
building generational wealth.
Crucial for saving more,stressing less and building
generational wealth.
Today they're your personaladvisors, ready to break it down
for you and make the tax andlegal game easier than ever.
Here is Mark and Matt.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You will never get this day back, and the question
is what the hell are you goingto do with that?
You can't just sit around andlet life pass you by.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Everybody wants to get rich quick scheme and you've
got to know what you want.
You've got to have a vision,you've got to be focused.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It's a business and you want to go where the money
is.
Carl Icahn, who was a majortakeover, unfriendly takeover
guy.
What he would do is he wouldfire lots of people and the
company would turn aroundimmediately and be in profit.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
When you started, did you even envision the fact that
that makeup, when you wereputting it on, would have its
own value?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You specifically know , but generally yes, and we just
sold Kiss the band for abillion.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Welcome to the Main Street Business Podcast.
I'm here with the infamous GeneSimmons.
He just gave us a master classat our Tax and Legal 360.
He had a room full ofaccountants in the palm of your
hand.
Have you had that before?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
200 accountants just sitting there yeah, I've done
corporate events, but it isinteresting to me always that
people don't realize howprecious like today is.
Right now I can point with somesense of pride a little bit I
drove here and it took two and ahalf hours.
(01:52):
It's going to take two and ahalf hours to go back home and
while I was here maybe I changedsomebody's mind or lit the fire
a little bit.
They have to go do all the work.
All you can do is say, hey, howcome you haven't done this or
have done that?
So, yeah, I feel pretty goodabout today, but the shocking
idea is you're going to be aliveone less day.
(02:14):
You will never get this dayback and the question is how are
you going to do with that?
And it's finally going to comedown to if God only gave you one
24-hour day, what would you do?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
You'd want to spend it with the people you love the
most.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I know, but what would you do?
Who would you be with?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I'd get them around and hold my own little master
class with the fam.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Sure, teach them everything, something.
Yeah, you know, be kind, giveto charity, do a thing, build a
pyramid, whatever it is.
You can't just sit around andlet life pass you by.
I didn't create that.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
You know I didn't plan on asking you this, but,
with that said, you've probablyhad so much more of a reward
writing your books thanperforming music, or did you
feel like one was?
Why do you?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
have to choose.
Why can't you like cheesecakeand steak?
They're separate.
Why do you have to choose stuffthat the best thing in life is
where you're every day you'rehaving a ball, which is not
necessary.
You're blessed if that's what'sgoing on, if you really love
what you're doing.
But I get different kinds ofpleasure from doing all kinds of
(03:26):
things.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well, and the money and the power that you've said
before allows you to do more,started, I guess, with your
artistry in the music, and thenit opened up so many more
opportunities to change theworld.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Right which is a learning lesson to everybody,
because it was to me which is,once you crack the door open and
can make a name for yourself ormake some money and all that,
other doors can be pushed openas well.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I don't know why other artists whether it's music
or even whatever they just theyfeel like they're selling out
to make money, when their realpower is to make money?
Who?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
made these rules?
Who created the credibilityrules?
Who is that person?
It's sort of the question Ikeep asking of all the mystics
who are on street.
They have these street cornerstores Come in and I'll tell
your future and all that.
The question I have is and it'sonly 15 bucks why is it that
(04:26):
they have to wait for the phoneto ring to pick it up?
Aren't they supposed to knowwho's on it?
And why are they poor?
If you have the knowledge ofthe future, why wouldn't you
invest wisely?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
They should be the richest people on the street.
They should be the richestpeople on the street.
Well, your story and I've beenwanting to ask this about your
mom it chokes me up, thinkingabout her sewing buttons to get
you through school and the hardwork that you did Three jobs,
(05:02):
teaching, school and saving yourmoney.
I made my kids read that storyof yours.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
We all have different life experiences.
My mother had the kind of lifeexperience I wouldn't wish on
anybody.
She was 14 years of age whenshe was in the concentration
camps of Nazi Germany and ourwhole family was wiped out,
starved, tortured and all that.
And, by the way, not just 6million Jews, catholics, a few
million Catholics were killed,romani, who were the
(05:30):
darker-skinned Europeans, likegypsies, quite a few different
groups, anybody who didn't fitinto the Nazi ideal.
But it's interesting if you readMein Kampf, hitler's book,
which was awkwardly written, notvery quote poetic in the
illiterate sense, but he did saysomething that's profoundly
(05:52):
accurate then and continues tobe now Never tell a small lie,
it's not worth it.
Always tell the biggest, mostmonstrous lie, whatever it is,
and continue to tell that lieover and over and over again,
because people are lemmings.
Fortunately or unfortunately,whether you're talking about
politics or religion or anythingelse, the biggest lie gets the
(06:15):
most attention.
So he was saying the masterrace is German, but everybody
knew he was from Austria.
The lie was right in front ofthem.
The master race is German, buteverybody knew he was from
Austria.
The lie was right in front ofthem.
The master race is tall andblonde.
Actually, he was quite shortand dark.
Yeah, so he can keep going downthe list.
He was not the embodiment ofwhat the Aryan looked like.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, but if you insist on the lie light, they
can't see past yeah, everybodywants to get rich quick scheme
and I just love the get richslow scheme.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You know, we don't need to jump at every little
idea that what's shiny and otherthan the lottery, which is very
rare, what is get rich quick.
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
well, that's the elusive point.
There's a dream that it'spossible, but how do you do that
?
Yeah, I think that's the lie.
People think that there's a wayto do it, and boy, the
influencers have figured it out,though Maybe the only way to
get rich quick now is to postonline.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
They invented themselves.
Before the influencers starteddoing that.
There was no such thing.
The interesting thing, though,about the West and pop culture
is it's not created or ruled bythe elites.
American music which rules theworld pop, jazz, blues, rap, you
(07:37):
name it is black music.
It comes from slaves.
Hollywood, warner Brothers,paramount, universal every
single studio were created byJews who came out from Europe in
a 500 square mile area, neverknew each other, found
themselves in New York.
Fox from 20th Century Foxcalled himself that because you
(08:00):
couldn't pronounce his Russianname, and he started to import
foxes from Canada and sew themonto coats, and then he charged
double or whatever, the priceFox coat that's where he got his
name, fox.
So they all had the same ideaand, without knowing each other,
moved to California, right herein LA, and invented the movie
(08:24):
business where they can shootyear-round.
So they bought property and didthat, created the studio system
and all that.
By the way, the music industryI don't know if you have an
agent or not, it's all Jewishthe agents, the managers, the
record companies it's all that.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
When you talk about everything changing too, what is
your thoughts on AI?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's already too late If people are just entering
into it.
Amazon announced today thattheir trucks are going to be
driverless, that a robot's goingto or AI is going to deliver
your package, and then thisautomaton is going to deliver it
to your door.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
These drones are coming.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
But also algorithms.
Now banks.
There's something called LIBOR,which the banks loan each other
billions and sometimestrillions overnight.
The London InternationalBanking Rate is what LIBOR is.
But now there are algorithms.
The rate of exchange of adollar, let's say, is worth a
dollar and one cent, and in aminute it's going to be a dollar
(09:26):
and one cent and a quarter.
So people buy and sell thevalue of money, futures, in
essence based on thesealgorithms, and they're making
fortunes and the rest of us haveno idea.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
And crypto and Bitcoin hopefully will make the
playing field more fair, or isit going to take away more
freedom?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
There are going to be growing pains and where there's
an opportunity, you're going toget a lot of bad guys.
You know the bad guys tend notto break into small, poor homes.
They want to go for the bigones.
So wherever there's money, theywant to figure it out and some
of the guys were bad guys, youknow.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
What's next for you to conquer?
What do you want to do so much?
What's the Gene Simmons bandabout too?
My solo band, yeah, by the way,I play drums.
I just want to point that out,if you need me.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
It's in giggles we have a lot of fun.
But if you look at it as abusiness Kiss toured with 60
personnel, private jet, threetriple-decker buses, 24
tractor-trailer thing, just likea moving city it's amazing you
made money on tour.
That's right, we did okay, yeah,but the Gene Simmons band
(10:34):
literally has no manager, noroadies, no nothing.
The promoter locally sets upthe amplifiers, the screens, all
that stuff.
We just show up, I bring myguitar, pick and that's it.
Do you still play a lot?
Sure, but it's fun.
But in some of the gigs I makemore money doing the solo band
than I did for single shows withkids.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Oh my word, it's crazy, the overhead of those big
shows.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Well, one of the first things Carl Icahn, who was
a major takeover, unfriendlytakeover guy, would do is he
would fire lots of people andthe company would turn around
immediately and be in profitBecause we're so overstaffed.
You ever go down a highway andthere's a guy with a sign that
goes slow down and all that.
Yeah, that's not going to lastlong.
(11:20):
And, by the way, the union saysyou've got to have two or three
.
Oh, yeah, that's not going tolast long.
And, by the way, the union saysyou've got to have two or three
, oh, you've got to go get apopcorn fart.
Okay, you take over the sign.
They've got to go slow down.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Well, now you're back to the good old days.
You have roadies, a van, andyou just show no.
No roadies, no van.
Oh, the promoter just sets itall up.
You just roll in.
No band, no roadies, no nothing.
We carry nothing with us.
Do you still sing?
Sure, if you call it singing,oh wow, do you get the same
thrill when you get up on stagethat you always had?
(11:50):
Would you like the?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
real answer or the romantic answer.
It's like people ask me where'syour favorite city to play.
Then I always have to do youwant the truth or do you want
these?
Oh, that's so romantic.
The truth is, one of myfavorite cities is Paris or
London or New York.
They're favorite cities.
So if we did a show or you didsomething for appearance and
(12:14):
they gave you I don't know a fewhundred grand to show up for a
few hours work, that ain't bad.
The worst place I can imagineis Antarctica Got polar bears
and sub-zero thing and all thatstuff.
And they want me to appearthere, do the same thing two,
three hours or whatever, withnobody around and all that stuff
.
Give you $50 million.
(12:35):
What's my favorite place toplay?
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Well, if I know Gene Simmons.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Any human being who's sane.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Who's sane?
Well, sure You're going to godog sledding next weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I'm not going to look at the trees or look at that
nice Gothic architecture.
It ain't about that.
It's a business and you want togo where the money is, why do
some artists just miss that?
Well, because there are noclasses, just miss that.
Well, because there are noclasses, nothing prepares you
for accidentally having a hit orgetting the right band together
(13:09):
and all that which is verydifficult to do.
Getting a band together andkeeping together is harder than
marriage, because you're livingtogether 24 hours a day, you
drive in the same van, flytogether, do all that stuff
Sooner or later.
You know familiarity breedscontempt.
And then the egos.
Did you step in front of mewhen the spotlight like all that
(13:31):
stuff?
It's very hard to do that.
Having said that, I'm a luckyguy.
I found a guy named PaulStanley over 50 years ago and we
just sold Kiss the band to anamazing company called Pop House
, for a billion.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
That was a cough.
Is that what you call thelibrary?
Is it the band or the library?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I don't understand the difference.
There is a difference becausemost almost all other acts only
have a library.
They're only songs.
If you buy Springsteen, you'rejust getting the songs, because
his face is public domain.
There's no value.
We are the only ones whosefaces are like Disney, without
(14:18):
the overhead.
You can't use our face makeupwithout me taking your firstborn
when I sue you.
Yeah, so they bought the makeup, the trademark in the Library
of Congress.
It's the only musical act whosefaces have been trademarked.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
When you started I know you know trademarks.
Now you were showing metrademark.
You probably trade intrademarks more than URLs or
Bitcoin trademark.
You probably trade intrademarks more than urls or
bitcoin and they're so powerful.
But when you started, did youeven envision the fact that that
makeup, when you were puttingit on, would have its own value,
that it would be you?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
specifically know, but generally, yes, I've always
been blessed.
Maybe it's genetics, but I'vealways been delusional about
myself On a sane level.
I'm aware I'm not thebest-looking guy in the world,
but I also know that I'm not theworst-looking guy in the world.
(15:12):
But I know I can walk inanywhere and I will walk out
with your girlfriend.
Either you have presence orpower or you don't.
By the way, this stuff may lookcool and everything, but after
50 years of being on stage,these lights kill me.
So it happens to be the sunnever sets on planet.
(15:35):
Cool, but also gives me achance to look around, like
right now I'm looking at yourwife.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
She's pretty hot.
I know she wore that leatherfor you too.
If only I wasn't gay.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
That's what the rumor is, but you can't say that
either.
Why, what's wrong with beinggay?
No, no, I think it's good foryou.
I just don't want to be.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Well, gene, what a pleasure.
Thanks for chatting with usit's been a long day and thank
at being here for the event,being here for a moment on the
podcast, your business acumenexperience it's not, it's not.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
It's not a genius, I'm not a business, this or a
business that you just got tokeep your eyes open and see
opportunity.
It knocks all the time.
The vast majority of peoplesimply ignore it or they're
looking someplace else or doingsomething else.
You know, we have a song calledBeth and it's a ballad, but
it's really not.
(16:27):
It's not a love song at all.
Beth, I hear you calling, but Ican't come home right now
because me and the boys areplaying all night.
What's more important?
The band or me?
Actually, it's the band becauseyou're not going to pay my rent
.
You've got to know what you want, you've got to have a vision,
you've got to be focused andlaser focused you may not know
specifically what you want, butall guys understand that the
(16:51):
more money they have to put itin the language of the street,
the more the chicks will likethem.
And then you hone in on the onethat and look, and I've got a
daughter and she's an alphafemale.
Let me tell you something she'smarried now.
She was nobody's girlfriend.
They are her boyfriend.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
She's in charge.
You saw my daughter too.
Same way, you can feel it right?
She told me to fuck off rightaway.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
But think of it.
Think about it In your earlyyears, before you get to your
middle.
You're going to have childrenand she's going to be quote,
quote, stuck with them.
She's got to feed them, get upin the middle of the night
because you're not going to dothat.
So you're going to go off onyour merry way and chase.
You know that fortune that youwant to make and everything.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Woman wants a guy with a plan.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
That's it With money, Whether you won the lottery or
earned it.
Because that's why I keepsaying and I said it at the talk
that so many, the vast majorityof women, are single mothers
who are raising children ontheir own and have to figure out
how to earn a living.
(18:00):
I can't do that.
I wouldn't be able to do that.
After you come home dog-tired,then the crying kid or the kids
are fighting with each other.
You can't do that.
There's a place in heaven forevery single mom, women are on a
higher level you will never beable to get.
And we joke around about womenand all this kind of stuff.
(18:23):
Because we're so fancy free, weget to do it.
Yeah, because you don't have totake care of the kids, you
don't change diapers, you don'teven have to wipe your ass.
Somebody's going to do that,but women have to do all Once
you get up and the bed's on me.
Have you ever made your own bed?
I've never done that.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
I make the bed once in a while.
I've got a woman, special woman.
She's not only beautiful butlove my life.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Tomorrow, wake up and every day just say I'm sorry,
It'll go much better for you.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, ever since you told me that, she's been
reminding me every morning.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
What did Jean tell me ?
Tell you to say in the cell?
They need verbal.
My wifey never says you're sogood looking, never.
I don't care.
And, as a matter of fact, I'venever had another guy walk up to
me and say hey, gene, guess howold I am?
It's great, I don't care, notan issue.
But they need affirmation everyday.
(19:17):
Thank you for doing this.
What does it mean?
But then you have to teach themhow to read, how to be able to
pronounce.
I'm sorry, I was wrong.
You got to think it's becausethere's a lot of letters letters
in there you can't.
Well, she's giving me, giving methe stink guy.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Right, she's going to have all this ammo for me when
I get home.
Now, mr Gene Simmons, it's anhonor, wow.
Thank you, sir.
I could keep talking with youall night, but your agent here
is like Mark, we've got to getsome food and drink.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
My mother and it's a good piece of advice for
everybody we complain about alot of stuff.
My mother, in her brokenHungarian, rather broken English
, translated something fromHungarian that actually is
profound, from Hungarian thatactually is profound Every day
above ground is a good day, andthat's literal, because my
(20:09):
grandmother, who was my mother'smother, grabbed her mother's
hand, my great-grandmother, andwalked her to the gas chamber so
she wouldn't die alone.
They took the oldest, slowlyand, by the way, naked, and
(20:35):
before my grandmother, mymother's mother left.
She basically turned to mymother and, in Hungarian, said
live, in other words, survive.
That's all of it.
If you're surviving in Americaand you have food in your belly,
shut the fuck up.
You have nothing to complainabout.
Bad traffic day, bad hair day Ialways have a bad hair day.
So what, it's all good, you'llbe a better person for it.
(20:56):
You won't stress as much andthat stress stuff will kill you.
Ask your doctor, yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Well, gene, thank you and words of wisdom, appreciate
you.
Welcome to the Main Street Business Podcast with
your distinguished hosts, mark JKohler and Matt Sorenson.
Both are bestselling authorsand have over 25 years of
industry experience, with 10,000client consultations, making
them the leading tax and legalexperts in the nation.
Together, they'll unpack themost complex tax, legal and
financial strategies crucial forsaving more, stressing less and
(00:22):
building generational wealth.
Crucial for saving more,stressing less and building
generational wealth.
Today they're your personaladvisors, ready to break it down
for you and make the tax andlegal game easier than ever.
Here is Mark and Matt.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You will never get this day back, and the question
is what the hell are you goingto do with that?
You can't just sit around andlet life pass you by.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Everybody wants to get rich quick scheme and you've
got to know what you want.
You've got to have a vision,you've got to be focused.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It's a business and you want to go where the money
is.
Carl Icahn, who was a majortakeover, unfriendly takeover
guy.
What he would do is he wouldfire lots of people and the
company would turn aroundimmediately and be in profit.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
When you started, did you even envision the fact that
that makeup, when you wereputting it on, would have its
own value?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You specifically know , but generally yes, and we just
sold Kiss the band for abillion.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Welcome to the Main Street Business Podcast.
I'm here with the infamous GeneSimmons.
He just gave us a master classat our Tax and Legal 360.
He had a room full ofaccountants in the palm of your
hand.
Have you had that before?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
200 accountants just sitting there yeah, I've done
corporate events, but it isinteresting to me always that
people don't realize howprecious like today is.
Right now I can point with somesense of pride a little bit I
drove here and it took two and ahalf hours.
(01:52):
It's going to take two and ahalf hours to go back home and
while I was here maybe I changedsomebody's mind or lit the fire
a little bit.
They have to go do all the work.
All you can do is say, hey, howcome you haven't done this or
have done that?
So, yeah, I feel pretty goodabout today, but the shocking
idea is you're going to be aliveone less day.
(02:14):
You will never get this dayback and the question is how are
you going to do with that?
And it's finally going to comedown to if God only gave you one
24-hour day, what would you do?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
You'd want to spend it with the people you love the
most.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I know, but what would you do?
Who would you be with?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I'd get them around and hold my own little master
class with the fam.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Sure, teach them everything, something.
Yeah, you know, be kind, giveto charity, do a thing, build a
pyramid, whatever it is.
You can't just sit around andlet life pass you by.
I didn't create that.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
You know I didn't plan on asking you this, but,
with that said, you've probablyhad so much more of a reward
writing your books thanperforming music, or did you
feel like one was?
Why do you?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
have to choose.
Why can't you like cheesecakeand steak?
They're separate.
Why do you have to choose stuffthat the best thing in life is
where you're every day you'rehaving a ball, which is not
necessary.
You're blessed if that's what'sgoing on, if you really love
what you're doing.
But I get different kinds ofpleasure from doing all kinds of
(03:26):
things.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well, and the money and the power that you've said
before allows you to do more,started, I guess, with your
artistry in the music, and thenit opened up so many more
opportunities to change theworld.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Right which is a learning lesson to everybody,
because it was to me which is,once you crack the door open and
can make a name for yourself ormake some money and all that,
other doors can be pushed openas well.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I don't know why other artists whether it's music
or even whatever they just theyfeel like they're selling out
to make money, when their realpower is to make money?
Who?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
made these rules?
Who created the credibilityrules?
Who is that person?
It's sort of the question Ikeep asking of all the mystics
who are on street.
They have these street cornerstores Come in and I'll tell
your future and all that.
The question I have is and it'sonly 15 bucks why is it that
(04:26):
they have to wait for the phoneto ring to pick it up?
Aren't they supposed to knowwho's on it?
And why are they poor?
If you have the knowledge ofthe future, why wouldn't you
invest wisely?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
They should be the richest people on the street.
They should be the richestpeople on the street.
Well, your story and I've beenwanting to ask this about your
mom it chokes me up, thinkingabout her sewing buttons to get
you through school and the hardwork that you did Three jobs,
(05:02):
teaching, school and saving yourmoney.
I made my kids read that storyof yours.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
We all have different life experiences.
My mother had the kind of lifeexperience I wouldn't wish on
anybody.
She was 14 years of age whenshe was in the concentration
camps of Nazi Germany and ourwhole family was wiped out,
starved, tortured and all that.
And, by the way, not just 6million Jews, catholics, a few
million Catholics were killed,romani, who were the
(05:30):
darker-skinned Europeans, likegypsies, quite a few different
groups, anybody who didn't fitinto the Nazi ideal.
But it's interesting if you readMein Kampf, hitler's book,
which was awkwardly written, notvery quote poetic in the
illiterate sense, but he did saysomething that's profoundly
(05:52):
accurate then and continues tobe now Never tell a small lie,
it's not worth it.
Always tell the biggest, mostmonstrous lie, whatever it is,
and continue to tell that lieover and over and over again,
because people are lemmings.
Fortunately or unfortunately,whether you're talking about
politics or religion or anythingelse, the biggest lie gets the
(06:15):
most attention.
So he was saying the masterrace is German, but everybody
knew he was from Austria.
The lie was right in front ofthem.
The master race is German, buteverybody knew he was from
Austria.
The lie was right in front ofthem.
The master race is tall andblonde.
Actually, he was quite shortand dark.
Yeah, so he can keep going downthe list.
He was not the embodiment ofwhat the Aryan looked like.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, but if you insist on the lie light, they
can't see past yeah, everybodywants to get rich quick scheme
and I just love the get richslow scheme.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You know, we don't need to jump at every little
idea that what's shiny and otherthan the lottery, which is very
rare, what is get rich quick.
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
well, that's the elusive point.
There's a dream that it'spossible, but how do you do that
?
Yeah, I think that's the lie.
People think that there's a wayto do it, and boy, the
influencers have figured it out,though Maybe the only way to
get rich quick now is to postonline.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
They invented themselves.
Before the influencers starteddoing that.
There was no such thing.
The interesting thing, though,about the West and pop culture
is it's not created or ruled bythe elites.
American music which rules theworld pop, jazz, blues, rap, you
(07:37):
name it is black music.
It comes from slaves.
Hollywood, warner Brothers,paramount, universal every
single studio were created byJews who came out from Europe in
a 500 square mile area, neverknew each other, found
themselves in New York.
Fox from 20th Century Foxcalled himself that because you
(08:00):
couldn't pronounce his Russianname, and he started to import
foxes from Canada and sew themonto coats, and then he charged
double or whatever, the priceFox coat that's where he got his
name, fox.
So they all had the same ideaand, without knowing each other,
moved to California, right herein LA, and invented the movie
(08:24):
business where they can shootyear-round.
So they bought property and didthat, created the studio system
and all that.
By the way, the music industryI don't know if you have an
agent or not, it's all Jewishthe agents, the managers, the
record companies it's all that.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
When you talk about everything changing too, what is
your thoughts on AI?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's already too late If people are just entering
into it.
Amazon announced today thattheir trucks are going to be
driverless, that a robot's goingto or AI is going to deliver
your package, and then thisautomaton is going to deliver it
to your door.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
These drones are coming.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
But also algorithms.
Now banks.
There's something called LIBOR,which the banks loan each other
billions and sometimestrillions overnight.
The London InternationalBanking Rate is what LIBOR is.
But now there are algorithms.
The rate of exchange of adollar, let's say, is worth a
dollar and one cent, and in aminute it's going to be a dollar
(09:26):
and one cent and a quarter.
So people buy and sell thevalue of money, futures, in
essence based on thesealgorithms, and they're making
fortunes and the rest of us haveno idea.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
And crypto and Bitcoin hopefully will make the
playing field more fair, or isit going to take away more
freedom?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
There are going to be growing pains and where there's
an opportunity, you're going toget a lot of bad guys.
You know the bad guys tend notto break into small, poor homes.
They want to go for the bigones.
So wherever there's money, theywant to figure it out and some
of the guys were bad guys, youknow.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
What's next for you to conquer?
What do you want to do so much?
What's the Gene Simmons bandabout too?
My solo band, yeah, by the way,I play drums.
I just want to point that out,if you need me.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
It's in giggles we have a lot of fun.
But if you look at it as abusiness Kiss toured with 60
personnel, private jet, threetriple-decker buses, 24
tractor-trailer thing, just likea moving city it's amazing you
made money on tour.
That's right, we did okay, yeah,but the Gene Simmons band
(10:34):
literally has no manager, noroadies, no nothing.
The promoter locally sets upthe amplifiers, the screens, all
that stuff.
We just show up, I bring myguitar, pick and that's it.
Do you still play a lot?
Sure, but it's fun.
But in some of the gigs I makemore money doing the solo band
than I did for single shows withkids.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Oh my word, it's crazy, the overhead of those big
shows.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Well, one of the first things Carl Icahn, who was
a major takeover, unfriendlytakeover guy, would do is he
would fire lots of people andthe company would turn around
immediately and be in profitBecause we're so overstaffed.
You ever go down a highway andthere's a guy with a sign that
goes slow down and all that.
Yeah, that's not going to lastlong.
(11:20):
And, by the way, the union saysyou've got to have two or three
.
Oh, yeah, that's not going tolast long.
And, by the way, the union saysyou've got to have two or three
, oh, you've got to go get apopcorn fart.
Okay, you take over the sign.
They've got to go slow down.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Well, now you're back to the good old days.
You have roadies, a van, andyou just show no.
No roadies, no van.
Oh, the promoter just sets itall up.
You just roll in.
No band, no roadies, no nothing.
We carry nothing with us.
Do you still sing?
Sure, if you call it singing,oh wow, do you get the same
thrill when you get up on stagethat you always had?
(11:50):
Would you like the?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
real answer or the romantic answer.
It's like people ask me where'syour favorite city to play.
Then I always have to do youwant the truth or do you want
these?
Oh, that's so romantic.
The truth is, one of myfavorite cities is Paris or
London or New York.
They're favorite cities.
So if we did a show or you didsomething for appearance and
(12:14):
they gave you I don't know a fewhundred grand to show up for a
few hours work, that ain't bad.
The worst place I can imagineis Antarctica Got polar bears
and sub-zero thing and all thatstuff.
And they want me to appearthere, do the same thing two,
three hours or whatever, withnobody around and all that stuff
.
Give you $50 million.
(12:35):
What's my favorite place toplay?
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Well, if I know Gene Simmons.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Any human being who's sane.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Who's sane?
Well, sure You're going to godog sledding next weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I'm not going to look at the trees or look at that
nice Gothic architecture.
It ain't about that.
It's a business and you want togo where the money is, why do
some artists just miss that?
Well, because there are noclasses, just miss that.
Well, because there are noclasses, nothing prepares you
for accidentally having a hit orgetting the right band together
(13:09):
and all that which is verydifficult to do.
Getting a band together andkeeping together is harder than
marriage, because you're livingtogether 24 hours a day, you
drive in the same van, flytogether, do all that stuff
Sooner or later.
You know familiarity breedscontempt.
And then the egos.
Did you step in front of mewhen the spotlight like all that
(13:31):
stuff?
It's very hard to do that.
Having said that, I'm a luckyguy.
I found a guy named PaulStanley over 50 years ago and we
just sold Kiss the band to anamazing company called Pop House
, for a billion.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
That was a cough.
Is that what you call thelibrary?
Is it the band or the library?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I don't understand the difference.
There is a difference becausemost almost all other acts only
have a library.
They're only songs.
If you buy Springsteen, you'rejust getting the songs, because
his face is public domain.
There's no value.
We are the only ones whosefaces are like Disney, without
(14:18):
the overhead.
You can't use our face makeupwithout me taking your firstborn
when I sue you.
Yeah, so they bought the makeup, the trademark in the Library
of Congress.
It's the only musical act whosefaces have been trademarked.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
When you started I know you know trademarks.
Now you were showing metrademark.
You probably trade intrademarks more than URLs or
Bitcoin trademark.
You probably trade intrademarks more than urls or
bitcoin and they're so powerful.
But when you started, did youeven envision the fact that that
makeup, when you were puttingit on, would have its own value,
that it would be you?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
specifically know, but generally, yes, I've always
been blessed.
Maybe it's genetics, but I'vealways been delusional about
myself On a sane level.
I'm aware I'm not thebest-looking guy in the world,
but I also know that I'm not theworst-looking guy in the world.
(15:12):
But I know I can walk inanywhere and I will walk out
with your girlfriend.
Either you have presence orpower or you don't.
By the way, this stuff may lookcool and everything, but after
50 years of being on stage,these lights kill me.
So it happens to be the sunnever sets on planet.
(15:35):
Cool, but also gives me achance to look around, like
right now I'm looking at yourwife.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
She's pretty hot.
I know she wore that leatherfor you too.
If only I wasn't gay.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
That's what the rumor is, but you can't say that
either.
Why, what's wrong with beinggay?
No, no, I think it's good foryou.
I just don't want to be.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Well, gene, what a pleasure.
Thanks for chatting with usit's been a long day and thank
at being here for the event,being here for a moment on the
podcast, your business acumenexperience it's not, it's not.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
It's not a genius, I'm not a business, this or a
business that you just got tokeep your eyes open and see
opportunity.
It knocks all the time.
The vast majority of peoplesimply ignore it or they're
looking someplace else or doingsomething else.
You know, we have a song calledBeth and it's a ballad, but
it's really not.
(16:27):
It's not a love song at all.
Beth, I hear you calling, but Ican't come home right now
because me and the boys areplaying all night.
What's more important?
The band or me?
Actually, it's the band becauseyou're not going to pay my rent
.
You've got to know what you want, you've got to have a vision,
you've got to be focused andlaser focused you may not know
specifically what you want, butall guys understand that the
(16:51):
more money they have to put itin the language of the street,
the more the chicks will likethem.
And then you hone in on the onethat and look, and I've got a
daughter and she's an alphafemale.
Let me tell you something she'smarried now.
She was nobody's girlfriend.
They are her boyfriend.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
She's in charge.
You saw my daughter too.
Same way, you can feel it right?
She told me to fuck off rightaway.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
But think of it.
Think about it In your earlyyears, before you get to your
middle.
You're going to have childrenand she's going to be quote,
quote, stuck with them.
She's got to feed them, get upin the middle of the night
because you're not going to dothat.
So you're going to go off onyour merry way and chase.
You know that fortune that youwant to make and everything.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Woman wants a guy with a plan.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
That's it With money, Whether you won the lottery or
earned it.
Because that's why I keepsaying and I said it at the talk
that so many, the vast majorityof women, are single mothers
who are raising children ontheir own and have to figure out
how to earn a living.
(18:00):
I can't do that.
I wouldn't be able to do that.
After you come home dog-tired,then the crying kid or the kids
are fighting with each other.
You can't do that.
There's a place in heaven forevery single mom, women are on a
higher level you will never beable to get.
And we joke around about womenand all this kind of stuff.
(18:23):
Because we're so fancy free, weget to do it.
Yeah, because you don't have totake care of the kids, you
don't change diapers, you don'teven have to wipe your ass.
Somebody's going to do that,but women have to do all Once
you get up and the bed's on me.
Have you ever made your own bed?
I've never done that.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
I make the bed once in a while.
I've got a woman, special woman.
She's not only beautiful butlove my life.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Tomorrow, wake up and every day just say I'm sorry,
It'll go much better for you.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, ever since you told me that, she's been
reminding me every morning.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
What did Jean tell me ?
Tell you to say in the cell?
They need verbal.
My wifey never says you're sogood looking, never.
I don't care.
And, as a matter of fact, I'venever had another guy walk up to
me and say hey, gene, guess howold I am?
It's great, I don't care, notan issue.
But they need affirmation everyday.
(19:17):
Thank you for doing this.
What does it mean?
But then you have to teach themhow to read, how to be able to
pronounce.
I'm sorry, I was wrong.
You got to think it's becausethere's a lot of letters letters
in there you can't.
Well, she's giving me, giving methe stink guy.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Right, she's going to have all this ammo for me when
I get home.
Now, mr Gene Simmons, it's anhonor, wow.
Thank you, sir.
I could keep talking with youall night, but your agent here
is like Mark, we've got to getsome food and drink.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
My mother and it's a good piece of advice for
everybody we complain about alot of stuff.
My mother, in her brokenHungarian, rather broken English
, translated something fromHungarian that actually is
profound, from Hungarian thatactually is profound Every day
above ground is a good day, andthat's literal, because my
(20:09):
grandmother, who was my mother'smother, grabbed her mother's
hand, my great-grandmother, andwalked her to the gas chamber so
she wouldn't die alone.
They took the oldest, slowlyand, by the way, naked, and
(20:35):
before my grandmother, mymother's mother left.
She basically turned to mymother and, in Hungarian, said
live, in other words, survive.
That's all of it.
If you're surviving in Americaand you have food in your belly,
shut the fuck up.
You have nothing to complainabout.
Bad traffic day, bad hair day Ialways have a bad hair day.
So what, it's all good, you'llbe a better person for it.
(20:56):
You won't stress as much andthat stress stuff will kill you.
Ask your doctor, yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Well, gene, thank you and words of wisdom, appreciate
you.
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