KISS singer/bassist Gene Simmons has said that he doesn’t have any friends.
The musician, 73, recently spoke to Goldmine magazine for its October/November 2022 issue amid KISS’ ongoing ‘End Of The Road’ farewell tour.
“Even today as I sit here, other than Paul [Stanley, KISS co-founder], 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,” Simmons told the publication.
“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.”
As Blabbermouth notes, Simmons has previously opened up about his lack of close friendships. He said in a 2006 interview on KISS’ official website that Paul Stanley was “simply the brother I never had”, adding: “I feel closer to Paul than anyone I know.”
Simmons continued: “I have almost no friends. On purpose. I prefer acquaintances. I don’t expect anything from anyone and I don’t want anyone coming to me with their problems. Everyone is a grown up. But I digress.
“Paul and I live very close to each other and we don’t see each other often. But at the end, he knows I will always be in his corner, simply because I respect him.”
Paul Stanley of KISS. CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for A&E.
In 2021, Stanley described Simmons as his “brother”. “His family is my family. I think of Shannon, his wife, as my sister-in-law,” he said. “We’ve never been closer than we are now.
“We’ve come so far and done so many great things for each other, it would be ungrateful if we were anything less. We’re there to cheer each other on and text each other. We’re more than good.”
KISS’ ‘End Of The Road’ tour is expected to run until early 2023 at least. The group’s next concert will take place tomorrow night (September 21) in West Palm Beach, Florida. They also plan to reschedule their Las Vegas residency, which was cancelled late last year.
Last month, Simmons said he anticipates KISS continuing “in ways even I haven’t thought of” after the current line-up stops touring.
Stanley, however, has since explained that he’s not interested in writing any new material for the band. “I came to the conclusion that it can never compete with the past,” he reasoned.
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