Monthly Archives: March 2018

How Kurt Cobain secretly pranked Gene Simmons

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Nirvana producer Steve Albini has revealed how he once imitated Kurt Cobain on the phone when the grunge icon didn’t want to talk to KISS frontman Gene Simmons.

Speaking to Nardwuar during a recent interview at SXSW, Albini explained how Simmons had called the studio while Nirvana  were in the middle of recording ‘In Utero’.

 “Gene Simmons actually phoned the studio looking to speak to the band. He had been given the number by the record label or management or something”, he said.

“He called the studio and Kurt didn’t want to talk to him, and he handed me the phone and said, ‘You can deal with him.’”

“I pretended to be Kurt for awhile talking to Gene Simmons. They had a thing set up where you could record the telephone calls, so we recorded the conversation with Gene Simmons, where he admitted basically that he wasn’t familiar with Nirvana’s music or any of the bands that Kurt was sort of friends with”, he added.

“He wasn’t familiar with their music.”

Amazingly, Nardwuar replied: “I one time interviewed Gene Simmons, and he said: ‘Oh, I talked to Kurt Cobain.’”

Albini added: “Yeah, sorry to break the spell there Gene”.

Away from Nirvana, Albini is also known for his work with The Cribs – with Ryan Jarman previously telling NME of how he recruited Albini for work on their most recent album.

Gene Simmons doesn’t know why he’s been banned from Fox News

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Daily News

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons is promoting a huge box set of unreleased music and a brand of cannabis while his legal team is trying to figure out who got him booted from Fox News. In Nov., the 68-year-old rocker reportedly harassed employees during a visit to the conservative news network’s midtown offices.

“I still don’t know what the issue was,” he told us. “If you’ve seen me anywhere, I’ve fully been supportive of the (#metoo) movement – I don’t understand what it’s about.”

Fans wanting to meet Simmons and get a copy of his “Gene Simmons: The Vault Experience” can do so Saturday and Sunday at VK Nagrani at 87 Houston St.

“It’s the largest box set of all time,” he says of the $2,000 package. However, he won’t be selling anything from Invictus Cannabis, the company where he says he owns $10 million in stock. Simmons told us he doesn’t personally smoke pot, but he’s no longer anti-marijuana.

“I was ignorant and judgmental and dismissive about cannabis,” he now says.

Vinnie Vincent to reunite with Gene Simmons next month in Nashville

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Jeff Giles | Ultimate Classic Rock

Former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent has booked his second and third public appearances since ending his long and seemingly self-imposed exile — and one of them will find him reuniting with his onetime bandmate Gene Simmons.

As previously reported, Vincent re-emerged recently for an appearance at the Atlanta Kiss Expo, where he fielded questions from fans and offered his side of the long, strange story that started with his meteoric rise as a short-lived member of Kiss and included a series of bizarre personal travails. Admitting that his private woes kept him sidelined for an extended period, Vincent assured attendees that he was still writing and recording — and he revealed a willingness to meet up with Simmons at the Nashville date on Simmons’ “Vault Experience” tour.

As Vincent said at the time, Simmons reached out to ask about including a song they wrote together, “I Wanna Live,” on the deluxe set that Simmons is personally delivering via a series of personal visits. Communication re-established, the two set aside long-standing differences, and they’ll both be on hand when Simmons makes his way to Nashville on April 14 — a reunion confirmed by an ad Simmons posted and Vincent shared on Facebook.