September 30th -

   Recently, some of you have written in inquiring where you can purchase A NEW BOOK I'm writing called LADIES OF THE NIGHT: A HISTORICAL AND PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE FIRST AND OLDEST PROFESSION. While it IS true I had planned for the book to be written by now, there just aren't enough hours in the day or night to do so. The book will, hopefully see the light of day sometime in the summer. You can be sure I will let you all know the details. The book will be published by SIMMONS BOOKS/PHOENIX BOOKS.
   There are also plans to have a SPOKEN WORD BOOK of the same available on (you guessed it) SIMMONS AUDIO/PHOENIX BOOKS.

September 29th -

   In London, doing press/tv/radio for the premier of ROCK SCHOOL (as it's called in England) this Friday. It's doing very well here. As you all know, GENE SIMMONS ROCK SCHOOL has already been aired around the world, including America, Australia, New Zealand, France and is just now being bought by the Scandinavian countries.
   Days are long and I'm exhausted, but the Brits are a wonderful people and am having the time of my life.
   Also while here, having discussions about upcoming NEW TELEVISION PROJECTS with my potential UK Production Partners.

   Meantime, our CABLE TELEVISION project is kicking ass...more about this later. Our BOXING VENTURE is likewise, kicking ass...more about this one also later...and our NEW SPORTS VENTURE, encompassing one of the largest sports franchises in the world, is about to launch...and my new Joint Venture BROADWAY PRODUCTION COMPANY is likewise about to launch...
   And my television projects (11 or 12 of them) are all coming along nicely, thank you very much.
   More news as it comes.
   And, hey...check out KISSONLINE.COM...the official KISS website, to find out all the latest news and see all the coolest KISS stuff you can buy.

New letters posted...

(England)

Kiss 'n' teach

In a new TV series, Kiss frontman Gene Simmons tries to turn a class of private school kids into a rock band. He tells Dan Glaister why he almost regrets choosing rock'n'roll excess over teaching sixth grade

Tuesday September 27, 2005
The Guardian

Mr Simmons' residence is quite the rock-star mansion. A long drive up into the Hollywood Hills, through the automatic gate, past the tennis court to the top of the winding drive and there, standing on the ornate stone balcony, is Mr Simmons the schoolmaster.

"Ah, Guardian," says Mr Simmons.

"Kiss," I reply. "Rock School."

He comes forward to shake my hand. "Gene Simmons will do."

Simmons is famous as the leader of garish rockers Kiss, the band of old men who started as a parody of rock excess more than 30 years ago and never looked back. No pair of trousers is too tight for the men of Kiss, no riff too leaden, no pose too preposterous. It must be a lot of fun.

But then there is another Gene Simmons. There is Gene Simmons the rich and successful businessman, the man who says he is worth $250m (£130m), the brains and quite possibly the brawn behind the Kiss empire. The office inside the mansion is a shrine to the commercial potential of rock: Kiss posters, Kiss figures, Kiss magazines and books, and walls and walls of gold and platinum discs clutter up the Kiss grotto. But the entrepreneurial imagination of Simmons stretches further than spandex. There are Kiss pinball machines, Kiss masks, featuring Simmons's expansive tongue - after which his magazine was named - even a Kiss coffin (for you or your dearly departed, just $4,700).

Simmons lists the upcoming Kiss attractions: a forthcoming TV series called Kisstory, Kiss - the Broadway play, the band members' faces on Coca-Cola cans in France, a Kiss edition of a Canon camera in Japan, a TV cartoon series called My Dad the Rock Star, about a 12-year-old whose father is a rock star not dissimilar to Simmons. And on and on. It is all quite inexplicable.

But before all that there is Rock School. An unusually warm and funny stab at reality TV, Rock School features a cast of 10 music-school prodigies, a stern deputy headmistress straight out of central casting, Christ's Hospital school in West Sussex, where pupils wear tunics and yellow stockings and parade into school each morning, and the not inconsiderable presence of Simmons.

The 54-year-old Kiss frontman has been taken on to turn a class of 13-year-old pupils into a rock band. He plays a real-life Jack Black in School of Rock, the Richard Linklater film that provides the source material for Rock School. Simmons has six weeks to fashion a group to perform as support for Motorhead. Can he do it? Can the man who revels in the stage name The Demon turn a group of posh-sounding viola players into blood-spitting, guitar-licking rock gods? Can the kids shed their tunics to reveal the hairy chests beneath? Do we care?

Strangely enough, we do. Although the set-up of the show is just so much reality formula fodder - rich, loudmouth American rock star with dyed hair, leather coat and ever present sunglasses meets well-spoken genteel English schoolchildren - the result is unexpectedly real.

"It's who I am and the only way this was going to work was if I was me, because what got me to this place was me." Simmons sits back in his chair exuding the feral contentment of a man who is happy with the way his life has turned out. Dressed in black shirt and jacket, dark jeans and cowboy boots, he is a commanding presence. He may not be beautiful - his lack of matinee-idol good looks is a constant source of amusement to him, as is his legendary and not unconnected success with women - but he has a beautiful voice, a velvety baritone that, as he readily admits, he likes the sound of.

"I think the show's quite good, but then I'm delusional about almost anything I do," he says. "I think I'm better-looking than I am, I actually am one of those human beings who likes the sound of his own voice, so when I see myself on the screen I immediately think, 'God, he's stunning.'"

But despite all the self-proclaimed arrogance, the self-made-man assurance, there is one thing that bugs Simmons, one thing he trained to do but never stuck around to find out if he could be really good at: teaching. Chaim Witz, Simmons' real name, came to the US at the age of six when his mother, a concentration camp survivor, divorced his father. Witz went to college, gaining a BA in education, then teaching for a while in Spanish Harlem in New York. But then Witz became Simmons, and the rest, as they say, is Kisstory.

"For the short time that I taught sixth grade I've often wondered if I would have been any good," says Simmons, his permatan face assuming a mask of seriousness. "Really good, you know, not just a teacher who gets by and collects his $500 a week. Would I have made a lasting impact on those pupils?" The impact he makes - both positive and negative - on the children of Christ's Hospital, and that they make an impact on him, is what drives the programme.

Simmons, despite the often scary bluster, knows how to talk to the school's children (he has two of his own), and while his weakness may be in neglecting the group, he has a gift with individuals. "When you're trying to connect to young people you have to grab them and individually speak to them," he proclaims. "My teaching method is to see who's special and whenever I see a spark, to fan the flame. It's the only way to create a forest fire. God, that's going to read so well!"

Sharing star billing with Simmons is the 13-year-old outcast he chooses to be the lead singer of the band, an endearing, Elvish-muttering oddball named Josh Bell, who chooses the stage-name Emperor for himself. Emperor stands apart from his schoolmates, literally. In any group, he is the one alone. As one classmate says in the programme, "Josh isn't the most popular pupil in the school." He also has one of the worst singing voices, but according to Simmons, being tone deaf and having no sense of rhythm are precisely what is needed to be a rock singer. The choice is inspired.

When Emperor is chosen to be the band's singer - against the wishes of the other class members - the programme cuts to one heart-rending moment as this little outcast sits on his bed and tells the camera: "I'm going to be part of the gang. People are going to say, 'Come, Josh, sit with us.' Not because they want to take the mickey but because I am Josh Bell, Emperor."

"He's less mature than they are but much more fragile," says Simmons. "Emperor reminds me of Rotten. The physicality and the unabashed, 'I'm nobody, I'm not particularly good-looking and watch me dive into the deep end of the pool.' Initially he's complaining that he's different, but that's the great story of rock'n'roll. There is no school of cool. They don't teach cool. I do. The way to teach cool is to understand there is no universal cool."

The comic backdrop to the programme is provided by dull old England. "Why are you so happy?" Simmons rails, as he surveys the grey skies. Holed up in a country hotel, with only the occasional visit to his old mate Peter Stringfellow in London, Simmons adopts a mournful tone at one point to ask a starched-shirt waiter: "Girls? Do you have any girls? I like girls."

Similarly, the English language provokes Simmons's curiosity. In his palatial kitchen - large enough to contain Ozzy Osbourne's entire house - a TV is playing the version of the programme that will be broadcast on US television, complete with subtitles to help our cousins across the Atlantic decipher those tricky cockney vowel sounds.

"We're going to have the mickey ripped out of us," says Dudley, one of the pupils.

"Mickey?" Simmons asks me. The suggestion that it's akin to taking the piss only serves to confuse him further.

When I ask how the series ends, he answers: "As you say in England, they went down a storm. Which is the stupidest turn of phrase I ever heard. Going down means the plane is crashing. Then a storm? How about they went up like a rocket? No, they go down a storm."

Then, seriously: "They were magnificent in their unabashed enthusiasm for it. It's like seeing a little French poodle that's been pampered with the right haircut and all of a sudden it sees a big bulldog coming towards it and it starts barking like it's the biggest doberman pinscher."

While Simmons denies that he is acting in the programme, it seems likely that he is permanently in character, playing the role of Gene Simmons. Like a veteran Jewish comic, he knows his patter and sticks to the shtick, emphasising gags with a raised eyebrow or a hint of wink. All that is missing is a drum roll and the crash of cymbals. "I don't subscribe to that humble thing," he says, embarking on another routine. "I subscribe to the Muhammad Ali school of semantics, although I'm not anti-semantic." He raises an eyebrow and peers at me over his shades. "If you use that I want credit."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

September 25th -

Met with a potential CREDIT CARD COMPANY to increase and expand the various businesses we're involved in. Personal Credit Cards...Could be big.

September 25th -

NEW

COMING IN THE NEW YEAR

   Just finished meeting with my new partner to discuss layouts, design elements, marketing plans and all the other myriad and numerous minutia that have to be addressed before we launch our new (can't tell you the title just yet) GENE SIMMONS MAGAZINE.
   I CAN tell you this.
   This will be a multi-faceted magazine. Yes. It'll have yours and my favorite things: beautiful women, celebs and...something else. A lifestyle.
   We will also have a TELEVISION SHOW element of the magazine, as well as LIVE EVENTS themed around the magazine.
   More news soon.

New letters posted...

Letters...

September 23rd -

   Spent the day shooting opening for our forthcoming GENE SIMMONS ROCK SCHOOL series II. This was a holdover from the first series that we didn't get a chance to do when we were in England. Had to come back to America for other projects.
   But the new school sounds interesting, to say the least. Wait and see.

New letters posted...

September 22nd -

   Miss PAULA ABDUL and I pitched a TELEVISION PRODUCTION COMPANY two shows Paula and I created and will Exec Produce. Looks good. We'll see.

New Lady in Waiting!

September 22nd -

   Just got back from co-hosting EXTRA (NBC TV) with DONALD TRUMP and MARK MCGRATH. 
   While there, I heard a very good idea for a new show. We may wind up doing it.
   And, just finished a meeting with a STUDIO ANIMATION HOUSE, who liked what I had to say and are going to be developing TWO NEW CARTOON SHOWS I will be Exec Producing...titles and details to follow soon.

September 21st -

   Met with an Exec for a TELEVISION NETWORK nationwide, who pitched me on an idea. I pitched back with two ideas...and if things go well, we'll be doing three projects together.
   And then segued into a CREDIT CARD meeting, with a gent who reps a company/bank that's in that business. This venture potentially could encompass a number of the business we're in. More to come.

September 21st -

   Did an early morning Radio Satellite Tour (I stay on my phone and they connect different radio stations in various cities) for the DVD release of my Nickelodeon cartoon, MY DAD THE ROCK STAR.
   Started making real headway re my plans to release the biggest box set of them all -- so far, to be called GENE SIMMONS BOX SET - 100 songs. Met with an entity that wants to step up to manufacture/market. More news soon.
   Also in discussions re new TV ventures. 12 of em!!!
   In deep negotiations with a huge SPORTS VENTURE, that will change the way business is done. Which is what we're all about. Thinking outside the box.
   Leaving at the end of the week for England to finish Series II of GENE SIMMONS ROCK SCHOOL. Different school. Different story. Same arrogant, in your face rock star. Me.
   Proud to say we have been 'picked up' (deal made) re a NEW GENE SIMMONS REALITY SHOW for the New Year. Filming starts November.
   And, deal finalized for a new JOINT VENTURE with Clear Channel. More news later.
   The fabulous PAULA ABDUL came by and pitched me a few ideas. And, more than one of the ideas has 'legs' (potential -- can go the distance)_...Looks like setting up two of the ideas today. Meeting with three different buyers (-- buyers are Production Studios, who would pay/and or deficit the cost of producing a show, or a network/cable outlet that would pay a 'license fee' -- either way, someone writes a check).
   Met with TAG HEUER (the quality watch company) about a line of expensive watches. Looks good.
   An English production company, that has a show seen around the world, has approached me about appearing in their show -- as of now, and unless/if they show me more details, will probably not do it.
   The top Executive at NBC TV's EXTRA called and asked if I'd co-host the show with MARK MCGRATH. Like the show. WIll co-host. So, if you're near a TV set on Thursday, check it out. Am assuming it'll be broadcast same day as shoot.
   On Friday, Sept. 23rd, begin shooting location scenes for GENE SIMMONS ROCK SCHOOL II in LA. Then off to England.

New letters posted...

New letters posted...

New letters posted...

September 14th -

   Lots of new KISS News...a show in Columbus, Ohio...the debut of Progressive Games' KISS VIDEO SLOT MACHINE in Vegas...find out the details by logging onto KISSONLINE.COM.

   And, on my way to New York with my partner to present a New Venture to 1,000 Investment types.
   Also, happy to report that 'GROUPIES," a project/story I developed first for New Line Cinema (that came back in turnaround), then set up at MTV for a Movie Of The Week, has just come back to me. It is being eyed for a motion picture. We will go out and pitch this in the coming weeks.
   Meeting today for a new Venture with my partners, CLEAR CHANNEL. The new venture is, GENE SIMMONS PRESENTS ROCK STAR POKER. I was recently invited to play in the Vegas poker event, and while there, came up with a new way to play the game and a new way to present it, market it and brand it. This will be like no poker game you ever saw and will be nationwide.
   The other New Venture, as you might have guessed is, GENE SIMMONS PRESENTS ROCK STAR GOLF. Golf has always struck me as a long yawn. This new version, will make everyone take notice. I basically approached it with the notion that, if you could care less about golf, what would it take to get you interested enough to attend/watch a golf event.
   It's going to be a tv show, a live event (held at different places around the country, simultaneously) and, of course, branded.
   Details to come.

New letters posted...

New letters posted...

New letters posted...

September 4th -

   Hey, go check out KISSONLINE.COM...it's in the midst of being reworked. Think you'll like it. It'll keep getting better and better each day.

New letters posted...

New letters posted...

September 1st -

   I know you're all aware of the terrible disaster that hit the great city of NEW ORLEANS. Please pick up the phone and call the RED CROSS and make a donation to help. Please do it today. Normal life won't resume, we're told, for as much as six months. 
Please help.

Call 1-800-HELP-NOW or go to www.redcross.org/