“Big” KISS box set may be on its way + Gene Simmons has 167 tracks that weren’t included in ‘The Vault’

“Big” KISS box set may be on its way + Gene Simmons has 167 tracks that weren’t included in ‘The Vault

KISS co-founder, bassist and singer Gene Simmons was recently interviewed by Darren Paltrowitz of the Jewish Journal.

Simmons was asked whether KISS have any more unreleased material planned, will there be another Kissology release and/or another The Vault to which the bassist replied: “There may be a KISS box-set coming. A big one, because I’ve been collecting everything. I even have some more material that hasn’t gone onto the Gene Simmons Vault — 167 tracks. I’ve been delusionally a fan of myself ever since I was a kid, and I mean that seriously. I collect every report card… Everything. To thine self-be true, the Greeks said. A good piece of advice is, “be your own biggest fan.” It’s a good idea. I am, oh boy.”

Last year, Simmons released The Vault, which contained over 150 unreleased songs including demos with the Van Halen brothers — Eddie (guitar) and Alex (drums).

Simmons recently also launched a soda line with some partners and was asked whether he was hesitant in any way to enter the food industry to which he advised: “I’m delusional. When you think about it, I can’t read or write music, musical notation, but I’ve written a few hundred songs. We’re a big band. I can’t cook but I have a restaurant chain. But teamwork is what it’s about. Different sides of the same coin. Somebody who can do one thing…

Look, could Apple have happened without Steve Jobs? Probably not. Could Apple have happened without [Steve] Wozniak? Probably not. But they did completely different things, two different sides of the same coin. One guy was a techno-freak and the other guy saw the big picture and didn’t know how things worked. He was not that techno guy at all, but he got all the kudos.

It bears repeating that maybe the secret is to have a relay race. At the outset you have the techno guy that can do the techno thing, he’s the guy who knows how to do it. Then you hand it over to the next guy, because invariably – which is a big word like gymnasium [laugh pause]) – a religion, a rock band, a political party, a new soda, you have to convince the masses that you’ve got the goods. And Wozniak was not the guy to do that. Every religion needs a messenger, a prophet.”

You can read the rest of the interview with Simmons at the Jewish Journal.