Brian Vollmer recalls when Gene Simmons lectured Helix about copying KISS on 1983 tour

Brian Vollmer recalls when Gene Simmons lectured Helix about copying KISS on 1983 tour

Helix frontman Brian Vollmer has made a career out of singing for 44 years and was recently interviewed by The Record. The affable singer recalled an incident when KISS bassist, co-founder and singer Gene Simmons was seemingly unhappy with what Helix were doing while supporting KISS on tour in 1983.

The following are excerpts from The Record article / interview with Vollmer:

“I’ve kept my nose clean,” he notes of his ability to navigate the rough spots. “I haven’t burned any bridges in my 44 years in the business. I make decisions based on integrity and loyalty.”

Like, for example, when Gene Simmons summoned opening act Helix to his dressing room during a 1983 Kiss tour for a bullying lecture about, ahem, originality.

“Straighten up or you’re off the tour!” the Kiss frontman told Vollmer and company, accusing them of copying the band’s stage moves (which Vollmer cheekily admits may have been true).

The personable metal god laughs into the phone “‘Don’t try to be us — or else!’ That was the overt message. Gene was like a school teacher. He talked to us like bunch of little kids: “Nobody wants a second-hand Kiss!”

He told our manager, “Your best day isn’t as good as our worst day!”

Like a good Canadian hosehead, Vollmer sucked it up, happy to have an audience with the great man, acknowledging the criticisms and taking them in stride.

“We weren’t major rebels,” he recounts without apology. “We never rocked the boat.”

You can read the rest of the article / interview with Vollmer at The Record.