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A review by heatherreadsbooks
KISS and Make-up by Gene Simmons
4.0
*Back-dating reviews based on snips I find*
So, I’m a huge KISS fan. For all the bands I have seen live, it really annoys me that they are not one of them – yet. I’ve always found KISS to be sell-outs, consumed with making products in every possible way and I’ve always found Gene Simmons relatively cocky. With this in mind, I read the first few pages of his introduction and complained that I felt this was going to be a self righteous, holier-than-thou book. I was, in fact, proven wrong… Sort of.
I had a vague idea of his Jewish background and I knew that he changed his name, but that was about as far as it goes. I have to admit I liked his family attitude. I liked how he spoke about his mother throughout the book and I liked the way he spoke about starting his own family towards the end. It was relatively surprising.
The less surprising element to this book was the sexual encounters detailed throughout. Although, with an alleged 4,600+ under his belt I did expect a little more. I was particularly horrified on the mother/daughter combo, not because he agreed to it but because the mother suggested it and the daughter consented… I just don’t understand it. While I’ve read countless biographies and autobiographies detailing rock stars and their sexual exploits, there was something about the way Gene told it that was different. It wasn’t necessarily more respectful than I’ve seen many tell their tale, but it wasn’t exactly graphic or too detailed. It was more a case of “We had our way with each other”. Maybe he’s saving the details for an encyclopedic endeavour later in life.
When he spoke of KISS, I felt myself battling the urge to complain to my boyfriend about how egotistical many of his comments came off. For the most part I failed. I was particularly interested in his frank comments on Ace. My particular favourite was a page that included “Ace did nothing” about three times. I had considered getting Ace’s autobiography at some point and after this I’d definitely like to hear his side of events… But, while I feel Gene might have given a strong version of events on one side, I honestly think I’d get annoyed reading Ace’s book purely because it would be full of excuses. Maybe he could justify some things Gene slammed him for, but I even grew annoyed at him just from reading how regularly he was late and how awkward he was over contracts and his face paint. Whether or not I bring myself to read Ace’s side of events is yet to be seen, but I definitely liked the first hand insight into the band.
Most importantly, and one that somewhat changes my view of the band’s sheer empire of merchandise, I am actually stunned at Gene’s business sense. First off, the fact he made money from comics at a young age astounded me. I always find young entrepreneurs interesting, mainly because as a child the last thing I had on my mind was starting a business. With his list of job exploits seemingly including the likes of Vogue, it added a whole lot more diversity to him than I had any idea of.
While I have always said KISS can make a product out of anything, Gene openly admits they sold out in terms of product. I thought the fact he said credibility is fleeting but you can’t deny a brand’s success was the most sensible thing I heard in the entire book, so much so I kept telling my boyfriend about it throughout the day – much to his annoyance. I think I would feel differently had he tried to justify it in some way, but by flat out saying he is creating a brand really impressed me.
I had no idea how smart Gene was. That’s the overriding thing I took from this book. He is actually insanely intelligent. He speaks various languages fluently, he has an unimaginable business sense and he knows how to market himself. The story of staging a popular KISS show for a record label made me laugh; it’s such a good idea yet few would have thought of it.
The band are a force, it’s undeniable and I now understand exactly why. I’m not saying it’s all down to Gene, but I can see how a large part of the money and success is down to him. I have a list of dream interviewees and while KISS have always floated around on it, this book has completely certified that I would give anything to talk to Gene Simmons for even just a few minutes. I really enjoyed this book. Onwards to the next…
So, I’m a huge KISS fan. For all the bands I have seen live, it really annoys me that they are not one of them – yet. I’ve always found KISS to be sell-outs, consumed with making products in every possible way and I’ve always found Gene Simmons relatively cocky. With this in mind, I read the first few pages of his introduction and complained that I felt this was going to be a self righteous, holier-than-thou book. I was, in fact, proven wrong… Sort of.
I had a vague idea of his Jewish background and I knew that he changed his name, but that was about as far as it goes. I have to admit I liked his family attitude. I liked how he spoke about his mother throughout the book and I liked the way he spoke about starting his own family towards the end. It was relatively surprising.
The less surprising element to this book was the sexual encounters detailed throughout. Although, with an alleged 4,600+ under his belt I did expect a little more. I was particularly horrified on the mother/daughter combo, not because he agreed to it but because the mother suggested it and the daughter consented… I just don’t understand it. While I’ve read countless biographies and autobiographies detailing rock stars and their sexual exploits, there was something about the way Gene told it that was different. It wasn’t necessarily more respectful than I’ve seen many tell their tale, but it wasn’t exactly graphic or too detailed. It was more a case of “We had our way with each other”. Maybe he’s saving the details for an encyclopedic endeavour later in life.
When he spoke of KISS, I felt myself battling the urge to complain to my boyfriend about how egotistical many of his comments came off. For the most part I failed. I was particularly interested in his frank comments on Ace. My particular favourite was a page that included “Ace did nothing” about three times. I had considered getting Ace’s autobiography at some point and after this I’d definitely like to hear his side of events… But, while I feel Gene might have given a strong version of events on one side, I honestly think I’d get annoyed reading Ace’s book purely because it would be full of excuses. Maybe he could justify some things Gene slammed him for, but I even grew annoyed at him just from reading how regularly he was late and how awkward he was over contracts and his face paint. Whether or not I bring myself to read Ace’s side of events is yet to be seen, but I definitely liked the first hand insight into the band.
Most importantly, and one that somewhat changes my view of the band’s sheer empire of merchandise, I am actually stunned at Gene’s business sense. First off, the fact he made money from comics at a young age astounded me. I always find young entrepreneurs interesting, mainly because as a child the last thing I had on my mind was starting a business. With his list of job exploits seemingly including the likes of Vogue, it added a whole lot more diversity to him than I had any idea of.
While I have always said KISS can make a product out of anything, Gene openly admits they sold out in terms of product. I thought the fact he said credibility is fleeting but you can’t deny a brand’s success was the most sensible thing I heard in the entire book, so much so I kept telling my boyfriend about it throughout the day – much to his annoyance. I think I would feel differently had he tried to justify it in some way, but by flat out saying he is creating a brand really impressed me.
I had no idea how smart Gene was. That’s the overriding thing I took from this book. He is actually insanely intelligent. He speaks various languages fluently, he has an unimaginable business sense and he knows how to market himself. The story of staging a popular KISS show for a record label made me laugh; it’s such a good idea yet few would have thought of it.
The band are a force, it’s undeniable and I now understand exactly why. I’m not saying it’s all down to Gene, but I can see how a large part of the money and success is down to him. I have a list of dream interviewees and while KISS have always floated around on it, this book has completely certified that I would give anything to talk to Gene Simmons for even just a few minutes. I really enjoyed this book. Onwards to the next…