Kiss News

By York Membery for The Mail on Sunday

Since he changed his name and slapped on the face paint after a war-torn Israeli childhood the Kiss frontman hasn�t had a bad day in his life. Bad hair days? That�s a different matter�

What is your earliest memory?

Growing up in Israel, where I lived until I was eight. I remember the constant fighting � the country was founded in 1948, the year before I was born. Every now and then there would be a rocket attack, and every weekend my father would put on his army uniform, pick up his Kalashnikov and hitchhike to the frontline.

What sort of child were you?

I was an only child and left alone a lot as a kid in Israel. I�d go up Mount Carmel, pick the cactus fruit and get stung by the needles. I had one friend, a Moroccan Jew, and we�d hang out together. We had no TV, no radio, but I did have a rock and a stick and my imagination � and that was enough.

When did you last feel happy?

I wake up happy every day. I�ve never had a bad day in my life. Probably because my mother barely survived the concentration camps of Nazi Germany � as a result, whenever I have a bad hair day, I kick myself and say: �What the f*** are you complaining about?�

What has been your biggest achievement?

My band, Kiss. Not only have we sold 100 million records, but I have my very own Gene Simmons postage stamp. When I go to Las Vegas, I go to the Kiss golf course, then there�s the Kiss limo service. However, seeing my two children being born was a wake-up call that life didn�t just revolve around me.

And your biggest disappointment?

The fact that half the band I started out with in Kiss [Ace Frehley and Peter Criss] are not part of it any more to enjoy the fruits of their labour. And all because of the clich� of clich�s: drugs and alcohol. But not everyone has the DNA to run a marathon: some people are just shooting stars.

What are you best at?

I�m best at being a case study. I invented Gene Simmons. I wasn�t born him, I was born Chaim Witz. And English wasn�t even my first language � I couldn�t speak it until my teens. But I�m jealous of anyone who can do anything better than me � it makes me want to roll up my sleeves and find out how I can do it better.

What is your best character trait?

I�m not sure if I have one, or if I�d even like me if I met me � because I walk into a room supremely confident. You�re supposed to be a bit humble, but I�ve just got that kick-your-ass confidence that I think comes from being an outsider and only child.

� and your worst?

I was a bit of a bad boy when I was younger. No drugs or physical or verbal abuse. But I was arrogant and selfish, and I didn�t marry my long-time girlfriend Shannon Tweed until I was 62. But I�ve changed � men do change, but only when they get closer to death.

Who would be your dream dinner date?

Jesus. I�d have a lot of questions for him � and we could talk about philosophy and a host of other issues. But if I think he is who he is, we�d both have a good laugh. Would he turn out to be a Kiss fan? Oh, sure!

Do you have any phobias?

Other people�s eating habits. Whoever said �Let�s just eat the legs of the frogs?� Why eat just the goddam legs? And how can people eat things that look like they came from another planet, like crabs? And don�t even get me started on blood [black] pudding.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

I�ve never been fond of my ears � I always thought they were a little too large.

Who do you most admire?

My Hungarian-born mother, Flora, who�s 90, is the wisest person I�ve ever met. She survived a Nazi death camp, unlike her mother and grandmother, and her philosophy is this: that every day above ground is a good day.

What�s the worst thing you�ve ever done?

I may have bedded the female of the species a fair few times over the years � but it was always consensual, and if a girl ever showed up after a concert drunk or high on drugs, I�d ask her to leave. I�ve got no illegitimate children running around or anything like that.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Cake, in all its infinite varieties. Cake can be very seductive, and if I see a cake, I�ve just got to take a bite. Particularly if it�s a chocolate cake. I�m not so keen on French cakes though: they all taste like sweet shaving foam.

What�s the worst job you�ve done?

Working at a butcher�s in my early teens. My job was to chop the heads off chickens. At the end of the day, I had to clean the butcher�s block and scratch off the dried blood and fat. But the worst bit was going down to the rat-infested basement and having to haul up hunks of meat on my shoulder.

What one law would you change if you could?

I�d like to introduce a �I�m going to think and do what I goddam want, and don�t want anyone telling me what to do� law in those countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia ruled by despots or dictators.

How would you like to be remembered?

I don�t want anyone mourning my death, and when I�m gone, why should I care how I�m remembered? When I die, I want my family and friends to celebrate my life with the party to end all parties and go, �Whoopee!�