Kiss News

Eric Singer talks about the frightening prowess of Buddy Rich, the importance of paying it forward and his life before and after KISS

By David West / MusicRadar

"There’s no way you could see him and not walk away with your jaw on the floor. Not only being inspired, but also frightened because it was about how amazing, how good somebody could be. There’s never been anybody, I don’t think, before or since, like Buddy Rich.”

Did you have lessons or are you self-taught?

“My first drum teacher was more of a serious disciplinarian-type guy and you can be intimidated by that especially if you’re more thin-skinned or sensitive, which I was as a kid. My second teacher, Buddy Kummel, he was a cool, hip-cat kind of guy, he had a less intimidating personality and he made it more fun. 

"I took lessons with him for a few years and eventually my dad wanted me to play in his band and my teacher said, ‘Yeah, he’s ready.’”

What’s the one piece of gear you couldn’t live without?

“Zildjian Stick Wax. I’m so used to using Zildjian Stick Wax on my sticks: it has a lot to do with how comfortable I feel with my grip and how much tension I don’t have by using it. It changed my playing, I don’t have to grip the sticks so hard because of sweat, it made me play with a better technique and in a more relaxed way. It’s the little things in life.”

Do you collect gear?

“Yes, I have a lot of vintage kits. I keep telling myself, I know I don’t need any of this stuff, most of it I’ll never use because I have a Pearl endorsement and I have a lot of cool vintage Pearl kits, but I have a lot of other brands I’ve collected too. I’m very good about paying it forward. 

By STEVE APPLEFORD / LATIMES.com

Somewhere in the skies above San Diego, the God of Thunder is eating a sugar cookie. Gene Simmons of KISS is snacking, out of costume, and looking relaxed in the front rows of his band’s private jet, but he’s begun to notice the hills coming awfully close outside his window.

Less than an hour ago, this Gulfstream jet took off like a rocket from Van Nuys Airport, with a former F-14 fighter pilot in the cockpit and a flight attendant named Kate in a black KISS uniform. Their destination is now just minutes away, and the entire band is onboard, ready for the night’s two hours of vintage rock hits and fireballs shaped like mushroom clouds.

It will be the fifth stop on the KISS End of the Road tour, near the very beginning of a two-year victory lap for the flamboyant hard rock quartet, which emerged 47 years ago as pop culture champions in platform boots and kabuki makeup. But right now, this plane is stuck circling San Diego, as flight controllers keep the air clear for a military jet pilot who lost his canopy.

“Wow. He's OK, right?” asks Simmons, dressed entirely in black, wearing a cap with his personal moneybags logo. He’s the singer-bassist-co-founder of KISS, known to fans as the Demon, the God of Thunder and Dr. Love, notorious for decades of spitting (fake) blood and (real) fire at concerts.

A capacity crowd of 10,489 awaits them at Viejas Arena, and most of the shows are expected to be sell-outs. (The tour lands Saturday at the Forum.)

"What is that thing that connects to the fans and the band? It's not just songs,” says Simmons, who turns 70 this summer. “It's sort of a gathering of the tribes, because it is culture. There's no reason to put KISS tattoos on your body and to name your children after our songs. There's this other much bigger idea that hovers above the band and the fans. There’s some connection to your life."