I saw an interview last week on Axis T.V. The interviewer was Dan Rather and he was talking to Gene Simmons of Kiss. Gene said the "Rock business is in the coffin and the nails are in"
Do you think the rock business is dead? Or is Gene just being his dramatic self?
I remember when Mick Jagger said that rock was almost dead, and that Grunge saved it. Grunge just about killed the music business, and then Napster came along.
Anyway, Gene Simmons is dead, and Dan Rather sure is dead, so I wouldn't hold my breath about rock.
Well I am 60 in a few months and rock and roll will never die! Just fade away. To be reborn again by a new generation. By a new artist. Who (no pun intended) sounds a lot like a rock star of the past. But definitely not like kiss.
Tempting though it is, irresistable as it is to continue commenting upon the Mr. Simmons until we're collectively as numbskulled as his product was, the subject at hand regarding the demise of the rock business depends upon whom is attending the wake.
I'm 59 this year. Motown. The Beatles. FM Radio. Woodstock. Altamont. MTV. Vinyl. 8 Track. Cassette. Compact Disc. Napster. iTunes.
Kiss and Cooper both captured audiences with a "shock and awe" approach that incorporated gimmicks and visual tricks. Although on first listen maybe not a revelation, but Coopers' band was highly musical with above average musical chops. Kiss was more of a phenomenon, as musical ability was not as advanced. Still, hard not to like "Do u love me", " King of the night time world", etc.
There's something of a progression from Screaming Jay Hawkins to Arthur Brown to Genesis, Bowie and Alice Cooper. Not sure who or what predated Screaming Jay, if anyone, in the use of props. Arthur, of course, set his headpiece on fire, which was nifty.
It's tough to recall who started the whole production intensive rock show thing. I remember that a bunch of prog bands were doing the full-blown production well before Kiss came along (+/-1973 IIRC). Yes, ELP, and a few others were doing that in 1970ish. I saw Genesis in 1971 and they already were employing costume changes, lighting effects, flash pots, etc. Kiss may well have commercially exploited that approach on a mass scale earlier than most and tip your hat to them for that. However, the approach was already well established before they came along.
I think Bowie was the first with the big stage show, although there might be some overlap. Before that, major artists would just come out on the Filmore East stage in T-shirts and play the most incredible (rock) music the world has ever heard. Funny - Hendrix, Sly, Joplin, Cream, Tull, Creedence didn't seem to need fireworks, guys running around in gorilla suits, makeup or explosions to hold an audience's attention. I wonder why. Well, Joplin and Hendrix didn't wear T-shirts, but the point is the same. In fact, they dressed rather alike, now that I think of it. The San Francisco thing, I think.
To be fair, Kiss was a live spectacle. It took a dbl live Lp (albeit doctored) to break them, but they really pioneered for better or worse what we now as a modern stadium show, minus the LCD/led screens. Their use of pyrotechnics, lights, and volume made for thrilling theatre youngsters in the late 70s. Although one could argue Cooper did it first and much better.
Very true, Phasecorrect. And since the days of Kiss's large merchandising sales and mega record sales are over, Rock is dead, as far as Gene is concerned. A case of ego and tunnelvision.
Well, from his era, where Kiss had lunchboxes, action figures,comic books, and coffins, and anything else they could exploit, yes. Gene would sell his mother to turn a dime. From.a purely marketing/merchandizing angle, Kiss were very innovative. Shame their music wasn't .Still like their debut LP.
"I file this statement right up there with other famous people who get to spout their political opinions or other views, some of which are half-baked, on a world-stage simply because they are famous at something else..."
So anyone famous can't have an opinion on anything...??
"Who cares what GS has to say? What is your opinion, and why do you care what others think about this, or, why would you care about why others feel the need to buy expensive cables? You must know the responses you're going to get without even posting. Just wondering why you ask."
Then what's the point of a forum...?? By your statement you should not want to be on here.
I guess it depends on how you want to define it. On the basis of record sales, he's probably right. OTOH, touring is still big business for (mostly aging) rockers. U2 made over $700MM on their 2011 tour and The Wall was pushing about $500MM when it shut down in 2013. Not as many big numbers this year, but Fleetwood Mac will probably end up north of $200MM before the calendar turns. The numbers may be trending down for rock tours, but I wouldn't call $200MM+ "dead" by any means.
My understanding is that Gene is kind of an eccentric guy (a friend of mine worked closely with him for almost a decade), so you've got to take his view with a grain of salt. Ultimately, I'd say that there's a nugget of truth in the statement...it's just overly broad.
"Or is Gene just being his dramatic self?" Absolutely. He can't suck any more money out with his tired music and horrible reality shows so he thinks it's dead. Please just go away Gene ....
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