Last month, KISS bassist Gene Simmons announced he’s giving fans the opportunity to lug around his gear and be his roadie for a day for the low price of $12,495. This is just one of several meet and greet packages Simmons is currently offering. You could also pay to meet the famous musician backstage and take home a signed bass guitar, with prices for that ranging between $6,500 and $12,500.
In a recent interview with 95.9 The Rat’s Carl Craft, Simmons explained that the idea of offering these opportunities came because he wanted to give fans something he never got to experience.
“Here’s the deal: when I was a kid and I went to see [Jimi] Hendrix or somebody, of course I enjoyed the show and really got off on it — we talked about it forever and stuff — but I didn’t know what it was like,” Simmons said. “What’s the beginning of the day like? What’s it like to sit and have breakfast or lunch with my favorite rock stars, and then get in the limo, go to the gig, set up the drums, do soundcheck, and then be on stage with your video, ’cause nowadays everything’s on video. You can’t take a poop without a camera coming in under the stall. And then you get pulled up on stage to sing along with them.”
He then went on to explain why he decided to limit “The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience” to one fan roadie per show:
“Now, having said that, we only do one roadie for a day per show. And I’ll tell you why — because nowadays everything is so litigious. That’s a big word, like gymnasium. That means everybody sues everybody for no reason. So if you get a paper cut, somebody gets sued. And that’s just the way life is here in America — much more in California, by the way.”
“It’s crazy out here. So, I can’t even, if I wanted to do roadie for a day with 10, 20, 30, as many people [as we would like]. So we do one, because the insurance costs for that are astronomical. And so this ain’t cheap. It’s not for everybody. And for that one person, you do have to pay premium numbers. That’s just life.”
Simmons continued, adding that the $12,495 doesn’t “just” pay for the opportunity to work for him, but also covers legal costs.
“It’s also exposure, financial and legal exposure. Somebody has a bad experience, and they sue you and it costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars. You need insurance for everything. Do you have a car? You’ve got insurance. Everything in life, apparently… In fact, you buy anything — a tool — they give you insurance. Would you like the one-year or three-year? Everything’s insured.”
