GENE SIMMONS ( kiss)

GENE SIMMONS Taking Part In The Apprentice 7 - Celebrity Edition

According to Realityblurred.com, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons is one of nine celebrities who have been identified as cast members for The Apprentice 7, the celebrity edition. Other newly identified cast members are Carol Alt, Stephen Baldwin, John Cena, Marilu Henner, Lennox Lewis, Tito Ortiz, Vincent Pastore, and former Apprentice cast member Omarosa, according to TMZ, which says “NBC’s been doing everything they can to keep these names under wraps.”

According to Wikipedia, the season will feature celebrity candidates vying for the title of Trump's Best Business Brai", as a way to revitalize the series, with the winner donating their proceeds to charity. This installment will mark the series return to New York after spending the previous season in Los Angeles. The series is expected to air on NBC in January, 2008. It will begin filming next week, the week of October 22nd-26th.

GENE SIMMONS' No Good TV Surpasses 100 Million Clip Views On YouTube

No Good TV, one of whose founders includes KISS entrepreneur GENE SIMMONS, has recently broken 100 million clip views on YouTube. In the past three months alone, the network has been the subject of a cover story in the Hollywood Reporter and has also enjoyed feature coverage in USA Today, Variety, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, the Boston Herald, TV Week, the Denver Post and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Original series In Bed with Carrie, hosted by No Good TV's own Carrie Keagan, is nominated for Best Web Talk Show in the first annual TV Guide Online Video Awards. Keagan herself was recently inducted into the Broadcast Film Critic's Association. No Good TV recently signed with the Endeavor talent agency and partnered with 3 Arts Entertainment to launch a late-night television series with Robert Morton (The Late Show with David Letterman) on board as executive producer.

Kourosh Taj, Co-President and Head of Programming for No Good TV responded with the following comment, "We'd like to thank our friends at YouTube for their tremendous support. They have created true digital democracy online by providing an amazing vehicle for new networks to connect with a mass audience. Of course, we are especially grateful to all our fans worldwide and our friends in the entertainment industry who get a kick out of being NO GOOD!"

GENE SIMMONS Hopes Face-Time On The Apprentice Will Leverage Other Business Endeavors

San Jose Mercury News has issued the following report from Jennifer Martinez:

"Donald Trump is shaking things up on his reality show The Apprentice. On the January 3rd debut of the reality show, 14 celebrities will be stepping in as participants and facing the Donald in the boardroom.

Among the celebrity contestants on the show is the executive everyone loves to hate - Omarosa. After her bitter goodbye from the boardroom in 2004, it's odd that she decided to make a return to the show. Never one to conceal her dislike for Donald Trump, Omarosa provided a short reason for her participation in the show: "I did it for redemption."

Yikes, it looks like the claws are already out and sharpened for the upcoming season. It's time to get ready for some heart pounding boardroom confrontations and tongue lashings between Omarosa and Donald following the New Year.

Other celebrity participants include "Sopranos" star Vincent Pastore (he was Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero), Olympic gold medalists Nadia Comeneci and Jennie Finch, "Taxi" star Marilu Henner, Piers Morgan from "America's Got Talent," and GENE SIMMONS from KISS.

Simmons is hoping his face time with the Donald will leverage some of his other business endeavors. "I'm in the Gene Simmons business," he told the AP of his plan.

The celebrities will be competing for cash donations to their favorite charities, with the grand prize being a check for $250,000 to the winner's charity.

KISS' GENE SIMMONS - Audio Interview Available

KISS' GENE SIMMONS called in to The Woody Show on KITS LIVE 105 recently to promote the DVD release of his Gene Simmons Family Jewels program.

Check out the audio interview at this location (scroll down).

Meet GENE SIMMONS Tomorrow At Toronto Area 7-Eleven And Mac's Stores




GENE SIMMONS of KISS and the Frank's Energy Girls will be making four appearances tomorrow, Saturday, November 24th in Toronto, Ont. Fans are encouraged to come out and meet The Demon in person at the following locations:

7-Eleven - 260 College St. - 12pm to 12:30pm

7-Eleven - 334 Bloor St. W - 12:45pm to 1:15pm

7-Eleven - 1 Eglinton Ave. E. - 1:45pm to 2:15pm

Mac's - 1507 Avenue Rd. - 2:45pm to 3:15pm

GENE SIMMONS Royal Crown Revue; Video Available

KISS legend GENE SIMMONS has issued the following update:

"Here is a bootleg video (click below) taken from the recent Hard Rock Hotel Vegas debut of something I've always dreamed of doing: fronting my own 13 piece big band. So, here it is -- the Gene Simmons Royal Crown Revue....but for now, you'll only get a few seconds of it. You'll see the whole thing when our Season III of Gene Simmons Royal Crown Revue debuts in a few months."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WwbhBcynso&eurl=http://www.bravewords.com/news/78539

GENE SIMMONS Roast Photos Online






Kissasylum.com/Hollywood.com is reporting:

Pictured are Tracy Tweed, GENE SIMMONS and Shannon Tweed at the Gene Simmons Roast held last night (Tuesday, November 27) at the Key Club on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Hollywood.com has posted other exclusive photos from the event, a benefit for Wounded Warriors, at www.hollywood.com

The Roast was hosted by comedian Jeffrey Ross and was taped by A&E to air sometime in April 2008. Among the celebrities and comedians that appeared were Brian Poshen, Carrot Top, Dave Navarro, Craig Gass, Danny Bonaduce, Eddie Griffin, Fred Armisen, Jim Norton, John Heffron, Lisa Lampanelli, Ralphie May, Shannon Tweed and Steve-O.

GENE SIMMONS - Sex, Money And Washing-Up
Queensland, Australia's Brisbane Times reports:

It's a new take on the superstar who fronts one of the world's most successful bands.

But there he is, large as life, cleaning up after the cat, washing the dishes and climbing into bed in his bright red pyjama suit.

Ageing rocker GENE SIMMONS, tongue-wagging KISS frontman and bassist who claims to have slept with over 4,600 women, is about to reveal all for Australian television.

Gene Simmons' Family Jewels is a reality television show that follows the family life of the rockstar, his former Playboy Playmate of the Year partner Shannon Tweed and their two children Nick, 18 and Sophie, 15.

The first series of the show will go to air in Australia from January 9 on Foxtel's Bio Channel.

Simmons says he didn't consult his family before filming started because, well, he's Gene Simmons.

"I have a peculiar lifestyle, I don't really check around to see if it's okay," Simmons told AAP from Beverly Hills.

"I sort of do what I want to do and then people whose lives I make possible trust that my judgments are correct.

"The idea of democracy in a home is highly overrated."

However, the rocker doesn't seem quite as tough on the first episode of the show, as his wife forces him to do the housework on her birthday.

It's a very different insight into the man who fronts one of the world's most successful bands.

Read the full story at this location.

GENE SIMMONS Became A TV Apprentice

www.KISSAsylum has issued the following report, courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times' Cindy Pearlman:

Five Qs: It all started when Donald Trump askedm 'Hey, you want to do the show?'

Is a rocker smart enough to be "The Celebrity Apprentice"? KISS frontman GENE SIMMONS says you should never be too sure. "I think it's fair to say that if it wasn't for the guitar hanging around their necks, many rockers would probably be asking the next person in line if they'd like some fries with that," he opines.

Even so, Simmons joins up for the next installment of The Apprentice, debuting January 3rd on NBC, where celebs try to win $1 million for their charity. How cutthroat was it? Simmons says it wasn't for the faint of heart. "I can't be specific, but the truth is that there was literally more than one doctor that was brought onto the set because of the physical exhaustion."

1) Gene, you've done much more in life than rock the house, so you might be great at all the Apprentice tasks. What else have you done in life?

"I started off as a sixth grade teacher in Spanish Harlem. I also worked for Vogue magazine as an assistant. I was a man Friday to the editor in chief years ago and did lots of stuff. I also worked as the assistant to the director of Puerto Rican Interagency Council, a government-funded research and demonstration project. I've done it all."

2) How did Donald Trump lure you into doing Celebrity Apprentice?

"I went to a restaurant and I saw the powerful, attractive and world-famous Donald Trump there. And on the way out, we exchanged pleasantries and it was sort of a 'Hey, you want to do the show?' kind of thing. It was very fast and I went to myself, 'Well, I got a lot of stuff, KISS is going back out on tour, I got to tie my shoe and - wait a minute. That's an interesting idea.' ... Of course because I'm delusional, I thought I was going to sit in the judge's seat on Celebrity Apprentice. I didn't know Donald Trump was going to throw me right into the pits of hell with people like Marilu Henner. She's all smiles and innocent, and little miss goody two-shoes. She's a killer."

3) What makes you want to compete in something like The Apprentice?

"You know, I'm blessed to be the king of my own domain, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. But the question is if the rug is pulled out from under you and you don't have your support system, your staff, and your infrastructure, how good are you really? I'm also an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs, it seems to me, by and large are self-motivators and self-starters. They'd rather do it themselves and sort of outsource and use somebody else's infrastructure to get to where they want to go -- it's a cheaper business model. So I wanted to see how good I was in another situation. I was curious. I mean, I'm the rat that knew the maze to get to the cheese as a rocker. But how good am I in a brand new maze? The question is -- and this is what any champion in any field will eventually have to ask himself or herself -- once you've got enough money, once you've got enough fame and the glitz, and the glamor and the power, and the accoutrement of the American dream, when all the flashbulbs are gone and the girls stop kissing you, and you put the awards away and the sun comes up the next morning, and you're there by yourself -- will you get up at the crack of dawn and try to beat your own record?"

4) What did you learn about Donald Trump from this experience?

"I learned that the people who have a problem with Donald Trump and the 'You're fired' routine aren't pragmatic. You know, they think you're supposed to say nice things in life and that, you know, nobody can be fired. The truth is in life if people don't like what you do or you don't make sense, it's nothing personal. It's business. This is business and how you feel about it personally is beside the point. So my suggestion for everybody watching this show is to put on your thick skin, 'cause -- buckle up. It's going to be a rough ride."

5) Do you think some of your fans will now see you in a different light as a hard working, hustling Apprentice to Trump doing menial and businesslike tasks? Will this blow our image of you?

"The disadvantage I had on the show is that I come from the boogeyman world, which is the rock world. I do some other stuff, but if you're in the rock world you're supposed to be big and bad, and you're supposed to be surrounded by beautiful women all the time. And, you know, people think of the accoutrements, the posse and the guys. People think you flinch and somebody brings you Champagne. I don't drink at all, by the way. So in some ways this Apprentice goes certainly against what I'm supposed to be projecting. But so what?"

GENE SIMMONS Day Proclaimed In Honoluluc

The following story is courtesy of Sam Slom from Hawaiireporter.com:

GENE SIMMONS was the keynote speaker at the 32nd Annual Small Business Hawaii (SBH) Business and Investment Conference in Honolulu last Wednesday, January 9.

Gene Simmons joined a long and distinguished list of former SBH keynoters including Steve Forbes, William Simon, Dr. John Rutledge, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, Wally "Famous" Amos, Howard Jarvis, Governors, Mayors and Congressmen, among others.

In his keynote speech to SBH, before a packed, sold-out, admittedly curious audience in the Ala Moana Hibiscus Ballroom last week, he spoke not of the "Ten Points to Make You Rich Like Me," but of the many more points and paths to personal success and happiness.

He stuck to the basics, like dependability, standing by your word, showing up, and the importance of a good work ethic. He was very specific and graphic. He stressed the fact that young people should do many different things and learn from each.

Gene Simmons emphasized the importance of business relationships and of the art of listening. He was hard on some people in the audience who asked him questions after his presentation – hard on them as a good mentor should be. He said they talked abstractly of their "ideas," but had not thought out the path to realization of those dreams and ideas.

Simmons, however, has a real soft spot for women (mothers in particular) and girls who he said should go to organizations like Junior Achievement early.

His speech ended with a prolonged standing ovation.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann presented an official proclamation declaring January 9, Gene Simmons Day in Honolulu.

GENE SIMMONS Speaks At Small Business Hawaii Annual Conference



BuddyTV has issued the following report:

Last Wednesday, January 9th, rock icon and reality star GENE SIMMONS attended the Small Business Hawaii's 32nd Annual Business and Investment Conference.

Simmons, who stars in A&E's hit reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, served as the event's keynote speaker.

His talk, called “Ten Points To Make You Rich Like Me", was heard by 300 attendees of the conference, which was held at the Ala Moana hotel from 8 AM to 2 PM.

Gene Simmons shared various entrepreneurial secrets, and after his presentation participated in a Q&A session with the audience.

He also took the time to sign autographs and pose for photos.

Read the full story at BuddyTV.

GENE SIMMONS Checks In Following St. Pete Indy Grand Prix

KISS legend GENE SIMMONS has issued the following update:

"Just returned from the St. Pete Indy Grand Prix. Wow. The St. Pete race is a street race that wanders along the shoreline inside the city. The yachts were lined up to watch the races, as well as an estimated 100,000 people. The Royal Family of Racing is the Andretti Family - Three generations of the Supermen of Speed - Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and now, Marco Andretti. And, this being the second race of this year's Indycar Racing Season, it also marks the reunification of Indycar and Cart/Champ Car. So, there were more cars than ever. More frenzy. More speed. More of everything. Want to go? Check out where and when the next IndyCar Race is and c'mon down. Click here."

KISS' GENE SIMMONS - "When The Band Was Starting Off, We Noticed That T-Shirts And Non-Music Items Were Earning A Substantial Amount Of Money"

Stacy Perman from Businessweek.com spoke to KISS legend GENE SIMMONS recently about
entrepreneurship, failure and other topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Which do you consider yourself first, a rock star or an entrepreneur?
Simmons: "That's an interesting question and the simple answer is a bit of both. Nobody does just one thing. But the real difference between being an entrepreneur and everyone else in the world is the ability to monetize. I am an entrepreneur in the classic mold. No matter what I do—outside of sticking my tongue out—I tend to make money, and quite a bit in non-KISS stuff."

How did you understand so early that you could leverage KISS into other business ventures?
Simmons: "When the band was starting off, we noticed that T-shirts and non-music items were earning a substantial amount of money. KISS quickly became a multi-headed beast: rock band and rock 'n' roll brand—and the only one to have endured the ages and decades of fads and fashions. Today we have 3,000 licensed products, everything from condoms to caskets. We have you coming and going."

Where would you say got your business education?
Simmons: "The United States of America. The best school is the street, and most successful entrepreneurs did not go to Wharton. Both Google and Hewlett-Packard were created in a garage. The difference between those that become a Buffett success—and I don't mean Jimmy—have an innate inborn connection. Their snouts are close to the ground. If you look at the CEOs of some the most successful companies in the world like IKEA, they never fly first class. They always goes economy. Sam Walton of Wal-Mart had a second-hand car and lived in the middle of nowhere."

Read more here.

GENE SIMMONS Sex Tape Girl Loses Famous Friends Over Scandal

According to World Entertainment News Network, the nurse caught on camera having sex with KISS rocker GENE SIMMONS has lost a handful of celebrity friends because of the scandal.

Sexy Traci Anna Koval claims Simmons has accused her of leaking the video, but she insists the tape, which went public online earlier this year (08), was not released by her.
And Koval, who reveals she signed away her rights to the sex tape in 2003, has suffered more shame and humiliation than her famous one-night stand.

She tells Hustler magazine, "I'm the victim. I didn't try to capitalise on this situation... I've lost longtime friends like (director) Michael Bay and (actor) Crispin Glover.

"I was at one of (rapper) Ja Rule's houses in Southern California, just chilling with him and his friends, and he freaked out about the Gene Simmons sex tape. He kicked me out of the house." Koval admits she has since renewed her friendship with the rapper.

GENE SIMMONS - "KISS Is Gearing Up For Big, Worldwide Events, To Celebrate Our 35th Anniversary!"

KISS' GENE SIMMONS checks in with the following update:

"It's been busier than usual, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Worked with BRUCE KULICK on a new song called 'Ain't Gonna Die' for his solo album. Yesterday, did voice overs for a Second TV Series I have, debuting in a month or two. More news when I'm free to comment. Gene Simmons Family Jewels Series IV is also concurrently shooting new episodes. Season IV order has also been expanded to include more new episodes. If you guys missed out on Season's I, II and III, you can order them on Amazon or here. Shooting a movie at the same time. Can't release title, director or studio just yet.

Simmons Abramson signed new clients - and we'll post that info soon. And, we continue to have meetings to maximize and cross pollinate our existing clients - Indycar Series, Frank's Energy Drink, Find.com and others. I'm going up to Canada to be the Keynote Speaker at the Entrepreneur Organization. Continue to do press for my Ladies Of The Night (Simmons Books/Phoenix Books) Best Seller.

Simmons Comics/IDW Pub is about to release Phantasmagoria - which will feature all of our characters in one book - Zipper, Dominatrix and stories from Gene Simmons House Of Horrors. All new stories, writers and artists. Coming soon.

We also have Four New Television Projects in the "active" area. More news soon.

www.NGTV.COM is going gangbusters. I'm Chairman of the Board. Check it out.

And KISS is gearing up for big, worldwide events, to celebrate our 35th Anniversary!!!"

KISS' GENE SIMMONS Among Ten Teachers Who Made A Mark In Another Field






KISSonline.com is reporting:

KISS' Gene Simmons was included in the Ten Teachers Who Made A Mark In Another Field list on www.Britannica.com . The list also included Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Frost and US Presidents John Adams & Lyndon B. Johnson, among other greats.

The article written by Daniel Willingham reads as follows:

Everyone is concerned about the number of teachers leaving the profession. These ten individuals left teaching and went on to achieve greatness in their chosen fields. For some, you might think it possible that they would have done still more good remaining in the classroom. For others most would agree that it’s just as well that students learned from someone else.

(9) It is hard to believe that Gene Simmons could have been a teacher. He is known best as the frontman for the 1970’s rock band KISS , known for outrageous shows during which Simmons would spit blood, breath fire, and taunt the audience. But Simmons did teach sixth grade in Spanish Harlem. Simmons was reportedly fired for, among other things, replacing the Shakespearean play in the curriculum with Spiderman comics.

Click here to visit the Encyclopedia Britannica Blog to view the entire list