Talking with Hazy Rock back in 2014, Pete Townshend said that the “Kiss phenomenon” would never happen in the United Kingdom. And I mean that the very nicest way,” Gene Simmons said. I mean, we have more firepower on that stage than some third-world countries. You got to give them something they’ll remember, and the lights. But when you go to a live event, you got to tickle the orbs. So when you’re at home or in your car, it’s just your ear that gets tickled. You go away not just remembering the sound but also what you saw.” Gene Simmons continued: Townshend was smashing his guitar, and Roger Daltrey, who’s become my friend, is twirling his microphone, and all that. But it wasn’t until I saw The Who and the English bands, especially The Who and a few others that understood – there were smoke bombs. I loved Sly & The Family Stone, and The Lovin’ Spoonful and all kinds of bands that came before. “The main issue for me has always been – I was so disappointed growing up with seeing bands whose music I loved. Simmons recalled that he got dissapointed many times by going to see some of his favorite bands that didn’t had much more than the music at their live shows. So they deserve to have an incredible experience, that must be complete. The musician continued saying that fans pay a lot of money for a concert ticket. Whenever you see Jimi Hendrix footage, the classic stuff is him on the floor, on top of his guitar lighting it on fire, or Townshend smashing his guitar, and all that stuff. So you’ve got a point to the greats that came before you. You can’t be here without those who have gone before. As Gene Simmons said in a conversation with Kyle Meredith in 2021, they learned a lot from The Who. Even in the early days when the band had not a big budget had many lights, fire and other special effects that made their show bigger than any other band around at the time. Kiss is not only praised for their music, but also for their live concerts. According to Simmons, Kiss learned a lot about showmanship with The Who He said the same for Ringo Starr ( Beatles) and John Bonham ( Led Zeppelin), that according to Simmons maybe wouldn’t fit in The Who, because it would be “too plodding” and wouldn’t have a “soaring effect”. That gave him a lot of room to “be” Keith Moon. The reason would be because the group had only one bassist and guitarist. In the same interview he also said that The Who’s late drummer couldn’t work with any other band. Otherwise, you’re never going to become a champion,” Gene Simmons said. We’ll kill them.’ That’s what every boxer should have in his heart when he steps into the ring with the champion. I want new bands to come and see us and go, ‘Yeah, pretty good. “This is going to be embarrassing because I hold The Who in such high esteem, ‘We’re going to kill them.’ And that’s what you want from new talent. And I remember Paul and I looked at each other.” The sound was all mired, and The Who weren’t really The Who. Was a flawed attempt, it was reaching too high. “And we’re sitting there and The Who come on and we can’t wait. Al Kooper, who discovered them, came from Blood, Sweat and Tears.” Gene Simmons continued: Bill Aucoin, who just came on to manage KISS in late ’73, said to myself and Paul, “Hey, we’re going to Philly to see The Who, want to come along?” It was the Quadrophenia tour. “The first time I saw The Who live? It’s a funny story. The musician recalled that he told his bandmate Paul Stanley that they were good on stage, but that Kiss would “kill them”, because the American group was really good playing live. In the same conversation he recalled the first time that he had the chance to see The Who live. The musician praised the record said that is extremely hard to do a concept album and they done an incredible job, something that according to Simmons, Kiss couldn’t “shine their shoes” when the group tried to do the concept album “Music From ‘The Elder'” (1981). In an interview with Goldmine magazine in 2023, Simmons listed The Who’s “Tommy” (1969) as one of the 10 albums that changed his life. At every concert of the American Hard Rock, they use a snippet of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” in the middle of the live version of “Lick It Up”. It’s not a secret that The Who was a band that influenced the Kiss members a lot. Over the years, the Kiss bassist and singer Gene Simmons gave his opinion on many of his peers, including The Who. Even though the two groups didn’t appear at the same era, they are considered nowadays two of the most influential bands in the history of music.
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