Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has apparently taken note of the frenzy that comes following the deaths of many famous rock stars and wants nothing of it after he's gone.
Simmons says part of his motivation is getting to interface with his fans and have a dialogue about the mountain of previously unreleased material, as opposed to leaving all their questions to speculation for the rest of time.
He says that at times there's a lot of separation between himself and the fans. That's why so many of the levels of the release of Gene Simmons Vault Experience involve Simmons meeting fans in some form or fashion.
"There's always that distance, and every once in a while, I meet somebody who's got tattoos and everything, and you don't know what it's meant," Simmons tells Dave 'Higgo' Higgins' "Distortion" podcast. "And I get all choked up."
He says it's hard for artists to comprehend the impact they have, so he'd like to enjoy it while he's still around.
"I didn't want this stuff to come out after I was dead and gone, if you see what I mean. I want to celebrate it while I'm here with the fans."
Simmons added that it's taken him about 10 years to assemble all the recordings. Much of the process involved rummaging through old tapes. Once the tapes were located, Simmons had to find what was salvageable. Only then could he decide if the content was compelling enough to include on the set.
The result is "the largest box set of all time," as Simmons says—and he's not kidding.
"One day, I started at noon, I sat back and started playing all the songs back-to-back. It took me 18 hours to get through it all."
Get more info about the Gene Simmons Vault Experience here.
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