Dee Snider Recalls Realizing He And Gene Simmons Couldn’t Be Best Buddies

Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider opened up about the time he welcomed Gene Simmons as the guest of his show in an interview with Louder Sound and revealed how Simmons’ behavior changed his mind about becoming friends with the KISS icon.

As you may know, Dee Snider started to host his longtime radio program ‘The House Of Hair With Dee Snider’ in 1997. Since then, the show continued for almost 15 years thanks to Snider’s skill as a host and his devoted fan base. During these radio shows, Snider interviewed celebrities and played hard rock and metal playlists created by fan requests.

According to an interview by Louder Sound, one of the guests of his shows was the KISS legend, Gene Simmons. Apparently, the show went quite well, and the KISS bassist gave his phone number to Snider and told him to call him some time. Having a friendship with Simmons seemed reasonable for Snider at the time since he and Gene had lots of things in common such as staying away from drugs and alcohol throughout their musical careers.

During the interview, Snider stated that he called Simmons a few months later, however, the bassist didn’t even remember giving his number to him and asked how the hell Dee found his number. After his unexpected response during the phone call, Twisted Sister frontman realized that they weren’t going to be best buddies. However, Snider also added that he has great respect for KISS and their legendary records although he has never been a KISS fanatic.

Snider recalled these times in the Louder Sound interview as:

“I host a radio show in America, and Simmons was my guest. He gave me his card and said: ‘Dee, here’s my phone number. Give me a call some time.’ I’m not a Kiss fanatic but certainly, I bought my fair share of their early records. I give Kiss massive respect. Gene, along with Ted Nugent and myself, is one of the few rock stars to go: ‘No drugs, no alcohol, ever.’

It’s surely no coincidence that we’re three of the most rational, intelligent people you’ll ever meet, and still with ongoing careers of some sort beyond music. A few months later, I decided to give Simmons a call. ‘Gene! Dee Snider!’ Long pause. Then he said, angrily: ‘How the hell did you get this number?!’ I replied: ‘You gave it to me. Do you want me to hang up?’ That was when I got the idea that we weren’t going to be best buddies.”

Consequently, if Gene Simmons had answered the phone call from Dee Snider in a nicer manner, this could have been the beginning of a great and longtime friendship. However, the pair ended up being only colleagues and acquaintances.