In a new interview with Zak Khun, KISS’ Gene Simmons shared his thoughts on Foo Fighters and explained why they can’t be the next Beatles.
The discussion came about while Simmons was talking about whether or not rock is dead. After Simmons asked Kuhn to name two other bands that could be the new Beatles, the host named Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam. “Not on your life,” Simmons said in response to the mentioned bands.
“Of course, I love Foo Fighters. I love those bands. Mike McCready told me he was growing up with those KISS records. In fact, one of his solos… he took note for note from Ace Frehley. But that’s not my point. My point is if you randomly walk down the street and you ask the first young person you meet, a 20-year-old, and you say, ‘Name me anybody in Pearl Jam,’ good luck with that. ‘Name me or tell me a song. Hum a song.’ They [can’t],” the rocker clarified his reasoning.
“You and I are blinded because we’re very close to it,” Simmons continued. “So here’s something the rest of the world knows, but we don’t. Who’s the prime minister of England? Tell me who the prime minister of France is. Tell me who the prime minister of Canada is. And by the way, next to Pearl Jam and Nirvana, strangely, Dave Grohl has become far more popular. They may know Dave because he’s done TV commercials and sort of rubbed shoulders with people outside of guitars and concerts. That’s how you get to be iconic.”
“So if I say Snoop Dogg, everybody knows who that is, but if you mention other rappers who might actually be bigger rap stars — M.C. Criminal or whatever; I just made that up — the masses wouldn’t have any idea. It’s because Snoop plays in media — he had a TV show with Martha Stewart, and that kind of thing. So the masses have no idea who’s in Phish, one of my favorite bands, or Pearl Jam. They wouldn’t have a clue, unless you’re a fan,” he added.
It seems that Grohl and Simmons share more than just a love for Foo Fighters — they are friends. During a Foo Fighters show in 2021, Simmons joined the band on stage. In fan footage, Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett starts playing the riff from KISS’ ‘Calling Dr. Love’ from the ‘Rock and Roll Over’ album, while Grohl signals to the crowd that Simmons is backstage. He then encourages the KISS bassist to come out and join them.
After the show, Simmons posted a photo of Grohl wearing the iconic KISS ‘The Demon’ face paint. He also shared a clip of Grohl joking around with the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
