GENE SIMMONS: AXL ROSE Is The Reason GUNS N' ROSES Is Not The Biggest Band In The World

November 14, 2011

Music-News.com last week conducted an interview with KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons at the Sanctum Hotel in London, England. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about what advice he would offer the members of GUNS N' ROSES with respect to staying at the top of their game, the rock icon said, "You get to sleep in the bed you make. It's simple. If you're lucky enough to be accepted on stage by the audience, if you're lucky enough to be able to write a song, if you're lucky enough to have charisma on stage, that's the beginning. And then you've got to be able to deliver night after night after night. And not everybody is designed to run a marathon. Because to be a rock star for decades means you're running a marathon.

"GUNS N' ROSES could have been the best band in the world, and the reason they're not is because of [singer] Axl Rose. I mean, the drugs, the heroin, the alcohol and all that. But ultimately, it falls on Axl's shoulders."

After he was asked what Axl could have done to change that path, Gene said, "A good beating would have helped. I mean, when you misbehaved as a little kid and continued to do it, there was somebody there to give you a what for. Then when you become a grown-up, who's there to set you straight?"

Simmons was in London to host the seventh annual Classic Rock Roll Of Honour, which was held on November 9 at the world-famous Roundhouse in Camden, England.

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