Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Gene Simmons of KISS was involved in a car accident
On Tuesday afternoon, Gene Simmons crashed his car into a parked car on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, briefly putting him in the hospital, as reported by UCR. The Kiss singer told responding police that he either fainted or passed out while driving, according to NBC 4 Los Angeles. Simmons‘ car “careened across several lanes of traffic” before colliding with the second car, according to a police spokesperson. Shannon Tweed, Simmons‘ wife, informed the channel that her husband was currently recuperating at home and that his prescription had recently been modified by doctors. Tweed further out that the “God of Thunder” singer has also been told to drink more water, which is against his wishes, suggesting that dehydration was another contributing issue. Simmons himself assured NBC 4 in a voicemail that he was doing well.
For the first time since the last performance of their End of Road farewell tour in December 2023, Kiss is set to perform reunited onstage next month. The Kiss Kruise: Land Locked in Vegas event, which will be held at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas from November 14–16, will feature separate electric and acoustic unmasked performances by them. Ace Frehley, Simmons‘ former bandmate, announced the day before his crash that he would have to postpone his remaining 2025 tour dates because of “ongoing medical issues.” The main guitarist for the original Kiss postponed a gig in late September, citing “a minor fall” that occurred in his home recording studio.
Simmons spoke of that final show:
Very emotional. Pride, but also a little sad because… People who have been married, I’m guessing, a few times, but remember when it was real love and that magic of the thing, if it doesn’t last, there’s a sadness there. Sometimes it’s drugs and alcohol, sometimes they just go apart. But when it was great, it’s sad because not everybody survives life. And I’m still sad about Ace and Peter, who even today can’t enjoy the fruits of their labor. They were equally as important as Paul and myself in the formation of the band and those first few years — there’s no question about it. It was a four-wheel-drive vehicle. And then the air started coming out of two of the wheels to the point where — as a matter of fact, when it was time for Peter to go, Ace voted, ‘No, he’s gotta go. He can’t play the drums anymore.’ And then Ace, using his words, walked out of KISS. Even though we said, ‘You can stay in KISS. Have a solo career. We don’t want a penny of it. Have your cake and eat it too.’ And he said to my face, ‘No, I can’t stay in the band. He said it in print, ‘If I do another tour, I’m gonna kill myself.’ That’s verbatim. And I didn’t understand what that meant. I didn’t wanna get into it. And then he said, ‘You watch. I’m gonna sell 10 million records.’ I can’t respond to that. I don’t know what that meant. Logically — stay in the band, have your cake and eat it too.