In a new interview with Guitar World, Gene Simmons shared why he’s not a fan of Flea’s bass playing.
“All due respect, but that music is intended to show off how well you play – but I don’t care about that,” the KISS bassist said. “The hardest thing to do is write a good simple song or riff. That’s really hard.”
He added, “There are an awful lot of amazing bass players, like Jaco Pastorius and the jazz guys. Or guys like Flea, who is really good on his instrument, but I can’t remember anything he plays – and I also do not like the sound of a bass being slapped.”
Earlier this month, Simmons faced criticism for his comments as a guest judge on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ On October 9, the musician made remarks about the contestants’ looks while judging the show’s Hair Metal Night episode.
After NFL player Danny Amendola and his partner Witney Carson performed the Paso Doble to Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ Simmons said, “This is a brand new experience for me and it’s difficult to look at you and to figure out which one is more hot, hot, hot. Danny, I’m telling you, you’re right next to somebody, one of the more beautiful women on the planet.”
After Chandler Kinney and her partner Brandon Armstrong performed a Jive to Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ Simmons told Kinney, “You fogged up my glasses” and added, “You move me, not just with your gyrations and so on, but your beautiful face and how you were into the emotion of it.”
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Gene responded to the backlash and stood by his comments. He explained, “I stand by every word I said. I had a great time. The contestants were great. The show was great. Watch the show. It was a lot of fun. Everybody’s got something to say. Watch the show. It was a lot of fun. Everybody had a great time.”
That episode featured contestants dancing to famous hair metal songs. Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra played a solo to a cover of KISS’ ‘Rock and Roll All Nite.’ Songs from Poison, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, and more were included.