Here it is folks … the infamous interview Terry Gross did with KISS’s Gene Simmons for her NPR talk show “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” in 2002. The interview has been split into 3 parts for your edification. I can’t tell if Terry had any idea of what Gene was like prior to this interview … but Gene is playing himself to the hilt. It’s hard to tell who wins this battle of the bands, but I think Terry and Gene put up a good fight. I can’t tell if Gene is acting more like Ted Nugent or Andy Kaufman here. I think he’s way smarter than Nugent and there’s elements of this that seem tongue-in-cheek, but I also don’t think his performance in the interview is a complete put-on. Regardless, it’s one jaw-droppingly entertaining (almost) 30 minutes.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3: