Gene Simmons

Well, I'm like most Americans, we don't vote by party, we both by the person because a person is bigger than the party, which is why sometimes the Democrats get in and sometimes the Republicans get in.

I'm in a weird band. We've done very well. The American Dream is alive and well.

Rock is about finding who you are. You don't necessarily have to play your instrument very well at all. You can just barely get by and you can be in a rock band.

If you think about it, critics are an unnecessary life-form on the planet Earth, and here's why: because it's a job without credentials. You don't have to go to school.

When you walk through a bad neighborhood, you don't want a poodle by your side. You want a Rottweiler.

I'm forbidden fruit. Once you go to certain households, mommy doesn't want you to see that dirty man who sticks his tongue out and spits out blood and all that stuff.

I have to have an emotional connection to what I am ultimately selling because it is emotion, whether you are selling religion, politics, even a breath mint.

If you're building a house, or doing anything, time is what you've got. Well, there's effort, but you need time. The more time you put into something, the better stuff you can make.

I fail all of the time. It means nothing.

Fiscally, I'm very conservative. I don't believe in welfare states. I believe in giving people jobs.

I work for everything I've got. I started off as a very poor kid. I want to get paid.

I fly economy. I do often fly first class, but I don't travel with a posse, or bodyguard, or an assistant.