Kevin Dudley I think that’s why he was so influential as a player. He took the Geezer Butler approach of doing his own thing and not just playing a low end version of what Paul was playing.
In the 70s rock bass players were more creative than in the 80s, that was the rule, with excetions without dubt. Motown, Jazz and another influences were too common pkaces in the rich and colourfull 70s music. Disco, funk, and hard rock, were not so far apart in his roots. In the 80s and beyond, all the new stuff was encapsulated and metal bass lines were allways one with the guitar riffs. That was trend. Monolithic sound but not so creative.
Gene laid down basic, simple bass lines. His genius is in his simplicity. He doesn't try to get all fancy or end up lost in the guitar mix, he fall right into the perfect spot of the song.
I play Kiss but I also play jazz and spacerock things. Its just a whole world of differences, in jazz you just play walking lines or you just show off while in my hardrock band im just your basic bassist (exept for the faxt that I play fretless).
Garegh62 Kiss itself became sell-outs in 1979 when they switched from Rock to Disco because it was more popular at the time, and after they released Creatures of the Night they got rid off the very thing (along with their music) that made them famous, their on stage image, their act. I think that dropping the make-up was a publicity stunt because all through out the 70's people wondered what they looked like without the make-up.
@cx2055607 Kiss dropped their makeup to adjust to the times. Animalize was a Platinum album in the US, while the superior Creatures of the Night was gold.
Gene Simmons is an excellent bass player. His onstage showmanship and gimmick have gotten so much attention most people dont realize the man is a killer bassist. In my view, highly underrated
Those who think Gene Simmons isn't a good bass player just can't get past his enormous ego to actually listen to his bass lines...or obviously don't know anything about bass or even music for that matter. Is he the best? Not by any means,but a very solid bass player that does exactly what a bass player is supposed to do.
For years now I’ve said that Gene (say what you want about him otherwise) is an immensely underrated bass player. Usually when I do, people (unless they’re musicians, usually) give me this “I’ve lost all respect for you” look. But I stand by it. The guy can play. Great job on this vid!
To the people saying this and that, I think the dude is basically letting it be known that Gene Simmons is the most underrated bass player of all time. No special tones, etc.. just raw bass.. Great job Bruno.. Kiss Army Boston, MA
A fraction of the recognition? He doesn't get any. Nobody is saying Gene is even that good when in fact, he is pretty damn good. What are you talking about?
?? Anyone who actually plays bass knows Gene is a very solid player. Plus, he can sing great, stomp around in 8" heels, spit blood, breathe fire and bed Shannon Tweed. Listen to Hotter Than Hell and get back to us. One of the best hard rock bassists ever.
People like myself get caught up in the great guitar sounds of rock bands like Kiss (Ace F.) but Gene did contribute legendary bass sounds to Kiss. Nice video.
Great job man! Gene is often overlooked for his bass playing because he sings smashing lead vocals too, but he’s actually one of the greatest bass players ever! Great collection of hits here, with amazing playing! 🤘🏻🎸👍🏻
mooch514 when KISS started he was a pretty good bass player. but when Kiss became huge he became "Gene Simmons" the character and less of Gene Simmons the bass player...
i think not even gene believes how great and creative musician he actually is. simple bass lines, but not poor. and hes a very good singer with an impecable sense of interpretation. i like him
@@alwaysopen7970 I've always play the song without a pick. I consider myself a classic bass player. Even though Gene was a big influence on me, I think Cliff Burton had more to do with how I played.
Gene is definately one of the finest rock bass players in the world. Remember he does it while wearing 20 pounds of gear, jumping all over the stage (ok not so much these days) and singing. There are very few players IN THE WORLD that could play these lines while singing.
LOVE IT. The key changes between some songs erked me, but you performed the bass lines really well. I love how you went RIGHT for the main riff of some songs. Gene is a good bassist! And so are you!
Hello I've been playing bass for many years. Your great. Gene simmons is why I picked up a bass to begin with. Love your classical stratavarious piece and your Steve Harrisburg tribute also Sonicboom.Amazing.
Bruno, such a good job. So nice to see someone highlighting the melodic bass lines of Gene Simmons and you even got an axe bass to do it! Keep up the good work.
awesome! im mainly a guitar player now, but i started out on bass. and it was was cuz i loved the bass line in Detroit Rock City. all the 70s KISS is what i started out learning on bass. i've been telling people Gene Simmons is/was a great bassist. maybe not technically great, but he always had good grooves and melodies. LOVE old KISS. my only complaint with this medley is the lack of GOIN' BLIND! Dude, that's like my favorite KISS bass tune!!!.
I learned a lot about playing bass from Kiss and Rush LPs in the mid 70s. Geddy is far more technically proficient in every way and harder to cover whereas Gene was more pop rock. Guess which style went over in clubs and got us back for more gigs?
Simmons plays like shit. Lick it up? I'd tear my thumbs off before playing that trash. Glam rock wankers with good marketing. Play some claypool you hack.
Das_Bobster 7 I can appreciate Claypool as anyone should. Just as Wooten, Jaco, Manring and Jamerson and Dunn deserve respect and acclaim. BUT, Simmons is an important bassist. Why? Because he influenced more people to even pick up the bass than so many others. Claypool makes people say, “That’s awesome but I couldn’t do that!” Simmons made them say, “I love that sound. Maybe I could do that too!” More bass players is a good thing and some of those go on to tackle what Claypool can do or at least give it a college try. I cannot knock Simmons’ bass playing at all even though it’s easy to point to many who are technically more proficient.
It's really simple: his attitude and his band. He really tends to act like a jackass and a shill. He seems to care more about business and spectacle than actual music, all while worshipping the stank of his own dick. Too bad, Simmons knows how to play bass simple and to the point, something sorely lacking these days in rock and metal. KISS are one of the biggest sellouts in rock, if not the biggest. They went far from their early days of rock through to what could easily be called radio rock and finally bland disco pop rock garbage. It made them money, sure, it's their work and own it, certainly, but it doesn't sit well with people.
Gene not gettng credit for his bass playing chops is sort of his own doing at times. He creates the illusion that he doesn't take his playing as serious as he does on his many business enterprises. But thats obviously not true just by that medley Bruno so aptly played. Gene is a damn fine bassist,and anyone that appreciates solid rhythm will attest to that.
Dang, this guy knows his bass lines. Well done, Bruno, very well done. No doubt, Gene is flattered. Took the wife to meet him, she has an Axe. Very nice man, Gene Simmons very cool. Had to make sure our meal was comped. Didn't expect that :-)
Thanks for the upload mate and thank you for bringing back memories to my early childhood cause i grew up on these guys and still listen to them in 2023 much love in Altoona srry for the spelling error had to fix it
The biggest reason alot of people don't like him is because he's so opinionated and wants things done to his specific way he see's things, right along with his big ego as well.
Donal Finn yea I agree with you a lot. I do think a lot of Kiss (or former) fans have their own reasons for hating him. I heard Terry Gross from NPR interview him and he came across like an abrasive sexist pig if that's all you knew about him. But, If you know more about him it seems obvious he gets insulated when you have a chance to interview him and the questions revolve around his tounge and how many women he banged in the 70s. Yea there's a time and place but NPR listeners may have cared more about the school he funds in some impoverished place or his experiences as an Israeli refugee or the books he's read or languages he speaks. So some people probably rub him the wrong way and what they get in return is what everyone else sees about him. I've heard things from him that lead me to think he's probably a very deep emotional caring person.
Not trying to be a noisy person. But however, how much does a bass like that cost. I'm interested in purchasing one. I'm a huge Gene Simmons fan. You did a great job by the way. Very good. Thanks for posting this video.
Last I saw an official replica of his axe bass is $1500. However, I've heard there's a Chinese company online putting them out at under $200. Don't know how good it would sound if it had cheap hardware and pick-ups?
Cort basses suck. How many of them do you see in the hands of "real" musicians? I much prefer my Warmoth P-J bass over a Cort anything. Same pup configuration but yuckkk.
A lot of people I've seen playing "Detroit Rock City" don't realize that the 1st and 3rd down scale runs during the verse are different than the 2nd and 4th.
Gene is a good, solid player. Very under-rated. No, Geddy Lee's job is secure and Gene wasn't top of the list when The Who needed a bassist to replace John Entwistle but, he's good for the type of no frills rock Kiss does.
Do a search for isolated bass tracks for Beatles songs - most of Paul M's lines are pretty boring compared to Gene, even though the Beatles were considered musicsl geniuses. These bass lines are really alive and fun.
