We’ve got a new chunk out of our interview with KISS legend Gene Simmons to share with you! In this portion of Simmons’ recent visit to our studio, the Demon talks about essential pieces of KISStory, Donald Trump’s presidency, how terrorists view Americans, jamming with Ace Frehley and more.

Since Simmons’ new The Vault box set celebrates 50 years of Gene in the world of music, we decided to gaze into the past. We asked Gene to recall his first ever television interview, which took place in 1974 on The Mike Douglas Show. Simmons went all-out during his segment, acting vampiric and proclaiming himself to be the personification of all evil, to very mixed reactions.

“When I watched it back, I thought it went too far,” Simmons shares. “It was too tongue-and-cheekish and I wanted it to be real serious, so ‘The Demon’ came naturally. That persona, that ‘other me’ that’s onstage, is not a costume or an act, it’s who I am onstage.”

Simmons also reveals Donald Trump has invited him “once or twice” to come visit the White House, but Gene hasn’t been able to make it. “I do have a piece of advice for everybody — stop picking on each other and arguing with each other. It’s just politics … Stop fighting amongst each other, because we’re supposed to be one country. You will have the power the next time you go to the voting booth. Draw the curtains — it’s nobody’s damn business who you vote for — and vote your conscience.”

Gene continues, “al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades, Hamas, all the rest of the bad guys… they actually don’t think of you as Republicans or Democrats, they hate all of you, they think of you as Americans. Now that’s a good idea, how about you’re just the American party and within the American party you’ll disagree?”

Check out our chat with Gene Simmons above and visit GeneSimmonsVault.com to check out his new box set.

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