𧾠View Thread
𧾠Thread (25 tweets)
On Power, Gene Simmons. Picked it up because heâs a marketing genius, and after watching a couple of interviews with him I found him rather thoughtful and nuanced https://t.co/xlYWkbNF0h
âI wasnât born me. I had to create me. And you can create you.â Prime Ministers, Presidents, CEOs arenât born in those roles. They have to make certain choices and possess the desire to become something bigger. + a lot of luck + being in the right place at the right time
Born in Haifa, Israel, 1949 Momâs family was sent to concentration camps in Nazi Germany, she was 14 + only survivor. She doesnât throw anything away Israel is small, war zone was 1-2 hours away Received a CARE package: realized kind anonymous strangers exist in the world
1958, arrived in New York. Crashed at uncleâs place in Brooklyn. Mom worked in sweatshop, half a cent per button sewed to winter coats. 7am to 7pm, 6 days a week, $100 a week at best. She still cried every night watching this on TV, because freedom https://t.co/p0AtSbDXgK
TV was a huge influence on Gene. He was eager to learn everything he could. He discovered Superman, cowboys, monster movies - all of this was extra-new to him. He mimicked TV news anchors rather than Brooklyn accent. Rebranded self from young age (12-13?)
âI was starting to think about money and girls, and I wanted both.â $15/wk newspaper route Saved $600 in a year Took a second route, worked at a butcherâs shop scrubbing fat and blood from the chopping block daily Saved $1,000 1964: saw The Beatles, vision for band implanted
In high school he was drawn to something called Junior Achievement, where he learned about business, raising capital, selling shares, marketing a product, buying insurance, hoping to see a profit, and paying taxes on that He considers this more useful than learning history dates
After graduating, was hired by a temp agency - typing skills led him to working at a legal firm, then Glamour mag, then Vogue (typing boy to managing editor Kate Lloyd) Directors assistant of Puerto Rico Interagency Council + checkout guy at a deli Taught 6th graders
1973, turned 23. Right place right time in NYC, started KISS while living at momâs place to save money. Had amassed $23,000 after taxes. Didnât want a serious relationship: nothing and nobody was to get in the way of his dreams
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 affected Gene deeply. Like me, Gene felt like an outsider in the country he was in. And The Beatles were clearly outsiders in the US - feminine, small, gentle features, funny hair. They validated the idea that you can be different and accepted
âIn retrospect we had no idea what we were doing. Luck & timing were important. Sometimes you have to make the leap even if you donât know [...] itâs not a strategy, itâs just a part of life. You canât know the future. You can only hone your instincts and try to trust them.â
Gene used his office facilities at work to put together KISSâs first media kit. He copied the addresses of every record company and manager listed in music trade magazines and sent all of them a copy. âThe best way to hit a bulls-eye is to use a machine gun.â
KISS booked their own shows. This let them get bands more popular than them to open for them, and headline when they âdidnât deserve toâ. Gene describes one show where they grossed $750 and profited a few hundred dollars after paying everyone else; love that he has these numbers
Started touring in 1974 in a station wagon, taking turns driving and sleeping in the back on $75/mo. They ended up in SF completely broke, eating Heinz beans and frozen frankfurters. In a year and a half they headlined Anaheim Stadium, despite not having a hit single
Gene argues that thereâs a trope in childrenâs books: Bad people are powerful, and being powerful is bad. He then points out the airline oxygen mask rule, and how it implies âyou must be in a position of power if you are going to make a difference to those without power.â
âThe CEO may be greedier and power-obsessed, grotesque, selfish, vain. But who fed and clothed more people with their contribution? Itâs not poor, powerless Aladdin defeating rich, evil Jafar. Incidentally, Aladdin becomes rich in the end, doesnât he?)â
That the old heroes were not saints and charitable souls, but men of strength and power. The weak didnât like this, and sought to make the strong feel *shame* for enjoying their power - they wanted it to be unacceptable and undesirable to be strong
âPeople who do great good and [...] great evil have one crucial thing in common: greatness. Hitler was a vile human being. Power is out there for the taking. Why not grab it for the good guys? What keeps humanity evolving so it can develop ideas like compassion, art, humility..?â
Gene next spends quite a bit of time talking about Maslowâs hierarchy and how people complain too much and would quit their whining if they were dropped into a war zone, and how ideas like artistic integrity are a luxury