Monday March 3, 2008
Family first
By RIZAL JOHAN
If you’ve never watched Gene Simmons Family Jewels on TV before, maybe it’s time you did.
Reality TV families are a bizarre lot but if they weren’t then you’re better off watching something else. The success of The Osbournes kicked off this entirely new TV genre which it has, in its wake, spawned a string of shows based on famous or almost famous (Gastineau Girls anyone?) personalities or celebrities and the motions they go through with their families.
Usually, the more dysfunctional a family is, the more attention it gets but despite all the turmoil portrayed in Hollywood celebrity families, there is one family that manages to keep it together (and they’ve gotten a lot of attention because of it too). This family is none other than KISS bass player Gene Simmons’ brood, and Malaysian audiences are about to witness the show’s second season – Gene Simmons Family Jewels – come Wednesday on Channel [V].
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The Simmons: Homer, Marge ... sorry. Dad Gene Simmons minus the KISS make-up and tongue thing, mom Shannon Tweed, and the kids Nick and Sophie. |
Much of what makes Family Jewels an entertaining watch is Simmons and his larger-than-life persona and his family’s attempt to belittle him every chance they get but Simmons is ultimately cool for a rock-star dad and he’s got the wit to match. In a recent conference call interview with Simmons and Tweed, the couple displayed an amazing amount of charm with their responses and banter so much so that the interview is better read verbatim.
In your opinion, what sets Gene Simmons Family Jewels apart from all the other reality TV shows out there?
Tweed: We’re real and we’re not a car accident.
Simmons: I think women around the world, especially in Malaysia, would love to see a woman like Shannon. Shannon Tweed is a modern 21st century woman, who doesn’t define herself by any man – certainly not me. I think that’s a great wakeup call to women around the world. I don’t care what religion or culture you are from. You (women) are more important than you think you are. Maybe you’re even more important than the men in the world, and that’s a self-empowering message. If the women of the world want to see what a super 21st century woman is like, you watch our show and you’ll see Shannon Tweed, who speaks her mind, and if she doesn’t agree with me ?
Tweed: You know just because I kick your a** doesn’t mean I’m modern.
Simmons: That’s what I mean.
Shannon, Gene seems to know what he likes and certainly seems to know what he doesn’t like as well. Is he hard to please?
Tweed: He’s a very easy man to please if he says what he wants, don’t you think? I don’t like guessing, and when it’s clear, it’s easier for everyone. That’s why I’m clear about what I want, and why I’m attracted to an outspoken person.
Simmons: I think women have to stop with the, ‘What pleases my man?’ The middle ages are gone. You’re no longer indentured slaves. You’re free. You don’t even have to take the man’s last name.
Tweed: You’re making it sound like I don’t please you all the time, which is completely untrue because I’m really good at it.
Simmons: (Laughs) But even the notion of “what pleases him?” is positioning it the wrong way. Shannon is who she is, and the reason I worship her is because of that.
Tweed: But, let me tell you what the double standard is. I believe that you should run around thinking about how to please me all the time.
Simmons: (Laughs) You see.
In this day and age with celebrities being pursued by the media, did you think long and hard about allowing the camera into your home?
Tweed: No he did not. No, he didn’t think long or hard. He said, “Come on in.” It made me want to hang myself.
Simmons: I would say that it’s fair to point out that most celebrities live a double life. There’s the public persona and then privately, they have relationships with farm animals.
Tweed: Not us, no. We have to show everybody everything.
Simmons: Yeah, I am who I am and we are who we are, take it or leave it. You can’t please everybody. The show is mostly about who we are, how we lead our lives, and also what I do in business, where I go, what I do. Very little of it is about KISS. It’s about the other stuff. Although, KISS is about to go out on a world tour, starting in Australia and New Zealand, and then goes throughout Europe, Russia, Greece and all that.
Do you have a preference between being on television and going on tour?
Tweed: I like Gene on tour better. That’s a joke.
Simmons: Life shouldn’t be about having to pick just one. If life gives you a menu, you should be able to pick as many of those things out of life that make you happy – I like touring, I like doing the show, we have a marketing company Simmons Abramson Marketing that does the IndyCar Series, including the Indy 500, we also have races in Japan. I have a cartoon show that’s seen around the world on Nickelodeon, and there’s a band called KISS that’s been going on for 35 years. You shouldn’t just have to pick one thing. You should be able to enjoy it all.
You and Shannon have brought up Nick and Sophie fantastically. What is the secret?
Simmons: The secret is Shannon Tweed.
Tweed: It’s not.
Simmons: Go to your local store and buy the deluxe Shannon Tweed model. Whatever it costs, go and buy that model. That will bring you lots of happiness.
Tweed: The secret is not a secret. It’s how to say “no” and mean it and how to say “yes” and mean it. When the kids were growing up, they would try to play one parent against the other. You have to have a unified front, and you have to not fight with each other in front of the children. You have to show them that you’re the boss and you mean what you say. They could never change my mind about anything, so they never tried to beg me for things. If I said they couldn’t go out, they didn’t ask me twice. They know that “no is no” and it never changes to ”yes” so it was always very clear what we were doing and they didn’t question our authority, and that’s important I think.
Simmons: Love your mother, fear your father.
Tweed: You can fear your mother too.
Simmons: I do.
Without giving too much away about the show, your family does seem to be into practical jokes.
Simmons: Oh my god. Mostly against me.
Tweed: We just try to make a fool of Gene really. We don’t do it to anybody else.
What if your kids want to be rock stars? Would it be a yes or no?
Tweed: I don’t have to give them permission to be what they’re going to be when they’re grown up. When they’re adults they make their own decisions, and then my job is over. (Laughs)
Simmons: That would be fine with me, as long as they have the (right) work ethic. No lazy way out, no expecting somebody else to do it. If they work as hard as I do, they’ll have a great job whatever they do. You have to love labour, not look for a job. Don’t get a job, love working, whatever you do.
Do you have input in what goes into the show and what gets edited out and do you have any regrets?
Tweed: (Laughs) I regret the whole thing. But we do decide, at the beginning of the year, some of the things we would like to do in our life because if it was real reality, we’d all be sitting around watching TV. So what we do is decide, “Okay, we want to go to Africa,” or “We want to go to Canada”, and the other things we want to do, and then you let the cameras come with you. So there’s a certain amount of planning that goes on because you need permission to shoot in certain places, but the dialogue is pretty spontaneous.
Would you get married on TV?
Tweed: Good question.
Simmons: I’m not familiar with that term.
Tweed: There’s something he won’t do, isn’t there? But you know what the happy news is? There’s something we’ll never do and that’s get divorced on camera.
Simmons: Or off camera, Shannon Tweed.
Tweed: I feel better already.
Gene Simmons Family Jewels Season Two premieres on Wednesday, at 9pm on Channel V (Astro channel 714).
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