KISS bassist and frontman Gene Simmons spoke with the Huffington Post Live where gave a few blunt tips to fellow immigrants. He insists that they must “learn to speak goddamn English” if they want to make it in America. See the video below.
56 years ago, Israeli-born Simmons immigrated to the US with his mother, and felt no need for any sort of political correctness in his explanation.
“I was welcomed by America and its people and given all the advantages of native-born children,” Simmons stated. “Which is astonishing, when you think about it, because in other countries, they would have ground me up and put me in a can of dog food. And in America I could think what I wanted to think, do as I pleased and reach for the stars.”
Getting down to specific tips, Simmons noted that a simple guideline needs to be followed. “Get rid of your accent; I did. Be a legal immigrant; I’m a legal immigrant. Come to the country, just buckle your knees a little bit, make the effort to learn the culture, assimilate to the point that you can. You’re all proud of who you are, where you come from … Great. Whatever you’re proud of, just tip your hat to America, which is the melting pot and makes it all possible. Agree to one culture that we can all communicate with and then go off and speak Swahili and Farsi and whatever you wanna talk.
I’m actually saying the thing that needs to be said, ’cause the politically correct climate is bulls–t. You don’t want to upset anybody by saying, ‘Learn to speak goddamn English.’ So, as an immigrant, I’m telling you: learn to speak goddamn English. It is the key that will unlock the keys to the kingdom.”
Also, an odd thing happened during the chat, as the interview got hijacked by the Black Lips, demanding the surrender of the KISS army. “Mr. Simmons! We’re here to tell you that the day of misogynistic, sexist rock ‘n’ roll is over! We call for the complete and utter surrender of the KISS Army. Lay down your guitars! Do you accept our terms of surrender?” the band shouted.
Gene didn’t hesitate to strike back, saying, “Yes. I surrender entirely. And I wanted to compliment your mom for the wonderful way that she designed the decorations in the basement that she lets you live in. I think it’s very attractive. I hope you get to leave your mom’s basement soon. Remember: Learn to speak English. Good education, that will help. I did it, you can too.”
After being told that the Black Lips and not merely three random guys wearing makeup and living in their mom’s basement, Simmons asked, “But they’re not black, what are they – racist? Why are they calling themselves ‘black?'”
source: ultimate-guitar.com
49 Responses
gene should teach them English: “son of b, sh-t!”
Da doo run run, da doo run run
I love “Stripes”! 🙂
And one more thing Gene!! If Peter Criss and Ace Frehley wouldn’t of showed up to your auditions you would be nothing. They had the star power in the beginning and that edge Kiss needed. Cocky and full of confidence. Peter was the hottest drummer on the scene in New York at the time. And Ace? Well what can you say about Ace? Ace is from another planet. One of a kind!! You and Paul have forgotten where you came from. Being humble and thankful for being so lucky that the fruit lined up isn’t in your DNA!! Now go do your boring same old set night after night Kiss show and pretend your as good of a band as the original. Sorry you guys suck total ass with this lineup.
Hottest drummer on the scene? Drummers that are in demand don’t run ads looking for work. Please, your being as delusional as Gene.
Once again Gene nails it. I watched the video of this and he is totally right on. Since we are on this subject the real problem today is how everyone wants to be a victim. What the hell is wrong with people today? If anyone says anything the first thing people do nowadays is try to identify themselves with it so they can say well I’m in that group so that is bulls-t. You poor brainwashed fools. If you’re fat, and someone slams fat people don’t cry about, lose some goddam weight. If someone says your style sucks, then change it or just don’t worry about it. I’m saying stop being a victim and let it go. Regardless of what you think in this PC socialist world of today there are some who will not fall or adapt to that crap as Gene is one and so am I. I refuse to drink the kool-aid. So take your designer drugs people and continue to cry about everything and feel like you are being personally attacked on any subject that you think relates to you. Damn fools!
Hell yea he’s right, blunt as it may be he is making a point that is too common in the US.
Gene makes some good points here, but historically, many immigrants who came here as adults older than age 30 or so usually only learned enough English to get by at work and in society and tended to only partly assimilate into U.S. culture. Most of them tended to speak their native language at home and with immigrants from the same country and/or region, and they tended to speak with a pretty heavy accent for the rest of their lives. For example, I’ve heard Gene’s Mom speak, and although she is easily understandable, her accent is obvious and omnipresent.
However, those who came here as young adults tended to learn and speak more English, lose more of their accent, and assimilate to a much greater extent. In addition, the children of the immigrants who come here nearly always become fluent in English, assimilate into U.S. culture to a great extent, and lose much of their native accent.