KISS bassist Gene Simmons spoke to Dean Delray and compared two bands from the ’60s, Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead, by drawing attention to the differences. Simmons harshly criticized the American rock band and described their shows as boring.
Grateful Dead was founded in 1965 and achieved critical acclaim thanks to combining elements from several musical genres such as blues, rock, gospel, reggae, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, and many more. Three years later, a rock band from England, Led Zeppelin, emerged in the rock scene and changed it irrecoverably.
Simmons talked about the two contemporaries’ success and popularity and highlighted that Americans shouldn’t have presented Grateful Dead to other countries while Led Zeppelin was hitting the charts. The bassist continued to target the band, saying that a man with a beard, Jerry Garcia wasn’t cool. Apparently, according to the musician, that was the problem and one of the reasons why the British Invasion affected America so much.
The bassist revealed that he witnessed one of the two Grateful Dead live performances, and they were the biggest snore he had ever seen, even though some people he liked loved the band. Gene emphasized that the attendees were generally men, and it was impossible to find a woman in these shows. His controversial statements about the band can lead to a backlash from the longtime dedicated Grateful Dead fans, who will probably disagree with him.
Simmons shared his ideas, saying:
“The English gave us Led Zeppelin; we gave the world Grateful Dead. Come on! I’m sorry. A guy with a beard holding his guitar close to his neck… That’s not cool. Good luck to everybody. I’ve gone to one of the two of the shows. I’ve got Grateful Dead fans who I like. It was the biggest snore I’ve ever seen. By the way, it’s like a sausage fest, not a chick in sight. No, it’s like a Rush concert, one of my favorite bands. You can’t find a chick within a mile of that place.”
You can check out the interview below.
