According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, KISS icon Gene Simmons will cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Rock & Brews restaurant at Potawatomi Casino Hotel Carter on July 2 in Wabeno, Wisconsin.
The rock music-themed restaurant was founded by Simmons and fellow KISS bandmate Paul Stanley. This will be the chain's 25th location, which offers American classics with names like Rock'n Hot Wings, the Alice Cooper Poison Burger and the Demon Chicken Sandwich – a menu item created as an homage to Simmons' KISS persona, along with 24 beers on tap.
The restaurant is 3,000 square feet and will also have a stage for live entertainment.
Read the complete report here. Go to this location for information on the Rock & Brews location.
During a recent appearance on Steve-O's Wild Ride! podcast, which can be seen below, Simmons was asked if he now only tours with his solo band. Gene replied:
"Yes. Gene Simmons Band already headlined — oh, goodness. We were in South America, São Paulo. We're going to Europe to headline festivals and other stuff, and just having a lot of fun. By the way, I designed a business model that is just semi-genius. I show up with my guitar pick. That's it. There's no manager, no roadies, no trucks, no equipment. Everything is provided by the promoter. The flights, the hotels, all the amplifiers, the drums, everything is rented locally. That's the promoter's cost, and whatever six-figure or more amount there is, I pocket. And I literally make more money per gig being Gene Simmons and the Gene Simmons Band than I did in KISS — not counting the ancillaries and all that — because you don't have a 60-man crew, three double deckers, private jet that's on call seven days a week and 20 to 24 tractor trailers."
In addition to Simmons on bass and vocals, the Gene Simmons Band includes guitarists Brent Woods (Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil) and Zach Throne (Corey Taylor), as well as drummer Brian Tichy (The Dead Daisies, Whitesnake, Billy Idol).
Upcoming Gene Simmons Band tour dates are listed below. For ticket links, head here.
July
27 - Kuopiorock Festival - Kuopio, Finland
29 - Dalhalla Amphitheatre - Rattvik, Sweden
31 - Liseberg Amusement Park - Gothenburg, Sweden
August
2 - Wacken Open Air Festival - Wacken, Germany
4 - Ronda - Utrecht, Holland
6 - Turbinenhalle - Oberhausen, Germany
8 - den Atelier - Luxembourg, Luxembourg
9 - Nirwana Tuinfeest - Lierop, Netherlands
11 - Alcatraz Festival - Kortrijk, Belgium
13 - Porta Ferrada Festival, Guixols Arena - Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain
14 - La Riviera - Madrid, Spain
16 - Cinzella Festival, Ex Capannone Montecatini - Taranto, Brindisi, Italy
(Photo - Rachel Ayotte)
