GENE SIMMONS explains $12k roadie for a day fee
“astronomical insurance costs are why” he is charging more than $12k for one fan to be his “roadie for a day”
30-04-2025
In a new interview with 95.9 The Rat‘s Carl Craft, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons discussed the “Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day” experience he is offering to his fans during his upcoming tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND. The experience in question, called “The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience”, offers fans the opportunity to not only meet Simmons and his band but to assist him with load-in at the venue and setting up the stage, attend soundcheck and spend time backstage. The roadie will also join Simmons for a meal, and the 75-year-old rock legend will introduce the fan during the gig. The experience costs $12,495 — plus the original ticket price and comes with a bass guitar Gene previously used — and is only available to one fan per venue.
Asked how he came up with the price tag of $12,495 for the experience, Simmons said: “Here’s the deal: when I was a kid and I went to see (Jimi) Hendrix or somebody, of course I enjoyed the show and really got off on it — we talked about it forever and stuff — but I didn’t know what it was like. What’s the beginning of the day like? What’s it like to sit and have breakfast or lunch with my favorite rock stars, and then get in the limo, go to the gig, set up the drums, do soundcheck and then be on stage with your video, ’cause nowadays everything’s on video. You can’t take a poop without a camera coming in under the stall. And then you get pulled up on stage to sing along with them. Now, having said that, we only do one roadie for a day per show. And I’ll tell you why — because nowadays everything is so litigious. That’s a big word, like gymnasium. That means everybody sues everybody for no reason. So if you get a paper cut, somebody gets sued. And that’s just the way life is here in America — much more in California, by the way. It’s crazy out here. So, I can’t even, if I wanted to, bring out do roadie for a day with 10, 20, 30, as many people (as we would like). So we do one, because the insurance costs for that are astronomical. And so this ain’t cheap. It’s not for everybody. And for that one person, you do have to pay premium numbers. That’s just life.”
Gene went on to say that the $12,495 price tag doesn’t “just” include “the classic stuff. It’s also exposure, financial and legal exposure,” he explained. “Somebody has a bad experience and they sue you and it costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars. You need insurance for everything. Do you have a car? You’ve got insurance. Everything in life, apparently… In fact, you buy anything — a tool — they give you insurance. Would you like the one-year or three-year? Everything’s insured.”
Simmons is offering another package called the “Gene Simmons Bass Experience”, which gives one fan and three guests the chance to meet the KISS icon backstage. With this package, the fan will be able to take home one of Simmons’s bass guitars, which can be signed and personalized for $6,500 for a “non-stage-played” instrument, and $12,500 for one that Simmons previously played at a show in addition to the ticket cost.
Simmons recently postponed nearly 20 dates on his forthcoming solo tour with the GENE SIMMONS BAND to 2026. Gene is now expected to launch the trek on May 2 in Peachtree City, Georgia, with dates scheduled through August 3 in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Simmons‘s $12,495 “Personal Assistant And Band Roadie For The Day” experience is limited to one per show and includes the following perks:
* You will meet up with Gene and GENE SIMMONS BAND members early in the day (either at his hotel or designated location) to go over the band’s show day schedule.
* You will be on the GENE SIMMONS BAND team crew for the entire day!
* You will get a GENE SIMMONS BAND crew member shirt and hat
* You will get a GENE SIMMONS BAND crew member VIP laminate
* You will have a meal with Gene Simmons (at the hotel or backstage at the show)
* You will arrive and load in to the venue with the band
* You will help the band set up for the show
* You will hang out backstage
* You will sit in on soundcheck
* Gene Simmons will bring you on stage during the show and introduce you
* You will get a setlist signed by Gene Simmons
* You can take photos throughout your entire experience
* You may bring one guest
* You may bring four items for Gene to sign (no instruments, parts, etc.)
* And… you get a Gene Simmons (KISS-rehearsal-used) bass signed by Gene Simmons
Tickets to the show are not included, as they are sold through the individual venues.
For more information, visit GeneSimmonsAxe.com.
GENE SIMMONS BAND‘s tour will kick off on April 3 in Anaheim and is scheduled to conclude on May 24 in Houston.
GENE SIMMONS BAND 2025 tour dates:
April 3 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
April 4 – Temecula, CA @ Pechanga Resort Casino
April 5 – Rohnert Park, CA @ The Event at Graton Resort & Casino
April 8 – Auburn, WA @ Muckleshoot Casino Resort
April 10 – Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
April 11 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
April 25 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
April 26 – Miami Beach, FL @ Fillmore
April 28 – Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
April 29 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theater
April 30 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
May 2 – Peachtree City, GA – The Fred Amphitheater
May 3 – Beaver Dam, KY @ Beaver Dam Amphitheater
May 5 – Red Bank, NJ @ Basie
May 6 – Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont
May 8 – Bethlehem, PA @ Wind Creek Casino
May 9 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
May 11 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
May 14 – Northfield, OH @ MGM
May 15 – Niagara Falls, ON @ Fallsview Casino
May 17 – Hammond, IN @ The Horseshoe
May 18 – Rockford, IL @ Hard Rock
May 20 – Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
May 22 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
May 23 – San Antonio, TX @ Tobin Center
May 24 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
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