KISS member Gene Simmons recently reckoned that the non-musician part of the world “doesn’t care” about legends such as John McLaughlin, noting how he prefers music that is “memorable.”
Gene Simmons opens up on the matter
The idea that you don’t need to be a God-given virtuoso to author some memorable music isn’t anything new. The rock history has been written with fairly straightforward tunes, while even Joe Satriani would tell you that great guitar playing lives and dies by the player’s expressiveness, rather than their technique.
Gene Simmons, whose bass-playing career was defined by the idea of melody first and technique second, told Guitar World in a new interview that he’s not a fan of “show-offs in music.” However, being Gene Simmons, then took a potshot at the entire jazz genre in order to illustrate his point:
“I don’t consider myself – and was never really interested in being – a bass virtuoso. I don’t like show-offs in music. I’m much more attracted to things that are memorable. It’s part of the joy of music for me.”
“You can be a jazz player and be respected by musicians, but the rest of the world doesn’t care. We’re going to play a game: name a jazz player that means something.”
To highlight his point, Simmons singled out the jazz fusion icon and all-around living guitar saint John McLaughlin:
“How about John McLaughlin? He’s a great player. But here’s a question: can you hum any melody that he’s ever played on a solo? Of course not.”
“All due respect, but that music is intended to show off how well you play – but I don’t care about that. The hardest thing to do is write a good simple song or riff. That’s really hard.”
The Demon then went on to name a couple of more examples from the ranks of his four-string colleagues, adding:
“There are an awful lot of amazing bass players, like Jaco Pastorius and the jazz guys. Or guys like Flea, who is really good on his instrument, but I can’t remember anything he plays – and I also do not like the sound of a bass being slapped.”
He summed up his ideas on the kind of playing he prefers, Simmons added:
“Eric Clapton, before he went pop, and when he was considered ‘God,’ he was interviewed, and he said something very profound: ‘The hardest thing to do is to know what notes to put in a solo, and what notes not to put in a solo.’”
“Sometimes, if it’s shockingly simple, and barely moving at all, but I can hum it, that’s what matters because it’s memorable.”
