Tag: gene simmons

The McBournie Minute: What’s wrong with our fragile rockers?

In case you’re skimming through this, that’s “fragile rockers,” not “Fraggle Rockers.” I will discuss the medical issues of Gobo and the gang in a column some time in the future.

As many of you now already know, we lost Ronnie James Dio yesterday. He died of stomach cancer, surrounded by friends and of course, lots of fake blood. His death brings a sobering moment to us all, especially the metal community, who are among the most conscious of mortuary affairs of all musicians.

What his death points out is something very important: our rock singers are not as flawless and ageless as they would have us believe. No, they are mere mortals, blessed with the ability to rock us. What can we do to save them? There’s no easy answer. Continue reading The McBournie Minute: What’s wrong with our fragile rockers?

The teachers went wild for the tongue

Remember your favorite band in middle school? How awesome would it be if you could have met them while you were at the top of your obsession with them? Unfortunately, that didn’t happen at Wilson Middle School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instead, in what we can assume is straight out of Rick Snee’s wet dream, KISS showed up.

Yes, the whole band was there. Gene Simmons! Paul Stanley! Tommy Thayer? Eric Singer? The stunt was part of a segment for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where we assume KISS rocked someone’s house down so that the annoyingly cheerful people on the show could build a new one. The appearance was a total shock and $100,000 worth of new musical instruments were donated to the school.

Paul Stanley made a presentation to the audience. He began his speech with, “HELLO, WILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL! Are you ready to rock ‘n roll all night, and party everyday? *Ahem* When you’re not working hard on homework, that is.”

Both the band and the students left on buses.