GENE SIMMONS: Yes, Rock 'Truly' Is Dead

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has once again defended his controversial "rock is dead" comment, blaming the technology and fans for the current state of affairs.

Simmons told Esquire magazine in September — in an interview conducted by his son Nick — that "rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won't because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it."

Simmons went on to elaborate that as a result of file-sharing and other issues, record label support for rock music was not available like it was when KISS was coming up, concluding, "It's finally dead. Rock is finally dead."

In a brand new interview with "Steve Wright In The Afternoon" on U.K.'s BBC Radio 2, Simmons stood by his comments, explaining (hear audio below): "The most important thing for me is the sad fate of new bands. I've been quoted as saying 'rock is dead,' and, unfortunately, it truly is, because you cannot name a new BEATLES or a new Elvis or a new [BLACK] SABBATH."

He continued: "Who's the new LED ZEPPELIN? The point is, in the pop world, there's Taylor [Swift], who's fantastic, and [Lady] Gaga… there's a lot of stuff. But only time makes you iconic. And I love all kinds of music, but in rock, it is sadly dying a bad fate. And that's because the Internet and filesharing and downloading have killed the chances of the next young band that does have the writing potential and the performing potential to be the next ZEPPELIN or BEATLES, but there's no support system. That's called record companies."

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