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Teddy Swims talks about his favorite thing about performing “Lose Control” live and why the BBMAs are special this year at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Teddy Swims:I tried my very best that when we performed, I always make it feel like it’s our living room, you know. And in my living room, I walk […]
Gene Simmons spent decades traveling the world as the fire-breathing bass player for KISS, taking with him the large road crews required for massive — and expensive — productions on some of music’s biggest stages. Since KISS’s final show in December 2023, Simmons has been traveling considerably lighter as the frontman for the Gene Simmons Band, playing KISS favorites, some rarely heard Simmons solo tunes and familiar classics by the likes of Van Halen and Motorhead.
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Simmons says he has stripped down the tour to the essential elements — the musicians — and pockets more money from a Gene Simmons Band show than he netted as a member of KISS. “The local promoters provide the back line, and we just get up there and play,” Simmons tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. That’s a sharp contrast to the complex — and expensive — production required to take KISS on the road.
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As a solo artist playing festivals and theaters, Simmons has “no managers, no private jets, no 20 tractor trailers, no 60-man crew, no huge shows — and the pyro alone for every [KISS] show is ten grand, sometimes 50 [thousand dollars] if you go outdoors,” he explains. “Enormous, enormous costs for doing that.”
Simmons is “proud” to have performed those massive productions, but the Gene Simmons Band tour isn’t trying to replicate the KISS stage show. “It’s almost as if you decided to rent some amps in a garage and plug in,” he says, “and then everybody from the neighborhood comes in … It’s very informal and a lot of fun.”
Outside of the four band members, the band takes two additional people on the road, says guitarist Brent Woods, who manages the travel and concert production details: an assistant who helps with business duties and Simmons’ security, and one crew member for the musicians. As for equipment, Woods says the band — which also includes guitarist Zach Throne and drummer Brian Tichy — takes only its guitars and pedal boards, and Tichy may take his own snare drum on the upcoming tour. Otherwise, everything is rented. “It does save a lot of money,” says Woods. “And then in turn, everybody benefits, right? The band included. Everybody makes more money.”
The stripped-down traveling arrangement wouldn’t work with a larger group of people, Woods admits. Nor would it work if Simmons wasn’t comfortable riding in a splitter van and going without rock star trappings. “But Gene’s so easygoing,” says Woods. “He’s just so relaxed and he’s low maintenance. He doesn’t need a lot. He’s not the quintessential rock star that has to have a certain room or a suite that’s on this floor far away from the elevator. He just is not that way.”
Simmons readily admits he didn’t pioneer this approach to touring. “It used to be done by black musicians on the Chitlin’ Circuit, what used to be the black clubs, because they couldn’t play white clubs,” he said. Rock pioneer Chuck Berry took it a step further, touring only with his guitar and arriving in each city with a local band that had learned and rehearsed his songs. (Bruce Springsteen once played in Berry’s backing band for a concert in 1973.) “Now, I don’t do that,” said Simmons. “I take my band with me, but Berry would show up and would, you know, he’d tell the guys, ‘Study the records, learn these songs, I’m going to show up,’ and no rehearsal, nothing.”
To Woods, the Gene Simmons Band’s do-it-yourself touring approach is simply a longer version of the “weekend warrior” touring artist. “Bands go out Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and they play two, three shows. It’s the same thing. They’re flying to the destination, the back line’s there for them.”
Extending the weekend warrior approach into longer tours requires the knowledge Woods gained from decades as a traveling musician for decades, first as a member of the group Wildside and more recently as a member of Sebastian Bach’s band. “I’ve learned since the 90s,” he says, “when I started going out and touring. And you kind of learn by a lot of mistakes and your own mistakes and other people’s mistakes, and you finally figure it out.” Woods’ time on the road has also allowed him to built a network of professionals he can call to work at his shows in different cities. “It’s hard for younger bands to do that because they don’t know a lot of people,” he says.
Listen to the entire interview with Gene Simmons in the embedded Spotify playlist or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand.
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Shaboozey talks about staying on top of the Hot 100 chart for so long with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” his friendship with Morgan Wallen, loving new artist Medium Build and more backstage at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
Tetris KellyHey, what’s up? It’s Tetris with Billboard News, hanging out with Shaboozey ahead of his first BBMAs performance. Man, you gotta be excited. What’s the vibe? What are you bringing to the BBMAs?
ShaboozeyMan it’s fun, man, hopefully a lot of country music, you know, lot of Western you know, a lot of vibes.
Tetris KellyI gotta be honest, I’m really proud of you. I remember meeting you actually at a BT party, and it was when your song was like, No.2, No.2, No.2. And you were like, Man, I hope I gotta, I gotta get to No.1. Like, now it happened. So tell me when it happened for you. How was that finally getting that accomplishment?
ShaboozeyThe kind of things I was doing at the time were, like, just really cool things that I just never thought I’d be doing, and meeting a lot of people I never thought I would meet, you know, being able to do that BET awards, and Jay Kwan come out, and then, you know, just the week right after that moment we went No.1. It felt like, it felt like a full circle moment, you know, felt like a, like a movie, honestly.
Tetris KellyI mean, that was a full circle moment, but I’m sure you didn’t even know then, like, 15 weeks was about to happen. So tell me about 15 weeks at No.1. That’s crazy, bro.
ShaboozeyIt’s crazy. You know, we do music and and especially being from like, a small town like me, you watch all these greats and all these, like, huge acts and people who have kind of, you know, matched those achievements or done more, and you’re just like, Man, I would love to be in those conversations and in those rankings. And it’s just, it’s great to be here. Honestly, yeah, I feel like we do something really special and something really different, and I put in a lot of time and a lot of work into just my music and my career, so just see it all kind of take off like this has been a blessing. Honestly, it’s been just just shows you just got to stay down, stay true to yourself, and keep working. Yeah, you can get anything.
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SEVENTEEN talk about what it means to perform “LOVE, MONEY, FAME” at the Santa Monica Pier, their DJ Khaled collab and more backstage of the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
Tetris KellyGuys, I am so happy to be hanging out with you guys again. It’s been a long time, but you’re here for the Billboard Music Awards, and you guys took over the Santa Monica Pier. So how did that feel?
SEVENTEENAbout six months ago, I visited Santa Monica while traveling, and hearing that we’ll be performing in that same space is truly exciting. I feel like it’s going to be a unique experience.
Tetris KellyI mean I know it’s gonna feel different for you, Mingyu, but Joshua, you’re especially the king of LA. You grew up walking these streets.
SEVENTEENI mean, Santa Monica in general is like the place that I used to hang out the most with my friends, like on the weekend, so it means a lot that we’re gonna be able to perform there and to have a City event at Santa Monica Pier
Tetris KellyMan, that’s pretty cool. And then you guys also just had your sixth No. 1 album on the Top Album Sales chart. So does it feel different every time that you guys hit No. 1?
SEVENTEENHonestly, every time we’re just like, so thankful to our fans, because, like, they’re the ones who are making that happen.
Tetris KellyYeah, and I mean, not only the new album, but the new track. I mean, with DJ Khaled, I was so excited about the collaboration. How did you guys feel releasing such a cool song?
SEVENTEENIt was an honor to work with him, as I’ve admired his work. It felt nostalgic because the vibe of the music I enjoyed in my younger days seemed to come alive so vividly. And then when I came to the U.S. two years ago I mentioned that I wanted to collaborate with DJ Khaled during an interview, so it felt surreal that this became a reality.
Tetris KellyWell look at that Tiger! Makin’ dreams come true, I love that, and then, of course, you guys have accomplished so much as a group, the BBMAs. I mean, what’s next? What is something you guys still want to accomplish?
SEVENTEENAfter the BBMAs? Should we go to the GRAMMYs? Yes let’s! GRAMMYs!
Tetris KellyOkay!
Teddy Swims says that his smash, “Lose Control,” hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 led to what he described as the Vegas Flu and more backstage of the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
Katie BainWe are here with the one and the only Teddy Swims. Teddy, congrats on all of the success this year. Yes, ma’am. Thank you so much. Of course, “Lose Control” your first Hot 100 No.1. It hit No.1 in March. Tell me about the moment you found out, and then how you celebrated.
Teddy SwimsSo we had found out, and I was going into Vegas, and my whole family came out too. So we were flying to Vegas, and when I found out, and it was, it was really awesome. My whole family’s gonna be there. And I think I over celebrated a little bit for sure. We ended up, I think, I think we ended up canceling the show after that, like, a couple days later, they’re used to it out there, though, when I was talking to people, they’re like, Yeah, we call it the Vegas flu out here, because it happens to be more it’s completely understandable. It’s your first No.1, So maybe the next time I won’t be going too hard.
Katie Bain Well, you want to get your first No.1. So if you had to get the Vegas flu for something, you know, it’s a perfect place to be, for sure. What did it mean for you? You know, after all this work and all this time, to hit No.1 on the Hot 100?
Teddy SwimsI sobbed like a baby, you know, and just to have my dad and my mom there, and, you know, my whole family, it was just, it was the most beautiful thing. I again, I think my mom is so, so happy. She just, she’s more emotional than I am about any of this. You know, I’m just happy to make, make my mom and dad proud. It’s just, it’s the coolest feeling ever, and all my team and friends, it’s, it’s the best.
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In honor of his mega-smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey shares his favorite bars in New York City, Los Angeles and more backstage at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
Tetris KellyI do want to talk about the lifestyle of “A Bar Song (Tipsy.)” So what’s a night out with you? What’s something people wouldn’t expect from a Shaboozey night?
ShaboozeyWhat I love about that song is how many different communities and how many different places the songs touch. You know, I go to 11 in Miami, and everyone’s singing the song, and then I go to a small little bar in the middle of, you know, I mean, you know Montana, you know, Missoula, and people are playing it, so to be known from, like, from those spaces to those spaces, that’s what it’s always been about, just introducing music, or a type of music people wouldn’t expect to hear in one place and see people to, you know, vibe into it and having a good time, and, you know, getting tipsy.
Tetris KellyI like how you were kind of dropping those different cities in the vibes. Before we’re done, I’m gonna name a city. Then you tell me a bar in that city that you love, like your favorite, please.
ShaboozeyLet’s do it.
Tetris KellyLA.
ShaboozeyLA, man, uh, Desert 5 [Spot], yeah, the rooftop, yeah. And Brickyard. I love Brickyard too.
Tetris KellyOh, that’s a good one. OK, we’re talking about Nashville. What’s your Nashville spot?
ShaboozeyMan, Nashville spots gotta be, that’s a good one, that’s a good one, that’s a good one. It got to be a Schulmans.
Host Tetris Kelly talks to some of the Billboard Music Awards finalists, including Tyla, Shaboozey, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids and so many more! These artists share what fans can expect from some of their performances, play games, and so much more.
Who are you excited to see on tonight’s show? Let us know in the comments below!
Fuerza Regida:
Hey, yo what’s cracking? Fuerza Regida.
Tyla:
Hey, Billboard, it’s Tyla.
SEVENTEEN:
We are SEVENTEEN and this is the Billboard Music Awards pre-show yay!
SEVENTEEN:
What’s up party people? It’s Tetris, and it’s pre-show time. The Billboard Music Awards are going down tonight, and we’re giving you a sneak peek at the hottest performers and some of the biggest finalists ahead of the show, starting with one of my faves, it’s k-pop sensation. My boys SEVENTEEN. I am so happy to be hanging out with you guys again. It’s been a long time, but you’re here for the Billboard Music Awards, and you guys took over the Santa Monica Pier. You guys are also doing SEVENTEEN THE CITY there, so how did that feel?
SEVENTEEN:
About six months ago, I visited Santa Monica while traveling, and hearing that we’ll be performing in that same space is truly exciting. I feel like it’s going to be a unique experience.
I mean, I know it’s gonna feel different for you. Mingyu, but Joshua, you’re basically the king of LA. You grew up walking these streets. So how was that for you as well?
SEVENTEEN:
I mean, Santa Monica in general, is like the place that I used to hang out the most with my friends, like on the weekend. So it means a lot that we’re gonna be able to perform there and to have a studio event at Santa Monica Pier.
Keep watching for more!