My Encounter with Gene Simmons

I belong to the generation that went crazy with the early days of Rock'n Roll.

Well , you know I was a fan of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and his Comets,The Platters , the Beatles ,you name them.

Of course I am talking about the 50's and the 60's. I was 21 when President Kennedy was shot in Dallas an event that changed the course of history including arts specially popular music expressions influenced by war , political and social events and muy specially drugs..

Rock evolved into something that probably was too much for me who was used the more simply lyrics and beats of early rock.

As I mature I became less and less interested in hard rock , acid rock and whatever labels were available in in the music world.

Classical and romantic ballads were my thing. Latin music, bossa nova,latin jazz made my juices flow.

Later in life when I had a teenage son, the Group Kiss entered my lfive. My son Rafael learnt to play the guitar . Bought all the records from Kiss and covered every space available in his room with posters of Gene Simmons sticking his snake like tongue to the world.

i accepted that as normal process in the life of a teenage , although I admit there were moments when his mother and I were really concerned

about his passion for Kiss.

Time really flies and my son got over the Kiss mania and turned to more harmonic musical themes . No more posters on the wall.

He is almost 30 now. I am 64.

"Will you still need me when I am 64?"

Do you remember who sang that tune?

Last year I was invited with my wife Fatima , by her brother,Dr. Louis Scheker to attend the celebration of the 2007 Kentucky Derby.

A life time opportunity.

Louisville was a Derby festival.The Mecca of horse racing. Beautiful women wearing the most original hats.Hotels were packed. You could not get seat on any airplane.

Even England's Queen Elizabeht attended the event although she was only seen from afar .

But along with the horses , bets, parties , dinners , personalities someone else was tha talk of the town.

Gene Simmons.

He came to Louisville with two beautiful blond women.

And everybody was gossiping.Two former playmates.?

It's said that one of them betted 100 thousand dollar on a losing horse.

I betted 100 dollars on the wrong horse two.

The first time I saw Gene Simmons , dressed in black ,witrh his two spectacular women was entering Churchill Downs Race Track.

We were climbing together on the electric stairways.

There was Gene Simmons. But who was he? why so famous?

Poor ignorant old me.

After the Kentucky Derby was over we drove away from the Old Churchill Downs in a stretch limousine with our group of Kentuckian friends towards Jeff Ruby's Tavern a famous restaurant in downtown Louisville.

I was really impressed with the restaurante.There was a crowded circular bar with a a bandstand in the center where a rock band was giving their money worth to the yourg crowd.

For some reason there were policemen inside and outside the restaurant.

I looked around and saw countless photographs of the Jeff Ruby the owner with the most famous musicians of the last 30 years at least.

Most of the them autographed.

I realized we were at a really top place.

The dining room was really elegant.

Our entourage was welcomed by the one and only Jeff Ruby who happened to be a patiend of Dr. Louis Scheker a renown hand surgeon of Louisville Jewish Hospital.

Jeff was a great host. He even brought some of his mexican cooks to greet us. He told me how he established a friendship with Dominican big league pitcher Jose Rijo.

He smoked a with us a Dominican Opus X cigar we brought from our country ,The Dominican Cigar, given to us by Fuentes.

After we were seated and ordered our drinks he gave us the big surprise.

He brought to our table none other than Gene Simmons.

He shook hands with all of us and graceously posed for pictures .

He made funny comments in fluent Spanish.

By now we knew he was a famous rocker although in his black suit and a big black book in his hand he looked more like a preacher ,judge ,nothing like a rocker at all.

My wife Fatima was very happy to pose with him.

Please let me have this picture with you for my son Rafael.

Gene was really friendly.

It was a wonderful and unforgettable moment.

Later that night we called Rafael in Santo Domingo and told him we had a photo for him with us and Gene Simmons.

He could not believe it. He was very excited.

So I finally decided to ask him . Son who is really Gene Simmons?

Dad he is the guy from Kiss!

What?

Yes the mascaraded guy who stuck my tongue at me during my son's teenage years.

Life gives you surprises every day.

But antoher event had occured at Ruby's place the nigh before the Derby.

O.J. Simpson had come to dine with some friends ,including a sexy blonde to have a good time a this fabulous restaurant.

Ruby refused to serve hime.

" I am not serving you" told Jeff to O.J.

Simpson responded:

" I understand" and left the place with his friends.

This became news all over the place.

A few days I sent a copy of our pictures to Gene and to our surpise he published them in his web site.

Wow I was almost famous!.

Elvis Aaron Presley, in the humblest of circumstances, was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

SimmonsGene co-founded KISS more than 30 years ago.

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