He Spent $12,495 to Be Gene Simmons’s Roadie (and Got More Than Expected)

A few years ago, The Financial Times named Kiss “rock’s greatest capitalists.” By the newspaper’s count, the band founded in 1973 had licensed its name to some 5,000 products, including Kiss Kondoms and Kiss Kaskets.

The “Kiss thing,” Gene Simmons, the band’s brash founding singer-bassist, once said, “has become this huge monster, despite the fact that critics say that doing games and slot machines and golf courses is not credible. Critics still live in their mother’s basement. We own the world.”

Kiss wrapped up its End of the Road (supposed) farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in December 2023, but not before introducing digital avatars designed to perform shows and, in theory, make money in perpetuity. (Actual members of Kiss will play together in November as part of the Kiss Army fan club’s 50th-anniversary celebration in Las Vegas.)

Early this month, Simmons started a solo tour with his Gene Simmons Band. And, at the age of 75, he’s still upsetting critics. For each stop, Simmons is offering a “Personal Assistant and Band Roadie for the Day” experience to one fan. The rocker’s website promises that the roadie and one guest will get to help set up for the gig, attend the soundcheck, have a meal with Simmons, get an onstage introduction during the show and receive a signed bass. V.I.P. experiences have become standard in pop, but it was the package’s price tag — $12,495 (show tickets not included) — that set the internet off. “‘Greedy’ Kiss rocker worth $400M is slammed for charging fans insane money to be his assistant,” blared a Daily Mail headline.

It’s not insane to everyone. “This is what I choose to spend my money on,” said Dwayne Rosado, a tattooed 52-year-old retired corrections sergeant from Middletown, N.Y. He and his soft-spoken son, Zach, a 5-foot-11 seventh grader into mixed martial arts, video games and electric guitar, were the roadies for the day at Simmons’s recent concert at the Count Basie Center for the Arts’ 1,500-capacity theater in Red Bank, N.J. On the afternoon of the show, father and son — both wearing the official Gene Simmons Band road crew shirts that had been provided for them — waited at the theater’s loading area for the rock star to arrive.