KISS frontman Gene Simmons may be a rock legend, but he’s never lived the rock lifestyle. The music icon has avoided getting drunk or using illicit drugs. However, a misunderstanding lead to him hilariously getting high.
Videos by American Songwriter
Appearing on the Your Mom’s House with Christina P. and Tom Segura podcast, Simmons opened up about his sobriety. He never wanted to drink or do drugs because Simmons didn’t want to disappoint his mother.
“She was in a concentration camp when she was 14 years of age. And I never wanted to break her heart. And I was always aware I never wanted to disappoint her — there was enough aggravation. So I never smoked cigarettes, never got high, never got drunk,” he said.
However, Simmons didn’t realize that you could put marijuana into brownies. Cue a misunderstanding backstage that led to Simmons accidentally getting high. As Simmons’ son Nick explained, “He’s so removed from drug culture that he didn’t know that you can bake cannabis into baked goods. He had no idea. So before I was born, before mom [Gene’s wife, Shannon Tweed], he was backstage and somebody had baked a pan of special brownies. And he had no idea that that existed, so he had no hesitation for eating six of them — just downing [them]. So, please describe then what you hallucinated. You’ve told me this a couple of times. It’s my favorite story.”
[Get KISS 4 Vinyl LP Bundling Here via Amazon]
Gene Simmons Details Accidentally Getting High
According to Simmons, he was at a party in 1976 in Detroit. While other guests partaked in marijuana, Simmons instead hit the desserts. According to the rockstar, he ended up eating six brownies.
As Simmons recalls, “I’ve never before or since had anything like that happen to me. I wasn’t prepared for it. So, you’ve got a room full of people celebrating — we’re breaking some kind of record in Detroit … This was in ’76. … The whole room is full, and I’m just seeing the brownies piled [high]. And I love that stuff. Everyone’s [like] ‘Let’s smoke, let’s put things up our a–.’ No, just give me cake.”
However, it wasn’t long before Simmons felt the effects from the drugs. The room started to get bigger and feel distorted.
Simmons said, “The room started to get bigger, and my head started to get smaller … down to the size of an olive,” he explains. “I remember this: I started to open my eyes [wide] so that people would think I’m normal. [Makes startled face] And as I moved, my hands became — as it gets farther [away from you], it gets smaller — nope, [my hands] ballooned up like cartoons. So it got enormous.”
Simmons hit the town in a limo, stopping to get a drink. The patrons all looked at Simmons (obviously because he’s the frontman for KISS), but Simmons thought they were looking for a different reason.
He continued, “I’m thinking, They’re all looking at me because my head is small. So I try to make myself bigger. [Makes a funny face] And I go up, and the guy goes, ‘What’ll ya have?’ And I go — yelling — ‘Can I have a glass of milk?!'”
[Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Cantor Fitzgerald]
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission
