“Carol Kaye taught me real hard, telling me, ‘No, no, you’re playing the notes but you’re not playing the feel’”: Gene Simmons names 6 bass players who shaped his sound

Gene Simmsons.

From his earliest days, Gene Simmons intended to keep it simple when it comes to bass playing. “I’ve always been a pragmatist,” he says. “Pragmatism rules.

“When I was a kid I noticed that everybody wanted to be a guitar player, and I did initially learn to play a few chords. But I picked up bass because there were fewer bass players, and it increased my chances of being in a band – which is what I really wanted.”