Fortt Knox

Gene Simmons is the most outrageous member of one of the most outrageous bands of all time: KISS. There's a lot more to KISS than shock. It's the number-one gold-record-earning group ever, at 30, when you include the four solo albums that band members released on the same day in 1978. Fourteen albums went platinum. This is a band that's known for its hits: "I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day" seems like it's a phrase as old as rock itself. The band is known just as much for its look. There's the black and white face paint, the pyrotechnics, and a few details that are signature Gene Simmons. There's the blood-spitting, the axe guitar, and of course the tongue so long it's almost a fifth band member. And guess what: They're still touring. This is Fortt Knox, rich ideas and powerful people. I'm Jon Fortt. I sat down with Gene Simmons at the Studio Hotel in New York, to talk business and marketing. Simmons is a guy who not only managed to launch an iconic brand in his early 20s, he and cofounder