KISS legend Gene Simmons spoke with Nikki M. Mascali from The Weekender recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Simmons on being replaced in the band: "Why should any one person determine what something is? When I was a kid, I used to think that without Mickey Mantle, there couldn’t be a Yankees. Actually, there could. … So anybody you think who’s the definition without whom something can’t exist, winds up being a momentary lapse of judgment. No one is too big for anything. Everyone can be replaced - and should be if they can’t carry the weight.”

Simmons on being himself: "I’ve never made any bones about what I believe in or who I am. I never wanted to get married - and I’m not. I’ve been happily unmarried with Shannon for 27 years now, but the idea of marriage is out of the question. I’ve never been high or drunk in my life, and that continues. And those are the same rules for the household. People think they’re seeing a different side of me, but they’re just seeing a clearer picture. There’s nothing different.”

Simmons on being hotter than hell: “There are some solid bands who do this stuff. But … we are the ones that kicked every band in the nuts, and, in essence, laid down the gauntlet (to say) it’s not enough to come out there and sing the next song – you have to have a show.”

Simmons on the KISS Army: “The amount of love and admiration we have for them, I’d like to think, is unequaled. We sing their praises, and rightfully so. The Kiss Army is legendary, they’re self-named, and I don’t care if you’re a U2 fan or a ROLLING STONES fan, there is no name for that.”

Read the entire interview here.