Exclusively Van Halen: GENE SIMMONS Claims #EDDIEVANHALEN Considered Joining KISS in 1982 🤘🔥1/4/26

🎥 Exclusively Van Halen is your ultimate destination for everything Van Halen — from deep dives into the band’s history and music to rare stories, insider trivia, and special moments. Whether you’ve been rocking since the Roth era or jumped on board during the Hagar years, this is where fans come together to celebrate the sound, spirit, and innovation of Van Halen. 🎸 We talk ALL things Van Halen right here on Exclusively Van Halen — only on Johnny Beane TV! KISS bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons has revealed that Eddie Van Halen once seriously considered joining KISS during a volatile period in Van Halen’s history — and that Simmons himself talked the guitar icon out of it. Simmons, one of Van Halen’s earliest champions, played a pivotal role in the band’s rise. He famously discovered the group in 1976 after wandering into a show at Los Angeles’ Starwood club, an experience he later described as leaving him “incredulous.” Soon after, Simmons produced Van Halen’s legendary Zero demo, which featured early versions of future classics like “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “House of Pain.” Despite his enthusiasm, Simmons eventually stepped back from producing or managing the band due to resistance from Paul Stanley, manager Bill Aucoin, and his existing commitments to KISS. However, according to Simmons, the paths of KISS and Van Halen nearly intersected again in 1982, as KISS were recording Creatures of the Night following the departure of guitarist Ace Frehley. In a December 29 interview with MusicRadar, Simmons recalled receiving a call from Eddie Van Halen during the Diver Down era, when tensions with David Lee Roth were escalating. “Eddie told me, ‘Roth is driving me nuts. I can’t take it. I gotta leave. I know you’re looking for a lead guitar player. Do you want me in the band?’” Simmons said. Eddie soon drove over to the studio — a trip Simmons jokingly described as terrifying, thanks to Van Halen’s doorless Jeep and aggressive driving. After grabbing lunch, Eddie listened to KISS’s new material and reacted enthusiastically. “He heard some of the tracks and was like, ‘Oh, I really like that!’” Simmons recalled. Despite the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Simmons says he advised Eddie not to join KISS, believing Van Halen was fundamentally built around his guitar playing. “I told him, ‘A band is worse than a marriage,’” Simmons said. “‘But with Van Halen, everything begins and ends with you — it’s all about the guitar.’” Simmons compared Eddie’s role in Van Halen to Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin and even to Jimi Hendrix, arguing that there simply wouldn’t be room for him in KISS. “It would be like putting Jeff Beck or Hendrix in AC/DC,” Simmons explained. “Eddie would have taken over.” Looking back, Simmons believes he made the right decision — even if it meant Van Halen eventually parting ways with Roth. The band went on to release 1984, their final album with Roth, before entering the Sammy Hagar era and reaching even greater commercial success. “I love Roth — that’s still my favorite era of Van Halen,” Simmons said. “But you can get another lead singer. When Hagar joined, they became a bigger band.” Simmons compared the situation to AC/DC’s rise after the loss of Bon Scott. “That idea that you can’t lose the lead singer?” he concluded. “Actually, you can.” #ExclusivelyVanHalen #JohnnyBeaneTV #EddieVanHalen #KISS #GeneSimmons