A Hero of the High Note – by Chris Epting

Gene Simmons at the Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp, Las Vegas Nevada – 2012

Shooting at the Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp is always a blast. You get big-name rock stars in ultra small spaces, so the moments are many. Last year, Gene Simmons took the reins as lead counselor for one of the sessions. Of all the counselors I’ve witnessed, he was by far the best. With each amateur band he got  more intensely involved, pushing them all to write an original song on the spot and guiding them through the process with funny anecdotes and professional advice.

One young man, bound to a wheelchair had a dream to sing the KISS classic ‘Love Gun’ in front of Simmons. The song is a tough vocal reach but Simmons told the  young man he was going to help get him there. To help push the singer, Simmons strapped on a bass himself and exhorted  him to hit the  high note. The moment came, and he did it. They posed for pictures afterwards but then all of a sudden this happened. As Simmons was congratulating the young man, He spontaneously threw his arms around the rock legend’s neck and started to cry.

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Photo by Chris Epting

The picture is blurry and the lighting isn’t great but it doesn’t matter. It’s not about the quality of the picture, but the quality of the moment – which in this case is about as good as it gets.

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