Kiss frontman Gene Simmons made a surprise appearance at a Sioux Falls benefit concert Saturday, where he spoke of music’s power to positively shape children’s lives.
Simmons’s appearance came on the final day of a week of concerts to benefit the music academy for Sioux Falls Boys & Girls Clubs members.
“This is about kids. We’ve had our chance. We’ve got to give them a chance. Anything that gets them off the street is a good thing,” Simmons said.
Music, Simmons said, is self-empowering.
“It doesn’t matter if you become a star. If you don’t believe in yourself and get up on stage, everybody is watching. You can feel the power … and it helps you get through life, especially when you’re impressionable.”
He said getting involved in music — whether it’s learning to play an instrument or sing karaoke — improves social skills, too.
Motley Crue singer Vince Neil was also at Saturday’s show, and he, too, expounded on the positive benefits of music.
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“Say you finish your first song, it could be ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb,’ it doesn’t matter, but at least it’s something you’ve played,” Neil said. “And I think for kids, they could go into a whole other direction because they accomplished something.”
Neil said he was 10 when he first started taking guitar lessons.
“I was terrible,” he said laughing. “That’s why I’m not a guitarist. I went into the other direction.”
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