Anaheim, CA. USA November 22nd

Hi Paul,
Pleased to meet you!!!
How many miles today???
What a question you would say, and who’s this Paul?
Well, today I’m sat down on a Gene Simmons Axe Bus couch with his driver, Paul Hayeland!!!
And let me tell you that yes from the outside this bus is actually a damn cool piece of art from the top to the bottom, but inside…WOW it’s amazing!!!
I should expect it, as like everything Gene is involved in is larger than life!
Hi Paul, would you like to introduce you to the DeuceNews readers?
Hi Fabio,
Welcome on the Axe Bus!
My name is Paul and I run the Axe Bass business for Gene. I’ve been knowing Gene since almost three years and we did various businesses together. I got to meet Gene via Paul Stanley. I work for Artist painter and one day, almost three years ago I was at a party at the Playboy Mansion together with Paul Stanley and he introduced me to Gene Simmons. When later Gene talked to me about the next release of the Axe Bass I came out with the idea of this bus.
This is a really special tour bus, I read you are driving across the USA since KISS kicked off the Alive35 US Tour and I guess you will continue untill the end of 2009. Tell us about the story behind this bus.

One day Gene phoned me and he goes: “Paul, I designed and created this new Axe bass, sooner I’ll be on tour in 45 different cities and I want all my fans to have the opportunity to know about that and go get one while I’m travelling.” So I immediately called my web designer, we design the website genesimmonsaxebass.com back last summer. Then I said how to follow the tour? I said, let’s get a bus and put Gene’s face all over it!! Obviously Gene got the idea but he would have never accepted to pay for it. So I contacted A&E, the Family Jewels producer and got a deal to be sponsored by them putting by return the Family Jewels pictures on Gene’s bus. In addition Gene taped some episodes of Gene Simmons Family Jewels while on the bus with me.
Then I got for free all the wrap around from the wrapping manufacturer and also the bus came free of charge by the manufacturer. We put their name on the wrap too, plus Gene and Shannon talked about their names while taping Family Jewels.
So basically we got the bus and all the expenses covered, I said hello to my family and I left my home back on September end and I’m still travelling, this bus will end up with more then 50.000 miles on its shoulder (mine too!!!)
I’m a huge KISS fans since I was a child and I have to admit I’m also a Gene Simmons’s addicted. Let me tell you that the Axe Bass is The Rock Memorabilia for KISS fans and not only KISS fans. This is way beyond cool, it’s the slickest rock weapon I have ever seen…may I touch it?...Wow!!!

What can you tell us about it?

This is a neck through bass, it’s personally created by Gene who approved the electronics [Emg pickups], the body type, the design and even handpicked the wood. The body and neck are made of a single piece of a very rare Indonesian maple wood while the fingerboard is made from Indian Rosewood. Each Axe Bass comes with a case that is also designed and hand painted by Gene. Gene made available for selling 240 numbered pieces of this unique AXE bass. Gene personally hands over the bass to every purchaser and everybody may choose to meet Gene in make-up at a concert venue or not in make up at the hotel, as they prefer.
Later on we will put out on sale also a chipper version of the Axe bass, but this one will not be a neck trough and the quality of woods and electronics will be way different from this and wont be signed by Gene, it will come from a about a thousand dollars.
How many people wind up at the shows to get the bass?
Well, we are selling them out really fast, we had 15 buyers all together in N.Y., we will have 10 buyers in Vegas….5 tomorrow in L.A., Hard Rock Café bought 25… Guitars Store bought 20, every city has its buyers and I make all the arrangements with all of them, matching their desires with Gene’s busy schedule, and we have sold almost 170 basses so far!! In each city I go it’s a kick a run for me, when everything is done, KISS is playing on the stage and all the people are in the venue I leave and travel until the next place!!! But it’s rather difficult not to be noted with a bus like this! In every Hotel I went, in every gas station I stopped lots of people came around taking pictures, yelling and knocking at the door in the hope to get Gene out of the bus!!
It’s crazy!! It’s really unbelievable!!!
I could tell you hundreds of stories about how many crazy people I met out there!!
Then of course there are also celebrities who wanted to get in the bus and look around here, look at the Axe bass and all the stuff, like you know, Lenny Krevitz, Keith Urban, Jay Leno, Garth Brooks, Adam Lambert, and many many others.
Cool!! But what will you do with the bus at the end of the tour.
We were planning to park the bus at Gene’s house and I thing they will tape some more shots for Family Jewels and then the Bus will be auctioned off.
There will be a great charity event in Los Angeles organised by Gene.
Gene wants to give it back to the KISS fans so everybody will have their chance to get the bus simply buying the auction ticket an the more tickets you’ll buy the more chances you will have to park the Axe bus in your courtyard!
And what about the old Europe?
I will be there!!! We are looking for a manufacture there and we will do the same stuff we did here and I’ll travel there following the Sonic Boom Euro tour.
That’s great! And how many basses will be with you?
50, we will bring to Europe the last 50 basses we have, so be sure to be ready to take your before there are gone!!
Thanks so much Paul!! So let’s meet up again in Italy this spring.
Sure!!! I can’t wait to tour over there!!! See you all soon!!!