By Matt Harper
Gene Simmons: rock god, legendary lothario, reality TV "star" ... and now, savior of the Canadian music scene? Yep, in a somewhat baffling move, the Kiss bassist has partnered with Universal Canada to (re-)form Simmons Records: an all-Canadian imprint hoping to search out and recruit unsigned Canuck music acts.
Now, as a Canadian (who's lived in New York for about three years), this news made me feel fairly conflicted. On one hand, who am I to criticize someone aiming to pump money into the Canadian economy, especially by supporting an arts and culture scene that is 100 percent worthy. On the other hand, there is an air of condescension surrounding this whole venture. In a recent impassioned response to an Idolator post, Simmons bluntly stated his reasons for coming to the rescue of the hard-working but apparently overlooked Canadian musicians: "Why here? Because you DO have the talent. And now, you have a WAY. ME."
