You've got to admire Gene Simmons. He could just do KISS reunion shows the rest of his life and still be awesome. But no, he starts other businesses like his own magazine and reality show. He could just do Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed for the rest of his life, but he doesn't even have to lock that down. He certainly doesn't need to compete for a job he doesn't need, but that's exactly what he does on The Celebrity Apprentice.

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CraveOnline: Why did you want to be on The Celebrity Apprentice?

Gene Simmons: You know, I’m lucky enough, blessed to I guess be the king of my own domain, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The question is: if the rug is pulled out from under you and you don’t have your support system, your staff, your, you know, your infrastructure, how good are you really? The other thing is the entrepreneurs, it seems to me, by and large are self motivators, self starters. They’d rather do it themselves and sort of outsource and use somebody else’s infrastructure to get to where they want to go. It’s a cheaper business model and so on. The question is how’s Gene Simmons in a situation where you’ve got other people? In other words, in a team situation. So it’s a totally different model and I was curious how good I was. I’m the rat that knew the maze to get to the cheese. But how good am I in a brand new maze?

CraveOnline: And how were you?

Gene Simmons: Oh, I am fantastic.

CraveOnline: How did you surprise yourself?

Gene Simmons: I care. The question is, and this is what any champion in any field will eventually have to ask himself or herself, once you’ve got enough money, once you’ve got enough fame and the glitz, and the glamour and the power, and the accoutrement of the American dream, when all the flashbulbs are gone and the girls stop kissing you, and you put the awards away and the sun comes up the next morning, and you’re there by yourself: will you get up at the crack of dawn and try to beat your own record? In other words, ultimately every champion hopefully is only in competition with themselves. I care. I want to thank Donald for giving me, personally, the opportunity to get out there, roll up my sleeves and just go for it. I mean, this was a delicious experience.

CraveOnline: How were you actually approached to do the show?

Gene Simmons: I went to a restaurant and I saw the powerful, attractive and world-famous Donald Trump there. On the way out, we exchanged pleasantries and it was sort of “Hey, you want to do the show kind” of thing. It was very fast and I went to myself, “Well I got a lot of stuff, KISS is going back out on tour. I got to tie my shoe and wait a minute. That’s an interesting idea.” Of course I thought, because I’m delusional, I thought I was going to sit in the judge’s seat. He was going to throw me right into the pits of hell, which you know what, was even more exciting. Let me tell you something about the lady, Marilu Henner, all smiles and innocent, and little miss goody two-shoes. She’s a killer. She’s a killer. Don’t let the lipstick and the "I eat health food stuff" [fool you]. She’ll kill you.

CraveOnline: You've been the boss for so long, how hard was it to take orders?

Gene Simmons: The description of that isn’t quite on, so respectfully, here’s how it worked. You’re given a task, the team is. Then the team is responsible for picking their leader, who’s the team leader for that task. Then everybody has to go out and the team decides, but certainly the team leader basically picks "You’re going to tie the shoelaces at 3:00. You’re going to shine the shoes over here. You’re going to do that." So the challenge for me, I have to say and it bears repeating, is how am I in a team situation? I’m used to basically looking to myself for inspiration. I pick up the phone. I try not to have assistants and it just gets in the way. This was really exciting because you’re dealing with people who are successful in different areas. It’s like pieces of a puzzle except they’re from different puzzles. You put them together, you’re not going to get the picture you think you’re going to get. Let me tell you something, this is about as exciting television as I would ever want to watch. You got men and women working together. That’s enough.

CraveOnline: How did you like the living situation with your teammates?

Gene Simmons: My problems went farther than the end of the day shooting. We would sometimes finish at midnight, sometimes at one o’clock, and during the day cell phones are off. I can’t get to do my emails. So then you’d have to sit down and keep the plate spinning, like the guy that’s got ten plates. If you move away from one of the plates, they fall so you got to keep them all spinning. I’d have to do that in the middle of the night. It was tough. The disadvantage I had respectfully is that I come from the boogeyman world which is that if you’re in the rock world you’re supposed to be big and bad, and you’re supposed to be surrounded by beautiful women all the time. The accoutrement, the posse and the guys, you flinch and somebody brings you champagne. I don’t drink at all by the way. So in some ways this goes certainly against what I’m supposed to be projecting. But so what? Marilu was a very clean roommate.

CraveOnline: Was it easier for you to agree to this because you've done your own reality shot?

Gene Simmons: No, this is not a television show. I mean, it is because you’re going to be watching it on TV, but when 15 people line up at the front line and when the gun goes off you’re in a race, you’re too busy running the race and trying to win. You’re not looking what’s my best side, better pull in my gut so I look good on TV. This is different. This is not a reality show. This is more like a news truck catching and event as it happens.

CraveOnline: We've seen a lot of the real you on Family Jewels, like how intelligent you actually are.

Gene Simmons: Oh, I think you’re being kind. I think it’s fair to say that if it wasn’t for the guitar hanging around their necks, [most rock stars] would probably be asking the next person in line if they’d like some fries with that. Let’s call it for what it is. I think you’re being too kind.

CraveOnline: What else could you have wanted to be for a career other than a rock star?

Gene Simmons: Oh, anything I wanted to do. I started off as a sixth grade teacher in Spanish Harlem. Worked for Vogue Magazine as the assistant, the Man Friday to Kate Lloyd, the Editor in Chief and just did lots of stuff. Worked as the Assistant to the Director of the Puerto Rican Interagency Council, a government funded research and demonstration project. You don’t want to hear it. You’d get bored to death. I used to be a Kelly Girl before there were Kelly Services, because in my high school all the girls took the typing classes, so of course I wanted to be there. So I became a Dictaphone typist. Just all kinds of stuff.

CraveOnline: At Vogue, did you have any Devil Wears Prada type experiences with your boss?

Gene Simmons: In those days, in the early 70s, that was before the culture sort of became aware of itself. Almost before supermodel became the catch phrase and the cliché. The culture of fashion and style still didn’t have a sense of itself, so it was more a magazine is a magazine. The editors were not yet stars. That was to come later.

CraveOnline: How is the family?

Gene Simmons: Terrific. Nick just got offered his third movie role. He already said no to it, a Naomi Watts movie. Look, this is going to go on too long about me. The Celebrity Apprentice, that’s the exciting thing.

CraveOnline: As businessmen, what do you admire most about Mr. Trump?

Gene Simmons: I like that he changed his own business model, respectfully, and this is from the peanut gallery on the outside. Being in the real estate business of getting banks and having them hound you and actually going in there, the idea that Donald has become his own brand, his name and likeness are even bigger than his business. So it’s gotten to the point where Donald Trump is the Good Housekeeping seal of good business, which is to say that if I want to do real estate or almost any other venture, you stick the name Donald Trump on there and he appears once, and you’ve got a business that’s going to go sky high. That is a real accomplishment.

CraveOnline: What did you learn about Donald Trump from this show?

Gene Simmons: Well, the people who have a problem with Donald Trump and the “You’re Fired” routine aren’t pragmatic. They think you’re supposed to say nice things in life and that nobody can be fired. The truth is that in life, if people don’t like what you do or you don’t make sense, it’s nothing personal. It’s business. So last time I checked, this is business and how you feel about it personally is beside the point. So my suggestion for everybody watching this show is put on your thick skin because, buckle up. It’s going to be a rough ride.

CraveOnline: Who impressed you in the competition?

Gene Simmons: You may think you understand who’s really good at what they do and who’s not. Let me tell you something, the women on this show will not only surprise you, they will kick your ass. They are every bit as competitive and entrepreneurial as the guys. And that’s all I can say. We’re about to be hired, my Simmons Abramson Marketing firm is about to be hired by the Island Nation of Turks and Caicos to be their marketing branding entity. Lennox was talking about finding a nice home someplace where it’s private and this is paradise. So when he comes up for air and when I do because the show is not over filming yet, and we may or we may not be in the final episode, I intend to introduce him to the premiere, Michael Misick and I’m sure it’ll work out.