Watch the Concert Guest Spot from a Fan That Left Gene Simmons Humbled and Inspired
It isn't often that we get to see Gene Simmons impressed by someone else, but a guest vocal appearance by a fan during Simmons' Feb. 16 solo show in Lynn, MA left the Kiss co-founder marveling at the "remarkable young man" he'd just seen in action.
The young man in question, named Brian McCauley, was invited on stage to perform the Kiss cut "Calling Dr. Love" in Lynn — or rather, as Simmons told fans in a Facebook update, McCauley basically told Simmons he was showing up and wouldn't take no for an answer. Simmons, always one to encourage creating your own opportunities even where they don't necessarily seem to exist, couldn't help but be impressed by McCauley's moxie.
"We had never met Brian before. We did not rehearse with him," wrote Simmons. "All we knew was that he was relentless. He called and emailed everybody in the band, as well as the promoter, and then simply barged into my dressing room backstage, and told me he would be on stage to sing 'Dr. Love.' In G flat, no less."
What Simmons didn't initially realize — and insists he didn't intend to share with the audience until McCauley told the crowd himself — is that in addition to being a Kiss fan, McCauley is also a graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, located in nearby Watertown. Asked by Simmons whether blindness had prevented him from "taking life by the scruff of the neck," McCauley told the crowd that "life has limitless possibilities" — and then, as Simmons put it, "proceeded to tear the roof off the concert hall, steal the show, and upstage the entire band."
McCauley's vocal cameo isn't the first time he's made the news. In 2012, he drew attention for starting a sports radio show at Perkins, an early step toward his dream of being a sports broadcaster. "People say I have an unforgettable voice," he was quoted as saying at the time. "I think I'd probably like to be a radio host by day and a rock star by night."
Posting fan-shot footage from the show — which you can watch above — Simmons added, "See for yourself what this remarkable young man did. When I grow up, I want to be just like him."