--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene…" description: "\"I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons.\" — Cedric Bixler-Zavala" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg" --- # I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons. ![“I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons.” quote by Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg) > “I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons.” [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admired rock icons, reflecting a desire for fame and larger-than-life persona. **In simple terms:** He wanted to be a famous rock star. Key Takeaway Acknowledge role models but define your own path. Themes ambition identity celebrity Mood reflective determined Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - music career - personal branding - self‑esteem Key Concepts self‑concept idolization Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself are independent of fame? - How can you channel admiration into personal growth? A Different Perspective Desire for fame can obscure personal authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gene/) ## Related quotes > [Kiss will always be Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-biersack/kiss-will-always-be-gene-simmons-and-paul-stanley-to-me/) [Andy Biersack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-biersack/) > [My life would have been different without Paul Stanley or Ace Frehley. They would have to be the greatest on my list as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mccready/my-life-would-have-been-different-without-paul-stanley-or-ace-frehley/) [Mike McCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mccready/) > [But I always wound up being the damn John, when I wanted to be the Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-love/but-i-always-wound-up-being-the-damn-john-when-i-wanted-to-be-the-paul/) [Courtney Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-love/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Random people, celebrities of note come to your shows over the years, and I've had some really strange ones. Like the guy from Kiss.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/random-people-celebrities-of-note-come-to-your-shows-over-the-years/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [I'd never want to be Gene Simmons, an old man who puts on makeup to entertain kids, like a clown going to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/i-d-never-want-to-be-gene-simmons-an-old-man-who-puts-on-makeup-to/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [When I'm writing music, I'm not playing a character. I'm not Alice Cooper or Gene Simmons or someone like that, who has acknowledged that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/when-i-m-writing-music-i-m-not-playing-a-character-i-m-not-alice/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [Gene Simmons and I look so much alike!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/engelbert-humperdinck/gene-simmons-and-i-look-so-much-alike/) [Engelbert Humperdinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/engelbert-humperdinck/) > [Gingrich is the "foremost intellectual" in the Republican party like Gene Simmons is the foremost intellectual in "Kiss".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/gingrich-is-the-foremost-intellectual-in-the-republican-party-like/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I would urge all bands that say they only care about credibility and don't care about money to send Gene Simmons every dollar that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-simmons/i-would-urge-all-bands-that-say-they-only-care-about-credibility-and/) [Gene Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-simmons/) > [Between last night and this morning, I've been getting a lot of messages from overseas fans along the lines of 'There's an American comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/between-last-night-and-this-morning-i-ve-been-getting-a-lot-of/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [Well being in Kiss is having a more limited spectrum. It's a smaller playground to play in because there are limitations. I'm the big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-simmons/well-being-in-kiss-is-having-a-more-limited-spectrum-it-s-a-smaller/) [Gene Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-simmons/) > [I like the fact that this kind of family has been seen in a movie a million times: teenage kids, the family is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-cole/i-like-the-fact-that-this-kind-of-family-has-been-seen-in-a-movie-a/) [Gary Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-cole/) > [“Ten things you should always do when you form a group 1. Work with your friends 2. Find like-minded people 3. Have ultimate self-belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/ten-things-you-should-always-do-when-you-form-a-group-1-work-with/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [I think maybe what happened was the convenience of technology overshadowed the experience of holding an album in your hands, and sitting on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-think-maybe-what-happened-was-the-convenience-of-technology/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) ## More by Cedric Bixler-Zavala > [I've come to realize that at the end of the day, it's only you yourself that creativity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-ve-come-to-realize-that-at-the-end-of-the-day-it-s-only-you/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [If I speak my version of Spanish in Spain, they laugh. Same with Mexico. It's an alien world to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/if-i-speak-my-version-of-spanish-in-spain-they-laugh-same-with-mexico/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [You want to embrace what the idea of pop music is. Not necessarily the stereotype of pop music; there was a time when you'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/you-want-to-embrace-what-the-idea-of-pop-music-is-not-necessarily-the/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [I think other people's interpretations of what I've written are a lot better than what I have, because I don't understand a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-think-other-people-s-interpretations-of-what-i-ve-written-are-a-lot/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [It all started in a local park in El Paso called Madeleine Park. At a ditch, a very small ditch, that everybody used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/it-all-started-in-a-local-park-in-el-paso-called-madeleine-park-at-a/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [You come to a point in your life where you don't want to just keep repeating yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/you-come-to-a-point-in-your-life-where-you-don-t-want-to-just-keep/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [It's hard to turn my internal dialogue off from that character I become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/it-s-hard-to-turn-my-internal-dialogue-off-from-that-character-i/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [I've said this many times: Rock 'n' roll is this magnet for dysfunctional people who only know how to communicate through the medium of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-ve-said-this-many-times-rock-n-roll-is-this-magnet-for/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [I've still got a lot of tantrums to throw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-ve-still-got-a-lot-of-tantrums-to-throw/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [Mars Volta was always about embracing what 'too much' was and the excess of it. I never thought there would be an audience for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/mars-volta-was-always-about-embracing-what-too-much-was-and-the/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [I personally never trusted the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-personally-never-trusted-the-audience/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [It makes us feel normal when people think we're being too arty or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/it-makes-us-feel-normal-when-people-think-we-re-being-too-arty-or/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [I have cancelled shows before for knowing full well that my heart was not in it at that moment. Why? Because its an insult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-have-cancelled-shows-before-for-knowing-full-well-that-my-heart-was/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [Paranoia can be such a powerful hallucinogen if you're not careful - but it's great to kind of recognize it as that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/paranoia-can-be-such-a-powerful-hallucinogen-if-you-re-not-careful/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) > [It's only a matter of time before machinery becomes sentient. It's going to happen because we're already slaves to all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/it-s-only-a-matter-of-time-before-machinery-becomes-sentient-it-s/) [Cedric Bixler-Zavala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) [Explore all 66 Cedric Bixler-Zavala quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/) ## More Gene quotes > [“Why talk about something you can't do anything about?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knowles/why-talk-about-something-you-can-t-do-anything-about/) [John Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knowles/) > [Exchange of breeding individuals between two populations tends to homogenize their gene pools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-r-grant/exchange-of-breeding-individuals-between-two-populations-tends-to/) [Peter R. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-r-grant/) > [When you're still, and some actors are really brilliant at that, you bring a kind of energy to you as opposed to sending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/when-you-re-still-and-some-actors-are-really-brilliant-at-that-you/) [Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I have the Cuban gene of speaking very loudly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/i-have-the-cuban-gene-of-speaking-very-loudly/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“I saw on the pad not an operator's number from my home town, but one which seemed to interrupt the beating of my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knowles/i-saw-on-the-pad-not-an-operator-s-number-from-my-home-town-but-one/) [John Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knowles/) > [Though social eugenics was discredited long ago, we still often think of the genome in quasi-eugenic terms. When we read about the latest discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wolf/though-social-eugenics-was-discredited-long-ago-we-still-often-think/) [Gary Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-wolf/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [I am an Ashkenazi Jew, and there are a whole host of genetic disorders that only Ashkenazi Jews have. I don't know if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gray/i-am-an-ashkenazi-jew-and-there-are-a-whole-host-of-genetic-disorders/) [James Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gray/) > [The simple reason no embryo can develop without at least one X chromosome is that it's the X, not the Y, that is loaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-simple-reason-no-embryo-can-develop-without-at-least-one-x/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Patrick Swayze reminded me a lot of Gene Kelly. Patrick had that Everyman quality. Gene made dancing sort of an accessible idea for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-ortega/patrick-swayze-reminded-me-a-lot-of-gene-kelly-patrick-had-that/) [Kenny Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-ortega/) > [“The funny thing is if in England, you ask a man in the street who the greatest living Darwinian is, he will say Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mayr/the-funny-thing-is-if-in-england-you-ask-a-man-in-the-street-who-the/) [Ernst Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mayr/) > [Heritability pertains to the entirety of the genome, not to a single gene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/heritability-pertains-to-the-entirety-of-the-genome-not-to-a-single/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [There is clearly this gene inside me or this thing inside me that I've always had in my blood. I don't know, but since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-sainz-jr/there-is-clearly-this-gene-inside-me-or-this-thing-inside-me-that-i/) [Carlos Sainz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-sainz-jr/) > [You put funny people in funny costumes and paint them green and we could talk about anything we wanted to, because that was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majel-barrett/you-put-funny-people-in-funny-costumes-and-paint-them-green-and-we/) [Majel Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majel-barrett/) [Browse all 156 Gene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gene/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cedric Bixler-Zavala" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simmons/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gene" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simmons/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/cedric-bixler-zavala-10330_gene_i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simm_1748187.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wanted to be Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons.” — Cedric Bixler-Zavala", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cedric Bixler-Zavala", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-bixler-zavala/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wanted to be Paul Stanley...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simmons/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-bixler-zavala/i-wanted-to-be-paul-stanley-or-gene-simmons/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```