Trace Adkins (l) with his fellow "Celebrity Apprentice" contestant and founder of the rock band, KISS, Gene Simmons. Photo courtesy of Hot Schatz PR.
Aug. 12, 2009 — Trace Adkins outlasted Kiss bass player Gene Simmons in the 2008 NBC series "The Celebrity Apprentice," but he forged a friendship with the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, rock & roll showman in the process.
Through that relationship, Trace found his way this past weekend on to the A&E reality series, "Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels," which is — much like its namesake — predictable in one way: It’s completely unpredictable. It’s part of what’s so appealing about Gene, from Trace’s vantage point.
"I love Gene Simmons," Trace told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "I do! Look, [I’m on] ‘Family Jewels,’ you know. But he won’t allow you to say that — he goes ‘‘Gene Simmons: Family Jewels,’ that just has a better ring. ‘Gene Simmons: Family Jewels.’’ Anyway, so ‘Gene Simmons: Family Jewels’ has exposed him as the softie he truly is. And I’m gonna tell you something about that man: When he speaks of his children, there’s a change that comes over his face. You can physically see it. When he speaks of his children, there is a pride and a love that comes out of the pores of his face. I swear to God, you can see it. He loves, he worships his children, and it’s just a beautiful thing to see. And then he’ll grab a woman and pin her against the wall, as soon as he’s finished talking about his kids!"
Trace might have spent the weekend on TV with the founder of Kiss, but he’s spent most of the summer with another iconic figure: Toby Keith, who brought Trace along on the America’s Toughest Tour. The coming week finds them in the West as they play San Diego on Thursday, Phoenix on Friday, San Bernardino on Saturday and the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday.