So who is the coolest famous person you have ever met?  I have not met many famous people, I was managing a comedy club about a decade ago and met Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame, he was pretty cool but happened to be wiped from a long USA tour when he showed up to do a one nighter in Toronto, so we exchanged maybe 10 words.

A few years before that I had the luck to meet up with Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley at a local Toronto nightclub.  I had always been a huge KISS fan and got the chance to buy him a beer and talk for about ten minutes.  He even passed along one of those guitar business cards and I will always remember how amazingly friendly and cool he was, I really wish I could find that card but I think it might be buried away with my bell-botton jeans somewhere in the garage.

It is funny but after meeting him I always hoped I would get into a business that would allow me to have printed one of those types of business cards with a cool shape referencing my profession but now that I sell toilets and urinals I decided it would not be that appealing….

Toronto is a great place to bump into celebs if you know the right places to hang-out.  So next time TIFF is in town why not go down to the entertainment district and see if you can catch your favorite celebrity.

One of my fav groups of all-time, Kiss! Gene Simmons, the Kiss frontman who is relaunching his record label in Canada, will be a keynote speaker at Canadian Music Week.

Canadian Music Week is an annual industry festival and celebration of Canadian music held in March in Toronto.

Simmons’s relaunched Simmons Records is partnering with Universal Music Canada to produce Canadian talent. Simmons launched it last fall with a promise of commercial success for bands under his wing.

At Canadian Music Week, he will speak about his business endeavours, including his experiences as co-founder of Kiss, a band that has survived for 35 years.

Kiss is a juggernaut of licensing and merchandising, with over 3,000 product — from Kiss Visa cards to Kiss condoms.

Simmons’s other endeavours include:

• Reality TV series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which he produces.
• Cartoon show My Dad the Rock Star for Nelvana.
• Ladies of the Night released through his own Simmons Books.
• Marketing and branding for Indy Car Series through Simmons Comic Group and Simmons Abramson Marketing.
• A clothing line.

Canadian Music Week runs March 11-14 and includes four awards shows and a music festival. Simmons is to speak March 12.

If you love everything music like me then you will surely want to check-out the great and super groovy message boards over at Magle International music forums. My favourite forum is the rock music one, as it is quite nostalgic for me. You might even catch classical composer Frederik Magle online as he is one of the administrators!