Vinny Appice: Ronnie James Dio Would Be ‘Pissed Off’ Over Gene Simmons Hand Gesture Trademark Attempt
Though there are numerous instances through time of people using the exact or a similar hand gesture that Gene Simmons recently attempted to trademark, most rock fans immediately thought of Ronnie James Dio when the suit was announced. Dio's "devil horns" gesture was synonymous with his performances, and his former drummer Vinny Appice has weighed in on the recent Simmons trademark attempt.
During an appearance on the Ouch You're on My Hair podcast, Appice stated, "Ronnie's hand gesture thing is an old Italian thing; it's called the maloik. And his grandmother showed him that and used to do that, and so did the elders in my family too. And that's to put… one way's to put horns on people, and the other way is to wish 'em good luck. So Gene couldn't have invented it, because it's an old Italian thing. And if Ronnie was alive, man, he'd be pissed off. Oh, yeah!" You can hear Appice's comments in the player below.
Simmons filed for the trademark earlier this month, but has since given up his attempt to have the gesture trademarked.
The KISS rocker faced widespread criticism over the move, with Wendy Dio stating, “To try to make money off of something like this is disgusting. It belongs to everyone; it doesn’t belong to anyone it’s a public domain; it shouldn’t be trademarked. It’s laughable, I think, quite honestly. I think he’s made a complete fool of himself. It’s disgusting; what does he want?”
Meanwhile, Esther ‘Jinx’ Dawson, singer for occult rock veterans Coven, who claim to have been using the “devil horns” symbol since 1967, posted on their official Facebook page, “If [Simmons] dares to go through with his application, I shall sue on behalf of us all.”
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