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Submitted By: underthecovers | Added On: 11/19/2006 | Total Views (1264) | Total Downloads: (0)

Most people that have known me for more than half an hour know that I'm a major KISS fan (actually, come to think of it, I have’nt made a KISS purchase from out of my own wallet since I was ten, so perhaps that disqualifies me as a "fan"....?.....).Maybe my 3 pickup Gibson Les Paul Custom, that I still play to this day, is more of a giveaway.....
What better group to pay tribute to than one that sounds and LOOKS timeless (the casual observer cannot tell the difference between KISS now and KISS thirty years ago).I admit it, I have seen my fair share of KISS tribute acts (at 328, Masquerade,Slow Bar....),and have received a rather odd, incestuous satisfaction in standing next to Mark Slaughter while the Slow Bar gets rocked by Alive 2.
Todzilla walked into rehersal one day and said that Doug Gery was gonna be sittin' in at Jonesworld .... he was off the road and he was bringing the Ace costume.This was a revelation to me. I'd played a show with Doug at the 8th Day some years back and didn't realize he was no longer with Catawompus .Well Jonesworld came and went and Doug couldn't make it so I was eager to get the skinny when I saw that Kiss Army coming.
I missed Kiss Army's show at Exit/In show cause I was in Atlanta; then (the next day) I missed the Andrew Upstairs show because I was back in Nashville. I missed the show they'll play in Clarksville at The Warehouse because I was in Birmingham with Kung Pow at The Barking Kudu, and I’ll miss The Bluesboro show in Murfreesboro on Thanksgiving Eve because I’ll be playing in Bismark North Dakota.....but that doesn't mean YOU have to miss it .

We got the cat's meow from Kiss Army's Steve Clark
Ten-HUP solider!
Now get up and get yer grandma outta here

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The Lineup

Yio Darcangelis (The Demon)
Steve Clark (The Catman)
Bryan Angel (The Starchild)
Doug Gery (The SpaceAce)

NashvilleRock.net : Where are you based ?

Kiss Army : KY., TN., SC. Long story…

NR : How did the band form ?

KA : From countless 'back to the drawing board' meetings between myself and Bryan and for the last 5 years, Doug Gery & 3 years with Yio Darcangelis.

NR : Have you ever had any lineup changes ? How did you find the replacements ?

KA : Yes. Maybe more than Spinal Tap. lol. The only difference here is that we're serious. Honestly, the changes in lineup are sometimes inevitable & necessary in order to help take things to the next level. For those like myself, that is, that want to believe 'surely somehow, someway we 'can' take this further.' So far it's a become a formula to stick by and it works, best of all it's built of the finest ingredients only... 'integrity, sincerity & respect.'. That's our ongoing recipe that I'm hoping will one day lead us to full time jobs along the Vegas strip rivaling the Blue Man Group. lol. Who knows. But I bet they couldn't hang with the Black, White, Red & Silver group! All I can gaurantee you is that we're Armed & Dangerous now as a result of so much trial and error. Replacements for a job of this nature aren't easy to come by as we're an Army of four... four life sized action figures. We'd be more like 'Peter Jackson's KISS ARMY. The perfected assault, and apepper!

NR : Tell us about your audience.

KA : They're unbelievable these days. Many even travel to multiple cities to see the band in its current incarnation. There's something very special going on here and they're paying attention. We love the fans of Kiss. They love our spirit. It's a beautiful thing. lol.

NR : Tell us about your setlist.

KA : The setlist is compiled of what we believe best represents our heroes at the top of their game and in the prime of their 70's heyday. You'll hear what you want and then some. You'll hear it with muscle and vitality. We throw hammers in our message. Watch out!

NR : How often do you rotate songs and how do you determine when and what to rotate?

KA : We rotate songs very seldomly. We've even tried to master the perfect flow of the overall shows impact and that's always determined by who sings what and when they'll sing it best.

NR : Have you ever met KISS? Tell us about it.

KA : Many times. Most recently during a meet & greet just prior to us going onstage as the finale headlining outdoor concert event for the grand opening celebration of the first ever Kiss Coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach, SC. They looked stunned. lol. I know they see guys dressed up everywhere they go, but we're a different animal. Like a mirror reflection of 1978. They've seen Bryan & myself on several occasions dating back to 1993 and off and on throughout the years with various lineups and they keep getting wonderful reports on the group from almost every direction thanks to our ever-growing fanbase of support. I can remember Gene saying 'knock'em dead' just as we were heading for the stage in Myrtle Beach and me answering and assuring him that 'that's what we're going to do.' lol. Even their manager, Doc McGhee, fell in love with us! You wouldn't believe the strange things that keep happening for this group. Like singing 'Beth' to 'Lydia Criss' onstage to even having original Kiss manager Bill Aucoin introducing us at a Kiss convention, and on and on it goes...

NR : What qualities does Kiss Army have that makes it authentic?

KA : We have more herbs and spices than KFC! This band has it all as it should have. The perfect makeup, outfits, instruments and adrenaline of Kiss as they should be remembered.

NR : Have you ever worn the codpiece to a family function or to the bank?

KA : Both.

NR : Have you ever played a KISS Convention?

KA : We use to perform at Kiss conventions around the country and sometimes we'll still make appearances if there's a nice retro guest lineup on hand. They're a blast to attend.

NR : Do you have a preference for the current Washburn Paul Stanley signature model or the original Ibanez Iceman?

KA : For this era I'd have to stick with the Iceman & the rhinestoned Flying V.

NR : What are your top 5 favorite kiss albums. < mine are : rock n roll over, love gun, destroyer, lick it up, creatures of the night; but it changes every other month or so>

KA : Love Gun, Rock and Roll Over, Alive, Destroyer, Hotter than Hell, Dressed to Kill.

NR : Any thoughts on Tommy Thayer or Eric Singer (the ultimate
tribute gig)?

KA : Oh contrair, I think that 'we' are the ultimate tribute gig! lol. Honestly, I'm a purist. I'd prefer to actually have 'Kiss' be in 'Kiss' but what are you gonna do? Things happen and life goes on. I'm sure those guys have got to be under a lot of pressure with trying to fill the shoes of Ace & Peter. That's gotta be tough. But imagine trying to be all four! lol. That's us.

NR : It's no secret that Paul and Gene plan to replace themselves in the future (although to my knowledge there has been no official announcement of that).Any hopes and aspirations?

KA : We're aiming for the stars. We'll see what happens and take it from there? We don't want to be the next incarnation of 'Kiss.' We want to be your first stop you'd ever make if you were ever really able to jump into a time capsule and set it to 1977. The ultimate salute -to- KISS. We're "KISS ARMY - The Coolest Band in The World!"

NR : How do you clean the costumes? By Hand? Send them to the dry cleaners??

KA : By hand. That's all we do by hand. lol.

NR : Any sponsors or endorsements you want to plug?

KA : Marshall Amplification, Pearl Drums, Gibson Guitars, Ampeg, Spector Basses, Zildjian Cymbals, Peavey. Come to think of it, one of our retro poster slogans reads: "KISS ARMY uses Gibson Guitars & Pearl Drums because they're supposed to."

NR : What's next for the KISS Army?

KA : Thanksgiving Eve, The Bluesboro, next? THE WORLD.
visit: www.KISSARMYRULES.com - The Site for Sore Eyes!

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Kiss Army plays live
@ 8 pm
Wednesday November 22nd 2006
@ The Bluesboro
in Murfreesboro, TN.

for more info, visit their website at http://www.kissarmyrules.com/
and
http://www.myspace.com/coolestkisstribute
or email them at theolclarkster@aol.com

-------------------------------------------------------

if your act would like to be featured on "Under the Covers"
shoot me an email at jpaul@jpaulmusic.com
or try Dave at dave@nashvillerock.net
to qualify you must:

rock
and
return my call or my email

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