Tag Archives: kissnation

KISSNation @ B.B. King Blues Club (8/29/2010)

December 19, 2010 Ken Pierce Leave a comment

Artist: KISSNation
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: n/a
Date: 8/29/2010
Label: Independent Tribute Artist

For as long as I can remember I have been a fan of KISS and while they were not the first band that I was ever turned onto, they were the first band that I spent my own money on in terms of albums as a growing Hard Rock and Metal fan. That being said I have gone to see the real KISS in action whenever it was financially possible to do so and over the years have not only jammed out on some drums to their classics but also enjoyed the talents of a number of the KISS tribute bands that make up the circuit. The one that sticks out in my mind is the band KISSNATION who I actually met way back at a Gene Simmons book signing a number of years ago. They were impressive in their costume design and manner in which they carried themselves and I had to say that when I caught them at a show not long afterward that it was a blast of a time. Since that gig the lineup has changed a little bit with both the singer and drummer going on to form ZO2 and in the place of Paul was now singer/guitarist Billy May. On drums would be Michael Demetrious who people call Mikey D. when they are not calling him the Catman. Tonight the band would be doing a headline show at the venerated B.B. King Blues Club and I was excited to see it based on my never having seen the group with these two new members. With no opening act on the bill, this would be all about the classics from the KISS repertoire and that was enough for me.
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Events, Reviews

Reflections & Photos From KISS Expos Past (2002-2004)

August 16, 2010 Ken Pierce Leave a comment

And now a little rewind for you…

KISS seems to be getting more attention than ever thanks to their smoking new CD “Sonic Boom”, the “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” TV show and the always rousing concerts that they do for sold out audiences worldwide. With this being the case, I felt that I should go back into my personal archives and add some fun never before seen images to the PiercingMetal Blog so the readers of our adventures can enjoy them in terms of some KISS related fun. After all, they do no real good by being in a random folder on a hard drive only seen once in a blue moon by the occasional curious visitor to the Metal command center.

That being said, this little side story is not about KISS themselves but more about an event that was called the NY/NJ KISS Expo. It was an annual affair that was put together by Richie Ranno (of the band Starz) and was the means for those who sold KISS memorabilia and those who collected it to mingle together along with musicians that had some part of their history connected with KISS or were just interested in being a part of the fun. My friends had been going to this convention for years already but my first go round would be in 2002 but I could not find any photos outside of the scanned ticket below.

This event was in Hackensack, NJ and only $16 bucks to get in. That was cool to know since you would end up spending hundreds more in terms of KISS things you might have had interest in. If I manage to find any photos from that event I will edit the narrative to allow them to fit in. So far there seems to be only one which you get below.
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Events, Reviews

KISS @ Madison Square Garden (10/10/2009)

November 2, 2009 Ken Pierce 4 Comments

Artist: KISS
Venue: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
Opener: Buckcherry
Date: 10/10/2009
Label: KISS Records

I don’t think that I have to repeat myself with this but KISS is my very favorite band of them all and while they were not the first music that I was exposed to as a young fan, they were my first official purchase as a consumer with his own money and have always managed to take me away with their concerts and performance mystique. That being said I have been following the band for a couple of decades and watched them go through the numerous changes from makeup to non-makeup, to reunion tour to new members sporting the legacy members’ signature face paint. The reunion lineup in 1996 gave their fans the first new KISS music in years with “Psycho Circus” and the band would tour before and after this release extensively until original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were no longer a part of the group. Fast forward a few years and KISS while still active, does its thing with both Eric Singer on drums and Tommy Thayer on lead guitar. The part of this that has come under fire from numerous KISS fanatics is that they are doing so in their familiar faces. The show tonight would be at Madison Square Garden which is a Mecca to a band like KISS and actually also the very first place that I saw them way back on the “Dynasty” tour which also was my very first concert. Thanks Pop. KISS would not only be celebrating the 35th anniversary of the “Alive” album but they would also be hitting the road in support of their newest album “Sonic Boom”. Tonight would also find the band Buckcherry opening up and having never seen them before I wanted to be inside to catch what they were all about.
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Events, Reviews

ZO2 @ Webster Hall (6/7/2009)

June 20, 2009 Ken Pierce 1 Comment

I met the guys in ZO2 a few years ago when they had opened for KISS and as I have mentioned in past reviews had already known of their members previously from their work with either KISS tribute bands and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I really enjoy their sound as it’s a solid and grooving Hard Rock that we don’t always get a lot of exposure to these days and the time is right for such a vibe in the Rock world to return in full force. The guys have been very busy over the last year as they had been the stars of their own scripted reality program called “Z-Rock”. The show is a comedy series on IFC (or the Independent Film Channel) and on this show we follow the guys who are on their own quest for Rock stardom at night while performing at kids parties during the day as the “Z-Brothers”. “Z-Rock” follows the bands misadventures and the colorful characters that they encounter along the way. The cast includes the real life Z Brothers David and Paulie, Joey Cassata, comedians Lynn Koplitz, Jay Okerson and the one and only Joan Rivers. It’s a show that you either loved or hated as a fan of the band and that is where we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that if you loved the show you will be happy to know that it is returning for a second season and the bad news is that if you hated it, well, it is returning for a second season.

PiercingMetal had the chance to be at the 2nd Season Premiere gala that was being held at Webster Hall this evening and while this was open to the public, there was a lot of confusion about how one could actually obtain tickets. Some told me that a contest was being held so they could get in and this was achieved by emailing the band and telling them why they should be in the venue, and then others told me that it was open to the general public for the small sum of $10 while a third group said that the whole shebang was free. Either way, the doors were open for 8pm and the first episode was going to be aired and then followed by a performance of the band and as we made our way inside the club there was already a nice group of people in place for the event. They started it off with a bloopers reel that was rather good and showed us a number of shenanigans that occurred as the guys filmed the second season of the show. The clips featured the likes of Steel Panther, Dee Snider, John Popper from Blues Traveler and even Mini-KISS. I am generally on the fence when it comes to blooper reels but this was one that amused me and it was a good lead in to the second season premiere of the show. All photos in this article were done by Peter Parrella (copyright 2009) so please don’t use them without contacting us first.