Rex Brown (bass; Pantera, Kill Devil Hill), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar; Guns ‘N Roses), Brian Thomas Tichy (drums; Whitesnake, Queensryche, Ozzy Osbourne, S.U.N.) and Mark Zavon (guitar; Kill Devil Hill), all ended up contributing tracks on rock journalist Mitch Lafon’s KISS 40th Anniversary Tribute album for cancer care: “A World With Heroes.” http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/kiss40thtribute
LaFon approached each of them about participating in the project, and not only did they all want to support the cause, but they also shared a similar passion for 70’s era KISS. Rex and Tichy laid down bass and drums on Bumblefoot’s version of “Detroit Rock City” in which not only does Thal play all guitars, he sings all vocals. Tichy also tracked drums, backgrounds, rhythm and leads (along with Zavon) to Rex and Zavon’s version of “Larger Than Life,” which features Rex’s debut on lead vocals. The track can be streamed on the BandPage tab of the A.L.I.V.E.! Facebook page HERE!
When the emails started circling, it became apparent that they all shared the same love for KISS in the 70’s. After hearing the finished tracks, they were all amazed at how much Thal sounded like Paul Stanley and Rex like Gene Simmons on their respective tracks. Someone suggested it might be fun to play these songs live, and A.L.I.V.E.! was born!
According to Brown, “We each got asked to play on this tribute album to benefit cancer research. Obviously, it was for a great cause and we wanted to be a part of it, but I think it also came from a place of real passion too. Each of us were hugely influenced by KISS early in our lives, so the chance to play on those tracks was a real honor. After we’d heard what we’d recorded, we thought it would be a lot of fun to do it live. As it turned out, Mark and I had just finished recording the upcoming Kill Devil Hill album, and had a small window of time this summer before we head out on the road again. The timing perfectly coincided with breaks in Ron and Brian’s schedules as well, so we decided to put this thing together!”
A.L.I.V.E.! is a as much of of a “thank you” to KISS as it is a tribute. Brown, Thal, Tichy and Zavon won’t be in costume and greasepaint, making this even more of a true tribute to the music that changed them when they first heard it.”
Rex continues, “I remember I was in 7th grade & this chick had a copy of ALIVE! I swiped it & it changed the future of rock and roll as I know it!! They were like “gods” to this scrawny kid from Texas learning to play guitar!! They are one of the reasons I jam to this day!! I got to open up for them numerous times in stadiums & it’s the attitude and the songs, not the schtick, that I go back to every time!!”
Tichy adds, “I thought KISS ALIVE! was the loudest record ever when I first heard it! KISS was the first band I got into. Peter Criss was my first drum idol and he is where I started as a drummer! When the idea of all of us going for this together was brought up, we all reacted with unbridled excitement to how much fun and how powerful this could be! I can’t wait to play with these badass musicians I am proud to call friends!”
When asked about KISS’s influence on him, Thal said, “Hearing the KISS “Alive!” album at the age of 5 is what made me want to play guitar and join a band. I’m looking forward to playing the songs that launched my life!”
Zavon said, “When I was 14 I borrowed ‘Destroyer’ from the public library and have never been the same since.”
A.L.I.V.E.! will perform material off of KISS’s hugely influential “Alive!” and “Alive II” records as well as some of their personal favorites!
Rex Brown is celebrating his birthday on July 27th and the band have decided that would be a perfect time to launch A.L.I.V.E! The Rex Brown Birthday Bash featuring A.L.I.V.E.! will take place on the following dates:
Wednesday, July 24th – The Whiskey – Hollywood, CA
Thursday, July 25th – LVCS – Las Vegas, NV
Friday, July 26th – Shamrock’s Grill and Pub – Chino Hills, CA
For more information, please visit
https://www.facebook.com/AliveAnAllStarTributeToKiss
https://twitter.com/ALIVE_tribute
9 Responses
great track, killer guitar sound
Alive sounds like a great project. A fun project with musicians who love early Kiss music. Great to see that buck Darma will be on That Metal Show. Blue Oyster Cult is such an under rated hard rock band. Eddie never really talks about them or plays there music on his Friday nite radio show. Eddie… There is more to hard rock music than UFO and Blue Murder. Did you ever own ” On your knees or on your feet” by the amazing BOC? I doubt it. Your metal knowledge is limited to Kiss, UFO, Aerosmith, Metallica, Maiden, Priest, and Queensryche. Why dont you play Texas Hippie Colition, or Black Stone Cherry on your radio show? Did you ever hear of them. The only new band you play is Buck Cherry, they are not a new hard rock band either. And please stop with the fake laugh on That Metal Show; its kind of annoying already. And stop being a baby on Stump the Trunk. I got half the question right on multiple questions within the main question. You big baby.
Fred – Eddie had the dudes from BOC on his Sirius show a few months back – was a great show and he had them on for a long time. Maybe you should find out what he does on ALL of his shows before you call him out. That dude talks about more obscure hard rock bands than even I can handle. And please don’t call Aerosmith or UFO metal – just shows how much you know. Never understand why guys like you come on the site to slag him. If you don’t like what he does – that’s cool. But then why waste your time coming on his sight or listening to his shows?
The Hot Rails website might be the BEST rock and roll website documenting a band’s tours I’ve ever seem. Anecdotes from BOC’s roadies re: touring with everyone from Sabbath, to UFO, Foghat and so on. It documents shows from the early 1970s up to the 2000s. BOC was a great hard rock band and they gave the Dio led Sabbath a run for their money every night on the Black and Blue Tour.
I don’t consider myself a huge Kiss fan, but I do like a lot of their songs from the 70’s. I think I would rather see this version than the real thing at this point. This is a killer band, and I would love to see them with Slash on a double bill.
There already is a ” official Kiss Make-up Tribute” band !
It consists of member’s Gene,Paul, Tommy,and Eric ………But, its a complete joke !
And you’re still an idiot Bigsled