that where you’re liable to be sit- ting in the rafters when you see them, we’re like a front row ticket to KISS. We’re the next closest thing. We replicate their show from 1979 and back. That’s what we’re trying to recreate, old 70s KISS.

“We put on a coliseum show. We’ve got a lot of gear. If you see other tributes, they just put out their amps and sing and play like them. Some tributes are good, but I’ve never seen anybody put on a show like this. ”

Black Diamond, a name derived from a popular KISS song from their 1974 self-titled debut, have found a strong demand for their faithful recreation of a KISS concert. “We used to tour three or four months on, take a week off, and tour for another three months. But now we’re just on for a month. We just flew in — two of us are from Los Vegas, another guy is from Vancouver, and another is from Toronto, and our crew’s from

Canada, so we just fly in and do it when we want. It’s a luxury that we do when we want.”

The reason for Black Diamond’s decrease in touring is not due to waning popularity. Rather, it is due to the member’s other interests. “We have our own original act called The Loving Dead. That’s what our heart’s into — we do our own music. We get people who say, ‘Why don’t you play your own music?’, and it’s like, ‘You don’t even know man!’ Down in Vegas before we left we did about six shows in the last month, and that’s why we live in the Los Angeles area, because we want our original music to break.”

The high energy perform- ances that Black Diamond are known for have benefitted The Loving Dead in their effort to make their break. “Yeah, we’ve gotten a lot of shows because of the reputa- tion of Black Diamond at other clubs we’ve played. We’ve said,

‘Well, we'd like to bring our origi- nal act in next month.’ And the managers say, ‘Okay, we know you’re great showmen, and that it’ll be a quality show.’ It has opened doors.”

Could there be problems in making a transition from Black Diamond to the original act of The Loving Dead? “There’s a ritual we have. As we put on the [KISS] makeup we slowly come into char- acter, and finally you look in the mirror and you’ ve got all the make- up on. It’s like acting. When you get up on stage you’re portraying the character. So it’s a breath of fresh air when we do our original band and you get to be yourself again and express your real person- ality.”

So, while portraying their childhood heroes may be a great way for these musicians to earn a livelihood, there is no doubt where their priority lies. “We moved down to Las Vegas a year ago for

our original band, to try to strike up an American deal. Before that we were based out of Vancouver. It’s looking good [for The Loving Dead], we’re getting some radio play down there and a fan base. Actually, the Edmonton Oilers were playing one of our songs when they scored a goal. We’re get- ting some interest, and we’re still pumping away — it’s tough being an original band. But it’s good, as a full time musician, to have some- thing to fall back on like Black Diamond.”

Following the end of the Black Diamond tour, The Loving Dead were set to resume touring in support of their first CD, Do It Again. “We’re also writing and demoing new stuff right now.”

For more information on Black Diamond, check <www.blackdia- mondonline.com>, or for The Loving Dead, try <www.thelov- ingdead.com>.

SEE IT! :

Requiem for a Dream, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is supposedly the most disturbing movie about drug addiction ever made. Ellen Burstyn was nomi- nated for an Oscar for her performance See it at City Cinema this week

Somebody to Love, Grace Slick’s rock and roll memoir, takes the reader through the ‘60s and the ‘70s when she was singing with Jefferson Airplane and sleeping with all of the other bands.

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