GNR, Pantera And Queensryche Members Form Tribute Band
Member of Pantera, Guns N’ Roses, Queensryche, Whitesnake and Kill Devil Hill have joined forces to pay tribute to 70’s era Kiss in their new tribute group A.L.I.V.E.!.
The band features Rex Brown, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Brian Thomas Tichy and Mark Zavon, and have announced a couple of live appearances this month to celebrate Brown’s birthday.
The project came together when the members were asked to take part in the charity album, Kiss 40th Anniversary tribute album for cancer care.
“We each got asked to play on this tribute album to benefit cancer research,” Rex Brown said. “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!”
He continued: “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.