Just realized that I never posted this story here on my blog. I had the opportunity to interview the lead singer (the “Gene”), Tom Pressano of a New York-based KISS tribute band, KISS ALIVE! for a Weekender story a few months ago. He was great fun to talk to! He’s an English teacher by day and by night, rocks out to some of the greatest rock and roll ever made. The story ran in the April 1, 2009 issue of the Weekender, promoting the band’s show that weekend.
Here is a snippet:
Shakespeare by day. Simmons by night.
Tom Pressano spends his weekdays teaching English in New York City, but as his students tell him, he’s a freak on the weekends. Pressano, or “The Demon,” on bass and vocals, is one-quarter of the Kiss tribute band KISS ALIVE! He impersonates fellow (former) teacher, Gene Simmons.
The NYC-based KISS ALIVE! will bring the makeup, the costumes and the setlist that made KISS rock n’ roll icons to Nightcaps in Edwardsville this Saturday, April 4. It seems as if Kiss and other legendary bands from that era are still insanely popular today, and Pressano offered that perhaps it’s because they were the first big entertainers in the genre.
To read the entire story, you can visit the archived Weekender story here: KISS ALIVE! to Rock and Roll All Night.