BLACK DIAMOND : The Ultimate tribute to KISS

BLACK DIAMOND : The Ultimate tribute to KISS

By: Ronn Roxburgh, FIREHOUSE MAGAZINE

I was 12 when The DYNASTY tour came to Vancouver, BC. I went to the show with my mom and my best friend. At the time, I was amazed by the music, the spectacle, and in a big way the magic that was KISS in the 70's! But now some 15 years later, I remember precious little about that show. Mostly what I remember is stuff that I am reminded of from watching videos of the DYNASTY tour. But I know that it had a huge influence on me, and so many times I have wished I could go back in time and relive that show!
That's where BLACK DIAMOND comes in. As their name says-BLACK DIAMOND: the Ultimate tribute to KISS! As one newspaper said, "Paul Stanley of KISS has a clone and the clone has Paul Stanley for a manager."
For the full story, I invited Ace (Kurt Frolich) and Paul (Benny Doro) over and we spent an evening watching KISS vids, playing the all mighty KISS pinball machine, while discussing the beginnings and future of BLACK DIAMOND.

Kurt, "I became a KISS fan way back in grade 1. I got a copy of "KISS" from a cousin for Christmas. I was like 'Wow! Who are these guys!' But after listening to it, I was hooked for life!" Benny has a similar story of how he became a KISS fan, and for as long as he can remember, he has loved KISS, and BLACK DIAMOND seems like such a natural thing for him and his band mates who also include Gene (Rick Lee) and Peter (Mark Cuzzetto). Some things are just meant to be. I have know Benny for almost 10 years. When I first met him, he was in an all original band called UNCHAINED. Even back then I could see a star quality in him that made him something special. And even back in 87, he was starting to emelate his idol, Paul Stanley on stage. Then in 1988 during the Crazy Nights tour Benny and I hid in the bushes outside of KISS' hotel waiting to meet KISS. After two nights, we finally got to meet Eric Carr, and Benny gave a tape of Unchained to him. Later Paul Stanley heard the tape and contacted Benny, telling him, "You guys have inspired me to form a management company. I want to manage you." Nowadays, Paul is just a phone call away! "He's very proud of what KISS has done," says Benny, "And he's really proud that KISS has inspired us."
The band that Paul originally heard, Unchained, began to unravel in Los Angeles during a recording session with Paul and engineer Pat Regan. Benny then bounced back intent on forming a new band, staying in constant contact with Paul, sending him the new demos periodically. At this point however, Paul told Benny, "The songs are great, but the style of music just isn't 'in' right now. You can either change what you are doing, or wait it out until this sort of music is viable again." That's when Benny became serious about the thought of forming a KISS TRIBUTE band. After extensive searching for just the right members, the band was formed some time in early April of 1994. Benny then called Paul once again to tell him of his formation of BLACK DIAMOND. "He loved the idea," says Benny. He knows what a fan I am, so he knew it would have total quality.
Right around that time, I was working on putting on a KISS release party for the upcoming release of KISS MY ASS, and I needed a KISS tribute band for the show. When Benny told me of his new band, I immediately asked him to play the show and he quickly agreed. After a few names were thrown around, the name BLACK DIAMOND stuck. Their first full show was on June 13th at the Commodore Ballroom for the KISS MY ASS record release party sponsored by C-Fox, Polygram and FIREHOUSE MAGAZINE, and was packed to capacity (1000 crazed KISS fans!) The show went off without a hitch, and the crowd was treated to one hell of a KISS show! Forom their first show, it was obvious that there was no stopping this band called BLACK DIAMOND!
BLACK DIAMOND takes everything they do very seriously. When asked what sets them apart from any other KISS tribute band, Kurt states "Everything we do, we do in character. After the show, we don't take off the make up and put on our street clothes and mingle with the fans, we go backstage and change into our custom made monogrammed BLACK DIAMOND robes and still in full make up, we go into the crowd and talk with the fans and sign autographs." Benny adds "You won't see Gene (Rick) between songs with a smoke, or me with a bottle of Jack Daniels. That just wouldn't be in character for KISS."
The band is also working extremely hard at self promotion, much the same way KISS did in the early days. It's not uncommon to see BLACK DIAMOND in full make up and costume (which takes over 1 hour!) handing out concert flyers at a show like they did at the recent Areosmith show in Vancouver, or showing up at record shops to sign autographs for those people who are in disbelief of what they are seeing at their local mall! During one such recent visit to the Metrotown mall in Burnaby, BC, one shopper, maneuvering a baby stroller shouted, "I love you guys." Their costumes have been carefully detailed to the 1977 LOVE GUN costumes right down to how many rhinestones they had on their neckbands. Their show includes all the special effects you would expect to see at a 70's KISS show. They use the equivalent of 50 pounds of dynamite for concussion bombs, 6 fire towers, 18 airbursts, 2 streams of raining fire, 2 spinning pinwheels, 2 kinds of smoke, Ace's smoking guitar, and of course there is the trademark Gene Simmons blood spitting and fire breathing! And to top it all off is a huge lighted KISS sign that lives and breathes, recreating all the original effects from the 70's! Their set list is basically ALIVE II with a few urprises thrown in such as "New York Groove" and "I Was made For Loving You", but every effort is made to make the show as authentic as possible, even down to the stage raps. It's not the glamourous life some might expect. The four band members travel with 4 road crew in a large truck and one other vehicle. "It's not unusual to go 3 days in a row without sleep" says Benny, speaking of the heavy touring schedule the band currently has. "It started out slowly as clubs were all waiting to see how we did at the other clubs. As they started to see that we were packing the clubs every night, it got easier and easier to get booked. Now we are playing 6 nights a week" he says. And it's no wonder...
While recently playing the Crest club in Edmonton, the band left the stage after their set and went down stairs to their dressing room, to hear what sounded like an earthquake. The club owner came running down stairs and told the guys "If you don't come back up and play, the crowd is gonna rip this place apart!" The crowd wasn't disappointed! Their shows are so energetic and captivating. The minute the lights come on stage and the first chord is played, you can't help but stare in awe as these guys rip through a KISS show that even the hardest of die hard KISS fans would be impressed by. By the end of the show, when the 10 incredibly loud concussion bombs of Black Diamond ring out the end of the show, you leave with a sense of what it must have been like to witness the real KISS back in the 70's.
For some of us, BLACK DIAMOND is like reliving a fond memory, and yet for others, it is like a miracle, in the form of the opportunity to experience something magical that they originally missed out on during the '70's!
Currently the band is on the road in Canada with barely a night off from touring, and some time in February the band is set to take America by storm! If KISS comes to your town and they happen to be wearing the make-up, you can bet it's BLACK DIAMOND: The ultimate tribute to KISS!

Visit the official Hotter Than Hell web site, Benny's current band.

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