LOVE GUN is a KISS tribute band comprised of 4 hard-working, very hard core KISS fans brought together with one goal in mind…to bring the full and authentic 1970’s concert-style KISS show back to big audiences.
The Drive
With great passion for the music, detail, choreography, characters, costumes and equipment, LOVE GUN is everything that ever made a KISS show such a special live performance.
The Tribute
From the explosive opening guitar riff to the guitar smashing climax, LOVE GUN audiences will say “WOW”! Everyone will leave after a LOVE GUN show believing that they have just seen KISS perform.
Band Members
Russ Stanley
“If I could travel back in time to only one day in the past, I would go back to a day in the summer of 1977. That is when I first saw KISS. The “Love Gun” album had just been released and KISS was on tour. I was completely awed by what I had just seen and heard. The flames were so tall I could feel the heat even from 20 rows back. Girls all around me were screaming as Gene stalked the stage. Ace’s guitar seemed to explode in a cloud of smoke. Peter was thundering on the drums. Paul Stanley became my hero as he was the best of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper all in body. I want each and every person that sees LOVE GUN perform to feel just the same as I did back in 1977. I want everyone to experience the rush of being sweaty, ears ringing, hair full of confetti, covered in stage blood and catching a “LOVE GUN” guitar pick in their hands! We have cut no corners putting this tribute band together. We have worked on the details and rehearsed long hours to bring you the very best. LOVE GUN began as just a dream many, many years ago. Now, through our passion and dedication we bring you LOVE GUN!”
James Simmons
“Once upon a time (circa 1978), there was this little kid watching TV one afternoon…a little kid absolutely mesmerized by what he saw and heard coming through the television set. He watched in wide-eyed amazement as four masked musicians delivered a sonic and visual assault on the senses unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Was it rock & roll? Was it science fiction? Was it horror? Was it fantasy? It was all this and more. It was KISS, and it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. To say that KISS had an impact on me would definitely be an understatement. They were the reason I developed an interest in music early on, and they continue to inspire me to this day. Though I’ve always been a guitarist in bands I’ve played in, I always thought it would be a lot of fun to play “Gene” in a KISS tribute act. Just when I figured it probably wasn’t much more than a pipe dream, I saw LOVE GUN’s ad searching for a bassist. I knew it was time to pick up the bass. I knew I had to call the number. After a fortuitous meeting and audition with the band, I am happy to call LOVE GUN home. What can an audience expect from a LOVE GUN show? The same thing that drew me to KISS all those years ago. Fun and pure escapist entertainment for anyone hungry for KISS. Could LOVE GUN possibly have an ulterior motive? Absolutely. Call it selfish, but we do this for ourselves too! This is for all the KISS fans. There is a kinship among KISS fans unlike that of any other group. We’re all in this together, so come celebrate the KISS legacy with us. LOVE GUN wants you…see you at the show!”
Jr. Criss
“I am what the other guys in the band refer to as a casual KISS fan. To me, KISS was just that band from the 70’s that wore makeup. I really didn’t start paying any attention to music until the 80’s when I started on the drums. Sure I had played KISS songs in cover bands, but since joining LOVE GUN I am discovering just how brutal KISS was. Ironically, Peter Criss was a huge influence on most of the drummers that I looked up to in the eighties. Now I worship at the altar of Peter Criss. His book ‘From Makeup to Breakup’ is my bible. My name in the band is Junior Criss so I can carry on the moniker. Peter Criss provided the heart and soul of KISS in the seventies and their impact from then is still alive today. Portraying the iconic figures of KISS in full costume and makeup is a new experience for me in my musical career. When we step up on that stage, its because we wanted the best and we are the best…’you pull the trigger of my Looove, Love Guunnnn!!!!!!’ ”
Paul Frehley
“I was born with a guitar in my hand, much to the chagrin of my mother, and I grew to live and breathe hard rock, also to the chagrin of my mother. I didn’t start out as a KISS fan, but after plowing through KISS’s extensive catalog I was continually blown away by their musicianship, and the guitar pyrotechnics of Ace Frehley. From kill switch effects to finger-tapping, Ace pioneered many effects that players like Eddy Van Halen and Dimebag Darrell would later copy. All my influences worshiped Ace, and I see why. Graduating from the University of West Florida with a degree in classical guitar performance, I immediately sought to play as much live music as I could to make use of my thousands of dollars in tuition. I found that my favorite music to play was good old head banging riff based rock, but I also had a penchant for theatrics and performance. When I was asked to join LOVE GUN, I knew my passions were about to collide in an explosion of classic rock awesomeness. I can’t wait to see you at a show! Hold those lighters high!”
LOVE GUN KISS Tribute Band
www.facebook.com/lovegunneworleans
Nicole Dickson / Improbable Cause Mystery Theatre
Improbable Cause Mystery Theatre is family entertainment which features local professional and non-professional actors in an interactive experience with audience members as they work individually (or in groups) to solve the “murder” through physical clues, spoken
dialogue and inferred character motives. Audience members can interview actors, analyze physical evidence, and even participate in the live performance! In this 90-120 minute show audiences enjoy a delicious meal and great entertainment at a local restaurant which brings in revenue for the restaurant and the Pensacola arts community.
