As the last note was struck in Madrid, it signaled the end of an adventure where every member of The Dead Daisies team had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions from frustration to elation!
The trek started in Germany at the Rockavaria festival, which would be the first of five European festival appearances, and would wind its way through Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, UK, France, Holland, Belgium and Spain.
With new album ‘Revolución’ hitting the airwaves and music stores, The Dead Daisies were finding both KISS and festival audiences were treating them like old friends as opposed to strangers. Whether it was the live gigs, the album or the press, something was flowing in the right direction.
Guitarist Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses) could see the reception for himself every night he walked on-stage. “Touring Europe with KISS was a fantastic experience for the Daisies. I feel like we won over a ton of new fans and made a lot of new friends. The reception was incredible. I couldn’t have asked for a better response from the KISS fans. I can’t wait to return to Europe and play more shows. Thanks to everyone that we saw at the festivals and KISS shows over the last month!”
One gig that really stood out on the tour, was the bands first ever appearance at the world famous ‘Download Festival’ in the UK. John Corabiwas particularly looking forward to the gig, “As a musician kid growing up in Philadelphia I always read about Donington in Kerrang and other music mags from Europe, so playing that festival was always a goal of mine. It was scheduled to be the first gig I did with Motley Crue in 1994, and for some reason we cancelled, so I was bummed. So seeing it on our schedule with The Dead Daisies, I can say I was more than excited, to get there!!!” Formerly the Donington Monsters of Rock for many years, this three-day event attracts some of the biggest rock bands in the world, and it seemed a bit unfair that on paper, The Dead Daisies were on probably one of the worst slots possible, 11am on a Sunday morning on the second stage. Hampered by a late opening of the gates, everything looked to be going against them. Tour manager Tommy commented later, “I had fears that we would be playing to three cows in a field!” But like a Biblical story, they came in their thousands and premier rock and metal magazine Kerrang was there to witness it, “Sunday morning at Donington Park is rarely the most energetic of moments but The Dead Daisies all-star cast do a sterling job of banishing hangovers with slick-as-a-Vaselined-otter classic rock.” The same scenario was repeated a week later at Graspop, the Belgian rock festival. An early morning slot but the crowds came in their thousands.
Every night of the KISS tour brought a different crowd and a new experience. Some nights the band had a sound check and other nights they didn’t, challenges were never faraway but were always overcome with every crowd loving The Dead Daisies performance and their music.
One of the highlights of these nights was Paris. The French have welcomed the band with open arms. In the days leading up to the concert at Le Zenith, all the band members had journalist after journalist to deal with and the reaction to the performance itself only proved the point that France loves The Dead Daisies!
Touring with KISS is becoming like second nature to the band as they already toured with them in the States and have Australian dates with them later this year. Everyone gets on and there is a fun and friendly atmosphere amongst both camps. Marco Mendoza enjoys Gene Simmons company; “Gene entertains us for a bit of James brown-meets Little Richard meets Gene Simmons doing a bit of Funky Dancing for us in our dressing room… He’s a Funny guy as well. I Have Toured with KISS before, and they have always been very supportive, and Accommodating. We couldn’t ask for a better bunch of gents to be out on the road as a support to. They are Great!!”
Many people forget, that the band, John Corabi, Marco Mendoza, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, David Lowy and drummer for this outing, Tommy Clufetos are only the tip of the iceberg. Every night Lee and Patrick, the bands road crew are working their asses off before, during and after the show to make sure everything is going like clockwork or saving it when its not. Out front, Tommy is mixing the sound with a different acoustic vibe challenging him every night. The great images you see continually are from Katarina Benzova Photography, who is looking for every angle in the venue, every point on the stage to get that perfect shot.
And so we end another tour, but we would like to give BIG THANK YOU to KISS and their crew and management for having us on-board and looking after us so well, we love you guys!! Next up its Whitesnake in the US and we can’t wait!