KISSIN' TIME for the KIDS

2012 has certainly a great year to be a Kiss fan. We got to see them on THE TOUR this past summer, we got the new MONSTER album on October 13th and now we can add one more cool project to the mix. KISSIN' TIME -  Canada's Tribute to KISS is a new tribute CD about to be released on October 31st, 2012. As the official website states, it's 13 of Canada's best indie acts, 13 classic KISS songs, 1 CD with all proceeds (minus expenses) going to the SICKKIDS Foundation (Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital). From the tracks I have heard this is going to be a really cool CD and with proceeds going to such a great cause I think it would make a great gift for the Kiss fan in your life.

I was able to speak with Jason Jansekovich (the Cd's co-producer), Barry Martin (Guitar Player for West Memphis Suicide) and Chuck Dailey (Bass Player of the Salads) to talk about their involvement and to learn more about the project.

DBG: Please take a moment and introduce yourself to the Decibel Geek readers.

Jason: My name is Jason Jansekovich, I am co-producer of the Kissin Time Cd as well as owner of Keep It Live Records.

DBG: I guess we should start at the beginning, how did this whole idea for this Kissin’ Time CD get started?

Jason: The Kissin' Time idea came up about a year ago in a conversation I was having with Gord Prior on the phone one evening. It just came up that it would be a cool idea to put together a compilation of cover songs with a bunch of Canadian indie acts and donate the money to charity. After some thought on this I decided that a KISS Tribute cd would be even better. I grew up listening to KISS and they have influenced so many bands over the years it just seemed right. Having the KISS Army behind this cd doesn't hurt either! lol

DBG: Tell us a little about the SICKKIDS Foundation and what lead to choosing this wonderful cause?

Jason: SickKids Foundation was chosen for a few reasons.. The main one was for the children of course, but also because we have had three relatives in the hospital for Sick Children with very serious conditions in just the past few years. Two of which still receive round the clock treatment in their home. There is so much that the foundation does, I suggest people go to the website and see for themselves what they do. http://www.sickkidsfoundation.com 

DBG: How were the bands chosen for the project and can you tell us a little about them?

 Jason: Most of the bands were bands that I have worked with over the years so it came easy. There are 13 bands featured on this project. I suggest people go to our facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/KissinTimeCanadasTributeToKiss we have links to all 13 bands websites. There isn't a bad song on the cd every band did their "own" take on a Kiss song. I really hope people take the time to check out each bands website and familiarize themselves with the bands original music, these guys all deserve it.

DBG: Now I see that Spiro Papadatos has covered “Rock and Roll All Nite”and was wondering who played with him on the track?

Jason: Spiro's version of Rock & Roll All Night is amazing! As I said before we asked bands to do their own take on a KISS song, Well as most Kiss fans know Spiro was in Alive a Canadian Kiss Tribute band in the early 90's. Alive was probably one of the best KISS tribute bands going worldwide. So when I heard Spiro's version of the song I was floored! He did such an amazing job on the song it even has the 70's feel to the production. Anyway as for players on his song he had Dean Georgakopoulos (Alive), Shaun Sanders (Buffalo Brothers), Doug Weir (Syre) and Aaron Murray. Spiro has worked with KISS for many years now and is very good at what he does. Having him on the cd as well as design the cover artwork and co-produce this with myself and Gord Prior has been an amazing experience!

DBG: I understand that this project has been approved by Kiss themselves and was curious to know if they have heard the project themselves?

Jason: Its more that KISS are aware of everything KISS! lol Basically they have helped out by mentioning the cd on Kiss Online etc. I believe they have heard some of the tracks.

*Barry Martin and WEST MEMPHIS SUICIDE

DBG: How did West Memphis Suicide get involved in this great project?

Barry: Jason Jansekovich from "Keep it Live" contacted us about being on the album, and once we heard who else was going to be on it,and that it was going to help the Sick Kids Foundation,..we wanted to be on it for sure!!
DBG: Who would you say is the biggest Kiss fan in the group?

Barry: I think we all were at one point or another influenced by KISS to some degree, I mean i never dressed up as any member of Lynyrd Skynyrd as a kid! lol
DBG: How did you chose War Machine?

Barry: Our drummer Chris suggested it when the album came up. None of us were really that familiar with that song, so I guess that would make him the biggest KISS fan. Once we heard it (War Machine), and that it wasn't one of the standard songs a band might play, we knew it was the one we should cover!

DBG: Anything you would like to share about the recording of your track?

Barry: We recorded the song at the SOUND DISTILLERY STUDIO in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario Canada, with the help of Dave Houde and Will Muir. The drums sounded great the first time through, so we had a good vibe right outta the chute. Raposos' solo is killer so then we finished it off with the most ridiculous backing vocal session Ive ever seen, I just wish someone had filmed it.
So to ANY KISS fans out there, please grab a copy of this disc. Proceeds are going to help the sick kids foundation and you just might find a new band that mainstream media isn't shoving down yer throat!

Support the Indie bands of today, without them there won't be classic bands of tomorrow.

Be sure to check out WEST MEMPHIS SUICIDE at http://ca.myspace.com/westmemphissuicide

*Chuck Dailey of The Salads

DBG: How did the Salads come to be a part of the Kissin Time Project?

Chuck: The honest truth? I was procrastinating on Facebook one afternoon and noticed a photo of our good friend Siegfried Meier recording a drum session at his studio Beach Road Studios. (We recorded all of our drums for our latest album "Music Every Day" with Sieggy. Siegs band Curtis is on the album and he also mastered the recording). The caption beneath the photo said something about recording a KISS song for an upcoming compilation record. I commented on the photo "Why didn't anybody ask The Salads to be on this compilation?". I immediately had a message in my inbox from Gord Prior welcoming us on to the album. When he told me what the plan was for the album I passed it to the band and there was zero hesitation. Recording an awesome tune by some of our childhood rock heroes and the proceeds going to Sick Kids Hospital. It was no brainer! Sign us up. We got right to it because we only had 2 weeks to put it together at that point.

DBG: So who would you say is the biggest Kiss fan in the group?

Chuck: The biggest KISS fan in the group was our original drummer Grant Taylor. I met Grant in Grade 7 when we both started at Kettleby Public School in Kettleby Ontario. On our first day of school I got off the bus and saw this long haired kid sitting on the curb wearing a jean jacket covered in KISS patches. That was Grant. Freaked me out a bit because I came from Prep school and this was the first Kid I saw at my public school. Regardless, it was also kind of exciting because I was an Iron Maiden/Van Halen guy. When he took off the jacket he had a KISS cut-off shirt on as well. A few weeks into school he started bringing a ghetto blaster to school and blasting KISS albums at recess outside. Educating all of the school on all things KISS. There was no choice. Then when I went to his house for the first time to jam (his Dad had built him a drum room) his drum room in the basement was completely covered in KISS posters. He played Dave Z and myself KISS movies whenever we took pop and chip breaks. You get the idea. He was a KISS fanatic. So it was fun for Dave and myself to throw back to our roots like that. The Darren's in our band today weren't big KISS fans but as we went through tunes they started digging on it some more. Pfeiffer grew up in a punk hardcore scene and D grew up with a lot of hiphop and rock but didn't have Grant around when he was little to influence him on all things KISS like we did. But in the end, we all love every form of Music and love doing our own whacked out versions of old rock songs.

The Salads circa 1989

DBG: How did you decide on Lick it Up as your chosen track?

Chuck: We talked about a lot of songs. As D got to know KISS songs he was sending us a lot of old groovy songs like Strutter and Love Gun etc. Gord suggested doing an Ace tune so we even discussed Rock Soldiers (Dave auditioned for the video when he was 12 but didn't get the gig.. haha). I was rehearsing with I Mother Earth in Peterborough and had another email from the guys about what to do and had a funny thought and emailed it to the guys. "Why don't we do LICK IT UP? We can change the lyrics to SKANK IT UP! SKANK IT UP! Woooahh oah!" And the replies were giggles about it. We ended up keeping the lyrics in tact and did much more than make it a ska song. It's an everything song now... hahaha... Lick It Up was also one of my first introductions to KISS with Grant as a Kid. If you look at a picture of the drum room we rehearsed in you'll see a ton of posters from the albums promo with Vinnie Vincent on guitar. It's also one of the raddest rock riffs of all times. Just an A power chord on eighth notes. So basic, so perfect, so rock! It had to be done too as it was a huge moment for the band when we were kids and nobody had picked it. I remember watching the video on Toronto Rocks for the first time. Feet... feet... feet... wait for it... Oh my god! No makeup! Look at KISS!! It was a big rock moment when I was a wee lad.

DBG: Anything else you would like to add about the project, now is the time!

Chuck: It's a really great album. Every song is killer. All the bands are awesome. We have a history of doing shows with almost every band on the album and the guys putting it together, Jason and Gord, are very solid dudes with the best intentions and love for music. It's super cool to be part of this project and Sick Kids is the one of the big reasons I keep my family close to Toronto. It is an incredible hospital and has provided incredible care to our children and folks in all of our families. We are very lucky to be close to such an incredible place and are very proud to be part of a fundraising project for the hospital.

Be sure to check out the Salads and stream the new album "Music Every Day" at www.thesalads.com

So if you want to "Rock n Roll All Nite" with Spiro, hear West Memphis Suicide destroy "War Machine" and hear a really cool, funked up version of "Lick it Up". Add to that 10 more killer Kiss tunes done in a way you have never heard before, head over to http://kissintime-canadastributetokiss.bandcamp.com/ to order your copy today.