KISS, Cooper drummer wows fans at expo
Published Monday October 20th, 2008
Eric Singer, drummer for two legendary acts, never takes fans for granted
The KISS Army invaded the Crowne Plaza Hotel yesterday, and they were armed.
A few hundred fans of the band KISS, loaded down with posters, records, CDs and other band memorabilia, lined up for a chance to meet Eric Singer, the genial drummer who does double duty with KISS as well as with Alice Cooper, who thrilled thousands of fans at the Moncton Coliseum last night.
"I was coming to Moncton for the concert and knew in advance Eric would be here at the record expo, so I took the opportunity," Eric Monteith of Prince Edward Island said.
Singer, who arrived fashionably late, proved a good host, spending as much time as he could with each fan and signing just about anything put in front of him, including T-shirts that were still being worn at the time.
"He's a good guy," Monteith said, clutching two ancient vinyl presses from the venerable rockers.
"Here's a guy who plays with two historic rock bands and it never went to his head. He could be out golfing today but no, he's here meeting the fans."
Singer's appearance was engineered by Marty LeBlanc, the brainchild behind yesterday's first-ever KISS Expo, held in conjunction with the twice-yearly record expo put on by LeBlanc's LiveWire Music Emporium, located on Mountain Road.
When LeBlanc learned that Cooper's Psycho-Drama Tour was coming to the Coliseum with Singer on the kit, he figured he had nothing to lose by asking him to come out and meet some fans.
"I just e-mailed him on his private site," LeBlanc recalled yesterday.
"From there it's history."
That's pretty typical for Singer, LeBlanc said, explaining the drummer is noted for holding fans close to his heart.
Indeed, in an earlier interview promoting last night's Cooper show, Singer told Canadaeast News Service he doesn't think of himself as anything special.
"I never look at myself as anything more than anybody else. I'm just a regular guy that plays drums," he said.
"But I know I'm in a unique position where I'm very fortunate and blessed that I've been able to have the career I've had, that I've gotten to play with the bands I've gotten to play with."
Casual drummers drool over Singer's career. He's twice been drafted by the KISS Army, joining the group first in 1991 and again a few years ago. Besides the equally legendary Alice Cooper, he's drummed for Black Sabbath, Lita Ford and other big-name acts.
It's a testament to the professionalism and the skill the almost 50-year-old Singer has exhibited in his lengthy career.
Bracelets allowing fans to meet Singer sold for $10 and hundreds were snapped up in advance. Yesterday, the fans were lined up clear around the Fundy Lounge in the basement of the hotel, just waiting for the chance to chat with him.
Since forming in 1972, KISS has sold dozens of millions of albums, were pioneers in the band merchandising business with everything from KISS toy cars and dolls to their own cartoon show and were the band who popularized the trend of musicians donning wild make-up and costumes during performances.
Thirty-five years later, they remain one of rockdom's most popular, and profitable, acts.
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Sad that the only thing a daily newspaper can publicize (Saturday AND Monday) is this crap......................
The security staff insisted that people in the lower bowl remain seated but did nothing to keep the people out on the main floor seated. This would not be a big deal except that the people in row A of the bowl are also on the floor, but not allowed to stand. I was a few rows back luckly and could still see most of the show from my seat when the guy on the floor who was six feet tall and had a huge head didn't stick his melon in the way. The entire row A of my section was forced to either sit and miss the entire show or leave the seat they paid $56 for to go somewhere where they could watch the show without being harassed by security. When someone voiced this concern to the guy insisting we sit, he didn't care. If people on the floor are allowed to stand, the rest should be allowed too. after all, we did pay to see Alice Cooper, not the crowd standing in front of the stage.
I think it is very pathetic for you to take time out of your day to insult and comment on such a topic like this. It's great that Moncton is growing and getting more and more great artists to come entertain our city. The more advertising and promoting we do will help build our fast growing city. This helps us more bands to be interested in paying a show in Moncton and maybe one day one of your favorite bands will come here. How would you like it if your favorite band or artist came here and there wasn't a word mentioned in the paper about it? Then maybe you would care.