Kisstory The Australian Kiss Tribute Show

Authentic Costumes, Signature Model Guitars, Makeup, Platform Boots and KISS Classics is what you can expect at a KISStory Show and much more!

KISS Tribute show based in New South Wales, Australia.

Okay so what drives someone to want to play in a band? The obvious answer is "girls" but also more importantly it is the love of playing an instrument and having a crowd of people cheer! !
So once you have achieved that goal what makes someone decide to start a Tribute band and not just any tribute band but a "KISS" tribute band? The time spent rehearsing? The endless hours learning to walk in 7" platforms? The hours it takes to set up the stage for a show and then the 1-2 hours before the gig actually starts applying the make-up and costumes? The answer all of the above and a genuine adoration of the band.
The members of KISStory all have an affinity with the band and the characters they portray. It is escapism as much for them as for the audience. The 2 hours on stage playing all the Classic songs and the adulation from the audience is an adrenaline rush that is hard to explain and then, when they go out and meet with the crowd for photos the joy that brings is justification for all the hard work that the band and crew put in each and every show.
March 2012 was the beginning of KISStory The Australian KISS Tribute Show, founding members Wayne Willoughby, Gordon Bartlett and Brad Roulston set about finding a new guitarist to complete the line up. All 3 members had previously been together in another KISS Tribute show for the previous two years before forming KISStory and Wayne had also played in a KISS Tribute show back in the early 90's for about year and a half.

They found the missing member in Lee Rolfe who bought many years of experience and had the same passion for KISS.
The band rehearsed every week and the chemistry between all the members grew and became more and more evident with each gig. As 2012 drew to a close the band were slowly getting a following of supporters after playing a number of times in Newcastle, The Central Coast and Port Stephens and were looking forward to more shows the following year.

The first show of 2013 was at Cardiff RSL club on the 8th March, KISS was actually playing Sydney the following two nights. 2013 saw the band change Agents and found an ally in Chris Varley, who also now manages the band, who saw the potential and has always been supportive and hands on with the band. Through out the rest of 2013 the band played a few local shows and in August played in front of 80, 000 people at the Sydney City to Surf, a proportion of that 80, 000 were running past the band though. It was wild to be playing at 8. 30 in the morning on a balcony, but fun was had by all. 2013 finished with a gig at The Iron Horse Inn, Cardiff NSW to a packed house.

As 2014 rolled around the band had it's first personnel change. Gordon Bartlett, the first Demon, left in March of that year and the search started for a new Bass player. Shows were booked for June so time was of the essence. His replacement came in the form of Evan Hotchkies, a confident showman with many years of playing the local circuit and the perfect person for the roll. The band had a new outlook and pushed forward and he gigs for the rest of the year were the best the band had played. Our last show in December 2014 saw Brad Roulston, our Thundercat, put in his notice and we were left looking for a new drummer.



We held auditions early 2015 and found a new Catman in Chris Byfield. Chris's addition was an even bigger improvement, his drumming and vocals gave the rest of the band a real kick in the ass and our first show in April 2015 proved how good this line up was. With the new line-up 2015 looked to be the beginning of the roller coaster ride to success with shows booked in the local area, Grafton, Seal Rocks and Sydney. Unfortunately as the band finally started getting shows out of Newcastle, the thing we had been working towards the last 3 years, the two newest members decided that they couldn't or didn't want to travel.
Once again we had to find a new Bass player and Drummer. A new Demon was found in Jed Piper, who was playing in another tribute show at the time and was with the band from June 2015 to December 2015 . Brad Roulston returned to fill the Catman shoes once again with Chris Byfield on standby if needed.




The end of 2015 saw the band again looking for a new Bass player as Jed Piper unfortunately moved on to other things. Although he was only with the band for 6 months he was there for some of our biggest shows and finally saw the band playing other towns around the state.

February 2016 we found our new Bass player in Tony Hannah, rehearsals progressed quickly and it became clear he was the Demon we had always been looking for. With a new member it was time to change up the set list, adding some new songs and revisiting some old classics, with new costumes the band had a renewed passion.
With a permanent and strong line up of members the band has never sounded and looked better, having only done 4 shows this year, SthGrafton RSL in July,

Windsor Wolves Leagues Club in Sept,

Edgeworth Sport and Rec in October

and Bay Hotel Bonnnells Bay in Decemeber

With the addition of Jamie Bacon as a permanent Space Ace we cannot wait for 2017 and playing alot more shows. Already we have 2 bookings for 2017 with more to come. There will be more surprises and changes to the show and as always we strive to make it the best experience for everyone.

After 2 massively successful shows at The Mezz Bar Wallsend and The Albert Tamworth in May 2017 our drum stool again became vacant with Brad leaving to pursue other things.
In July 2017 we began Auditions and we are proud to announce the addition of Stuart Ward in the role of The Fox! !
The new lineup is the strongest to date and we cannot wait to hit the road and rock venues all over NSW.

KISStory is:

Wayne Wiloughby - Starchild
Tony Hannah - The Demon
Jamie Bacon - Space Ace
Stuart Ward - The Fox

Fill in Members: -
Lee Rolfe - Space Acelee
Paulie Green - Spaceman
Chris Byfield - Catman /Fox.