Tag: Scot Coogan

Ace Frehley at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL on 6/21/24 Words and Photos By Jesse Striewski

Ever since the moment I first got my hands on a fully intact vinyl copy of KISS’ 1979 Dynasty album via a secondhand find as a teenager, I’ve been a loyal, card-carrying member of the KISS Army. But the one and only time I was able to actually catch the band live back in 2012, I could not help but feel there was still something missing…namely the absence of beloved original guitarist Ace Frehley.

But after the week I had just endured, I wasn’t sure I’d even make it to Frehley’s show at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL on Friday, June 21. It was both my sick wife Brooke, and teenaged son Jacob – who had been too young to see KISS with me all those years ago – that helped each motivate and convince me not to miss the Spaceman again by saying “But you love KISS!” (hard to argue with that logic!).

Local Orlando rockers Sick Dogs were still on stage by the time Jacob and I had arrived that night, and although they put in admirable enough effort, their harder-edged sound seemed slighty “off” for the setting. But the moment Frehley hit the stage with 1977’s “Shock Me,” I knew we had made the right choice to catch Ace (who claimed he was literally just dropped off in a car just moments before taking stage).

The immortal KISS anthem “Shout It Out Loud” followed before Ace dropped a new track, the catchy “Cherry Medicine” (which unfortunately a good portion of the crowd did not seem to care much about at all), but the epic Frehley’s Comet track “Rock Soldiers” from 1987 got everything back on track.

Another KISS classic followed in the form of “Love Gun,” which drummer Scot Coogan (also of L.A. Guns) took over the lead vocal duties for, though not before a slight “mishap” the first go-round as the band stopped the song early in it’s offset to berate the lighting techs for improper placement of the spotlight (I can’t make this up!).

The title track to Frehley’s latest album “10,000 Volts” gave the audience a much-needed jolt of electricity before going into “Parasite.” Then the intro to “God of Thunder” segued into a couple from Frehley’s 1978 solo album in the form of “New York Groove” and “Rip It Up.”

From that point forward it was all KISS classics (“Detroit Rock City,” “Cold Gin,” “Strange Ways,” and Frehley’s self-proclaimed, all-time personal favorite, “Deuce”), instrumental jams, and solos (complete with Ace’s signature smoking guitars, of course) before Ace and company (which also currently consists of guitarist Jeremy Asbrock and bassist Ryan Cook, each of Gene Simmons’ solo band, too) exited stage.

Of course things could not simply end there though; within minutes, the band was back on stage to close things out with arguably one one of the biggest rock anthems of all time, the immortal (albeit overplayed) “Rock and Roll All Nite.” It was the only fitting end cap for a night already full of legendary rock, from one legendary rocker.

Taylor Dayne and Tiffany at the Bandshell in Daytona Beach, FL on 5/6/23 By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke and Jacob Striewski

Things heated up at the Bandshell in Daytona Beach this past Saturday, May 6 for the Summer Throwback Bash featuring Taylor Dayne, Tiffany, and Freedom Williams of C+C Music Factory (I realize as I type this, these are mostly all artists I remember my older sisters listening to while growing up, and not so much my own – I was more the Iron Maiden type back then).

Upon arrival (fashionably late as usual, of course) local cover artists Are Friends Electric were well into their set already, and within moments they were having technical difficulties with their mics. After having a laugh or two at its expense, the issue was resolved, and the band was able to resume churning out more hits like “Love Shack” before bowing out and stepping aside for the rest of the acts.

Nineties rapper Freedom Williams, best remembered for his time fronting dance hit makers C+C Music Factory, was up next. He wasted no time as he and co-lead vocalist (whose name I want to say was Smooth Jenny?) ran straight through the hits; “Here We Go (Let’s Rock n’ Roll),” “Things That Make You Go Hmm…,” and of course “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” all made their way into the set.

I have long since flown the flag for ’80s pop sensation Tiffany, and I’ve said before and I’ll say it again; her lesser-known, more recent material is far more interesting than the hits she’s remembered for most. And while I’ve seen her live twice before, I was looking forward to hearing her with a full live band this time instead of acoustic (guitarist Mark Alberici was once again by her side, as well as former and current L.A. Guns members Johnny Martin and Scot Coogan).

After opening with “Keep on Swinging,” she launched into the title track of her latest album, “Shadows,” no doubt one of her best songs in recent memory. A couple more new tracks in the form of “Cried For the Last Time” and the ballad “You’re My Everything” followed before going through a trio of her most well-known hits in the form of “I Saw Him Standing There,” “Could’ve Been,” and of course, “I Think We’re Alone Now.”

And lastly, headliner Taylor Dayne – another female artist I can clearly remember salivating over on my big sisters’ LP covers – closed out the evening. “Prove Your Love” and “With Every Beat of My Heart” initially paved way for bigger hits like “Don’t Rush Me,” “Heart of Stone,” and “I’ll Always Love You.”

More than once Ms. Dayne gave a little back story on some songs before performing them, including with “I’ll Be Your Shelter,” “Love Will Lead You Back,” Can’t Get Enough of Your Love,” and of course, “Tell It to My Heart.” While these songs might not have been my cup of tea per se at the time of their original releases, it’s no doubt easier for me to appreciate them now all these years later as a father and husband (especially with my beautiful bride by my side; it turned out to be yet another one of our many adventures together).