Header image courtesy of KLASSIK ’78 Facebook (official)

By Andrew Daly
andrew@vinylwriter.com

Image courtesy of KLASSIK ’78 Facebook (official)

Recently, I caught up with Tom Higgins of burgeoning throwback rock outfit, KLASSIK ’78. Among other things, we touch on Tom’s origins on the drums, the formation, and evolution of KLASSIK ’78, his love for KISS, working with drummer Charlie Benante on KLASSIK ’78’s latest offering, Phantoms, and a whole lot more.

If you would like to learn more about KLASSIK ’78, the link to the band’s Facebook page is here. Once you’ve done that, check out this interview with Tom. Cheers.

Andrew:
Tom, I appreciate you taking the time today. How have you been holding up? What have you been up to?

Tom:
Thank you, Andrew. The last couple of years have been a challenge for sure. Musically, we were shooting for a July 2020 release of our new KLASSIK ’78 album Phantoms, but we had to shift gears and focus on life…like everybody else.

Andrew:
Before we dive into your professional career, let’s go back a bit. What first got you hooked on music?

Tom:
Music was always on in our house when I was growing up. My older sister was always playing Beatles and Elton John records. Plus, the older kids in the neighborhood were playing all the 70s FM radio hits, and rock albums on their radios and portable 8-track players.  

Andrew:
Who were some of your early influences?

Tom:
My very earliest influences would have been stuff like The Partridge Family, The Osmonds, and Wings, which eventually lead me to KISS at age six, which later lead me to Led Zep, Aerosmith, Nugent, etc.

Image courtesy of KLASSIK ’78 Facebook (official)

Andrew:
Take me through how your latest album Phantoms. What more can you tell me?

Tom: 
After the Side Two EP in late 2017, I didn’t know if I’d want to do another release again. I took a break and did other things. When the time came around that doing another album was appealing to me, I knew that we’d need a new drummer. Joe McGinness (acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, and “Paul-like” lead vocals) and I thought we’d bring in some guest drummers for the new album because, for some reason, known drummers like Charlie Benante, Joey Cassata, Mike Portnoy, Brian Tichy, Chris Williams, and others were fans of our Side One and Side Two releases. Charlie Benante (Anthrax drummer) in particular expressed his appreciation for what we were doing within a week of us releasing the Side One EP in Feb of 2017. He would tweet nice comments and text Joe and I with compliments about the EPs, etc. 

Eventually, Joe met Charlie in person at an Anthrax concert and told Charlie that we might be doing a new record and that we would likely have guest drummers play on the album. Charlie told Joe straight away that he was the guy, and wanted to do the whole record. [Laughs]. Joe then called me and told me that.  Towards the end of 2019, I sent Charlie a few demos to see if he liked any of the songs we were working on. He loved what he heard and we moved forward from there. Charlie is a huge Peter Criss fan, so he really enjoyed being able to record his drum parts in the ways that he thought Peter would have. 

Joe does such a great job of singing the “Paul Stanley-like” vocals on our albums, plus on the new album, he played acoustic guitars and shared a lead guitar solo with me on “Show Me Your Love.” I do all of the guitar solos, bass guitar, Gene-like vocals, and Ace-like vocals. I write the basic tunes and then send them to the other guys to put their “70s KISS” spin on their parts and performances. We all record our stuff at our home studios and send the tracks to each other. Joe mixed three songs on the new album, I mixed five songs, and Charlie, John Shipp (Boston area soundman), and I mixed the drums together. Charlie also threw in his recommendations on the mixes Joe and I did. It was a lot of “hurry up and wait” from 2019 to when we finished the album and released it in January 2022.  It was worth the wait. All three of us are very proud of the album.

Andrew:
What initially led to the band emulating that classic KISS sound?

Tom: 
Initially, before KLASSIK ’78 existed, in 2009 or so, just for fun I just tried to see if I could write a KISS song. I’d been playing their songs on guitar since 1984, and it never occurred to me to ever try and write a KISS song. Anyway, I demoed a few of the tunes, sent them to my KISS fan friends, and they liked them. Then, much later in 2016, the idea of maybe recording these songs and releasing them to KISS fans came about. That led to the Side One EP in early 2017 and the Side Two EP in late 2017, with Joe and a close childhood friend of mine (and major KISS fan) on drums. Others (like The Ruttles, Todd Rundgren, etc.) have done similar things with the style of Zep, ACϟDC, KISS, and The Beatles, but emulating the sounds of a band is very different than being the band that actually created the sound others are emulating. All credit goes to the originators. Doing this was merely a fun and creative way for us to honor the sound of a band we love…that doesn’t make that sound anymore.  

Andrew:
As a KISS fan myself, my read is that KLASSIK ’78 band is where KISS would have left off had they continued on with the direction of Love Gun. Would you agree?

Tom:
Yes, I would agree. We stick with the hard rock sound they made from 1977 and prior, with hints of things from their 1978 solo albums.

Image courtesy of KLASSIK ’78 Facebook (official)

Andrew:
To that end, what are your thoughts on the direction the band took in the wake of Love Gun? Are you a classic ’73-’78 fan of the band, or do you love all eras? 
 

Tom:
I am a fan of the ’73 to ’78 stuff primarily, but I absolutely love the Creatures of the Night album. I really like the Lick It Up album and most of Asylum. I like half of Sonic Boom and half of Monster, so I put them on a playlist called “Sonic Monster,” and I think it’s a great album. [Laughs].

Andrew:
We all love the original era of the band, but I’ve always been a huge fan of the Creatures of the Night era. If you have to pick a lineup aside from the original, what’s your favorite?  

Tom:
Aside from the original lineup, the next best lineup musically, visually, and live was Gene [Simmons], Paul [Stanley], Eric Carr, and Vinnie Vincent. The musical and songwriting chemistry that Paul, Gene, and Vinnie each had with each other was undeniable. Plus, live, that lineup was ferocious. If it wasn’t for bad contracts and weird personality issues, that lineup would have had KISS dominating the 80s and 90s rock scene, instead of trying to follow trends of the time.

Andrew:
What are some of your favorite KISS albums, and why?  

Tom:
The KISS ’74 debut album. It’s got killer songs and total personality in the playing and singing. Rock And Roll Over is the definitive album of KISS just being themselves in their prime. And of course, Creatures of the Night, which is when they got their heads on straight, and even with only two original members, and various guest guitarists playing lead, the album has a cohesiveness that was very much needed. A perfect album both sonically and visually, in my opinion. 

Image courtesy of KLASSIK ’78 Facebook (official)

Andrew:
As we know, fans are divided on the current incarnation of the band, and its use of Ace and Peter’s makeup. Thoughts? 
 

Tom:
I’d prefer that every member had their own character. To me, the argument that KISS failed in 1980 through 1982 because of the new “Fox” and “Ankh” characters” doesn’t really hold water. KISS had done the damage to their fan base by releasing a disco album, a pop album, and a concept album. By the time they got on the right track with Creatures, the damage was done. Like when Ace first left the band, Gene and Paul had Punky Meadows from Angel audition and it supposedly went great. Punky wasn’t 100% available, but if he took the gig, it would’ve been a slam dunk for his character to be the “Angel.” Sure, the public already knew his face and identity, but put white on his face with angel-like makeup designs and it’s KISS. Can you imagine the stage show production possibilities of having the “Angel” on stage left, and the “Demon” on stage right? It could’ve been incredible.

Andrew:
Take me through what a typical Klassik ’78 live show might be like. Would you try and emulate old-school KISS, or branch out? 

Tom:
KLASSIK ’78 hasn’t performed live yet. We’d like to do a few special event performances at some point, but I’m not sure what our live show would be like quite yet. 

Andrew:
Going forward, will Klassik ’78 continue on in the tradition of old school KISS, or will you branch out further?

Tom:
It’s an interesting question. I’m currently of the mindset that between our Side One and Side Two EPs from 2017 and our latest 2022 Phamtoms album, we’ve kind of achieved our goal of emulating the classic 1970s sound and songwriting style of KISS in a very strong way. It’s possible that we could continue doing that, but another part of me thinks to keep doing that would just be repetitive. I definitely see a “live” album of select songs from all three releases, and a few bonus tracks added in as being a great way to make a final tip of the hat to that 70s KISS sound we love so much. That’s how I feel today. What is next is yet to be determined.

Image courtesy of KLASSIK ’78 Facebook (official)

Andrew Daly (@vwmusicrocks) is the Editor-in-Chief for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at andrew@vinylwriter.com

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