March BEAT

by Ernie Thomas

     In 1973, music mogul Neil Bogart, founded his fledgling Casablanca
Records on a band of hard rockin’ New York misfits in garish face-paint
called – KISS – who soon became the embodiment of the dark side of rock.

      Seeing preachers and protesters picket his band’s concerts, Bogart
decided to play both sides of the fence. In 1975, he signed his second and
only other rock band to the Casablanca imprint. Aptly named – Angel – were
molded and marketed as the antithesis of KISS.

    Where KISS was guitar-driven, Angel’s more melodic sound utilized heavy
keyboards. The members of Angel were adorned in all white robes and sported
flowing locks of hair that would make even a Breck Girl green with envy.

    Oddly enough, it was KISS mastermind/bassist Gene Simmons who brought
Angel to Casablanca.

     “Our initial connection with Gene was a rock journalist named Gordon
Fletcher who wrote for ‘Rolling Stone’ and ‘Circus Magazine’,” explained
Angel’s singer/frontman Frank DiMino. “Gordon used to come and see us a
lot. One night after KISS had played a show at the Largo, Gordon showed up to
a club where we were playing with Gene and Paul (Stanley). They watched us
play and then came backstage to talk with us. That’s how the relationship
started.”

      Bogart inked the slick new metal band and put them on the road.   They
went from playing clubs to playing stadiums, because like their labelmates,
Angel was all about big production and special effects.

      “We pretty much conceived our own ideas for the stage show and then
would take them to a special effects company like The Magic Castle, who’d
make them into something we could take on the road,” said DiMino.   Their
most memorable concert visuals were appearing on stage in tubes of smoke and
a giant talking logo who would tell the “legend” of the band at the start of
every show.”

       “We’d wanted the talking logo to be a real hologram, but it wasn’t
practical,” recalled DiMino. “So they came up with a three dimensional
translucent face and behind it was a rear-projected film. It looked like a
hologram from out front to the fans, but it was a lot more durable and easier
to use.”

     Five pretty solid albums were released by Angel during the 1970s. They
bore clever names like “Helluva Band,” “Sinful” and “On Earth As It Is In
Heaven,” but they never spawned any real radio hits. Without hit singles to
fuel them, the albums were never able to rack up high sales. The closest
Angel came to having a hit song was their remake of the old Rascals classic,
“Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore,” which got some spin on some of the
smaller FM stations. A few anthology and “Best of...” collections have
since seen the light of day as well.

     “We were always a very strong live band. We’d sell a ton of tickets to
our shows,” said DiMino, who still ponders why kids who packed concert halls
for them did not give Angel equally fervent support at the record stores.

      Most people think that Angel ceased to exist when the 1970s ended, but
such was not the case. “People ask when we reformed, but we really never
went away,” said the singer. “Our drummer Barry Brandt and I have been
together making music pretty much the whole time. We’re the last two
surviving guys to stay with the project.”

     The pair recently recorded –– "In The Beginning" –– the first studio
album of new Angel material in two decades. Making guest appearances on some
of the ten tracks, were original members Punky Meadows and Felix Robinson,
who reprised their roles as lead guitarist and bassist, respectively. DiMino
was unsuccessful in convincing them to return to the road for one more try.

    “They’ve both got other things going on in their lives,” said DiMino.
“Barry and I respect that.” Meadows, the former sex symbol of the group,
now owns a chain of tanning salons.

    Angel’s original keyboardist Gregg Guiffria, who long ago distanced
himself from the group and his old bandmates, refused to take part in the
recording.
      “This is different from other Angel albums. But that’s the way it’s
been with all our records,” said DiMino. “I don’t think our first album
‘Angel’ sounds like ‘White Hot’ or ‘Sinful.’ They have some of the same
traits, but they all have their own sound.   That’s true here. There’s a
whole lot of acoustic guitar going on, but it’s heavy acoustic guitar, it’s
by no means an acoustic ballad album.”

    Armed with a new album and a desire to see if they too can ride the wave
of nostalgia that has revived the careers of many former big names of the
‘70s and ‘80s, Brandt and DiMino have assemble an all new incarnation of
Angel for a summer club tour across America.

     New songs, such as “Trapped In Paradise,” “Hero,” “So I’ll Say Goodby
e” and "In The Wake Of The Storm (The Millennium)," will make it into their
live set to entice a few CD sales, but DiMino said most of their 90-minute
show will consist of classic Angel material.

     Gordon G.G. Gebert, a rock 'n' roll book author ("KISS & Tell" and "Rock
'N' Roll War Stories") who is perhaps best known for his work with KISS's Ace
Frehley, has assumed Guiffria's old position behind the keyboards and
according to DiMino has brought the band's sound to a new level.

     A newcomer by the name of Randy Gregg is holding down the bass guitar
duties in the new Angel. "He's from a really good band called Garlic," said
DiMino. "He's a solid player.

    The void left by Punky Meadows has been more than capably filled. The
newest member of Angel is lead guitarist Stevie Blaze, a stellar string
bender who during the early 1990s was the driving force behind MCA recording
act, Lillian Axe.

      So what can fans expect to see on this tour from a band whose live show
once rivaled that of KISS?   Are we going to see a talking logo, magical
entrances? Will it have all the flashpots, fire and smoke extravaganza of
their proud past?    DiMino really could not say at the time of our interview.

      “Sorry, the talking logo is long gone. That thing was huge. As we
speak, we are still putting the live show together,” he confessed. “Our
problem is that we’re doing clubs now. You’re pretty limited in what you can
do in clubs because of size, the height of the ceilings, fire laws and all
kinds of stuff.   So, I can’t tell you for sure, what you are going to see,
but I do promise that everyone who comes to see Angel is going to get a
really exciting show. We’ve always been a powerful live band. That hasn’t
changed!”

       To order the new Angel CD online or to learn more about what the band
has been up to, log on to: www.coallierentertainment.com

(CATCH ANGEL LIVE IN CONCERT AT FINKE'S ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX 8835 KENNEDY
AVE. IN HIGHLAND, IN ON FRIDAY, MAY 18 with SPECIAL GUEST, ENUFF Z'NUFF)

Back to Top