From Staff Reports

NEWTON, N.C.  — MiniKiss will perform a musical salute to the iconic rock band Kiss at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Newton Performing Arts Center at 60 W 6th St. here.

Regarding the show, a promotion noted, “The Fatale brothers, original creators of MiniKiss — ‘the Hottest Littlest Band in the World’….  I would like to start by saying I had the biggest love for ‘80s/hair-metal bands and my first love was Kiss, and Gene Simmons. 

“Kiss was created in NYC and Minikiss was born in NYC. MiniKiss was born on Sept. 1, 1996, when I was moving from one location to another. As I was putting away my albums/vinyl, I came across my non-opened ‘Alive Kiss’ album, which, to this day, has the ‘Original Lick on Tattoos’ and separate pictures of each member. 

“When I looked at the album, I had this huge thought of having a Little People Kiss Tribute Band. So my first gig was Oct. 30, 1996, when a friend that I always worked for, Andy Hirsh, greatest guy and manager of a club called The Lava Lounge in New York City...  said to me, ‘I need something different this year.’ 

“So I told him about my cool idea MiniKiss — ‘it’s a tribute band made up of four little people dressed up like Kiss.’ His response: ‘Joey, that’s an awesome idea.’ So I had a month to gather four guys and come up with costumes and make-up. Craig, Mike, Victor and I got all these ‘80s clothes, ripped some of them up and threw some paint on our faces. It was corny, but the clothes were cool. 

“We get to the venue; have a couple of drinks before show time to loosen up. Our first show was lip-synching to a Kiss CD and playing blow-up guitars like you see at parties. We stood on top of the bar and we sung five songs from the actual Kiss CD. We were a hit!!...The legacy continues 27 years later.” 

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, which are $25-$30, visit online at www.NCAuditorium.com.