SInce it's the Halloween season, it was only appropriate that this last weekend brought another appearance by the Brookfield area's own Creatures of the Night.

Kings Of The Nighttime World, a local Kiss tribute band, performed Saturday night at Synergy in west suburban West Chicago. The performance marked the third anniversary of the band at the same venue where it all began for them, when the musicians thought the Halloween-themed performance was to be a one-shot deal.

The idea of a Kiss tribute band was conceived in the fall of 1998, when local rock band Pandemonium, including bassist Jeff Laczynski (known on stage as Jay LaSalle) (*Actually, Jay plays lead & rhythm guitar) and rhythm guitarist Scott Leonard, (*and again, although Scott does play guitar rather well, here in the KINGS he plays a monster bass) were booked to play a Halloween gig. The Halloween night booking was lucrative, but one of the band members was unable to attend the performance. So Laczynski and Leonard decided to take advantage of the Halloween spirit and quickly put together a pick-up band.

"Rather than cry about the fact that we couldn't play," he recalled, "it made sense to do the Kiss thing."

So Laczynski assumed the persona of bassist-vocalist Paul "Starchild" Stanley and Leonard took on the role of fire-breathing guitarist Gene "The Demon" Simmons. Rounding out the group were lead guitarist Tom Hora as Ace "Space Ace" Frehley and drummer Randy Banks as Peter "The Cat" Criss.

All the musicians knew each other, and Laczynski, Hora and Leonard attended Riverside-Brookfield High School together.

"We were all Kiss fans," Laczynski said.

Their enthusiasm was fanned by the original band's reunion around the same time, when the four original members donned their makeup and costumes for the first time in nearly two decades.

Prior to grouping for the Kiss tribute, the musicians had played together in various combinations before, but not all four together. Their musical backgrounds actually were quite diverse.

"I've been playing in bands in Chicago and the suburbs since before I was old enough to get into clubs," Laczynski admitted. His musical career was sparked when his father bought him a guitar when he was seven years old, "and he bought my friend a drum kit," Laczynski said. Eventually, Laczynski and Leonard played together in local bands such as Fortress and Whyterock, while Banks and Hora played together in local band Cool Beans. Leonard and Hora also had played together in a Blues Brothers-influenced band, Little Kings Of Soul. Leonard studied piano lessons starting in second grade, and played keyboard and guitar before taking up the bass four years ago. At various times, Laczynski (*and Hora) said he has played in orchestras and jazz bands, while Banks cut his musical teeth playing in a German polka band in St. Louis. He currently teaches drum lessons at Lake View Junior High School.

Unlike his bandmates, Banks acknowledged that he never liked Kiss in high school. Despite that, joining a Kiss cover band with his best friends sounded like "great fun."

Leonard, Banks and Laczynski also play in church bands, often performing for contemporary Christian Sunday services the morning after a gig as Kings Of The Nighttime World.

"I've actually done concerts Saturday night and showed up Sunday morning with black nail polish on," Laczynski said. "We've been known to show up with black eye liner," Leonard laughed.

The band took their name from a song on Kiss's "Destroyer" album and played what they thought would be a one-shot performance, until they started getting requests for further bookings. The band plays around four or five times a year in between the members' other individual musical endeavors. Over time, the show has evolved into quite a spectacle, with pyrotechnics and other special effects. In addition to club bookings all around the Chicago area, the band had a gig in East Dubuque, Iowa.

"It was in a big barn with a high ceiling," Banks said. "We were able to do the full pyrotechnic show, because it was really good for pyro and confetti."

Elements of the very visual presentation include smoke bombs, flash pots, confetti, lasers, fog, assorted fireworks, and "flares that shoot fifteen feet high," Leonard said.

"It's pretty wild," he remarked.

To add a touch of authenticity, Laczynski contacted the maker of Kiss' original boots to find out if a set of replicas could be made for the band. He learned the name of the band's boot maker, Pasquale DiFabrizio, from watching a cable TV documentary on the group. Knowing that the band originatd in New York, Laczynski called the city's information and asked for the DiFabrizio family. There were two listings, and he called them both. In his quest for what he needed, Laczynski certainly was not shy, laughing that "I'm not a ham, I'm the whole pig." Laczynski was able to reach a relative of the boot maker, who gave him Pasquale's phone number for hisnew home in California.

"We talked for 20 minutes. He said they were all perfect gentlemen, and he'd be happy to make the boots for $1000. I have yet to do it."

The high point of the band's career was a chance to play the United Center for a Friday night Chicago Blackhawks game when the team held a 1970s night.

Their faces were on the Jumbotron, and they stayed in costume for the rest of the game, taking pictures to the delight of children and adults in the audience.

The members said they plan to keep the band going, although Hora played his final show with the band on Saturday. Having relocated from Brookfield to Green Bay, Hora has been commuting for practices and shows. He plans to stay in the fold as the webmaster of the band's site at www.kingsofthenight.com, where a variety of photos are available, as well as band merchandise. Hora's spot in the band will be filled by guitarist Greg Sasinka of North Riverside, also a graduate of Riverside-Brookfield High School. So the band will continue to rock and roll all night, and party every day.

"It's still as much fun as it was the very first night," remarked Banks.

"We have more fun than the audience does," concurred Leonard.