News 2024

The 2 Nights That Chicago Rocked

Last weekend saw us take our 30th Anniversary BLACK DIAMOND Tour to the suburbs of Chicago for back-to-back nights. The first of which saw us return to a very familiar venue in the Arcada Theatre in St.Charles, IL. Then on Saturday we pulled into the Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL. Two beautiful venues with one magical KISS Tribute show made for a very special weekend.

Here are moments captured through various cameras and phones during our stay in the Chicagoland area. Heaven knows what we have in store for 2025 but our hope is that we’ll be returning to both of these theaters to celebrate KISS yet again the only way we know how…our way.

In KISS We Trust

In early July, we began a project that has been a dream of ours for some time.
As a KISS Tribute we constantly strive
to be better with each and every day,
not only as people but in what we offer YOU…the fans.

Through a good friend, I learned of a company that had the ability to create props of a very high quality. After a number of conference calls and texts, emails and discussions, a plan was
put into motion to create a new drum riser fascia for our stage set. What makes this story so intriguing is that there is a direct connection with the classic history of KISS and MR.SPEED now as a result.

Between the years of 1977 and 1982, there was a production team that created the stage sets that we have all come to know and love from KISS. A two-man team that worked for then
MacManus Enterprises helped to design and build many things—among them, the original flying rig for Gene in 1979 and the tank drum riser for the Creatures Of The Night Tour in 1982.
As fate would have it, one half of that team is still very much alive and well, and with his help and the son of his
late partner in business, our new drum riser fascia was born.

Here are production photos as we received them from the many phases that the fascia went through before being delivered here to us in Cleveland. This was a tedious and stressful project not only for them but for us, too, as the venture was quite expensive. But as it’s often said, “You have to spend money to make money.” I’m choosing to keep the names of those that were intimately involved in the creation of this project anonymous for a number of reasons. But everyone associated with MR.SPEED owes a debt of gratitude to each and every one of them
for creating for us a stage piece that is unmatched in our business.

We hope that you, the fans, appreciate our stage set and the lengths that we go to in order to give you the best and one-of-a-kind KISS Tribute possible anywhere in the world.

🔥Rocking Knoxville Down 🔥
1,000 miles and Mother Nature couldn’t stop us from giving Knoxville, TN, our very best on Friday night at the Tennessee Valley Fair. Rain swooped in just before showtime, threatening some gear and delaying the start of the show. But once the clouds dispersed, we took to
the stage and rocked the Homer Hamilton Amphitheater for 2 straight hours.

These are just a few of the moments captured through the lens of Dave Moto,
who was our guest for the day.

Thank you to everyone that came out to support our 30th Anniversary Tour stop in Knoxville,
we will look forward to seeing you all again before too long.

🔥Cleveland Rocked! 🔥

Our triumphant return to the city of Cleveland saw us bring our 30th Anniversary BLACK DIAMOND Tour to the House Of Blues last Saturday night. The crowd was over 500 strong and together we shared 2 hours of classic KISS for what turned out to be one amazing night.

Here are a handful of moments that were captured from the show by Drew Latshaw. We hope that these photos make you feel as if you were right there with us.

Happy Birthday, Spaceman Mark Hermansen!

Backstage at the Star Centre

Moments before we took the stage at the Star Centre in Havre De Grace, Maryland, our friend David Snowden stopped by and snapped off this shot of us in our dressing room. David was our guest for the night and he shot the entire show from many different angles. We’ll share some of what he saw through his lense when the moment is right.

We’re thrilled to announce that our 30th Anniversary Tour is heading to Sin City for one night in early 2025.
Mark your calendars and grab some friends to meet us at…

Station Casinos
Saturday, January 25, 2025

Our TOUR PAGE will be updated with a link and details once we have more information.

Let’s rally the troops and fill the casino with both the KISS & MR.SPEED ARMIES
for one night of classic KISS at Stations Casino in Las Vegas!

There’s no time to waste! Grab your backstage pass and your black sunglasses and join us for one night of KISS at the Tennessee Valley Fair! The show is Friday, September 13th @ The Homer Hamilton Amphitheater in Knoxville, TN.

Contact the Tennessee Valley Fair or the Homer Hamilton Amphitheater for ticket information. We’ll put our two lips together and see YOU in Knoxville at the Tennessee Valley Fair on Friday, September 13th…DON’T MISS IT!!!

It was such an amazing time for us last weekend in the northern suburb of Atlanta known as Buford, GA. We converged on this beautiful town and unloaded our stage set up at the Buford Community Center where the largest crowd of their summer concert series joined us. The heat and humidity were in full effect but nothing was going to stop us from celebrating KISS the only way that we know how…our way.

We want to share these few moments that encapsulate just a bit of the action shared with us by Studio 30815. It’s very satisfying for us to travel this country and perform for fans that have never seen us before, it shows what we’re made of and that we are connecting with beautiful people that love KISS as much as we do.

This Review Is Killer!

When they say, “Life is like a box of chocolates,” it couldn’t be more true in regard to this amazing review that we just received.

One week ago Scott & Rico took time out of their busy schedules to join a few thousand other fans for our return performance at LOCK 3 PARK in Downtown Akron. Needless to say, we’re floored by what these two rockers had to say, and we couldn’t wait to share it with all of you. 

Listen to what they have to say right here!

We Are Just Getting Started!

Dig this last set of moments captured by Kim Phelps last Saturday
@ Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio.

The air was thick and the vibe was smokin’…

A true rock’n’ roll party was had for sure.

What a long, strange trip it has been…

Today is the 30th Anniversary to the day of our very first show.
Never in a million years did the thought ever cross our mind that we’d be sharing our love of KISS and what they’ve meant to us 3 decades later. We strive to be better today than we were yesterday and we believe that we have made some progress. 

NEW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT!

Our 30th Anniversary BLACK DIAMOND Tour arrives at The Acorn Center in Littleton, NC!

Date: August 3, 2024  7:30 pm (doors open at 6:30)

Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 15 @ 10:00 AM 

And this is from Fraze Pavilion this past Saturday night. 

Thank YOU for caring enough to follow our story
and for taking time out of your life to see us
perform live…we’re grateful.

30th Anniversary Hits The Cleveland House of Blues!

We’re thrilled to finally be able to announce that we’re bringing our 30th Anniversary BLACK DIAMOND Tour to the city of Cleveland’s House of Blues for one night! Make plans now to “Shout It Out Loud” with us and other members of the real KISS ARMY on Saturday, September 7th, 2024. Come out and celebrate all things KISS with us and special guests CRUED - A Motley Crue Tribute.

Tickets go on sale this Thursday, May 17 @ 10:00 AM

 Get presale tickets Wednesday at 10am |

Code: SOUNDCHECK

https://livemu.sc/44HzMIr

You wanted us and you got us! MR. SPEED will ignite the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio for one night only! Saturday, September 7th with special guest CRUED - A Motley Crue Tribute

The wait is over! We’re thrilled to announce that our 30th Anniversary BLACK DIAMOND Tour is returning to downtown Akron and the Rock The Lock Concert Series. Mark your calendars and grab some friends to come and celebrate all things KISS with us under the stars. You’ve wanted us and now you’ve got us! MR.SPEED will Rock The Lock for one night in downtown Akron, Ohio…DON’T MISS IT!

Friday, June 21, 2024
Rock The Lock Concert Series
Lock 3 Park
Downtown Akron, Ohio
With Special Guests : Invincible/A Tribute To Pat Benatar

Concert is free admission. Open seating. Concerts start at 7pm. Located in Lock 3's Backyard. Located on W. Bowery St behind Lock 3 Park, next to the Civic Theatre. See FAQ for parking and more info.

Check this out! Our Starchild Rich Kosak chats about his appreciation for the band Stryper on the Official Stryper Podcast:

One Night for the Kids

What a great night at Canton South Performing Arts Center! Over 400 strong came out to support this stop on our BLACK DIAMOND tour. A great night was had by all celebrating all things KISS and money was raised to further support the efforts of the PAC.Thank you to all who supported this event.

Photos by Angie Hattery and Susan Torok.

School's Out For One Night Only

MR.SPEED is bringing its 30th Anniversary BLACK DIAMOND TOUR to Canton South High School's Performing Arts Center for one night! Get your tickets now to celebrate all things KISS with MR.SPEED!

Don't miss MR.SPEED on Saturday, March 16, 2024 at Canton South High School's Performing Arts Center!

The New Look MR.SPEED!

We're very proud of our new band images from our recent photo/video shoot here in Cleveland last weekend. Instead of recreating something that KISS has done we decided that we wanted to be US and create our own individual photos utilizing the aisle of the Lorain Palace Theater. These striking images show who we are and convey the strength that we have within our band and we hope that you can feel that too.

Photo Credit: Gabe Fedor/Riffster Productions

What A Way To Spend A Weekend

Over the past 3 days we divided our time up between a rehearsal, a lengthy recording session and a day long video/photo shoot. It was time for us to update our marketing materials and properly promote the 30th Anniversary of our band and these events were set up to do just that.

On Friday night we got together at Rich's place in Alliance, Ohio for our first rehearsal. We dusted the rust off of quite a few new songs that we plan to include in our new set list this year, one of which may not be that big of a surprise in "War Machine" from CREATURES OF THE NIGHT. On Saturday we moved to Custom Audio Mutation studios in Akron, Ohio to rerecord two KISS classics in "Detroit Rock City" and "Shout It Out Loud". We'll put the finishing touches on those tracks over the next week or so. Lastly, we once again utilized the grand space that is the Lorain Palace Theater to set up and conduct our new promo video shoot. This gave us the chance to incorporate all of the stage antics that you expect to see from us and that we like to deliver with each and every show. This was the longest of the three days as we arrived at 9:00/AM for load-in and didn't close the trailer door after load-out until 8:00/PM!

We are all extremely proud of the hard work, effort and overall result from the time that we spent together. We do believe that when this project is completed that we will have a visual souvenir of who & what MR.SPEED is that we can all be proud of. Enjoy this collage of photos taken over the past 3 days that show you what it was like to be in MR.SPEED for the weekend.

See you all soon...

Rich, Mark, Rich & Shane

Tickets Are On Sale Now!

Happy New Year all you rockers! We've got a hot ticket link for you to grab your seats right now for our March 16, 2024 show in Canton, Ohio. Here are all the details that you need and we'll look forward to seeing you at Canton South High School!

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Canton South High School

600 Faircrest Street SE

Canton, Ohio

Doors @ 6:00
Showtime @ 7:00

Getting To Know Our "Demon" Shane Smith

I Am The Lord Of The Wasteland

Ever evolving, never compromising please allow us to introduce to you our "Demon" Shane Smith.

Shane brings a renewed thunder to our KISS Tribute and to YOU our fans. He's lurking in the darkness, he's haunting your every dream...