Planning a trip to New Orleans not only gives me the warm fuzzies, but it also gives me an opportunity to re-discover a most fascinating city. It's a city filled with history, culture, superb cuisine, rocking music, incredible architecture and if you search real hard, even ghosts.

When I find someone willing to go to New Orleans with me, I revel in the thought of showing them my city. There's so much to see and do. After the Christmas and New Year's decorations have been put away, it's time to get pumped up for the Mardi Gras season. Parades, king cakes, beads, doubloons, masking and even celebrities make this a holiday that should be enjoyed first hand as opposed to celebrating in other Carnival-related cities.

I first dressed up as Gene Simmons when I was twelve years old. It was Mardi Gras 1977 and even back then, people stopped to gawk. I had just seen KISS in concert two months earlier. That event changed and enhanced my life. I distinctly recall buying "Alive" when it was first released and listening to it over and over and over again. I read those KISS messages within its pages as if they were part of a diary. Then, there's my friend Leigh, who has been a fan since 1975 as well, and feels exactly the same way about this band as I do. KISS changed her life too. These "Gods of Rock and Roll" have been a part of our lives ever since. To this day, we still refer to music releases as "the new album." KISS on vinyl. Now, that's memorabilia! Leigh understands when I say, "Gene is da' man". I don't need to explain anything about that statement. We love Gene. We have both met him. We see him as intelligent, sweet, immensely humorous and oh-so talented. We both have stories of how we went him, when we met him, what he said and will remember those moments for the rest of our lives.

When an occasion such as Mardi Gras rolls around, walking around in costume is almost mandatory. Dressing up as a member of the most popular band in the world makes you feel like you have power. Power to rock, power to "part the crowd when walking down the street" and even power to have the local police ask you for your photo while at the same time protect you from the local freakazoids who are hounding you like the tabloid paparazzi.

Many months ago, Leigh and I decided to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras 2000. In the KISS world, she is known as the "Goddess of Thunder". I have finally met someone, another female, who understands my fascination with Gene Simmons. Leigh gets it. She and I love Gene. Leigh has the most incredible "Gene" costume. It's only natural that she want to wear it at Mardi Gras. She has worn it to KISS conventions and is instantly recognizable as the "Goddess." I told her that "Mardi Gras is something you have never experienced before. If we dress as the guys from KISS, we will RULE MARDI GRAS!" And rule we did. She as Gene and I as Paul. Paul Stanley is one talented individual. How could I not dress up as the guy who, along with buddy Gene, is one half of the best songwriting team in all of rock and roll. I think Paul has the most underrated voice in the business. It angers me when the critics make so much noise about artists who have just arrived on to the music scene, but ignore someone who not only has a beautiful voice and has been in the business for thirty-plus years, but who can hold notes longer than any rock star I have ever heard. What a voice!

So there we were. Tuesday, March 7, 2000. The Rockin' Girl and the Goddess of Thunder walking down Decatur Street on our way to the infamous Canal Street, where all of the downtown Mardi Gras parades pass at one point on their route. It was early in the day and the Krewes of Zulu and Rex were just approaching Canal. As soon as we saw the first person on Decatur, eyes widened and they immediately proclaimed, "KISS!" Naturally, KISS makes people take notice. We got so much attention in the first half hour, I felt bad for others who had cool costumes that the public was ignoring. You have to admit, the black inflatable guitars we were carrying did enhance the outfits. But, when you dress up as KISS, the whole world watches as they are not only impressed, but also intrigued. It took us a long time to walk one block. People stopped us for photos (not only of us, but also with us), they stopped us to film us, they stopped us to look at us, and also to compliment us. There were even the nice ladies who gave us a couple of beers. We took over McDonald's when we went to snag a couple of straws so we could actually drink the beers. "KISS is in the house" is what we said upon entering. Once again, jaws dropped, but were quickly turned into smiles as we walked farther in. We rocked that restaurant for sure.

When we got back out on Canal, we were once again mobbed. Leigh and I felt like celebrities. At one point, Leigh said, "I now know what the guys feel like when they go out in public." Yes, at times it was scary, but it was all good fun. One police officer asked to have his photo taken with us because his son is a big fan of the band. He was so giddy it was as if HE was the fan.

When we got to the French Quarter, we were mobbed yet again. Everyone wanted to have his or her photo taken with us. Young people, older people, half-naked people, scary-looking people, loud people, drunk people and even other costumed people. Austin Powers, Santa Claus, the "Huge Ass Beers" guys and even the Phantom of the Opera stopped to pose with us. Paul Stanley and the Phantom of the Opera side by side at last. Only KISS fans know the irony of this. When I say that Leigh and I caused a commotion, it is a complete understatement. At one point, while standing in front of the "Moonwalk" (along the Mississippi River across from the French Quarter)), we got the crowd to sing "Rock & Roll All Nite" along with us. EVERYONE loved us. The photos will prove it. They are also evidence of how cool we looked. The Rockinž Girl and the Goddess of Thunder really rocked New Orleans this year. We had a lot of fun. But, in addition to that, people were in awe of us not just because of the wild costumes we had on, but also because KISS is instantly recognizable. KISS IS ROCK AND ROLL! Plain and simple. KISS is also eternal. As Gene once said, "KISS is like cockroaches. We'll never go away." With their farewell tour well underway, unfortunately, Leigh and I will try like heck to keep KISS alive and if that means dressing up at another Mardi Gras, so be it.

KISS FOREVER!

By Rockin' Girl Ivonne
March, 2000

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