"They're booing and giving me the finger," he says unfazed."But you know what, they're loyal (to KISS). Two days in a row now, I've had coffee with the manager for KISS, Doc McGee, and we've been talking about it. He's been telling me that Bon Jovi, everybody all the way down the line, were petrified to open for KISS because it's such a frightening audience."

Econoline Crush, which is touring behind 1997's The Devil You Know, is no stranger to KISS's over the top disciples. The band played six dates with KISS in western Canada during the spring of 1997. "Yeah, it was in Canada though," says Hurst. "Canadians aren't quite as vocals as Americans."

But you won't catch Hurst in assless pants or platform boots to try and placate KISS fans. The only adjustments Econoline is making to its stage show is magnifying its energy level to accommodate the huge venues. He does, however, make special mention of the Toronto date at the SkyDome Dec. 2. "There's a very big surprise coming," he offers.

What that might be is anyone's guess, a special guest, new material, pyrotechnics, face paint? For the most part, the band won't be doing anything crazy.

"The biggest thing with large venues is more grandiose displays," Hurst laughs. "Everything you did subtly in a club, little facial expressions, people won't really see it in a large venue so you kind of have to keep conscious of that and just make bigger gestures. For me, I just try and do a similar show, just expand it, just hold moments longer and try and cover as much of the stage as I can.

"It's like that strange dog syndrome," he surmises. "If they can smell the fear on you, they're gonna bite you, but, otherwise, if you go out there and act like you know what's going on, they usually fall into place after a couple of songs."

Whether or not KISS fans warm up to Econoline's mix of industrial-strength rock, Hurst has nothing but good things to say about Gene and gang.

"They're one of the best bands to work with. I think, basically it comes right down to how threatened a band is by you, and Kiss, after 26 years, is really not threatened by very many people. So they're very accommodating. Whereas, if you deal with some band who sees you as maybe one day headlining over them, they make it harder on you when you're soundchecking.

"Believe it not, the band actually like the music. To me, it really is a good fit. If you notice in the past, KISS has always been about bringing on bands that they think are gonna break. Prime example is Stone Temple Pilots. For KISS, it keeps them in touch with what's going on and what's breaking in rock, and for us, it's arena rock 101. Learn some chops."

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