All-female Kiss tribute band plays Congress

But on Saturday, Jan. 30, she will cover her face with an unorthodox base of milk of magnesia — yes, the white, chalky medicine — and a layer of white war-paint-like makeup, and add thick black cat eyes.

In an hour’s time, she will transform from mild-mannered coordinator of Satori School’s after-school and extended-care programs to hard-rocking drummer in the all-female Kiss tribute band Priss.

“I don’t wear makeup so every time it’s like, ‘How did I get in this band?’ ” said Cocuzza, who is “Luda Criss” — the female version of Kiss’ founding drummer Peter Criss.

Cocuzza, who has lived in Tucson for five years, is bringing her Los Angeles-based all-woman Kiss tribute band to town for a concert at Club Congress. Proceeds from the $8 admission will benefit Satori School’s arts and music programs.

Priss — Cocuzza, Moa Henriksson as lead vocalist “Doll Stanley,” Andrea Zermeno on bass as “Jean Simone” and Jennifer Paro on lead guitar as “Lace Frehley” — has been around six years, performing all over the world. They have been to Tucson several times for Satori benefit gigs.

“It’s a fun time. We’ve had great reaction, thank goodness, and I think that’s why we’ve been doing it for so long,” said Cocuzza, who formed the band with fellow Betty Blowtorch bandmate Sharon Needles after that LA hard rock group dissolved.

Cocuzza was not much of a Kiss fan growing up, but she grew to love their music through Betty Blowtorch lead singer Bianca Halstead.

“She was a huge Kiss fan,” Cocuzza said, recalling how Halstead would sing Kiss songs when they were on the road. “It really made me kind of become a Kiss fan.”

Halstead was killed in a car accident in 2001, and when Cocuzza and Needles were considering what to do next, they stumbled on the idea of covering Kiss songs in memory of their late bandmate.

Priss, one of the only all-female Kiss tribute bands in the world, found an eager audience for their take on the famous glam rockers. Aside from making themselves up to look like the original members of Kiss, the women dig deeper into the band’s catalogue for album cuts that didn’t hit radio during Kiss’ 1970s-80s heydays.

“It’s not just the hits,” Cocuzza said. “Obviously you have to play the songs that people know, but you want to play good tunes, too, so you want to mix it up for the songs that people know and the album tracks. There are some really great songs that people have never heard.”

Cocuzza is the only Priss member who doesn’t live in Los Angeles. She moved to Tucson for family reasons five years ago, but continues performing with the band around the world including a show on New Year’s Eve in Okinawa, Japan.

“Kiss fans are crazy, super supportive. They come out,” she said. “It’s a fun show. The one thing I can say about Kiss is they put on a fun show.”