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Craig Tilkin might be a lot shorter than Kiss drummer Peter Criss, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to rock 'n' roll all night.
Tilkin pays homage to Criss in his band, Mini-Kiss, a group of four little people dressed in full Kiss regalia. The band, which performs karaoke-style, will headline a Kiss tribute at the Masquerade in Ybor City Friday night.
Short stature doesn't mean the group is short on fun, Tilkin says. Or theatrics.
"We sing and play air guitar," he said over the phone from his home in New York. "We have these psychedelic guitars and drum set made out of wood, all painted and flashy."
"We've got the costumes and the instruments and the wigs. The announcer says, "It's Mini-Kiss!' We go out there. Jump around. And put on a show," he says.
Tilkin's bandmates are Joey Fatale (as Gene Simmons), Scott Seidman (Paul Stanley) and Michael O'Connor (Ace Frehley).
The original Kiss enjoys its reputation for offstage high jinks with female fans as much, or more, than the musical mayhem it makes. Tilkin says the ladies swoon over the mini version too.
"I guess the women get a bit crazy and enjoy (the show). I don't know," Tilkin says.
Do they have to be restrained?
"Pretty much, yeah," he says, laughing.
Tilkin loves the gig. He knows some might think it's exploitive, but says that because of his stature, people are always looking at him anyway, so the stage act feels fine to him.
"I look at it as, when I'm outside, I'm always onstage," he says. "So I might as well get paid for it.
"The response has been that it's the coolest thing in the world and they love it," he says. "And yeah, there's been some negative response When I'm out there, I sell exactly what we are."
Are people disappointed that Mini-Kiss lip-synchs?
"I don't tell any club or anything else what we're not. Many clubs, sometimes, just don't say that we're a karaoke-style band. We get out there and we don't play instruments. Depending on the crowd's mood it doesn't always work."
Much as Tilkin relishes his role in the tribute band, the real highlight so far has been meeting the real Kiss.
"Just this past summer we saw them. They're on tour with Aerosmith," he says. "We were in full makeup and costumes and we kind of snuck up front, and were right up in the front row and they actually let us stand up there for a little while.
"It pretty much ended real quick," he continues. "(The security guards) were coming in to get us out of there at that point. I guess Paul Stanley came up and gave us high-fives and stuff like that. Then they let us stay because of that."
PREVIEW: Mini-Kiss with Standing Shadows, Rinker, Ian and the Manifestos, Semi and Phoenix, 9 p.m. Friday, Masquerade, 1503 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $12 advance, $15 at the door. (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100 or (813) 247-3319.