Frank DiMino joined his former ANGEL bandmate Punky Meadows on stage for the first time in over thirty years on March 8 to perform the ANGEL song "Tower" at the Backstage Bar And Billiards in Las Vegas, Nevada. "It felt just like it did in ANGEL," Punky said. "The band kicked ass and Frank felt it and sang his ass off. We didn't miss a beat and the fans went crazy!! We blew the roof off the house. It was really awesome to jam with Frank again!!" Former members of ANGEL appeared at the 2016 Vegas Rocks! Hair Metal Awards last May at the at the Eastside Cannery Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The group received the "Glam Rock Legends" award in honor of their contributions and influence in music. Accepting the award were Meadows, DiMino, Gregg Giuffria, Barry Brandt, and Felix Robinson. This marked the first time all surviving ANGEL bandmembers — bassist Mickie Jones passed away from cancer in 2009 — had been on stage together since 1980. Formed in 1975 by Meadows and Jones in Washington D.C., ANGEL straddled the fence between the prog-rock pomp of YES and ELP, the orchestral hard pop of QUEEN, BOSTON and ELO, and the riff-heavy raunch-rock of KISS and AEROSMITH. They were discovered by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons while performing at a nightclub and were eventually signed to the same label as KISS, Casablanca. Released in the fall of 1975, the band's self-titled debut was promoted with a number of live appearances on the great American arena circuit with the likes of AEROSMITH, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, JOURNEY and RUSH. The group's gimmick — the members were all dressed in white — got them labeled the "anti-KISS" by rock critics, and their spectacular stage show was so over the top that even Simmons & Co. were said to have been inspired by it. ANGEL started to fall apart in the early 1980s after Casablanca pulled the plug on the group due in part to disappointing album sales. In 1981, Robinson and DiMino left to pursue other projects. Meadows and Giuffria tried to keep ANGEL going and came close to landing a record deal with CBS. But it didn't pan out, and ANGEL finally disbanded.
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