Steve Carter, Lead Vocals (Klaus Meine)

Steve has been singing in bands since his early teens and has been a member of well over fifty different acts at this point (recently "HairNation" and "Journey To Boston").

His major influences as a singer are Bruce Dickson, Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio, to name a few.

A fan of many bands, musicians and musical genres, Steve has always been passionate about the music of The Scorpions. As such he is proud to bring their music to North American audiences alongside the capable and talented musicians who compose the band Blackout.

When Steve's not screaming his lungs out on stage, he can be found indulging one of his other passions; aviation, animals, and playing guitar.

 

 

Ian Kurz, Guitar, Back Up Vocals (Rudy Schenker)

Ian has been playing guitar and singing in popular bands for years. Recently, he's worked with the Van Halen tribute "5150" and "The Bomb" with Mike Turner from "Our Lady Peace".

He was a member of The Wolf's "The Howlers" ("The Wolf" is 101.5 FM in Peterborough) as well as a founding member of touring bands "Fear", "Scuttlebutt", and "One Good Hand grenade."

Ian's commanding presence, passion and guitar prowess and make him a formidible addition to the "BlackOut" line-up.

When not working or playing, Ian is an avid outdoorsman; his hobbies include white-water kayaking, SCUBA, rock climbing, dirt biking and camping.

 

 

Paul Corscadden, Drums (Herman Rarebell)

After seeing Kiss at an early age, Paul decided he needed to be in a band, and the drums were the obvious choice for a hyperactive 11 year old who liked to hit things. He became obsessed with rock music as a teenager (especially with such heavyweights as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin). After joining his first band in high school, Paul started playing clubs in Toronto before he was legally old enough to be in them, learning the ropes as a rock drummer.

From 1988 to 2003, Paul was a member of Toronto acts Roxy Lane, Vertical Creep and Flat Planet, playing in every dive across the country and occasionally featured as the opening act on bills that included bands such as Nazareth, Jeff Healey, Ted Nugent, April Wine and others. More recently, Paul has gigged in many cover acts and toured with tributes to Van Halen, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper.

Paul is completely self taught, but has strived to be a better "technical drummer", so he looked for some insight. After one lesson with Robb Reiner of Anvil, Reiner told Paul, "You do everything wrong, but you're pretty good at it. Save your money, kid." Reiner's candor convinced Paul that he was on the right path, and over the years Paul has focused on "being the best" at "doing everything wrong."

Paul's influences include the obvious - Jason Bonham and Neil Peart, but Paul is also a huge fan of Faith No More/ Ozzy Osbourne drummer Mike Bordin, whose powerful playing defines to Paul what rock drumming is all about: loud, heavy and simple. A lifelong and dedicated fan of the The Scorpions, Paul is excited to be a part of this new tribute, Blackout.

Paul plays an Ayotte Custom kit with Paiste cymbals.

 

Kris Tischbien, Bass (Francis Buchholz)

Kris has been playing bass guitar for 26 years. Teaching, recording and playing with numerous bands has taken up the better part of 20 of those years. Most recently Kris has done recording work for for Jon Anderson of Yes, Candy Rat recording artist Kelly Valleau and EMI recording artist Jamie Stever. He has also worked with Juno nominated alto sax player Dan Bone.

A short list of some groups Kris has played with over the last 20 years include Stoneboat, the Jamie Stever Band (original Spanish music), the Pearl Jam tribute Evenflow and the Full Circle Jazz Trio.

A Scorpions fan since the early eighties, Kris has been heavily influenced by all types of music, and has studied the stylings of a core group influential bassists. Jaco Pastorius, Michael Manring, Dave LaRue, Tony Levin, Chris Squier and Geddy Lee top the list.

Kris plays fretless, fretted, 4, 5 and 6 string bass along with upright bass, as each instrument is a different tool needed for a different job.

When not playing the bass, Kris enjoys long distance cycling and Thai cooking.

 

Paul Crane, Guitar, Back Up Vocals (Mattias Jabs)

A dedicated student of the guitar for over 25 years, Paul's pyrotechnic style, massive guitar tone and love of The Scorpions made him the natural choice to play Mattias Jabs in BlackOut.

Over the years, Paul has played in numerous cover and tribute bands. Most recently he played in The Big Bang with Ian Kurz, who also plays in BlackOut. Paul has also recorded and released his own independent, original full length CD.

When not cranking out high powered riffs in BlackOut, Paul can be found in the gym, working on his online businesses, or involved in a high-powered, two-wheeled adventure of some sort.