The following was sent to me by a good friend of Eddie Balandas, he was the last person to see Eddie alive. Eddie was a very close friend of the KISS family, and was of course the voice at the start of Alive II, RIP Eddie:-

Eddie Balandas of Chicago Illinois passed away in his sleep on Monday October 10, 2011 in the early hours of the morning from what appears to be the final stage of Congestive Heart Failure (the heart is wore out and stops beating). The funeral service will be on Monday October 17, 2011 at the ALLIANCE-GAIDAS-DAIMID FUNERAL HOME 4330 South California Avenue Chicago, IL 60632 located in Chicago 's Brighton Park . More information about visitation time will be available from the funeral home at Phone Number (773) 523-0440 or Toll Free at (800) 747-2692 Ext: 116789 after 8 pm October 13, 2011. Eddie was a KISS band crew member in their early years and is known as the Voice of Kiss on the Alive II album where his announcement of the band is boldly proclaimed “YOU WANTED IT, YOU GOT IT, THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD, KISS.” The last number of years Eddie enjoyed fishing and attending KISS Expo’s where he totally enjoyed talking to everyone and tell story after story. Eddie would talk to KISS fans and answer questions until the very early hours of the morning. If you would like to hear his Bigger than Life Voice and some of his stories go to www.podkisst.com and select number 47: The Voice of “Alive II” Speaks!

In his younger years Eddie was an excellent trumpet player and received several Gold Records for his part in a variety of songs – one most notable that most people recognize is “Brandy” (you’re a fine girl). He was also part of the SHA-NA-NA group for a time but missed out when they went on to begin TV Shows.

Please visit Eddie’s www.facebook.com/eddie.balandas page to leave condolences or stories for family and friends who sorely miss him.

Eddie Balandas was a very excellent trumpet player and had these Gold Records (1 million sold) and a platinum (500,000 sold) hanging on his wall. He must have had a part in each one - he was a Studio Musician so his part was recorded in the studio and then included on the released record. On some of these he was one of a couple of trumpet players.

Eddie Balandas’ Songs that he was a part of over the years (partial list).

Get it On - by Chase
More Today than Yesterday – by Spiral Staircase
Brandy – by Looking Glass celebrating 1million units
YMCA by Village People
Macho Man by Village People
Beth – by Kiss
The worst that can happen – Brooklyn Bridge
Words by missing persons - 500,000 units