From: "Mike N. Reinemann" Date sent: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 23:22:13 -0400 Subject: Unchanged spots Unchanged spots 7/21/00 Def Leppard is known for its power ballads and its one-armed drummer. But that isn't how they want to be recalled. "Hopefully we will be remembered for a body of great work and making people feel good," said guitarist Phil Collen in a recent phone interview. "The great thing about this band is that it has always been a collage of our favorite bands: Stevie Wonder, T-Rex, Led Zepplin. It's a combination of different stuff. Anything on the radio right now can totally influence what we've been doing." Def Leppard performs with The Unband at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Six Flags Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. The band can be expected to mix in songs from its nine albums. "We obviously have to play "Pour Some Sugar on Me,' and "Love Bites,' " says Collen. "But it's an ever-revolving door and lucky for us, we have enough hits. You try album tracks that are our favorites. You try them for a month or so, and if it doesn't work, you replace it. Same thing with the hits. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't." Whether playing the nostalgia tunes or pumping out new material, Collen says the group keeps its nose to the grindstone, disregarding criticism that it is has-beens. "You have to keep some kind of conviction," says Collen. "If you lose that yourself, then you are over the hill and going through the motions. We're not at that stage. If anything pisses you off, it makes you rise to the occasion." - Riley Graebner Copyright © 1999 - 2000 The Buffalo News