photo courtesy of R' Aqua net R' Aqua Net, an '80s style band, is rocking O' Malley's Saturday and May 15. Members dress in full costume to transform into their characters on stage.

If you grew up in the '80s, you remember the big hair, leather pants and, perhaps less importantly, the music.

R' Aqua Net is an '80s cover band that tries to bring back the styles and songs of the '80s by dressing up as some of the most recognizable icons from that time. Lead singer Kane Flint dresses up like Axl Rose from Guns N' Roses, bass player Jason Claybaugh's character is based on Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue, drummer James Couzens plays the character of Tommy Lee, and Randy Colell plays guitar and dresses up like Slash from Guns N' Roses.

The band members go into full costume and character when they perform on stage.

Flint said dressing up helps him get into character and also improves the ambiance of the crowd.

"It would be boring in blue jeans up there. It transports people back into that time so they can get into it," Flint said.

Claybaugh said when you put on a wig and get into character, it's easier to get a little crazier because you're acting like someone else.

"It's a rockin' time. How are you not going to have fun with a bunch of guys dressed up in makeup and a wig on stage?" Flint said. "This was a way to be a kid all over again. Making fun of them, paying tribute to them and making fun of ourselves for liking them all at the same time."

When performing songs like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard, "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith, "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns N' Roses or "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi, the band tries to sound like the originals.

"We try to stay as true to them as possible. It's more challenging to play the music the way the original artist played it," Claybaugh said.

In the past year, R' Aqua Net has played at bars all over town.

Flint and Claybaugh's favorite place is O'Malley's, but they also enjoy playing at The Rock. Claybaugh said the crowd at City Limits is good too.

R' Aqua Net recently stopped playing its usual gig on Monday nights at The Rock for financial reasons. Couzens said they really wanted The Rock to give them a chance, so they compromised on salary.

Instead of getting a flat rate like they normally would charge, they got paid based on the attendance at the bar. The alcohol was the bar's profit, the cover charge was the band's profit and they split the costs of advertising, Couzens said.

But attendance at the bar was minimal, and nobody was making enough money to support the cost of advertising, so they stopped playing at The Rock, he said.

As for finding other venues to play, Flint said it isn't that hard to find a gig, especially for R' Aqua Net.

"People really dig the '80s hair metal music. Everyone's got some spandex and a wig hidden somewhere," he said.

Flint said the music scene in Tucson is different for an original band than for a cover band because it's harder to get shows as an original band.

However, Flint praised the original music in Tucson.

There a couple of dozen bands that are really good, and they are all really diverse because they range from hip-hop, metal, techno, rock and punk bands, he said.

"They're just smokin' musicians here in town and they're just writing really good songs. There is definitely a lot of talented people in this town," Flint said.

Couzens said if you're not looking at it from a financial standpoint, Tucson is a good place for artists to be artists.

"I think it's as good as it can be for a town this size and the location. It's charming, it's quaint, it's an eclectic music scene," he added.

Claybaugh said he likes the music scene here because it's a small town so everyone is friends.

"It's an incestuous music scene," he said.

Claybaugh said he wishes there was more support from the people who go to school at the UA.

R' Aqua Net is playing at O'Malley's on Saturday and again on May 15.