Watching his television show, "The Johnny Cash Show," which ran from 1969 to 1971, Stone was introduced to the outlaw musician.

"I recall neither my mother or father were interested in country music, and I think they had some aversion to (Cash) because of his rebellious image," Stone said. "Here was this great big, tall badass ... singing about the problems of poor people, injustices to Native Americans and his outrage at the way veterans were treated."

Almost thirty years later, Stone has stopped playing air guitar and taken his Cash admiration to the next level. Several times a week, he dons an all-black outfit, straps on his guitar and walks onto a club stage as Johnny Cash. As the singer and guitarist for the four-piece tribute band, Man in Black, Stone has been covering Cash's songs since 2002. Tonight, Man in Black will perform at the Chameleon Club.

As the only Cash tribute band in the United States, Stone said the Philadelphia-based Man in Black has had ample gig opportunities throughout the East Coast. Most of the band's audiences, however, weren't alive to see Cash perform at the height of his popularity in the '70s. Rather than packing clubs with country fans, Man in Black's followers prefer leather and spikes over cowboy hats and bolo ties.

"I think in the case of younger people, there's a swing back toward interest in social issues, and among the alternative rock set there's a good deal of discontent with a lot of modern music," Stone said. "(Cash's) integrity and rebelliousness make him attractive to people."

Stone himself performed in a number of heavy metal bands before coming back to Cash's music. Following his divorce, Stone's family urged him to go back to music. Because Cash's music "isn't technically very complicated," Stone said Man in Black began performing after just a few months of practice.

The real key to mimicking Cash's style was not practice, but observation. Having studied Cash's past shows, Stone said a guitar-playing "trick" has helped him achieve authenticity.

"(The trick) has to do with the way the lead guitar player plays," Stone said. "Yes, a lot of people ask us how we do it and we have to be very careful with our answers."

Of course, the 43-year-old Stone's strong physical resemblance to Cash is also an integral part of Man in Black's shows.

"I'm shorter than (Cash) is, and I didn't realize I had a good handle on it, but apparently my mannerisms and facial expressions and body language are the same as his -- that comes from having taken my guitar and sitting in front of the television when I was young," Stone said.

Stone said the band's true-to-Cash sound was not the only element that helped Man in Black garner attention. Six months after the group formed, Cash died from complications linked to diabetes. Since his death, Stone said, there has been an increased interest in Cash's life and music. For Man in Black, Cash's passing made the group even more serious.

"(Cash's death) made us real students of his music and style," Stone said. "It motivated us to become an act that was a tribute act and not an Elvis-impersonator-type act, which tends to degrade the image of the person."

Stone said Man in Black has done more than perform Cash's songs: The group also aids causes "that might be similar to what Cash might have been interested in." This summer, Man in Black raised $100,000 at a Philadelphia concert benefiting missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway. Man in Black even has written a song in Cash's style called "Natalee's Song," but Stone said presenting new material while impersonating Cash was a difficult decision.

"It is a task that I approached with extreme caution," Stone said. "Cash wrote simple-sounding songs that were full of complex issues, and that is hard to do."

Man in Black's mission, however, remains rooted in covering a musician whose newer fans never had a chance to see perform.

"(Young people) are looking for somebody, anybody, who's different," Stone said. "It's the perfect time for Johnny Cash to come back into the mainstream."

DETAILS

Man in Black, tonight, 10 p.m., Chameleon Club, 223 N. Water St., $5, 21 and over, 393-7133.