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KISS fans rock and roll all weekend in Indy From: Indianapolis Star by Cathy Kightlinger 
KISS fans from around the globe rolled into Indianapolis over the weekend to lick up the atmosphere at an Eastside hotel.Dan Foley, a 41-year-old police officer from Wyandotte, Mich., has been to dozens of these events — and looked like it. Dressed like GENE SIMMONS, an original member of the rock band known for its flashy outfits and makeup, Foley was donning leather, metal studs and face paint at the 2005 Indianapolis KISS Expo Sunday. Upon request, he performed Simmons' signature move — unfurling a pointy tongue. "This is just a dedicated love of the band," said Foley, whose Simmons garb cost about $6,500. "If I find something that I like, I stick with it all the way to the end." Formed in New York City, KISS hit it big in the 1970s with songs such as "Rock " Roll All Nite" and even performed without makeup for awhile. The Expo, held annually in Indianapolis, is one of several KISS conventions fans attend each year. An estimated 1,000 of them made their way to the Holiday Inn East, 6990 E. 21st St., on Saturday and Sunday. Fishers couple Michelle and Keith Leroux promote the Indianapolis KISS convention, along with Steve Stierwalt, of Indianapolis. "It's a chance to get together with all of our KISS friends that we've gotten to know over the years, and bring KISS to the fans, I guess," said Michelle, 32. The couple have other jobs but also support themselves by selling KISS memorabilia. "You wouldn't even believe what KISS fans will buy, and want to buy, and collect," she said. "I know collectors that have warehouses just to store all of the KISS merchandise that they have." Vendors sold collectibles, including stuffed KISS dolls and "KISSopoly" games. Two band members — one current, one former — signed autographs and posed for pictures, while fans mingled and traded rock and roll stories. "Just as much as it might be cool for (the fans) to come out, it's also cool for me, too," said ERIC SINGER, the band's current drummer. "It's a fair exchange thing. . . . Things should be beneficial to everyone." Former KISS guitarist BRUCE KULICK, now playing with Grand Funk Railroad, came to Indianapolis from Florida for the event. The travel was tough, he said. But the fans' enthusiasm made up for it. "It is a job to get up at 4:45 a.m. for a 5:45 a.m. pickup and take two flights after playing the night before. That's the job part of it," Kulick said. "Any musician will tell you the fun part is seeing your fans, performing, meeting them and them telling you, 'You don't know how much it means to me to meet you.' " Those fans included Bill Starkey, a third-grade teacher for Indianapolis Public Schools. To KISS fans, however, he is the man who started a fan club, the KISS Army, in the 1970s. Starkey, who lived in Terre Haute then, said he couldn't understand why KISS songs weren't getting any radio play on the local station he listened to. So, he and a friend began calling themselves the KISS Army, and made it their mission to get the band's songs played on local radio. Later, when the band sold out a Terre Haute show, the promoters asked why, and Starkey's KISS Army was listed as the reason. Starkey became a bit of a celebrity after that. "I really enjoy talking to the people and the fans," Starkey, 48, said. "They treat me with so much kindness and reverence, and I get more attention than I could ever get from any third-grader." Fans from across the country were on hand, and several arrived from Japan. "We are huge KISS fans and we really like to see whatever the members do," said Kumiko Yoshinaga, a publicist from Tokyo. Jordan Stone, 31, traveled from Farmington, Mo., for the convention. The high school health and physical education teacher said he couldn't remember when he wasn't a KISS fan. "There is obviously a sense of brotherhood because KISS kind of transcends what most bands are," he said. "KISS fans . . . tend to sort of have a common bond of lifelong fanaticism. It's always fun to come and spend time with like-minded people." Russell Dannecker, who has become a friend of the band members, is from New York City. Dannecker said he remembers meeting the band when he was younger, getting autographed records, and telling members he planned to sell the records to make money to follow them to the shows. Instead, he said the band helped him get tickets. "I grew up listening to them," said Dannecker, 34. "They have been around 30-plus years. They are great because it's like an allegiance. People connect onto it. All my friends . . . I met through KISS." |
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