The second KISS Night at the Ballpark is in the books and was another rousing success. The attendance for the game was 6,494 and they had a great time. The night unfolded as follows: Mr. Speed kicked off the night with a powerful 45 minute set. They set the tone for a fun night with their energetic performance. Highlights included the band's performance of Psycho Circus and the fire breathing. During this time the Detroit Rock City posters and temporary tattoos were handed out. Also handed out were Psycho Circus promotional posters.
After the Mr. Speed set, the line-ups were announced. As was done last year the players in the Quakes line-up were dubbed KISS names, and every time they came to the plate we played their song. The Quakes line up was as follows: 1 -- Andy "Mr. Speed" Wilson - rf 2 -- Brandon "Two Timer" Pernell -- cf 3 -- Alex "War Machine" Pelaez -- dh 4 -- Graham "God of Thunder" Koonce -- 1b 5 -- Kevin "Flaming Youth" Eberwein -- 3b 6 -- Wilbert "Hooligan" Nieves -- c 7 -- Darren "2,000 Man" Bush -- lf 8 -- Clay "Exciter" Snellgrove -- ss 9 -- Jack "All American Man" Wickersham -- 2b.
The ceremonial first pitch was next. Throwing out pitches were Rich Kosak from Mr. Speed and Bruce Kulick. They both threw strikes and were greeted with warm applause. Next was the National Anthem. Bruce brought the house down with an incredible version of the anthem, and a young lady dressed in KISS style make up accompanied him on the field. The make up was the UNION logo and looked great on her.
At this point the game started and all of the KISS promotions were unveiled. They went as follows: Kissin' Time Break Mr. Speed threw Hershey Kisses to the crowd as "Kissin' Time" was played. We introduced our Trash Family for a dance to "Strutter." Then She Kissed Me Dance Our mascot Tremor danced with the home plate umpire to "Then She Kissed Me," and Tremor wore a special outfit for the romantic dance. "Deuce" was the background music for our on field beach contest. For our Let's Make A Deal promo we selected the best-dressed KISS fan in the stands to pick a lucky prize on top of the Quakes dugout. "True Confessions" was played as the lucky fan won a pair of KISS Boxer Shorts and a UNION CD. Our famous dancing field crew entertained the crowd with dance moves to "I Was Made For Lovin' You." "Christine Sixteen" was the background music for our Hot And Cold Contest. As we announced all groups in attendance we played "We Are One." For our mascot race, Mr. Speed rigged the contest so the contestant would win. The race was accompanied by "Baby Driver."
A special birthday announcement was made by Mark Anthony to his son that lives in Rancho Cucamonga. King of the Night Time World, co-written by Mark, accompanied the announcement. Crazy Nights was played during out T-Shirt sling. "Shout It Out Loud" was played during our sub scream contest. "Beth" and "R-N-R All Nite" were also played during the game.
After the game was a KISS wedding with Rich Kosak of Mr. Speed tying the knot with Tina. Following the wedding was a great fireworks show accompanied by "Detroit Rock City," "Lick It Up," "Shout It Out Loud," "Beth," and "R-N-R All Nite."
On the concourse of the stadium we had a KISS Zone featuring a face painter, a UNION table, a KAOL table, and a KISS vendor. The uniforms were a huge hit with the customized numbers and the Gene Simmons dinosaur. All of the player worn jerseys were auctioned off. We still have some non-game jerseys available for $55.00. They look great. Bruce signed autographs all night and was joined by drummer Brent Fitz and bassist Jamie Hunting from UNION. The night was a huge success and I again got to meet many fellow KISS fans. There are too many people to thank, but as usual I want to thank Bruce for his participation and KISS ASYLUM for the promotion of the event. These two events have been a perfect way for me to blend my two favorite hobbies -- KISS and Baseball!
When I first heard about KISS Nite at the Ballpark II I really didn't think much of it until I realized that I was going to be vacationing in the L.A. area around that same time. So I thought, What the heck. I drove 50 miles from my hotel room to Rancho Cucamonga, CA to see what this KISS Nite at the Ballpark event was all about. I arrived a little early to catch Mr. Speed as they were performing KISS songs right outside the ballpark. When I arrived, there was a little crowd already gathered and they were handing out the Detroit Rock City movie posters. Very cool poster. I was amazed to see little kids with KISS makeup on and I was watching a little girl, about 9 years old, singing along with the band as if she knew every KISS song word by word. Mr. Speed did a really good job. It was the first time I have seen a cover band perform. There were some problems with the sound equipment. You couldn't really hear Paul sing and you couldn't even hear Peter sing at all. But other than that, the band sounded good. I was really impressed by Ace. The guy knew Ace's every move, and when he went to sing "Shock Me", I was blown away on how he sounded exactly like Ace. Even though Ace doesn't have the best singing voice of the band, he does have that distinct sound to it and this guy has his voice to a perfection. The band played most of the song set until they started running out of time. So Gene came on and blew the fireball in"Firehouse" and then the band had to hurry through "Rock and Roll All Nite" even though the crowd wanted more as they sang along as loud as possible. Good show!
Now it was off to the game. As I entered the stadium, I couldn't believe how many people were wearing KISS makeup. I mean, I understood it was KISS Nite at the game, but kids everywhere were wearing it. Kids you wouldn't think even knew who KISS was. I grew up in the 70's and I had the KISS makeup kit and at that time, it was cool to show off the makeup. But after that night, I realized, KISS is
hitting a new generation of kids. Anyways, I had good seats. About six rows back from the field. I was looking around for Bruce and I couldn't see him. My mind started to wonder if he was actually going to show. Well, my luck, I was sitting closer to the visitor's dugout and I could finally see Bruce down
in the dugout. So I went down there and I could hear almost every word he said. He was busy talking to the organizers of the event so I couldn't really talk to him. Then it was time for Bruce to perform the National Anthem. I noticed Bruce was taking a long time to setup his amp, foot petal, and speaker so I don't know if he was happy with his setup because the announcer kinda rushed Bruce into performing beacause Bruce was still setting up. Other than that, Bruce performed and did a great job. As I turned
around to go back up to my seat, an old lady turned around to a couple and said, "That was the worst rendition of the Star-Spangled banner I have ever heard." I smiled at her as she looked at me. I was thinking, "You just dont get it do you ma'am?
That's Bruce Kulick. Once the lead guitarist of the HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!" Too bad I didn't tell her that. But oh well, she just didn't understand, because when Bruce finished the crowd went nuts. Good job Bruce! He joined the other members of UNION as they took a seat close to the home side dugout.
Now the game started and I should mention that indeed every song that was played was a KISS song. Even when the home team would bat, they had nicknames. Like Nick "Mr. Speed" Sosa. Or Terry "God of Thunder" Williams. And before they would bat, you would hear their song playing. Pretty cool. Throughout the game there were promotional games between innings that somehow related to KISS. After one inning, the grounds crew went out to drag the field to the song "I Was Made For Loving You", and at the chorus of the song, the crew dropped their drag equipment and broke out into a dance routine. Very funny and cool. The crowd enjoyed it.
At the end, there was a special auction where people could bid on the special uniforms that were made for the game. Pretty cool uniforms too. And after the game was over (the home team lost) it was time for the KISS wedding. I wasn't expecting much from the wedding until I realized that Paul from Mr. Speed was the one getting married. Pretty cool. The crowd loved it and cheered loudly when the couple kissed. Now it was time for the fireworks. Songs that were played along with the Fireworks were, "Detroit Rock City," "Beth,""Shout It Loud", and "Rock and roll All Nite." It was a very nice event to be at. It seemed everyone had a great time and I remembered looking down at that old lady after the game (the one who talked about Bruce) and I could see now she was sitting with a girl who had KISS makeup on. Must have been her granddaughter. Oh well, in every which way possible, it seems KISS will make it into somebody's life somehow. Even at the old ballgame. Batter up!!
The second KISS Night at the Ballpark is in the books and was another rousing success. The attendance for the game was 6,494 and they had a great time. The night unfolded as follows: Mr. Speed kicked off the night with a powerful 45 minute set. They set the tone for a fun night with their energetic performance. Highlights included the band's performance of Psycho Circus and the fire breathing. During this time the Detroit Rock City posters and temporary tattoos were handed out. Also handed out were Psycho Circus promotional posters. 
The ceremonial first pitch was next. Throwing out pitches were Rich Kosak from Mr. Speed and Bruce Kulick. They both threw strikes and were greeted with warm applause. Next was the National Anthem. Bruce brought the house down with an incredible version of the anthem, and a young lady dressed in KISS style make up accompanied him on the field. The make up was the UNION logo and looked great on her. 
After the game was a KISS wedding with Rich Kosak of Mr. Speed tying the knot with Tina. Following the wedding was a great fireworks show accompanied by "Detroit Rock City," "Lick It Up," "Shout It Out Loud," "Beth," and "R-N-R All Nite." 
When I first heard about KISS Nite at the Ballpark II I really didn't think much of it until I realized that I was going to be vacationing in the L.A. area around that same time. So I thought, What the heck. I drove 50 miles from my hotel room to Rancho Cucamonga, CA to see what this KISS Nite at the Ballpark event was all about. I arrived a little early to catch Mr. Speed as they were performing KISS songs right outside the ballpark. When I arrived, there was a little crowd already gathered and they were handing out the Detroit Rock City movie posters. Very cool poster. I was amazed to see little kids with KISS makeup on and I was watching a little girl, about 9 years old, singing along with the band as if she knew every KISS song word by word. Mr. Speed did a really good job. It was the first time I have seen a cover band perform. There were some problems with the sound equipment. You couldn't really hear Paul sing and you couldn't even hear Peter sing at all. But other than that, the band sounded good. I was really impressed by Ace. The guy knew Ace's every move, and when he went to sing "Shock Me", I was blown away on how he sounded exactly like Ace. Even though Ace doesn't have the best singing voice of the band, he does have that distinct sound to it and this guy has his voice to a perfection. The band played most of the song set until they started running out of time. So Gene came on and blew the fireball in"Firehouse" and then the band had to hurry through "Rock and Roll All Nite" even though the crowd wanted more as they sang along as loud as possible. Good show! 
Now it was off to the game. As I entered the stadium, I couldn't believe how many people were wearing KISS makeup. I mean, I understood it was KISS Nite at the game, but kids everywhere were wearing it. Kids you wouldn't think even knew who KISS was. I grew up in the 70's and I had the KISS makeup kit and at that time, it was cool to show off the makeup. But after that night, I realized, KISS is
hitting a new generation of kids. Anyways, I had good seats. About six rows back from the field. I was looking around for Bruce and I couldn't see him. My mind started to wonder if he was actually going to show. Well, my luck, I was sitting closer to the visitor's dugout and I could finally see Bruce down
in the dugout. So I went down there and I could hear almost every word he said. He was busy talking to the organizers of the event so I couldn't really talk to him. Then it was time for Bruce to perform the National Anthem. I noticed Bruce was taking a long time to setup his amp, foot petal, and speaker so I don't know if he was happy with his setup because the announcer kinda rushed Bruce into performing beacause Bruce was still setting up. Other than that, Bruce performed and did a great job. As I turned
around to go back up to my seat, an old lady turned around to a couple and said, "That was the worst rendition of the Star-Spangled banner I have ever heard." I smiled at her as she looked at me. I was thinking, "You just dont get it do you ma'am?
That's Bruce Kulick. Once the lead guitarist of the HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!" Too bad I didn't tell her that. But oh well, she just didn't understand, because when Bruce finished the crowd went nuts. Good job Bruce! He joined the other members of UNION as they took a seat close to the home side dugout. 
Now the game started and I should mention that indeed every song that was played was a KISS song. Even when the home team would bat, they had nicknames. Like Nick "Mr. Speed" Sosa. Or Terry "God of Thunder" Williams. And before they would bat, you would hear their song playing. Pretty cool. Throughout the game there were promotional games between innings that somehow related to KISS. After one inning, the grounds crew went out to drag the field to the song "I Was Made For Loving You", and at the chorus of the song, the crew dropped their drag equipment and broke out into a dance routine. Very funny and cool. The crowd enjoyed it. 
KISS Museum