Neff Zone Column -- June 6, 2009

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Print Edition: June 6, 2009

A HOMECOMING KISS, Part 2

Last week I told you about plans to stage a KISS tribute concert on September 26, 2009 at the Cadillac High School Auditorium. This week I’m back to fill in some of the reasoning behind the event and more details about the event.

As I said last week, the question I’m most often asked by people who remember the KISS visit of 1975 is: "Will they ever come back to Cadillac." Well, getting them back to our town is a long shot at best, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep the spirit of that day alive. After exploring a lot of different scenarios, all involved agreed that staging a tribute concert was the best way to do just that.

Our goals are simple. What we want to do is offer a high quality rock and roll show the whole family can enjoy. We want to keep the production as sleek and streamlined as possible which will allow us to keep the ticket prices affordable (a family of four will spend less for this concert that a typical single ticket price at bigger venues). Finally, we want to give back to the community with all profits going to the Cadillac Viking Boosters; not one cent of concert monies will go toward salaries of any kind because all work is being done gratis. In all we’re going to adhere to the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid! If we do this right, who knows if more shows supporting other school and community groups could be in our future?

With that said, please allow me to fill in some of the reasoning behind what we’re doing. First of all, here’s why we chose the band Mr. Speed.

Mr. Speed came to Cadillac last October 31 and played in a woefully under advertised event by an out-of-town promoter. As a result, almost no one knew the show was being held and a scanty turnout resulted. Those that did see their performance, though, were awed to say the least. As I said after the show: "From the first chords of Detroit Rock City to the last notes of Rock and Roll All Night , close your eyes and you’re at a KISS show, open your eyes and you’re at KISS show. I’m often asked if KISS will ever return to Cadillac and now there’s a new question being asked, ‘When will Mr. Speed be back?’"

You should also know that I had been corresponding with the band’s leader, Rich Kosak, for several years. Rich, above all, is a huge KISS fan and historian, so the Cadillac story has been something we’ve discussed many times.

You should also know that there are many other KISS tribute bands around the country. But no other tribute band has ever shown the interest and downright reverence for our town and its KISStory like Mr. Speed has.

You may know that the members of KISS came from New York City, so back in the day their ultimate goal was to play the biggest venue in their home town – Madison Square Garden. They eventually were able to do that, not too long after they visited Cadillac. Rich Kosak recently told me about our tribute concert: "For us (Mr. Speed) playing in Cadillac will be our Madison Square Garden."

You see, there are other tribute bands out there. They may also have great shows. But they’ve had 35 years to contact me and propose something and not a single one has done so. It’s not like I’m tough to find, folks, I live in the same house as I did in ’75 and I have the same phone number. If any other tribute band actually gave a hoot about Cadillac, they had plenty of time to contact me.

Next, we chose the CHS auditorium for the location of the concert. With 700 seats it’s smaller than the gym or the Wex, but it has a permanent stage and lights so we won’t have the hassle or expense of constructing or renting those. Every seat has good sightlines and by keeping our expectations small we’re hoping to fill every seat. The acoustics are better, too. In short, we want this to be the absolute best concert experience possible and the auditorium gives us an opportunity to do so.

We chose Saturday, September 26, 2009 as our date after checking with CAPS to make sure there were no athletic contests or other events scheduled for that evening. The show will start promptly at 8:00 PM and will be over by 10:45 PM, so families won’t be out too late. After the show concert attendees will have an opportunity to have their picture taken with the band.

Our sponsors have come onboard to lend a helping hand. The Cadillac News will provide concert news in print and online, Local Edition will be providing some coverage as well as producing TV commercials for the CAPS in-house network, McGuire’s Resort will be the official event hotel and will be offering special concert/lodging packages for alums or Mr. Speed fans coming into Cadillac for the show, and attorney William Barnett will be providing legal services. The NeffZone will be the overall concert promoter.

Finally, were going to kick the whole shebang off with a special KISS Unplugged show in Curly’s Pub at McGuire’s Resort on June 20. Mr. Speed will be in town, acoustic guitars in hand, to do a show similar to the MTV rendition of KISS Unplugged. This cover charge event, with music scheduled to begin at 9:30 PM, is sure to be a fun way to rock out on a summer evening.

More details about ticket information will be forthcoming as we get closer to September 26. Right now we’re planning a special pre-sale at Cadillac High School immediately after the Labor Day holiday. With just 700 tickets available, those who want to be sure to snag a ticket will want to take advantage of that sale.

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments to neffzone@gmail.com. Read Neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.