Indianapolis KISS Expo 2002 #2

The new location of the Indianapolis Expo really rocks. This event usually held at the Four Points Sheraton on the city's east side, took a major step forward by moving to the Holiday Inn on the north side of town. A much better hotel and the banquet room the event was held in, was just awesome.

I won't get into a long drawn out review. Once again I was so involved in the day's events that its hard to describe everything that goes on at the Expos.

As far as merchandise goes there was a nice choice of old and new. I hate to go to these and see only stuff from the Reunion Tour until the present. This wasn't the case today. I think most of us have the newer items. I like to see the rare old stuff or custom made fan items. The custom made items are better than a lot of stuff KISS actually licensed. Speaking of fan made items, a fan named Darryl Lefevre stopped by the KISS Freaks table to show me an airbrushed hockey mask which he had an airbrush artist make. The design featured Ace's makeup with a large open mouth around the facemask of the mask. Very cool looking!

One of the highlights of the day for me was watching KISS fans do KISS Karoke. You have to hand it to fans that will get up on stage and billow out their favorite KISS tune with no shame. Gotta love it. There were a couple of fans that were actually pretty decent. But there were a couple that were making dogs ears from miles away hum. But that's ok its all in good fun. Fun for the fans doing it, and a lot of fun for the fans watching it. Special thanks to Jill for bringing her equipement and handling this part of the Expo.

Eric Singer introduced by local dj Ace Cosby came up to do his Q/A early in the afternoon. I really didn't get to hear a lot of the Q/A but I did here a lot of the same questions Eric has answered in the past. The one thing about him is if you ask him a question he will tell you the honest answer whether you like it or not. Wish the rest of the band was like that. After about an hour of questions Eric went out to sign autographs. I did get to go say hello to him after he had been signing for awhile. He was really pleasant considering I think he had played the four previous nights with Alice Cooper.

We also had the usual costume contest. Although not many were dressed up at this event. I counted probably 6 or 7 people. Usually its an easy 10-15.

Once again as far as bands go it was SSG and Mr. Speed. I really didn't get to hear or a lot of either of them. SSG is always pretty tight though. Mr. Speed I have only heard a few songs from over the last couple years, but the fans seem to enjoy them. I guess that is one of the drawbacks of being to involved in these events, you just don't get to enjoy everything.

As always the fans in attendance were great. I got to see a lot of familar people and met a few I had never met before. I really enjoy this part of the Expo more than anything else. Talking with the fans. They always have great things to say about the site and that makes the whole thing worthwhile. One of the giveaways for the day was a Pearl snare drum like the one used by Eric.

Special thanks to Keith & Michelle Leroux for another great Expo in Indianapolis. Although not as attended as Expos in the past this one still held its own. Attendance was probably a little lower than previous years, due to the notice on this one. I can't wait for the next one!

Later that evening we got tickets to the Alice Cooper show. I had never seen Alice in concert. What a blast! He puts on a fantastic show. The band is very tight. Eric Singer was just amazing. I am not a musician, but his drum solo was one of the best I have ever seen from my point of view. Eric was doing things I had never seen him do while in KISS. Throwing the stick up sideways and catching it in the middle of drumming. Too cool! He was also flipping us off and sticking his tongue out at us in the middle of playing. How do you play drums like that? It was all in fun though. My wife and I had an amazing time at the show. Great show!

If you have a review of the day please send it to: sstierwalt@kissfreaks.com

Review #2 from Michael Shoemaker

Having both missed the annual expo earlier this year, my friend Anthony and I were determined to attend this one. It was like a “second chance” that was meant to happen.

The event location was new. This provided a fresh atmosphere and nicer facilities. The room the expo was held in was smaller but wider than the room at the hotel where this was previously held. As a result, a closer view of the stage came for all.

As soon as I entered the room, I found my friend Steve Stierwalt, his wife Michelle, and my other friend Ted Wilson at the KISSfreaks.com table. After saying my hellos, I made my way around to the other vendor booths. There were some of the usual vendors as well as some new ones. This made for a good mix of new merchandise along with the “same old stuff”. Although it felt like walking past a buffet while on a diet, I managed to keep from buying anything other than one CD and one videocassette.
A new part of the entertainment this year was KISS karaoke. I did my best to ignore the singing. But what I did hear was a much better array of talent than what I expected. Then again, most of the singers were sober people who knew whether or not they were vocally skilled or aurally torturous.

The special guest was KISS drummer Eric Singer. Eric did a q&a session followed by an extensive autograph session. Both came early in the day due to his performance that evening as part of the backing band for Alice Cooper. I got involved in the q&a session and had Eric sign my CD afterward. He also posed for a photo with me.
While Eric met with his fans, KISS karaoke resumed.

Having passed through the autograph line early, Anthony and I made our way to the hotel sports bar for lunch. We met up with and shared our time with the ladies of the KISS tribute band Black Diamond.

The entertainment resumed with a performance from SSG. Their 45-minute set wasn’t nearly enough. The Richmond, Kentucky band have really made a name for themselves by playing at these KISS expos. But at such shows, they play more KISS covers than originals. Whenever they do play their own music, one only wants to here more. Their time to break loose and do some touring to showcase their own songs is close at hand.

Tribute band Mr. Speed closed out the event. However, because of our choice to make a full day of it, we left before their performance to attend the Alice Cooper concert.

This was the first expo where I felt that I was truly in the company of nothing but the KISS Army (ironic considering Army leader Bill Starkey wasn’t there). Even though it’s never too late to join the KISS Army, there are always non-members at expos. These curiosity seekers sometimes lower the camaraderie.

While this was not the best KISS expo I have ever attended, I had an extremely enjoyable time. It will take a blending together of the right special guests, entertainment, vendors, and (most of all) dedicated fans to create the perfect KISS expo. Even though this wasn’t it, indications were there that such expos are on the way.