Tribute	Destroyer Stampedes
CF Fundraiser	Back In The Saddle

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Destroyer off to Stampede

Ted Shaw, Star Entertainment Writer

Published: Friday, June 27, 2008
They may not rock ‘n’ roll all night, but there will be a party every day when Windsor’s Kiss tribute act, Destroyer, hits Cowtown for the Calgary Stampede next week.

Destroyer is one of four bands from across Canada to be invited to participate in the Stampede’s nightly grandstand show. The Stampede runs July 4 to 13.

“We’re doing one song, Rock and Roll All Nite,” said spokesman and band founder, Moe Rotondi, who plays Gene Simmons.

The performance will be accompanied by $35,000 worth of pyrotechnics, he said.

After each show’s five or six minutes of mayhem, Destroyer will have the rest of the day to themselves.

“That’s when the fun begins,” said Rotondi, 41. “Party time.”

The only downer is it takes the members of Destroyer about 90 minutes to put on their makeup and costumes.

But Rotondi isn’t fretting. He can’t imagine a better way to celebrate Destroyer’s 15th anniversary this year. Named after the 1976 Kiss album, Destroyer, the band was formed in 1993.

“When I started the band,” he said, “I had no idea it would get this crazy or last this long.”

Allesandro, 10, has already followed in dad’s footsteps by forming his own band. They call themselves Steall — named for the first letters in the leaders’ names — and play covers of Three Days Grace and Green Day.

Destroyer performs only occasionally in its hometown and region. Most of its 40 shows a year are outside Windsor and Essex County. The current lineup includes Rotondi as Simmons, Tony Verna as Ace Frehley, Steve Stanley as Paul Stanley, and Mike Chichkan as Peter Criss.

After the Stampede, Destroyer returns for two outdoor shows in Belle River, July 19 and Aug. 9. Steall is the warm-up for the August show.

Rotondi met and partied with Kiss originals Simmons and Stanley in 1996. Since then, he has tried to stay in touch through phone calls and e-mails.

In late-2008, early-2009, Simmons and Stanley plan to produce a TV talent search for the best Kiss tribute band.

Rotondi can’t wait: “I think we have a good shot at winning something like that.”

He has had a love affair with Kiss ever since he was a kid. Later, when he met his wife, he knew she was the one because she had a Kiss album in her collection.

Rotondi designs the costumes and has them custom-made at Bob’s Leather Boot & Shoe Repair in Amherstburg. The nickle-plated studs are imported from the U.S.

Rotondi said he has never had a problem crossing the border with his Kiss regalia. “Once, they opened up the trunk and saw all the gear, the shoes and stuff, and they were peeing themselves laughing.”

Asked what his favourite Kiss songs are, Rotondi didn’t miss a beat: “I Love It Loud and, of course, Rock and Roll All Nite.”

Police clones here An award-winning clone act of The Police, Fallout, performs tonight at 9 p.m. at the Chubby Pickle, 762 Ouellette Ave.

Fallout: The Police Experience features Mike Neiland, David Rasner and Jimbo Head, and is managed by ex-Police manager Miles Copeland, Police drummer Stewart Copeland’s brother and IRS Records founder. They were assembled following an international search by the Copelands to find the ultimate Police tribute act.

Music Express on tour Nino Palazzolo and Music Express are preparing for another overseas concert tour in July.

The 48 band members and 10 members and their families and friends will visit Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France between July 11 and 24.

Music Express has made four other pilgrimmages since being formed by Ernie Gerenda in 1978 — Great Britain (1989), China (1992), Eastern Europe (1997) and Mexico (2000).

Billing themselves as Canada’s Premier Show Band, Music Express recently held its seventh annual talent showcase at Villanova Festival Theatre.

Winners in the elementary and secondary categories were: Yuchen Dai, first place elementary, for a violin solo; Elise Leblanc, second place elementary, for a vocal solo; Danni Feng, first place secondary, for a piano solo; and Joshua Yeryk, second place elementary, for a vocal solo.

© The Windsor Star 2008