Brookfield Rock
City!
The Riverside Brookfield Landmark
11/31/2001
Mark Yurkiw
SInce it's the Halloween season, it was only appropriate that
this last weekend brought another appearance by the Brookfield
area's own Creatures of the Night.
Kings Of The Nighttime World, a local Kiss tribute band,
performed Saturday night at Synergy in west suburban West Chicago.
The performance marked the third anniversary of the band at the same
venue where it all began for them, when the musicians thought the
Halloween-themed performance was to be a one-shot deal.
The idea of a Kiss tribute band was conceived in the fall of
1998, when local rock band Pandemonium, including bassist Jeff
Laczynski (known on stage as Jay LaSalle) (*Actually, Jay plays lead
& rhythm guitar) and rhythm guitarist Scott Leonard, (*and again,
although Scott does play guitar rather well, here in the KINGS he
plays a monster bass) were booked to play a Halloween gig. The
Halloween night booking was lucrative, but one of the band members
was unable to attend the performance. So Laczynski and Leonard
decided to take advantage of the Halloween spirit and quickly put
together a pick-up band.
"Rather than cry about the fact that we couldn't play," he
recalled, "it made sense to do the Kiss thing."
So Laczynski assumed the persona of bassist-vocalist Paul
"Starchild" Stanley and Leonard took on the role of fire-breathing
guitarist Gene "The Demon" Simmons. Rounding out the group were lead
guitarist Tom Hora as Ace "Space Ace" Frehley and drummer Randy
Banks as Peter "The Cat" Criss.
All the musicians knew each other, and Laczynski, Hora and
Leonard attended Riverside-Brookfield High School together.
"We were all Kiss fans," Laczynski said.
Their enthusiasm was fanned by the original band's reunion
around the same time, when the four original members donned their
makeup and costumes for the first time in nearly two decades.
Prior to grouping for the Kiss tribute, the musicians had
played together in various combinations before, but not all four
together. Their musical backgrounds actually were quite diverse.
"I've been playing in bands in Chicago and the suburbs since
before I was old enough to get into clubs," Laczynski admitted. His
musical career was sparked when his father bought him a guitar when
he was seven years old, "and he bought my friend a drum kit,"
Laczynski said. Eventually, Laczynski and Leonard played together in
local bands such as Fortress and Whyterock, while Banks and Hora
played together in local band Cool Beans. Leonard and Hora also had
played together in a Blues Brothers-influenced band, Little Kings Of
Soul. Leonard studied piano lessons starting in second grade, and
played keyboard and guitar before taking up the bass four years ago.
At various times, Laczynski (*and Hora) said he has played in
orchestras and jazz bands, while Banks cut his musical teeth playing
in a German polka band in St. Louis. He currently teaches drum
lessons at Lake View Junior High School.
Unlike his bandmates, Banks acknowledged that he never liked
Kiss in high school. Despite that, joining a Kiss cover band with
his best friends sounded like "great fun."
Leonard, Banks and Laczynski also play in church bands, often
performing for contemporary Christian Sunday services the morning
after a gig as Kings Of The Nighttime World.
"I've actually done concerts Saturday night and showed up
Sunday morning with black nail polish on," Laczynski said. "We've
been known to show up with black eye liner," Leonard laughed.
The band took their name from a song on Kiss's "Destroyer"
album and played what they thought would be a one-shot performance,
until they started getting requests for further bookings. The band
plays around four or five times a year in between the members' other
individual musical endeavors. Over time, the show has evolved into
quite a spectacle, with pyrotechnics and other special effects. In
addition to club bookings all around the Chicago area, the band had
a gig in East Dubuque, Iowa.
"It was in a big barn with a high ceiling," Banks said. "We
were able to do the full pyrotechnic show, because it was really
good for pyro and confetti."
Elements of the very visual presentation include smoke bombs,
flash pots, confetti, lasers, fog, assorted fireworks, and "flares
that shoot fifteen feet high," Leonard said.
"It's pretty wild," he remarked.
To add a touch of authenticity, Laczynski contacted the maker
of Kiss' original boots to find out if a set of replicas could be
made for the band. He learned the name of the band's boot maker,
Pasquale DiFabrizio, from watching a cable TV documentary on the
group. Knowing that the band originatd in New York, Laczynski called
the city's information and asked for the DiFabrizio family. There
were two listings, and he called them both. In his quest for what he
needed, Laczynski certainly was not shy, laughing that "I'm not a
ham, I'm the whole pig." Laczynski was able to reach a relative of
the boot maker, who gave him Pasquale's phone number for hisnew home
in California.
"We talked for 20 minutes. He said they were all perfect
gentlemen, and he'd be happy to make the boots for $1000. I have yet
to do it."
The high point of the band's career was a chance to play the
United Center for a Friday night Chicago Blackhawks game when the
team held a 1970s night.
Their faces were on the Jumbotron, and they stayed in costume
for the rest of the game, taking pictures to the delight of children
and adults in the audience.
The members said they plan to keep the band going, although
Hora played his final show with the band on Saturday. Having
relocated from Brookfield to Green Bay, Hora has been commuting for
practices and shows. He plans to stay in the fold as the webmaster
of the band's site at www.kingsofthenight.com, where a variety of
photos are available, as well as band merchandise. Hora's spot in
the band will be filled by guitarist Greg Sasinka of North
Riverside, also a graduate of Riverside-Brookfield High School. So
the band will continue to rock and roll all night, and party every
day.
"It's still as much fun as it was the very first night,"
remarked Banks.
"We have more fun than the audience does," concurred Leonard.
