OSHAWA -- Oshawa's loud campaign to bring heavy-metal heroes KISS to a city hushed by auto-plant layoffs may have paid off.
Voting in an online poll to determine KISS's route for a fall tour closed today, with Oshawa far in front with 14,573 votes, with Winnipeg next at 12,929. Organizers have said they'll weigh the results to take into account the size of cities in the running. Toronto is in eighth place with 5,304 votes.
The result caps a two-month campaign by Oshawa to win the contest, with residents urged to vote early and often - by radio ads, a Facebook web page and a booth at Oshawa Centre mall.
Robert Lutczyk, the city councillor who spearheaded the effort as a way to give Oshawa an economic boost, through everything from taxi rides to hotel rooms, was happy with the results - but now wants multiple KISS shows.
"We don't just want to be another city on the tour - we want to be the double-double," said Lutczyk, who wants the band to play two gigs at the start of the tour and two at the end.
Gene Simmons, flamboyant frontman for the makeup-wearing rockers, was yesterday named grand marshal for the July 12 Honda Indy Toronto.
Lutczyk hopes he can lure Simmons to Oshawa to show him how much the city wants the band. He's even hoping to arrange a tour of the city's GM plant where the rocker could pick out a new Camaro.
So far, KISS has not announced the dates for its fall tour, but Lutczyk said it would begin in September.
Sean Shane, a KISS fan who in May put a decal on his GMC Envoy reading "Vote for KISS in Oshawa" along with a picture of Simmons's face, would love extra concerts.
"We would hope that there's some sort of perk to being number one," in the online poll, he said, adding he'll put the tour dates on the side of his truck.
"It's just fantastic to have them come as it is."
-- Adrian Morrow is a reporter with the Toronto Star
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