Council members in the birthplace of rock and roll know how to get a backstage pass.
Brian Kazy of Ward 16 queued up ceremonial resolutions honoring KISS and Aerosmith, which are each stopping in Cleveland on their farewell tours.
KISS members received their accolades at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night. They played in Cleveland on Sunday, which has been declared “KISS Day” in town.
Kazy joins a City Hall musical tradition. Former Council Member Zack Reed, who was council’s biggest country fan, presented a resolution to Kenny Chesney in 2015, and Matt Zone did the same with Andrea Bocelli.
Council President Blaine Griffin got in on the action last year when he gave rapper Talib Kweli a resolution at the City Club of Cleveland. And Mayor Justin Bibb honored Shaker Heights High School alumnus Machine Gun Kelly with a proclamation in 2022.
Other Ohio artists have received council’s nod, too. Council has passed resolutions for The Isley Brothers of Cincinnati and Canton’s own The O’Jays in the last decade.
Among the honors KISS members received were “musical keys” to the city, styled as “keynotes.” Mayoral aide Ryan Puente presented the band with a proclamation from Bibb.
For Kazy – who has attended four KISS shows – the award is about recognizing a band that stayed loyal to Cleveland. KISS has performed around town more than two dozen times in its 50-year history, including a 1978 show in which the band and fans were snowed in at the Richfield Coliseum.
“This group has never ignored Cleveland,” he said.
