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Written By Kathleen M. Bush
Telluride's legendary rock 'n' roll band, The Rockodiles, has been performing for various audiences since 1987. Featuring band founder Kenny Mihelich on bass and vocals, Rusty Weaver (son of actor Dennis Weaver) on lead guitar and vocals, Tom Bonfietti on keyboards and Mike Stein on drums and vocals, the band has blended their musical talents into some of rock's classics. "We wrote all the endings for all the songs," says Tom, who also occasionally pulls out his flute to cover Jethro Tull. Although all are studied professional musicians, they have kept their day jobs over the years; Kenny and Rusty are builders, Mike works on the Gondola and Tom is a retired publisher who does computer and recording work. "We play for hire and strictly for fun," says Kenny. Rusty also engineers and produces CDs for various regional artists. The energetic band sets audiences' dancing feet on fire with their rocking renditions of such illustrious artists as Joe Cocker, The Allman Brothers, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pink Floyd, The Cars, Billy Preston, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones. Mike, who originally hails from Ralph Dinosaur, currently has the longest hair in the band. Interspersed within their performances are original songs that are gaining popularity.

The Rockodiles have a recording studio in Ridgway, under the auspices of Rusty. Go to their website at www.ridgwayrecording.com for more information or to book the popular band. The Rockodiles perform in Telluride, Denver, Grand Junction, Montrose, Ridgway, Norwood, Paonia and larger homes in Mountain Village, Log Hill and Lawson Hill. "We also play for the Elk's wherever they may roam," says Tom.

The Rockodiles have a long-standing guarantee: "If we play at your wedding reception and the wedding doesn't last a year, we'll pay for the country band at your next tying-of-the-knot ceremony." Fortunately, the Rockodiles haven't had to reach for their wallets yet on that one. In addition, "If we play at your 50th birthday and you don't like being older—try us again at your 60th."

"Dance your pants off," is The Rockodiles' well deserved motto. You can draw your own conclusion on what that means.