September 25, 2024 • 15 mins
Today, my guest is the 4th generation Rozzi, Joe Rozzi, who is here to share how this italian-immigrant, local small-business, brings so much joy with fireworks. from its northern Cincinnati location to across the country. From its humble beginnings at the Tri-state's beloved Coney Island, to the most spectacular end-of-summer celebration, the WEBN FIREWORKS over labor day weekend, the Rozzi family business makes our observances memorable.
Click here for Rozzi Fireworks website.
Click here for Rozzi Fireworks website.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
They come from all walks of life, school teachers and bankers,
you name it.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Mostly men that just like to blow things up? Is
that what you're trying to say?
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Man, most of the men, we haven't mostly before we
have the number of women that work.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yeah, you've seen Rozzi's fireworks. They're the number one name
in those bang them up displays for decades here in
the Tri State. Well, today I am speaking with the
fourth generation Rozzie, Joe Rozzi. He's here to share how
this Italian immigrant, local small business brings so much joy
with fireworks, from its humble beginnings at Coney Island to
(00:32):
the most spectacular fireworks in our region, the WEBN fireworks
we just saw over Labor Day weekend. How the Roszie
family does it? I Sandy Collins with iHeart Cincy, and
I have a true confession. I am embarrassed to admit,
but I had never seen the WEVN fireworks in person before. Ever,
As somebody who grew up just fifty miles north of
(00:54):
here in my hometown of Dayton, it seemed too big
to navigate, too many people and probably no parking. Didn't
know my way around the town. But after many years
here in Cincinnati, and this year when my boss handed
me a parking pass and invited me to go to
the iHeart broadcast location, I couldn't pass it up, could I.
(01:14):
What we saw on the river in front of the
Serpentine Wall was absolutely mesmerizing. I get it. What was
so surprising is the fact that Rossie Fireworks is local.
I had no idea they're anchored in Loveland. Let's meet
Joe Rozzie. We met on a warm day in September
after the WEBN fireworks. Thanks for being here. Sure, are
(01:34):
you in the middle of a big project right now?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
We have a number of things still going on. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Used to slow down after really after the fourth of July,
and then it was after Labor Day and now it's
solid way through the.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
End of So no resk for the Wicked. My mom
used to say.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
No, not really, not really, and then we have maybe
a month where it's a little bit slow and then
start right back up.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah. It's amazing to me the breadth of your shows
and the fact that it's a family business and you have
I think we talked on the phone some four hundred employees.
Is that right or is that four times?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah? Four hundred week.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So our fourth of July season, which is for anyone
in our industry, is when we make our living. We
have up towards of about four hundred people working for
us over that weekend.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
It must be intense training.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
It's a lot of it's on the job, a lot
of it is. We have a training program. We have
a school that happens once a year new people that
come on board. To understand, a lot of people have
been with us for twenty thirty four years, and when
new people come on board, we'll put them. They'll go
through our school, We'll put them with one of our operators,
or they'll crew for a number of events until if
(02:46):
they decide they want to move further and actually become
licensed and run their own crew. Some are just perfectly
happy being a part of a crew, but others want
to move forward and do a little bit more. But
all of them are part time. They come from all
walks of life, school teachers and bankers and you name it.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Mostly men that just like to blow things up.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Is that what you're trying to say?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Mostly men?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
We haven't mostly, but we have a number of women
that were.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, I was blown away, no pun intended. Watching the
fireworks for the first time on the river and seeing
the barge where all of the fireworks were set off
here for the WB and fireworks, and when it would
light up, you could see there were people on the
barge standing right next to this, and I was straining
to see. And that is what really piqued my interest
(03:32):
this time, is that how can you do that?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Well, we have to.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
We have to have a crew on the boat that's maintaining,
managing the firing system.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
They're there for they were there all week.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Are they do they have earplugs?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
We all wear airplays.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well, we're safety equipment, hard hats or helmets, life jackets.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Cotton clothing. So you know, are we close? Yes? Are
we as close as we used to be years and
years ago?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
No?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
We were a lot closer years ago, really so.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
And there's certain regulations to require minimum distances for barge displays.
We have to be a certain distance away and it's
not much on that show. We only have to be
a minimum twenty four feet.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
With new different kinds of fireworks, are you actually creating
the firework like a recipe to make it look the
way you want it to or how does that work well?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
In a perfect World.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
When we used to have a factory, when you could
actually make fireworks in the US, which is all but gone.
The industry has changed started in the mid seventies with
opening up imports from China, and like anything else, like
iPhones and gym shoes, fireworks are mostly made overseas. We
have a factory that we work with in Italy. Our
(04:41):
family immigrated around the turn of the century turn of the
twentieth century from Italy and came from a region that
was known for fireworks and brought that craft here. So
up until really twenty ten, when we had a manufacturing
facility smack dab in the middle of Loveland making the
majority of what you see on that show, and that
(05:03):
all changed because the population grew around us and it
became rather prohibitive for us to continue that operation. So
we sold the property and for a few years everything
was exclusively imported, and then we developed a partnership with
an Italian firm that manufacturer's product for us. Were there
two or three times a year, spending time in the factory.
(05:24):
My nephew Mike is there quite a bit and working
on what products that we want for not just this show,
but for everything we do, and the majority of those
end up on this display because it is very unique
and the last thing we wanted to do is turn
it into what everybody else does.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Colors.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Up until the end of the ninth of the nineteenth century,
it was you had red and gold and I was
pretty much it. And then as it moved further, other
colors were developed and what you see today.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
So this is a family business, is it a second, third,
fourth generation?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
I'm fourth generation. Currently the company is owned by myself,
my sisters, and my nephew Mike. My sister Nancy, who's
the oldest, is the president, and Mike and I co operate,
and my sisters Paula and Angela are owners and they're active,
but the day to day operations are operated by myself, Michael,
(06:21):
and my sister Nancy.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
How do you keep it so safe for yourself and
your employees and for the community where you're at.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Well, I mean, we're very regular, all right. We have
to maintain certain distances to spectators and that's based on
the performance of the products. We don't take chances, We
don't take risks, so you have to have respect for it.
No one's immune from accidents, but you do everything you
can through training, through proper setup to minimize the risk
as much as you can.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
And then what about out as your main building where
you store all this stuff. That's kind of really where
I was headed, which.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Was there's an element of danger to that, but everything
is stored in accordance with regulations. We handle all of
the products again with a great amount of respect in training.
The real danger was always in manufacturing. In manufacturing is
where you're dealing with the powders, and fireworks are inherently sensitive.
(07:19):
That's the way they're designed, that's the way they work.
It's not like you know, military explosives where you can
throw a chunk of C four and a fire and
watch it and won't do anything.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Fireworks won't do that. Some things can go off if
you look at them. Hard.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Things have become legal now Ohio allows for some backyard
fireworks and such. Can tell me what you sell at
your store there and what people actually are allowed to
blow off in the sumer.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Fireworks that are regulated by the Department of Transportation as
as such consumer fireworks, So it's anything you can get
in store in Indiana or Kentucky. It's you know, multiple
shot cakes, and fountains and devices such as that, and
they're regulated on by size and powder content. It's what
is deemed safe to get put in the hands of
(08:10):
the consumer. And then we further go on to provide
literature to promote safety. And our Trade Association does the
same thing.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, we had that unfortunate incident in Florence back last year.
I believe it was over the fourth of July where
a young man of forty eight was trying to put
off a commercial firework on his own and he cut
the wick in half. I don't know why he did that.
There was a reason for some reason, but he didn't
realize it would explode immediately and it took his life.
(08:43):
And that is just so tragic. You know, he's got
people all the way around, and you know, you're here
trying to have fun. Do you have any sort of
like assistance for people to say, you know, here's the
best way to set this up.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Sure, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Our Trade Association again puts out PSAs throughout the summer
up to the fourth July. It is now to safely
handle fireworks. We advise read the instructions, use under adult
supervision or adults only, no alcohol, and on the other side,
it's bigger, isn't always better?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I've been accused of being very, very conservative when it
comes to fireworks, So really, but it's they can hurt you.
And if you don't know what you have or don't
know what you're doing, especially if you're getting it through
questionable sources, you don't know what you got and you're
going to do it in an inappropriate manner, and it's
(09:37):
going to come back to bite you.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
You know, the chemicals that are falling to the ground.
I'm sure those are regulated now so that they're not
as dangerous as they were maybe thirty years ago. Is
there there's.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
A lot of materials that were used thirty forty fifty
years ago that that were banned for other purposes. Because
the materials we use aren't exclusive to fireworks. They're used
in all sorts of products. It just happened so that
this thing does this when you mix it with this.
So a lot of things that we used to use
going back to like, for instance, one to make a
(10:12):
blue was brad poison. It was an arsenal compound. It
was a copper arsenal compound and when mixed in a
formulation with an oxidizer and other oxidizers and fuels. It
produced a beautiful blue flame, and when it was banned
in the sixties because of its arsenal content toxicity, it
(10:32):
went away in fireworks too. So there's been some advances
in the chemistry, and the fireworks burned very pretty darn clean,
because it's basically a chemical reaction and you don't have
much left over after the reaction's done.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
That's Joe Rozzi from Rossie Fireworks, and he's answering all
my deep questions that I've always had about fireworks and
firework shows. Everybody loves them. You do private parties, special events,
gender reveals, weddings, weddings. The reason I was laughing when
we first got started here, Joe, is because I was
telling you off Mike that I thought Rossi Fireworks was
(11:09):
a huge, nationally based company. I didn't realize that you
were actually created right here in southwest Ohio.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yep, my grandfather moved here in nineteen thirty because we
were shooting fireworks at Coney Island, so that's kind of
where we started, and then built a factory in Loveland,
which isn't there anymore. It's a park now. Through the
seventies when Coney Island closed, Bit at King's Islands in
nineteen seventy two, and then the'd BEBN fireworks started in
seventy seven. So this was our forty eighth year producing
(11:39):
the fireworks for that show.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You've added drones now, so like do you have all
these like little baby drones and then you just like
lay them out in the field and then tell them
to fly and then they all sink up eventually or.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Well that's the basic explanation.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Really, it's a little more complicated than that, but it's
it's they're small drones. They're actually larger than some of
your drones that you would fly. They don't fly themselves.
They're basically flying on a computer program.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
But how do they all get up at the same time?
I mean, or do they do? You?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
They're all in communication?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
No, well they take off in layers, but all they're
all in communications with a base station and with GPS satellites.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
How do you go about designing a show like that?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
We worked with the guys here at iHeart, Scott, Ryan
Hart and k U Alters to come up with the
concept of what they wanted to see, and then we
incorporated our title sponsor, Western and Southern and WBN, and
then the Reds were involved because they let us fly
over the ballpark, and the Bengals took up a good
portion of it because it was kind of about them
(12:43):
as well and they wanted to be a part of
the event. So basically it's we looked at the different
images that they wanted and that we went into our
design software and basically duplicated those images that are already
existing to turn them into a pixelated image, which basically
all a drone is is a pixel After we receive
(13:03):
the soundtrack and then assemble that into the order of images.
How we wanted to look how the transitions one were
to beef to get from one image to the next.
So which is it's not just you don't want to
be a billboard, you wanted to actually do something.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Where did you learn how to do that?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Is there a school for I don't.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
So we have we have a We have my nephew
Michael and Zach Phillips, who is is our call him
our chief drone pilot, learned the design software in partnership
with the manufacturer of the drones, which is a company
called Verge Arrow and Verge is out of I believe,
Texas now and they manufacture these these the drones, so
(13:43):
they developed the software for design and the flight software.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
It's amazing. Yeah, and it's been a good partnership with them.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
For people that are listening that might be interested in
being part of a you know, fireworks crew, or creating
their own crew as you said, or maybe getting into
these drones show kinds of things. How would one go
about doing that?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Reach out to us through our website or email through
to info at Rossiefireworks dot com and express interest are
Our school is always the last Saturday in April, but
that's the best course of action. Reach out to us
info at Rossiefireworks dot com.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
If you want more information, it's Rossie Fireworks dot com,
Rosie's Kroger's Kroger So Rozzie Fireworks dot com a lot
of good information. And you guys are open for sales
for your retail store on New Year's Day news Eve.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah ye' yeah, that might have been a typo. It's
New Year's Eve quote. So it's it's open now.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
We're open Tuesday through Saturday, you know, for whatever people
might need. Christmas is a it's not so big up
in this part of the country, but down south, Christmas
fireworks are huge. We do pretty decent sales on New Year's.
I mean, it's one of the legal holidays that you
can shoot fireworks in Ohio. I guess a lot of
it has to do with the weather, and it hasn't
(15:05):
been cold and bad the past few years but warming.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
But then you know, our our summer season is through
the fourth July, and we're open usually ten to ten
for the all the way through the fourth July, starting
sometime at June.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
You're on lovel Madeira Road.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
YEP one Jera zero five to nine love La Madeera Road,
right across from Lake Isabella.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Joe Rossie, thank you so much for coming in and
answering my questions. I know the minute you leave, I'm
going to have more, but I did the best they could.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You're fine.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
That's the show for this week. If you have any
comments or suggestions, email me at iHeart Sincy with an
E at the end at iHeartMedia dot com. Iheartsincy at
iHeartMedia dot com. If you can check out the podcast
free on the iHeartRadio app, just look for Iheartsinsey the
Sandy Collins Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
iHeart Cincy is a production of iHeartMedia, Cincinnati,
They come from all walks of life, school teachers and bankers,
you name it.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Mostly men that just like to blow things up? Is
that what you're trying to say?
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Man, most of the men, we haven't mostly before we
have the number of women that work.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yeah, you've seen Rozzi's fireworks. They're the number one name
in those bang them up displays for decades here in
the Tri State. Well, today I am speaking with the
fourth generation Rozzie, Joe Rozzi. He's here to share how
this Italian immigrant, local small business brings so much joy
with fireworks, from its humble beginnings at Coney Island to
(00:32):
the most spectacular fireworks in our region, the WEBN fireworks
we just saw over Labor Day weekend. How the Roszie
family does it? I Sandy Collins with iHeart Cincy, and
I have a true confession. I am embarrassed to admit,
but I had never seen the WEVN fireworks in person before. Ever,
As somebody who grew up just fifty miles north of
(00:54):
here in my hometown of Dayton, it seemed too big
to navigate, too many people and probably no parking. Didn't
know my way around the town. But after many years
here in Cincinnati, and this year when my boss handed
me a parking pass and invited me to go to
the iHeart broadcast location, I couldn't pass it up, could I.
(01:14):
What we saw on the river in front of the
Serpentine Wall was absolutely mesmerizing. I get it. What was
so surprising is the fact that Rossie Fireworks is local.
I had no idea they're anchored in Loveland. Let's meet
Joe Rozzie. We met on a warm day in September
after the WEBN fireworks. Thanks for being here. Sure, are
(01:34):
you in the middle of a big project right now?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
We have a number of things still going on. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Used to slow down after really after the fourth of July,
and then it was after Labor Day and now it's
solid way through the.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
End of So no resk for the Wicked. My mom
used to say.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
No, not really, not really, and then we have maybe
a month where it's a little bit slow and then
start right back up.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah. It's amazing to me the breadth of your shows
and the fact that it's a family business and you have
I think we talked on the phone some four hundred employees.
Is that right or is that four times?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah? Four hundred week.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So our fourth of July season, which is for anyone
in our industry, is when we make our living. We
have up towards of about four hundred people working for
us over that weekend.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
It must be intense training.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
It's a lot of it's on the job, a lot
of it is. We have a training program. We have
a school that happens once a year new people that
come on board. To understand, a lot of people have
been with us for twenty thirty four years, and when
new people come on board, we'll put them. They'll go
through our school, We'll put them with one of our operators,
or they'll crew for a number of events until if
(02:46):
they decide they want to move further and actually become
licensed and run their own crew. Some are just perfectly
happy being a part of a crew, but others want
to move forward and do a little bit more. But
all of them are part time. They come from all
walks of life, school teachers and bankers and you name it.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Mostly men that just like to blow things up.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Is that what you're trying to say?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Mostly men?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
We haven't mostly, but we have a number of women
that were.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, I was blown away, no pun intended. Watching the
fireworks for the first time on the river and seeing
the barge where all of the fireworks were set off
here for the WB and fireworks, and when it would
light up, you could see there were people on the
barge standing right next to this, and I was straining
to see. And that is what really piqued my interest
(03:32):
this time, is that how can you do that?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Well, we have to.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
We have to have a crew on the boat that's maintaining,
managing the firing system.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
They're there for they were there all week.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Are they do they have earplugs?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
We all wear airplays.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well, we're safety equipment, hard hats or helmets, life jackets.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Cotton clothing. So you know, are we close? Yes? Are
we as close as we used to be years and
years ago?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
No?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
We were a lot closer years ago, really so.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
And there's certain regulations to require minimum distances for barge displays.
We have to be a certain distance away and it's
not much on that show. We only have to be
a minimum twenty four feet.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
With new different kinds of fireworks, are you actually creating
the firework like a recipe to make it look the
way you want it to or how does that work well?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
In a perfect World.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
When we used to have a factory, when you could
actually make fireworks in the US, which is all but gone.
The industry has changed started in the mid seventies with
opening up imports from China, and like anything else, like
iPhones and gym shoes, fireworks are mostly made overseas. We
have a factory that we work with in Italy. Our
(04:41):
family immigrated around the turn of the century turn of the
twentieth century from Italy and came from a region that
was known for fireworks and brought that craft here. So
up until really twenty ten, when we had a manufacturing
facility smack dab in the middle of Loveland making the
majority of what you see on that show, and that
(05:03):
all changed because the population grew around us and it
became rather prohibitive for us to continue that operation. So
we sold the property and for a few years everything
was exclusively imported, and then we developed a partnership with
an Italian firm that manufacturer's product for us. Were there
two or three times a year, spending time in the factory.
(05:24):
My nephew Mike is there quite a bit and working
on what products that we want for not just this show,
but for everything we do, and the majority of those
end up on this display because it is very unique
and the last thing we wanted to do is turn
it into what everybody else does.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Colors.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Up until the end of the ninth of the nineteenth century,
it was you had red and gold and I was
pretty much it. And then as it moved further, other
colors were developed and what you see today.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
So this is a family business, is it a second, third,
fourth generation?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
I'm fourth generation. Currently the company is owned by myself,
my sisters, and my nephew Mike. My sister Nancy, who's
the oldest, is the president, and Mike and I co operate,
and my sisters Paula and Angela are owners and they're active,
but the day to day operations are operated by myself, Michael,
(06:21):
and my sister Nancy.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
How do you keep it so safe for yourself and
your employees and for the community where you're at.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Well, I mean, we're very regular, all right. We have
to maintain certain distances to spectators and that's based on
the performance of the products. We don't take chances, We
don't take risks, so you have to have respect for it.
No one's immune from accidents, but you do everything you
can through training, through proper setup to minimize the risk
as much as you can.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
And then what about out as your main building where
you store all this stuff. That's kind of really where
I was headed, which.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Was there's an element of danger to that, but everything
is stored in accordance with regulations. We handle all of
the products again with a great amount of respect in training.
The real danger was always in manufacturing. In manufacturing is
where you're dealing with the powders, and fireworks are inherently sensitive.
(07:19):
That's the way they're designed, that's the way they work.
It's not like you know, military explosives where you can
throw a chunk of C four and a fire and
watch it and won't do anything.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Fireworks won't do that. Some things can go off if
you look at them. Hard.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Things have become legal now Ohio allows for some backyard
fireworks and such. Can tell me what you sell at
your store there and what people actually are allowed to
blow off in the sumer.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Fireworks that are regulated by the Department of Transportation as
as such consumer fireworks, So it's anything you can get
in store in Indiana or Kentucky. It's you know, multiple
shot cakes, and fountains and devices such as that, and
they're regulated on by size and powder content. It's what
is deemed safe to get put in the hands of
(08:10):
the consumer. And then we further go on to provide
literature to promote safety. And our Trade Association does the
same thing.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, we had that unfortunate incident in Florence back last year.
I believe it was over the fourth of July where
a young man of forty eight was trying to put
off a commercial firework on his own and he cut
the wick in half. I don't know why he did that.
There was a reason for some reason, but he didn't
realize it would explode immediately and it took his life.
(08:43):
And that is just so tragic. You know, he's got
people all the way around, and you know, you're here
trying to have fun. Do you have any sort of
like assistance for people to say, you know, here's the
best way to set this up.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Sure, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Our Trade Association again puts out PSAs throughout the summer
up to the fourth July. It is now to safely
handle fireworks. We advise read the instructions, use under adult
supervision or adults only, no alcohol, and on the other side,
it's bigger, isn't always better?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I've been accused of being very, very conservative when it
comes to fireworks, So really, but it's they can hurt you.
And if you don't know what you have or don't
know what you're doing, especially if you're getting it through
questionable sources, you don't know what you got and you're
going to do it in an inappropriate manner, and it's
(09:37):
going to come back to bite you.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
You know, the chemicals that are falling to the ground.
I'm sure those are regulated now so that they're not
as dangerous as they were maybe thirty years ago. Is
there there's.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
A lot of materials that were used thirty forty fifty
years ago that that were banned for other purposes. Because
the materials we use aren't exclusive to fireworks. They're used
in all sorts of products. It just happened so that
this thing does this when you mix it with this.
So a lot of things that we used to use
going back to like, for instance, one to make a
(10:12):
blue was brad poison. It was an arsenal compound. It
was a copper arsenal compound and when mixed in a
formulation with an oxidizer and other oxidizers and fuels. It
produced a beautiful blue flame, and when it was banned
in the sixties because of its arsenal content toxicity, it
(10:32):
went away in fireworks too. So there's been some advances
in the chemistry, and the fireworks burned very pretty darn clean,
because it's basically a chemical reaction and you don't have
much left over after the reaction's done.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
That's Joe Rozzi from Rossie Fireworks, and he's answering all
my deep questions that I've always had about fireworks and
firework shows. Everybody loves them. You do private parties, special events,
gender reveals, weddings, weddings. The reason I was laughing when
we first got started here, Joe, is because I was
telling you off Mike that I thought Rossi Fireworks was
(11:09):
a huge, nationally based company. I didn't realize that you
were actually created right here in southwest Ohio.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yep, my grandfather moved here in nineteen thirty because we
were shooting fireworks at Coney Island, so that's kind of
where we started, and then built a factory in Loveland,
which isn't there anymore. It's a park now. Through the
seventies when Coney Island closed, Bit at King's Islands in
nineteen seventy two, and then the'd BEBN fireworks started in
seventy seven. So this was our forty eighth year producing
(11:39):
the fireworks for that show.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
You've added drones now, so like do you have all
these like little baby drones and then you just like
lay them out in the field and then tell them
to fly and then they all sink up eventually or.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Well that's the basic explanation.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Really, it's a little more complicated than that, but it's
it's they're small drones. They're actually larger than some of
your drones that you would fly. They don't fly themselves.
They're basically flying on a computer program.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
But how do they all get up at the same time?
I mean, or do they do? You?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
They're all in communication?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
No, well they take off in layers, but all they're
all in communications with a base station and with GPS satellites.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
How do you go about designing a show like that?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
We worked with the guys here at iHeart, Scott, Ryan
Hart and k U Alters to come up with the
concept of what they wanted to see, and then we
incorporated our title sponsor, Western and Southern and WBN, and
then the Reds were involved because they let us fly
over the ballpark, and the Bengals took up a good
portion of it because it was kind of about them
(12:43):
as well and they wanted to be a part of
the event. So basically it's we looked at the different
images that they wanted and that we went into our
design software and basically duplicated those images that are already
existing to turn them into a pixelated image, which basically
all a drone is is a pixel After we receive
(13:03):
the soundtrack and then assemble that into the order of images.
How we wanted to look how the transitions one were
to beef to get from one image to the next.
So which is it's not just you don't want to
be a billboard, you wanted to actually do something.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Where did you learn how to do that?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Is there a school for I don't.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
So we have we have a We have my nephew
Michael and Zach Phillips, who is is our call him
our chief drone pilot, learned the design software in partnership
with the manufacturer of the drones, which is a company
called Verge Arrow and Verge is out of I believe,
Texas now and they manufacture these these the drones, so
(13:43):
they developed the software for design and the flight software.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
It's amazing. Yeah, and it's been a good partnership with them.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
For people that are listening that might be interested in
being part of a you know, fireworks crew, or creating
their own crew as you said, or maybe getting into
these drones show kinds of things. How would one go
about doing that?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Reach out to us through our website or email through
to info at Rossiefireworks dot com and express interest are
Our school is always the last Saturday in April, but
that's the best course of action. Reach out to us
info at Rossiefireworks dot com.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
If you want more information, it's Rossie Fireworks dot com,
Rosie's Kroger's Kroger So Rozzie Fireworks dot com a lot
of good information. And you guys are open for sales
for your retail store on New Year's Day news Eve.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah ye' yeah, that might have been a typo. It's
New Year's Eve quote. So it's it's open now.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
We're open Tuesday through Saturday, you know, for whatever people
might need. Christmas is a it's not so big up
in this part of the country, but down south, Christmas
fireworks are huge. We do pretty decent sales on New Year's.
I mean, it's one of the legal holidays that you
can shoot fireworks in Ohio. I guess a lot of
it has to do with the weather, and it hasn't
(15:05):
been cold and bad the past few years but warming.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
But then you know, our our summer season is through
the fourth July, and we're open usually ten to ten
for the all the way through the fourth July, starting
sometime at June.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
You're on lovel Madeira Road.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
YEP one Jera zero five to nine love La Madeera Road,
right across from Lake Isabella.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Joe Rossie, thank you so much for coming in and
answering my questions. I know the minute you leave, I'm
going to have more, but I did the best they could.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You're fine.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
That's the show for this week. If you have any
comments or suggestions, email me at iHeart Sincy with an
E at the end at iHeartMedia dot com. Iheartsincy at
iHeartMedia dot com. If you can check out the podcast
free on the iHeartRadio app, just look for Iheartsinsey the
Sandy Collins Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
iHeart Cincy is a production of iHeartMedia, Cincinnati,
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