Steve Whiteman
The story of Steve Whiteman and the band, Kix
When speaking of famous people who are from West Virginia, the usual names you will hear are Don Knotts, Mary Lou Retton, Steve Harvey, and Brad Paisley, among others. One name that often fails to be mentioned is Steve Whiteman, the lead singer of The band Kix.
Steve was born in Piedmont West Virginia on August 28, 1956, where he was raised and would go on to graduate from Piedmont High School. Soon after graduation, in 1978, Steve would be playing in a cover band in the Cumberland Maryland area, where he would be noticed and recruited by a band known at the time as The Shooze. The Shooze was formed in 1977 in Hagerstown Maryland, and soon after recruiting Steve, the band would briefly change their name to The Generators before ultimately settling on the name Kix. Kix rapidly gained a reputation as one the most exciting live bands on the East Coast, and in 1981 would be signed to Atlantic Records and begin their quest for rock and roll stardom.
Under the Atlantic label, Kix would release their first studio album in 1981, which was self-titled. The album would feature some of their favorite songs from their live shows such as “Atomic Bombs”, “The Itch”, and “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”. The latter would become one of the band’s most popular concert songs. However, the album failed to become commercially successful. It was back to the drawing board, or studio in this case, for Kix.
In 1983 KIX released their second studio album titled Cool Kids, which featured songs such as the title track, The hilariously titled “Get Your Monkey’s Out”, and my personal favorite “Nice On Ice”. However, Cool Kids also failed to be a commercial success, reaching No. 177 on the Billboard charts. Despite the lack of commercial success, Kix was developing a respectable live following, but the band needed to produce a hit album if they were to cash in on the growing popularity of glam metal.
In 1985, hoping that the third time was a charm, Kix released their third studio album titled Midnite Dynamite which once again only garnered moderate commercial success. One can only imagine how frustrated the band must have felt at this point, but Steve Whiteman and Kix refused to give up the dream of rock and roll stardom. Little did they know that their tenacity would soon pay off.
Commercial Success
In 1988, ten years after Whiteman joined the band, and after three moderately successful albums, Kix released their fourth studio album titled Blow My Fuse. The album featured some very good songs, including the title track, as well as “Cold Blood” and “Piece Of The Pie”. However, there was one other song on the album that, unbeknownst to Kix, was the monster hit that had been so desperately needed, and I’m talking about the song “Don’t Close Your Eyes”. The song, a power ballad, would go on to explode and peak at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On the back of “Don’t Close Your Eyes”, the Blow My Fuse album would go platinum, selling more than 1,000,000 copies. The success of this one album would propel Kix into the rock and roll stratosphere, allowing them to now play in arenas all over the United States, as well as get heavy rotation on MTV and radio. Kix, and Steve Whiteman, had hit the big time.
Crash And Burn
Riding high on the mind-blowing success of the Blow My Fuse album and subsequent arena tour, Kix came out swinging in 1991 with their fifth studio album titled Hot Wire featuring the song “Girl Money”, but in 1991 there was a problem not only for Kix but for all of the hair metal bands of the 1980s, and that problem was grunge and alternative rock. With bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam now on the scene, the love for hair metal bands was quickly taking a nosedive, and I do mean quickly. Very few, if any, hair bands would survive this period, and Kix was certainly no exception. Hot Wire would be the last studio album that Kix would release under the Atlantic label. In 1992, while on tour, KIX made a live album titled Live that showcased a recent performance at the University Of Maryland. The album was referred to internally as a contractual obligation and was released in 1993, and in 1994 Atlantic dropped Kix from the label.
KIX would release another studio album, their sixth, titled $how Bu$ine$$ in 1995 on the independent label CMC International. The album elicited a lukewarm response as the grunge and alternative rock scene expanded and the popularity of glam metal spiraled downward. Kix went from playing in arenas and large theatres to playing in large clubs, and eventually to venues so small that Steve Whiteman would refer to them as “French fry stands”. It was then, in 1995, that the members of Kix agreed that it was time to take a break from the band. The plan was to take a year off and then reconvene and decide whether or not to continue with the band. One year later, in 1996, Kix decided to call it quits and the band disbanded.
Funny Money, Kix Resurgence Amd Retirement
Steve Whiteman would go on to form the band Funny Money and also teach vocals, drums, guitar, and harmonica at the Maryland Institute of Music. Among his students was rock musician and singer-songwriter, Jordan White, as well as Lzzy Hale of Halestorm. Steve’s band, Funny Money, would release four studio albums and one live album. Funny Money would perform original songs as well as Kix songs at their live shows.
In 2003 Kix reformed the band with the classic lineup, with the exception of their bassist, Donnie Purnell, and began lining up live shows. Purmell would be replaced by Funny Money bassist and songwriter, Mark Schenker.
In 2012 Kix released a live CD/DVD titled Live In Baltimore and announced that a new studio album was on the way.
In 2014 Kix signed with Loud & Proud Records and later that year released their seventh studio album titled Rock Your Face Off. The album was a commercial success, debuting at No. 49 on the Billboard Top 200 chart while debuting at No. 1 on Amazon Hard Rock. The album was well-received by fans and critics alike and would be the band’s second-highest charting record after 1988’s Blow My Fuse. Kix and West Virginia native, Steve Whiteman, was back in the limelight.
In February 2017, Kix went on to headline the first night of Rockingham Festival 2017 at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom.
Kix would continue to tour until 2003 when, during an appearance at the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland, Steve Whiteman announced that the band would retire and play their final show at the same venue on September 17 of that year. The band disbanded after playing their final show, leaving behind a rock and roll legacy that spanned more than 45 years with Steve Whiteman as the band’s frontman.
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