Kix is a rock & roll band from Hagerstown, Maryland, formed in 1977. Having grown up in the D.C. area, I became aware of the band in their very early years. Since its inception, Kix has released seven studio records without a clunker among them. They released the self-titled record Kix in 1981, followed by Cool Kids (1983) and Midnite Dynamite (1985). They played clubs around D.C. and Baltimore for years, and while they were excellent right out of the gate, it was their fourth record, Blow My Fuse that they rode to their fifteen minutes of fame. Blow My Fuse came out around 1988 and it was perfect for the hair-metal wave of that time. Kix rode that record from the clubs to the arenas. They followed up Blow my Fuse with Hot Wire in 1991 which was also very well received. But you know what happened next. Nirvana happened, and hair-metal went from the top of the heap to the scrap-pile in record time. Kix put out one more record, called Show Business, which was actually very good, but it went entirely unnoticed by anyone other than the most die-hard fans. At this point, rather than soldier on and put out a string of obscure records like many of their fellow glam-metal counterparts, Kix opted to walk away.
Fast forward to 2015. Kix had played some of gigs of the reunion variety over a number of years, and at some point the members decided to make a new record. That 2015 record, called Rock Your Face Off is fifty times better that I would have expected. The band worked on songs that would be Kix songs. All of the members of the band had been making music independent of each other for years. Things can change, but they didn’t want to make a record that would be half-assed, or sound kind of like the old Kix. They wanted to make a new Kix record that sounded like Kix. But not a rehash of their old sound, something fresh. This would not be an easy feat. Without question, they succeeded. Rock Your Face Off is a really good, fun record.
Before that record was made, I saw that Kix was playing one of those “reunion” shows at the Howard Theater in D.C. Against her better judgement, my wife agreed to accompany me to see the Kix band one more time, after many years. The Howard Theater that night was pretty much empty. When the band emerged onto the stage, vocalist Steve Whiteman looked around and quipped “We sold out The Bayou in Georgetown 39 straight times…where is everybody? Should we wait?” Another great line from that evening; as he was looking out at his audience, Whiteman offhandedly said “I guess Kix aren’t for kids anymore, Kix are for coots!” Being honest, the show was not great. The band played a bunch of deep cuts and Whiteman’s banter was well beyond crude. I suspect the size of the crowd made them a little ornery.
After the release of Rock Your Face Off the band played a show relatively near where I live at a club called the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA. While I was wary of going to see them live again, the quality of the new record had me convinced that the band was rejuvenated. I was correct. The show was excellent in all respects. I have seen them a couple of more times since then, and each time has been outstanding. It seems that they play the Tally Ho once every year in November. I will be going in 2021 if COVID cooperates. One thing about Kix, when they are on their game, they are nothing if not fun to watch. They truly seem to enjoy themselves.
Kix makes great rock and roll, plain and simple. It’s fun, it rocks, the lyrics are mostly juvenile, but who cares. The band has consisted of mostly the same members throughout their history with limited exceptions. I bought the first Kix record, and each one after that. I used to see the band members out in clubs. They always had long hair, jeans, Chuck Taylor Converse and leather jackets. They looked like a more metal version of the Ramones back in the day. I saw them play at The Bayou in Georgetown during their heyday. I never saw them in an arena setting, but I have no doubt they could handle such a setting. They are showmen for sure. I liked them then and I like them now. Kix are for kids of all ages, young and young at heart.
Here is my ranking of Kix records, noting my favorite songs:
1. Cool Kids (1983) Listen to Cool Kids, Love Pollution, Nice On Ice and Restless Blood.
2. Rock Your Face Off (2015) Listen to You’re Gone and Love Me with Your Top Down.
3. Blow My Fuse (1988) Listen to Cold Blood and She Dropped Me the Bomb.
4. Hot Wire (1991) Listen to Girl Money, Same Jane and Bump the La La.
5. Kix (1981) Listen to Contrary Mary, Atomic Bombs and Kix Are for Kids.
6. Show Business (1995) Listen to 911, Baby Time Bomb and Fireballs.
7. Midnite Dynamite (1985) Listen to Red Hot, Bang Bang and Midnite Dynamite.
One final note: The Blow My Fuse and Midnite Dynamite records have each been re-released with new mixes. Both turned out far superior to the original versions in my opinion. So look for Fuse 30 Reblown and Midnite Dynamite Re-lit.
TV PARTY TONIGHT!