Kix: Whatever Happened to the Band Behind Midnite Dynamite and 'Don't Close Your Eyes?'

Kix: Whatever happened to the band behind 'Don't Close Your Eyes'? and the hit album Midnite Dynamite?

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#kix #stevewhiteman

This is a band I’ve had a lot of requests for and i’m glad I’m finally getting around to it. Kix was a hair metal band that achieved some success in the 80’s and was signed to a major label in Atlanticrecords. But they never achieved the level of success that their peers like like Cindarella and Ratt. Why? That’s what were going to talk about in today’s video.

Originally called Shooze and then The Generators,. Kix Formed in Maryland in 1977 The band consisted of guitarists Ronnie Yonkins and Bryan Forsythe, bassist Donnie Purnell, frontman Steve Whiteman and drummer Jimmy Chalfan. Kix’s influences included Grand Funk Railroad, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Kiss, and AC/DC. In fact these influences would show early on in the band’s career as Kix would cut their teeth on the bar circuit playing a collection of covers including AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and The Stones, while also throwing in a few originals. The band would end up sending a tape to producer kim Fowley who took their demo to several labels. By early 1981 the Kix would be invited to a showcase in New York by Atlantic Records President Doug Morris. Bassist Donnie Purnell would tell the Washington Post "There were only six people in the rehearsal hall. We did our original songs and performed just like there was a regular crowd out there . . . pretty strange. After three songs, Morris walked out with our manager. We thought he was going to tell us to get lost, but he went out and said he thought we were ready."
Released in 1981 the band’s self titled debut album featured 50’s rock, metal and blues influences. The album wouldn’t chart but back then labels were more than willing to nurture a band through several records.
To promote their debut album the band would tour with Cheap Trick and Triumph and headline their own midwestern dates as well. The band’s follow up album 1983’s Cool Kids would be the band’s first album from the group to chart on the billboard charts peaking at number 177. The record would be more pop and nu-wave influenced and it would start the band’s trend of working with outside songwriters.
Two songs off the record including the title track and body talk would get the video treatment for MTV, but frontman Steve Whiteman would admit to VH1s that metal show that he personally hated the music videos for the record and in a separete interview with sonicperspectives.com, he revealed it was the band’s least favourite album. Whiteman would lay the blame for the sound of the album at the feet of the label and producer who tried to tone down the band’s sound to make them appear more radio friendly.
As the band turned their attention to their third album, they wanted to regain more creative control with Whiteman telling Sleazeroxx
We felt like on the next record, we needed to make the record that we wanted to make. We wanted melodies. Bands like Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones and AC/DC were huge influences for us. That was in the vein of what we wanted. That’s how we wanted to be known for and recognized for. It was intentional to get away from that ‘pop sound’ and get a lot harder and was more in line with the hair metal scene.”
Kix’s next record, 1985’s midnite dynamite would see the band employ outside songwriters include Kip Winger and Bob Halligan Jr. who previously worked with Kiss, Judas Priest, Blue Oyster Cult. Despite getting the sound they wanted the album failed to chart. Whieman would would mostly lay the blame at their record label telling Sleazeroxx
We felt that we had a ‘hit’ record. We had one of the most powerful record companies in the world releasing our records. We had good management at the time and we had Beau Hill coming on board hot off the heels of a Ratt hit record. What could go wrong? We felt it was a hit, but Atlantic Records didn’t quite know what to do with us. They released “Cold Shower.” It had very little success and little MTV airplay. When the song didn’t take off, they were done with it.
But the band wasn’t ready to let the record die and they soon funded their own tour across clubs in major cities which paid fairly well. In a strange turn of events, Kix who were signed to a major label soon found themselves opening for unsigned bands at the time including Guns N’ Roses.
In fact Steve Whiteman would tell the Washingt

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