Kix Must Tour!

Kix must tour! Now that Rocklahoma is over and I'm at home, I've had time to reflect on all the bands. The two best were easily Tesla and Kix. Tesla tour all the time, but Kix never leave the east coast and only play a couple shows a year.

According to the band's official website, there are a few shows coming up, mostly during September in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. I'd love to go, but my husband would divorce me for spending more money on all these shows.

If Rock the Bayou promoters were smart, they'd try very, very hard to get Kix added to the bill.  I'm going to Rock the Bayou in Houston, but now I almost wish I was heading to Baltimore for the upcoming Kix show instead.

Saturday at Rocklahoma was pretty miserable after the bad weather, but Kix came on stage and got the job done and did their best to make good out of a bad situation. I really wanted to meet the band in person, but the storm stopped that from happening too.

Steve Whiteman is damn amazing when it comes to stage presence. He really does hop, skip and jump all over the place -- he gives people a show!

Glam musicians were often slagged by those who consider themselves more "serious" metallers, especially when they used choreographed stage moves and the like. Personally, I want to see a little thought put into a show for my money. Ticket prices basically start at fifty bucks these days, so I expect to see a little action. Actually, I demand a lot of action. I hate it when band members just stand in one spot and sing or play with a deer-in-the headlights look.

I got a fancy new camera to shoot Rocklahoma, and one of the bands I was most interested in capturing for you was Kix. Heavy rains ruined that goal, but I'm so glad I personally got to witness the band's marvelous performance.

Brian Forsythe really impresses me when it comes to guitar. No, he's not the world's best player -- but seriously, who is? Music is an art, and all art is subjective. Guitar playing comes from emotion -- and Brian plays with emotion. Match his emotion with Steve's enthusiasm and you've got a recipe for success my friends.

Kix now rank in my list of favorites -- right up there with Aerosmith and Motley Crue.

Brave souls risked it all and used camcorders during the rain at Rocklahoma. Here's a couple clips from the show - the audio was cutting a little in and out because of electrical issues, nevertheless, Kix still rocked the house.

Here's "Don't Close Your Eyes"

Here's "Cold Shower"

Comments

[Christian]

Hell, yes. Kix were incredible. They were the best band of the weekend, although Telsa were close and Armored Saint were a close third.

[lesh]

Come on. If I can go to those Kix shows from Canada, surely you can pull it off?

Not that my trip is in stone, but I am definitely gonna try! I have you to thank for getting me into them in the first place. I need to plant a wet one on Brian Forsythe if it's the last thing I do...

Glad you had a good time!

[Kenny Ozz]

I agree. Kix should tour. They are one of the few glam bands that I havent seen yet dammitt!!!

[lajustice77]

Kix rock! We drove to Jersey last month to see them do one of their warm up shows and met the band too! Great guys and they were great at Rocklahoma!

[Damnp78]

I will surely see them here EVERY time they play in B-more !!!! Top three for me. No doubt.

[Blackdog]

I agree. KIX really played a fantastic set on Sat. I haven't seen them live in a very long time.....they were better than I had remembered. I live in Houston and if Rock the Bayou were to "persuade" Kix to play...all in attendance would not be disappionted. Look forward to seeing KIX in the future....hope they can get away from the east coast.

[MotleyCrue666]

Yeah they are really good but u couldn't hear his voice too much on the recording was he like that live?

and i'm new to Rocklahoma and was wondering u start to purchase tickets? anyhelp?

[KixRules]

Great article Ally...hopefully they get out some more so people outside of the Baltimore area can experience their live shows! It was an amazing set at ROK and tbe video does not do it justice.

[aXe mAn]

Cool article Allyson. I'm a pretty big Kix fan, too.
Steve is definately a good frontman, and I'm glad to hear that they put on a good performance at Rocklahoma. My personal favorite Kix album is their 1991 release, "Hot Wire"!
You are so lucky that you got to go to Rocklahoma, and now, Rock The Bayou! haha....

[Rob Rockitt, Hard Rock Hideout]

The last time I saw Kix, they were a support act for Whitesnake, if I remember correctly. That was nearly 20 years since I have seen them.

Steve Whiteman's other band Funny Money played locally in Cincinnati, to a pathetically small crowd back in the mid 90's. This is probably one of the reasons you never see them leave the east coast.

They would be a good band to go out in support of Poison's annual tour.

[KixRules]

Poison ripped off their stage show back in the day...doubt they would go on tour with them...but who knows...money talks! If you ask me they will continue to do their normal 5-6 Mid-Atlantic Shows each year and then do 2-3 festivals each summer.

[Joe]

My old band opened for Kix years back and they super cool guys as well as putting on a great show..I agree Steve is an awesome frontman and vocalist. Always loved Kix...Thanks for the great article Allyson..Hope you are doing great too =)

[Woodchipper]

Allison,
I knew you would love Kix once you saw them. I was fortunate enough to be from the Northern Va area when they were pretty much the whole scene. Now you know where Poison got there stage show from back in the day.
FYI if you want an online radio station that favors KIX and this entire genre, check out
http://www.97underground.com/

[George]

It would be cool if bands like Kix would start doing some national tours. It gets kind of old seeing the same sets year after year from Poison, Def Lep, Motley, etc. I know Kix would either have to play smaller clubs or latch on with a bigger headliner, but every review I read always says these guys are great. Plus they have some long-time members in their band, so it's not like you're seeing just the lead singer with a bunch of guys young enough to be their kids.

[Damnp78]

Agreed ! Kix does great great with smaller venues anyhow. I think they could do a decent club tour and have a magnificant turnout. I think ROK was great for them in opening everyones eyes as to how great they are. Kind of an "out of sight, out of mind" deal where if there not on your radar they get lost in the shuffle. I definately think they should take advantage of the exposure once again !

[Deme]

I have a feeling they will not be touring

[Dick]

I'm from the Baltimore area, and know the Kix guys. They definitely were one band that didn't get the credit they deserved. Their annual New Year's Eve shows at the old Hammerjacks clubs were legendary! I've lost track of how many times I've seen them in the last 20 years or so, but they haven't lost it one bit... I knew they'd easily get rave reviews after Rocklahoma.

Just for the record, it's all of the original members in the current version except for bass player Donnie Purnell.

[Greg]

I am from the area and they were asked every year to do Oklahoma but they all have families and kids. This is the reason they never toured over the years except around Md area. Between family and jobs they were also split up into two bands. The other is called Funny Money. I think back in the day they made it because they were a great live band period. When they hit the stage they just rocked.

[Bigg Time Entertainment, Inc (Kix's Agent)]

KIX HAS BEEN CONFIRMED FOR ROCK THE BAYOU FESTIVAL!
They will be performing on Monday September 1st

[Bigg Time Entertainment, Inc (Kix's Agent)]

KIX HAS BEEN CONFIRMED FOR ROCK THE BAYOU FESTIVAL!
They will be performing on Monday September 1st!