Monday, May 15, 2006

Kix, 1981

If you live in a state besides California or New York then perhaps there has been a local band with a huge following in your area, but not so much of a following outside of that area. Well, Kix were that kind of band in my area. If you grew up in central or western Maryland in the 1980's then you were probably handed a copy of this album when you started high school. Actually that didn't happen, but Kix were played heavily on the radio and they were big in this area. This was their debut and it's pretty good overall. A little silly at times with singer Steve Whiteman having a voice that sounds somewhat mechanical. Song titles like "Kix are for Kids", "Contrary Mary" and "Yeah, yeah, yeah" should tell you that these guys aren't exactly on the level of say Rush or Iron Maiden when it comes to lyrics. Still it's fun and the songs are catchy for the most part. This album came out on Atlantic records in 1981 which is a little odd because that means that while Motley Crue and Ratt were forming that Kix were already signed to a major label. They also didn't have to move to a big city to get the deal either as they were based out of Hagerstown, Maryland. So if they had a debut on a major in 1981 then how come they never got that big? I think one of the major reasons was that their second album "Cool Kids" was a real misfire that had the band doing a bizarre mix of pop and a little hard rock and I think it set them back quite a bit. Anyway their debut is pretty decent with most of the album being memorable and it's my favorite of theirs. Last summer in the middle of the night I had to chase off a pick up truck that had slowed down at my mail box and I am guessing they had hoped to bash it in. Anyway they were blasting this album at the time so it looks like young people of today still listen to this album as much as I did back in the 1980's.

9 Comments:

Blogger Metal Mark said...

fredcq- There was an okay speed metal band called Faith or fear from Philly. I think their biggest thing was that one of the guitarists ended up in Overkill. Another band from Philly was Britney Fox who looked like Cinderella and had ties with them, but I remember them being awful.

5:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I actually had a Kix cassette back in the day. I don't remember it being all that great, though.

8:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh yeah. I remember them. I might have even had one of their albums. I rebember them being kind of generic.

8:16 AM  
Blogger On My Watch said...

our local version like that was Zebra...don't know if that rings a bell - anyway...

Had no idea they were out that early, I only knew them from Blow My Fuse - which I loved. Learn something new everyday!

3:08 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

On my watch-Zebra? Then that would mean that you are from Louisiana or somewhere near by.

3:22 PM  
Blogger On My Watch said...

yes - Louisiana...New Orleans area. you win 10 points. :)

4:25 PM  
Blogger David Amulet said...

Don't close your eyeeeeeeees! That's my Kix memory. I liked a couple of their albums, but his voice did get on my nerves after a while ...

4:55 PM  
Blogger Strutter71 said...

I loved Kix. Over here in NJ, WSOU (which is the Seton Hall college radio station) played them all the time, long before they broke big on MTV. "Yeah Yeah Yeah" in particular I remember being in heavy rotation.

Our local band was American Angel: they were absolutely HUGE on the NJ club scene. Had 1 album and 1 EP and even had their debut video on Headbanger's Ball, but they never broke out. Too bad, as they were fantastic.

8:10 PM  
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9:21 AM  

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