INTERVIEW: Kix frontman Steve Whiteman has one thing to say: ‘You’re Welcome’
Photo: Steve Whiteman is the frontman of the rock band Kix, and he recently released his first solo album, You’re Welcome. Photo courtesy of Mark Weiss / Provided by 37-Media with permission.
Kix is one of the hardest-working bands in the rock business. Their status as legendary amp-shredders is without question, and their dominance around the United States, and especially in their native Maryland, still continues today. At the microphone stand in the middle of the stage each night Kix performs is Steve Whiteman, a singer with a powerful vocal instrument and enough energy to teach 10 kindergarten classes simultaneously.
This month, Whiteman is branching out a bit. He’s still dedicated to Kix — in fact, the rock band has never been busier — but he’s also found time for his first solo album, lovingly named You’re Welcome, co-produced by Whiteman, along with Brad Divens, Jimmy Chalfant, Dean Cramer and Bob Paré. Some of those names should be familiar to longtime Kix fans. For Whiteman, this project has always been a family affair.
“I started writing these songs about three years ago,” the singer said in a recent phone interview. “I was just starting to pile up some music in case Kix was ready to go into the studio and do another record. We’ve been just doing some re-releases here lately, and I just don’t think the boys were quite ready to do another studio album yet. So I just had an opportunity with a good friend of mine in town who built a studio in his house and was learning how to use it, Brad Divens.”
Divens and Chalfant, the longtime Kix drummer, were recording cover songs and messing around with the equipment. One day, Chalfant told Divens that he should consider bringing in Whiteman, who had a treasure trove of original songs — tunes like “Easy,” “Talking Bout Luv,” “Get the Wild Out” and “Bad Blood.”
“And Brad invited me over to his house, and we sat and listened to the [demo] tracks,” Whiteman said. “It was just an opportunity that I could not refuse and just had a great time doing it, getting reacquainted with Brad. He was actually the guitar player on the Kix second album, Cool Kids, so hadn’t really seen or talked to Brad much since that record.”
Those demo tracks included Whiteman playing every instrument, including the drums, bass and guitar. Plus, of course, he was on vocals. When they laid down the final tracks, Whiteman stuck with the drums on a few songs, and he can also be heard on some bass and a “little bit of everything,” as he put it.
“Because of COVID, we started in the studio,” Whiteman said. “Then as the cases went up, then we started doing more things virtual. Jimmy did probably nine drum tracks from his house and would send the files to Brad. I did all the vocals from my house. I think Bob was in the studio probably the most with Brad, and Dean Cramer came in at the end and threw some solos down. It’s totally different than what Kix would do. Kix would go to Mark Schenker, our bass player, who has a really nice studio in his house, and we would incorporate our producer. … And we would make it like a real record. This was done the only way we could do it at the time.”
Whiteman’s musical influences are a little bit different than his bandmates in Kix, and that comes through on the new solo record. The singer counts Grand Funk Railroad, the James Gang, James Brown and Stevie Wonder as inspirations, while Kix leans more toward Aerosmith, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
“I love all that stuff, too, but I also have a broader interest in music,” he said. “This record is pretty diverse. There are a few songs I think that would have made it to a Kix album, but for the most part, it’s Steve Whiteman.”
As far as playing these songs live one day, only time will tell. Right now Kix is in overdrive trying to make up for lost ground during the pandemic. They have a full calendar for the rest of 2021, but if there is some downtime, Whiteman might book a few venues for some solo gigs. And fans shouldn’t worry about his voice faltering along the way. He’s fully in control of his vocal instrument.
“My voice has always been strong, but I also taught vocals for 25 years,” he said. “So I kind of know what I’m doing, and I know how to preserve it and how to protect it and how to keep it strong. And actually COVID giving me a little break kind of helped my voice a little bit, too. It’s just having experience and knowing what you’re doing — and don’t f*** it up.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Steve Whiteman’s new album, You’re Welcome, is out now. Click here for more information.
