1) Kix is an American hard roc… Read Full Bio ↴Multiple artists exist by this name.
1) Kix is an American hard rock band, being best known for the popular singles "Blow My Fuse", "Cold Blood", and "Don't Close Your Eyes". Carving out a nice niche in the booming 80s glam metal movement yet being bitten on the backside hard by record company games, the guys originally called themselves "The Shooze" before changing that to "The Generators" (and, for a couple of weeks, "The Baltimore Cocks") before settling on "Kix".
Donnie played in a band called Kicks and in a band called Jax, so he kind of combined those two things; he liked the three-letter thing, so he just made KIX.
The Baltimore-based band garnered quite a reputation for themselves as one of Maryland's most exciting live cover bands prior to signing to Atlantic Records in 1981. Led by frontman Steve Whiteman and creative mastermind/bassist Donnie Purnell, the band rounded itself out by taking in drummer Jimmy Chalfant as well as guitarists Ronnie Younkins (nicknamed "10/10") and Brian Forsythe.
The band hit the ground running after their 1978 formation. Playing the club circuit six nights a week for three straight years or so resulted in the band cultivating a huge local fan base and finally led to a contract with the Time Warner affiliate. Releasing their self-titled debut in 1981, the band showed off a desire to mix tongue-in-cheek humor with bombastic riffs and take influence from a wide variety of past influences in hard rock, punk music, and other styles. Kix's playlists featured what were to become live favorites such as "Atomic Bombs", the glorious "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah", and "The Kid". To support the release, the quintet set out to hit every club up and down the East Coast. Although often viewed as a part of the booming 80s heavy music scene, the guys featured more of a brash style reminiscent of AC/DC that mixed a tough attitude with catchy hooks, carving a nice niche for themselves.
Still, the guys' 1983 follow-up, titled 'Cool Kids', played up the more commercial side of the band, as shown by their collaboration with "Hot Child in the City" singer-songwriter Nick Gilder and move to a pop-influenced glam rock sound. Single "Body Talk" in particular found the group trying their hand at a dance music kind of style; rumors ran rampant that the song was written solely to appease the band's label. Said record company people were also said to have, eager to capture some steam at radio, also forced the band into shooting a horrendous video for the song which featured the band commiserating with ladies in full-on workout garb. Other songs such as "Restless Blood" and "Mighty Mouth" had a pop metal vibe with far more bite.
Eager to get back in the studio, Kix partnered up with Ratt producer Beau Hill (who'd also later work with Warrant and Winger) and released 'Midnite Dynamite', which the guys would call their "self-proclaimed favorite record ever." The 1985 album featured a great single in "Cold Shower"" and some other notable cuts such as "Sex" and "Bang Bang (Balls of Fire)". At the time, other energetic hard rock groups such as Quiet Riot had broke through in a big way, and the members of Kix wanted to step beyond mere underground acclaim to taste the big time. Nonetheless, a funny thing happened on the way to commercial success with album number three.
As the band got ready for a brief West Coast jaunt, which took them quite a ways from their East Coast home, the guys kept hearing some fishy stuff about another young, good-looking vocalist by the name of Bret Michaels. A big hoopla had started to form that this young upstart had stolen singer Steve Whiteman's stage act. Rumor became fact as the members of Kix discovered that the band Poison had, prior to relocating to California from the Harrisburg, PA area, often come out to see Kix perform live. Now local heroes in their own right, Bret Michaels and his band-mates had more than borrowed a few stage moves from the charismatic Kix lead singer as well as adopted things from several other artists. Sadly, when Kix got the opportunity to open for Poison at L.A.'s Country Club, their fears materialized in the flesh; though having a far lighter, pop-fueled style more in the vein of energetic rock n roll than metal, the Poison line-up had incorporated Kix's whole stage act. The guys felt stunned.
Weathered but not to be counted out, Kix returned to the studio in not too long, and the guys brought in hard rock veteran Tom Werman for assistance. Thankfully, the band achieved the massive commercial breakthrough that they had been hoping for. The band's fourth effort, 1988's 'Blow My Fuse', featured a monstrous hit in the power ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes". As the song raced up the charts, the guys began to garner the recognition that they had fought so long and so hard for. Many other excellent cuts also permeated 'Blow My Fuse', and the album itself earned serious praise from several music critics. The powerful tunes "Cold Blood," "Blow My Fuse," "Red Lite, Green Lite, TNT," and "No Ring Around Rosie" all showcased the band doing what it does best.
Kix finally graduated to large scale arenas. For the next year and a half, the band would open for heroes AC/DC and Aerosmith, as well as a slew of others including David Lee Roth, Ratt, and Britny Fox. KIX were on top of the world -- if only momentarily. Much larger problems were looming on the horizon. The old adage of "more money, more problems" had materialized itself as a stone around KIX' collective necks for years and years. The band's financial matters were now in a state of complete disarray. Now severely indebted to Atlantic Records, the band faced a painful wake up call when they realized that they hadn't made a penny off Blow My Fuse. To make matters even worse, the label had plans to shift KIX from their roster to the label's new imprint EastWest Records America. This proved to be disastrous move for the quintet as they now had to deal with a new regime to work their yet-to-be released fifth record.
By the time Hot Wire finally hit record stores in 1991, the musical climate had shifted dramatically. "Hair bands" were now a thing of the past. Grunge was all the rage, making a band like KIX a laughingstock. The new trend made it virtually impossible for KIX to garner the radio support necessary for them to prosper commercially. In hindsight, Hot Wire may have proven to be the band's best sounding record ever. Bolstered by a little MTV airplay, the album's first single "Girl Money" showcased everything that made KIX a first-rate bar band. With double-entendre verses in the vein of classic Bon Scott-era AC/DC, great musicianship, and a hearty sense of humor to boot, the track would have probably been huge in 1989. Selling just under 200,000 units, the album came and went and KIX returned to doing what it had done all along -- hitting the road.
The band then toured the Orient and recorded a live record at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House in 1992. It would be released by Atlantic in 1993 under the uninventive moniker, KIX Live. The 12-track live album would finally fulfill the band's contractual obligation to the label. By the time KIX Live was released, founding member and guitarist Brain Forsythe had quit the band returning to the fold in 1994 in time to record Show Business, the band's ill-fated debut on CMC. Released in 1995, Show Business tanked and the band was history.
Other projects (1996–2002)
In 1996, Steve Whiteman formed a band called Funny Money in Baltimore. Jimmy "Chocolate" Chalfant joined Funny Money as their drummer in 2003.
In 1998, Brian "Damage" Forsythe teamed up with ex-White Sister and Tattoo Rodeo drummer Rich Wright, and erstwhile Rhino Bucket members rhythm guitarist/lead vocalist Georg Dolivo and bassist Reeve Downes to forge Deep Six Holiday. He joined Rhino Bucket full-time in 2001.
Ronnie "10/10" Younkins relocated to Baltimore City, and would be part of the rock 'n' roll act Jeremy and the Suicides. He then moved to L.A., then wrote, recorded, and released the album The Slimmer Twins: Lack of Luxury, as a collaboration with vocalist Jeremy L. White in 2000. Back on the East Coast, he founded The Blues Vultures in 2002, maturing into the lead vocalist and primary songwriter, and in 2005, released the album The Blues Vultures: Cheap Guitars & Honky Tonk Bars.
Reunion (2003–present)
Kix reformed in late 2003 without songwriter and band leader Donnie Purnell. Kix then lined-up shows for September 2004, the line-up consisting of Whiteman (lead vocals), Younkins (guitars), Brian "Damage" Forsythe (guitars), Jimmy "Chocolate" Chalfant (drums, backing vocals), and Funny Money bassist/vocalist/songwriter Mark Schenker in place of Donnie Purnell.
On August 7, 2012, Frontiers Records announced that it had signed Kix; the band subsequently released a live CD/DVD, titled Live in Baltimore, in September, with a new studio album to follow in 2013.
On April 16, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with Loud & Proud Records to release the band's first studio album in 19 years. On June 18, 2014, it was announced that the band would release this album - their seventh studio album - titled Rock Your Face Off, on August 5. Upon release, it debuted at No. 49 on the Billboard Top 200 (the band's second highest-charting record after 1988's Blow My Fuse), while debuting at No. 1 on Amazon Hard Rock, remaining there for more than three weeks. It was well-received by fans and critics alike. The hard rock webzine Sleaze Roxx published that Rock Your Face Off was awarded No. 1 in the Top Ten Albums of 2014 by editors and staff as well as No. 1 in Top Ten Albums of 2014 in the Sleaze Roxx Reader's Poll. The first time in the web site's history that an album has taken the top spot in both categories. Stereogum.com chose Rock Your Face Off as Album of the Week.
In February 2017, it was announced that Kix would headline the first night at Rockingham Festival 2017, which was held at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom.
Original Shooze drummer Donnie Spence died at the age of 64 on January 19, 2018 in Hagerstown, Maryland. On September 21, 2018 a 2 CD anniversary edition set named Fuse 30 Reblown – 30th Anniversary Special Edition was released. Producer Beau Hill who previously worked with Kix on their 1985 album, Midnite Dynamite remixed the original 24 track recordings. Fuse 30 Reblown is the original concept of current guitarist Schenker, who with help from record executive Madelyn Scarpulla, was able to obtain digital transfers from the original analog master recording reels. Schenker was also instrumental in rescuing the original 8-track demo reels and to digitally enhance and rescue the original 2-track demos. The second disc contains the 10 demo recordings for each one of the album tracks."
In 2020 the previous album Midnight Dynamite was remixed and re-released; called Midnight Dynamite Re-Lit, it is, to date, only available as a digital download. Beginning in November 2020, guitarist Ronnie Younkins took a leave of absence from touring and beginning in May 2021, Bob Paré began performing live with Kix.
In late February 2022, Ronnie returned to live performances with his own band. He remains on hiatus from live performances with Kix. On November 18, 2022, drummer Jimmy Chalfant suffered an apparent severe cardiac event while on stage at the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA, Matt Starr filled-in for Chalfant for live performances.
On May 7, 2023, from the stage at the M3 Festival, KIX announced their final show is scheduled for September 17, 2023 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD.
KIX played their final concert Sunday, September 17 at the Merriweather. The show featured a special setlist along with appearances from KIX's former guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brad Divens.
Final setlist
01. Atomic Bombs (with Ronnie Younkins on guitar)
02. The Kid (with Ronnie Younkins on guitar)
03. Midnite Dynamite
04. No Ring Around Rosie
05. Red Hot (Black & Blue) / Body Talk / Ball Baby / Luv-A-Holic / Love At First Sight / Love Pollution (instrumental medley)
06. Red Lite, Green Lite, TNT
07. Scarlet Fever
08. Don't Close Your Eyes
09. Girl Money
10. Book To Hypnotize / Cool Kids / Cold Chills / Bang Bang (Balls Of Fire) (instrumental medley)
11. The Itch
12. For Shame (with Brad Divens on guitar)
13. Mighty Mouth (with Brad Divens on guitar)
14. Cold Shower
15. Cold Blood (with Ronnie Younkins guitar intro and drum solo outro)
16. Blow My Fuse (with Ronnie Younkins on guitar)
17. Tear Down The Walls / Walkin' Away (with Ronnie Younkins and Brad Divens on guitar)
18. Yeah Yeah Yeah (with Ronnie Younkins and Brad Divens on guitar)
Discogs
Kix - 1981
Cool Kids - 1983
Midnite Dynamite - 1985
Blow My Fuse - 1988 - US: Platinum
Hot Wire - 1991 - US: 200,000+
Live - (1993 - Live album
$how Bu$ine$$ - 1995
The Essentials - 2002 - Compilation
Thunderground - 2004 - unofficial bootleg of demos
Rhino Hi-Five - 2006 - EP
Live in Baltimore - 2012 - Live
Rock Your Face Off - 2014 - US: 20,000+
Fuse 30 Reblown - 2018 - 30th Anniversary Special Edition of Blow My Fuse album
Midnight Dynamite - Re-Lit - 2020 - Midnight Dynamite remixed for 35 year Anniv.
--==--
2) Kix, is a little known one off alias of Tom Middleton, with one release, the "To tha Beat" Ep.
She Dropped Me the Bomb
Kix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lookout
I'm lightning
Flying high above her town
She got a tailspin
She knew that I was coming down
I had a radar
Well I went too far
She turned around and wiped me clean
She dropped me the bomb
She dropped me the bomb
I've done nothing wrong
She dropped me the bomb
I was lonely
A five star volunteer
I got excited
When suddenly she disappeared
My gun was loaded
_______(?)
When she exploded
Hidden right behind my back
She dropped me the bomb
She dropped me the bomb
I've done nothing wrong
She dropped me the bomb
She's a flying angel
High in the clouds
She shot down all the boys in the crowd
Shot right down
_________(?)
Could never miss the things she's done
I surrendered
When I thought I had her on the run
She was a decoy
She led me right in
I was shell shocked
She left me falling in a spin
She dropped me the bomb
She dropped me the bomb
I've done nothing wrong
The song "She Dropped Me the Bomb" is a cautionary tale about falling for an elusive woman who ultimately ends up breaking the singer's heart. The first verse sets the scene with the singer flying high above the woman's town before encountering her tailspin. The second verse reveals that he was previously lonely before encountering her, and that she disappeared without warning. The third verse portrays her as a "flying angel" who shot down all the other boys in the crowd before leading him on and ultimately dropping him the bomb.
The use of military language and metaphors like "radar," "gun loaded," and "shell shocked" suggest that the singer saw his pursuit of this woman as a battle or conquest rather than a healthy relationship. The line "I've done nothing wrong" is repeated throughout the song, highlighting the singer's denial about his own mistakes and inability to take responsibility for his own role in the relationship's failure.
Overall, "She Dropped Me the Bomb" serves as a cautionary tale about becoming too obsessed with someone who ultimately isn't right for you. It highlights the dangers of dehumanizing someone and treating them as an object to be won rather than as an equal partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I Come
The singer is ready to engage in a particular activity or situation.
Lookout
A warning to others to be prepared or vigilant for something that is about to happen.
I'm lightning
The singer is very fast in terms of action or thought.
Flying high above her town
The artist is above others in terms of ambition or success, especially compared to someone close to them.
She got a tailspin
The woman being referred to is in a state of panic, confusion, or trouble due to the artist's actions or intentions.
She knew that I was coming down
The woman being referred to understood that the singer's actions or intentions would lead to negative consequences for him.
I had a radar
The singer was aware of the woman's actions or intentions toward him.
Saw a flash on my screen
The artist detected some sort of signal or indication from the woman being referred to that alerted him to her intentions toward him.
Well I went too far
The artist pushed the situation or relationship with the woman being referred to beyond what was reasonable or appropriate.
She turned around and wiped me clean
The woman being referred to completely rejected the artist's intentions or advances toward her, leaving him with nothing.
She dropped me the bomb
The woman being referred to dealt the singer a devastating or shocking blow, likely related to his intentions or actions toward her.
I've done nothing wrong
The artist believes that he has not acted inappropriately or wrongly toward the woman being referred to, despite her negative reaction toward him.
I was lonely
The singer was feeling isolated or disconnected from others, likely leading to his interest in pursuing a relationship with the woman being referred to.
A five star volunteer
The singer is offering himself up willingly or enthusiastically to the woman being referred to, possibly in order to win her affections or approval.
I got excited
The singer became emotionally charged or invested in the situation or relationship with the woman being referred to.
When suddenly she disappeared
The woman being referred to removed herself from the situation, likely leaving the artist feeling lost or abandoned.
My gun was loaded
The artist had prepared himself for some sort of confrontation or competition with the woman being referred to.
_______(?)
This line is unclear or ambiguous and cannot be reworded in a meaningful way without additional context.
When she exploded
The woman being referred to reacted explosively or confrontationally toward the singer, likely leading to negative consequences for him.
Hidden right behind my back
The woman being referred to kept her true feelings or intentions toward the artist hidden from him until the last minute.
She's a flying angel
The woman being referred to is seen as beautiful, graceful, or angelic by the artist.
High in the clouds
The woman being referred to is elevated or above the artist in terms of power, social status, or other qualities.
She shot down all the boys in the crowd
The woman being referred to has attracted the attention of many other men, but has rejected or dismissed them all.
Shot right down
The woman being referred to is clearly and decisively rejecting or dismissing the advances of the artist or other men.
_________(?)
This line is unclear or ambiguous and cannot be reworded in a meaningful way without additional context.
Could never miss the things she's done
The singer is aware of and impressed by the significant and positive accomplishments of the woman being referred to.
I surrendered
The singer gave in or submitted to the woman being referred to, likely acknowledging her superiority or authority over him.
When I thought I had her on the run
The artist believed that he was making progress or gaining the upper hand in his pursuit of the woman being referred to.
She was a decoy
The woman being referred to was not what she appeared to be, leading the artist to be tricked or misled by her.
She led me right in
The woman being referred to guided the singer into a situation or relationship that was ultimately harmful or negative for him.
I was shell shocked
The singer was completely stunned or overwhelmed by the negative consequences of his pursuit of the woman being referred to.
She left me falling in a spin
The woman being referred to caused the artist to experience a dramatic and emotionally difficult situation or change in his life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DONALD KEVIN PURNELL, JOHN PALUMBO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Skhan0720
Criminally underrated band. Love these guys.
@sbtompkins
Simply the BEST Kix song. It just kicks ass and makes you want to go nuts. I trashed the factory speakers in my Chevy Blazer blasting this pretty much nonstop in 1989.
@rocknrollxoxox
Again, so talented 🥁
@user-wf1hk6tz5w
Sadly they just retired.......one word ICONS. Thanks for rocking guys!!!!
@blomegoog
there was a Penthouse video with biker girls and this soundtrack. unforgettable. Tiffany Mynx, Janine Lindemulder and Julie Smith before they were famous.
@emmaa6947
Oh my god I have seen it. There was a blonde one dancing on the bike she was hot as hell!!
@nevermore2729
The cool kids.
@frankcastle7036
Story of my life
@TheConshuscriterion
She drop she drop she dropped me the bomb.......
@MarcusAlexander19
Purnell always had a great ear for melody.