Good on them, for knowing when to pack it in.
Posted on 09/19/2023 3:31:08 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Kix will play their final show this month — and according to vocalist Steve Whiteman, not a moment too soon.
The Maryland rockers are set to end a 45-year career with a Sept. 17 hometown gig at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. "I don't want to go out sucking — I want to go out being pretty good," Whiteman said on a recent episode of SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk (via Blabbermouth). "But age takes its toll," he added, citing drummer Jimmy Chalfant's 2021 heart attack and subsequent onstage collapse last November as contributing factors.
The vocalist also admitted he's been struggling to perform fan favorites, such as the Top 20 power ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes." "I had a four-octave range and I never struggled hitting anything, [but] I've had to pretty much totally change the way I sing," he explained. "Luckily, I was a vocal coach, so I knew how to — I don't want to say 'fake' things, but change things so the fans really wouldn't know that I'm not singing like I used to."
How He Knew it Was Time to Quit
"There are nights, out of the past couple of years, where I've come offstage just humiliated because I can't sing 'Don't Close Your Eyes' like I used to, or I can't sing 'Cold Blood,'" Whiteman added. "These are the songs that the fans are out there waiting for. And that's when I started to think I don't want to do this if I can't do it well anymore."
A Warm Farewell
Whiteman said he's humbled by the overwhelming fan response to their farewell show. "We didn't know how it was gonna go, 'cause Merriweather is about a 15,000-seat venue," he said. "We thought, well, if we can draw four or five thousand people, that would be great. And I think we're over 10,000 at this point. It's for the hometown fans and it's a big shebang to say thanks for all the years, for the memories, for the support. And [we] love you guys, but we're tired."
Good on them, for knowing when to pack it in.
And here I thought cereal was the topic.
Whew, I thought you were talking about the cereal.
Never heard of them.
I got the itch
I got ants in my pants….let’s dance!
The 80s rocked.
Well, you know, Kix just keep getting harder to find...
Miss the 80s
I didn’t know Kix was still around. The best Baltimore-area band was Crack the Sky, of course.
Yep Crack the sky awesome
As much as I love Kix, you’re 100% right.
It is criminal that CTS never achieved massive success.
I will miss them. Local favorite.
Kix is a cereal.
Who?? I used to be a DJ at a classic rock station, and our playlist included zero songs from Kix. I still listen to classic rock radio online, and I’ve never heard any station play anything by Kix.
Kix are for trids.
I thought this about the cereal.
Smart guys. Neil Peart of Rush voluntarily quit in 2016. He knew he was starting to slow down, and he didn’t want to “lose it” on stage. He subsequently passed away in 2019 from brain cancer.
Nowadays, the old Rush song, “Losing It”, which touches on the subject of aging out of your talents, is often played in memory of Peart.
Me too. I was heart broken
Now not so much
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