By 1988,
Kix had only managed to squeeze out three modest-selling records for Atlantic Records. Led in tandem by the endearing frontman Steve Whiteman and chief songwriter and bassist Donnie Purnell, for years,
Kix would be unfairly categorized as a supposed "hair band." Worse still, Whiteman would later wake up to find his dancing-on-my-tippy-toes stage act (just think
Steven Tyler meets
Johnny Thunders on uppers) stolen and carbon copied for the masses by a host of other inferior frontmen including
Poison's
Brett Michaels. After playing the East Coast club circuit for ten-plus years (with little commercial success to show for it),
Kix's own brand of infectious
AC/DC power rock-meets-New York, black-hair-dye-glam would finally see its big payoff with the release of 1988's,
Blow My Fuse. Produced by hard rock stalwart Tom Werman,
Blow My Fuse may have proved to be the band's biggest-selling record but not necessarily its best. Featuring ten solid songs, including the first single/video for the very
AC/DC-sounding "Cold Blood," the infectious "She Dropped Me the Bomb," and the excellent title track "Blow My Fuse," the album's big boon would manifest itself in the form of a monster-power ballad, "Don't Close Your Eyes." The track ultimately proved to be
Kix's coming-out party and their graduation into the big leagues. Sadly, it would prove to be the band's sole bona fide career hit even though "Cold Blood" made a few tremors here and there. Almost overnight, the band was now travelling on luxury tour busses and effortlessly holding its own as an opening act in arenas across the United States. Embraced with open arms by MTV, "Don't Close Your Eyes" finally allowed
Kix to open for the likes of
David Lee Roth, heroes
AC/DC, and
Aerosmith, as well as other soon to be forgotten acts like
Ratt and the horrific
Britny Fox. After years of hardship, the band could breathe easy (if only for a brief 18 months or so). Just two years later, like many of their other so-called hair rock contemporaries,
Kix would see their fortunes crushed with the advent of grunge. The band would solider on with the release of the more mature
Hot Wire. ~ John Franck