BCR Greg Posted September 27, 2007 Posted September 27, 2007 Anyone from the East Coast that survived the 80's will remember Kix, a Hagerstown,Maryland band that was one of the top draws throughout the otherwise boring decade. Featuring the energetic and vocally unlimited Steve Whiteman as the frontman, Kix had a rabid following that packed any venue that had them, and ALL the rock rooms wanted them! For me, the best part was the two guitar team of Brian "Damage" Forsythe and Ronnie "10/10" Younkins. Two very talented and innovative guitarists that blurred the lines between rhythm and lead. The songs featured the skillful arrangements of the two guitarists, rarely did they play the same part at the same time, usually they were in counterpoint. Great stuff, and I was fortunate enough to meet them before they were big, so I saw ALL KINDS of fun stuff backstage at such seminal rock spots like Hammerjack's in Baltimore and Metron in Harrisburg, Pa. My band of the time, Citizen Cain, played with them, and the combination proved to be a blast. Sadly, mainstream success was not to be, other than a top ten ballad "Don't Close your Eyes", which didn't really play up the strengths of the band's explosive live show. Many other bands of the time stole pages from the Kix stagecraft manual... Warrant used the unison stage drop to great succcess, and Poison and other area bands blatantly ripped off the Kix look and sound. Cut to 5 years ago, when Steve Whiteman(still out pounding crowds into exhausted bliss with his current band Funny Money) and the boys played a few reunion shows in the area that they formerly ruled. The shows proved to be such a success that each year, September brings 5 or 6 shows strong enough to fill prominent area rooms with crowds that happily sing every word and bask in the joy of seeing their heroes onstage again. Guitarist Brian Forsythe, currently in LA rock band Rhino Bucket, comes back to join in the fray alongside his former partner Ronnie Younkins, now heading up the Blues Vultures. Why the history lesson, you ask? Well, Ronnie has been banging away at a 57 Reissue Les Paul that was in need of a sprucing up. I met up with him at a show at the Mechanicsburg Hardware Bar and hooked him up with a pair of my custom wound WB GregWind pickups. The original pickups sounded okay, but I knew that his constant variety of tones would be better suited with my little darlings, and he gladly agreed to let me under the hood with tools in my teeth("If I don't like them, out they go, Greg"..."No prob, RonniePoo!")! Here is his guitar before.... My buddy Shawn grabbed a shot of me doing my thing in the dark with three mini flashlights on a bar table(We work ANYWHERE!!!)... Ronnie uses coil taps on both pickups, the different tones that tapping brings are a hallmark of his chameleon-like ability to keep the rhythms fresh and interested without overshadowing the vocals. I dropped in a set with aged nickel covers, utilised Ronnie's rather unique wiring setup(he changes the controls all around....it took me a minute to get with the plan.) Once the pickups were in, I handed the guitar to the boss for soundcheck. As soon as he plugged in, he gave me a look that said it all. As he started messing with the coil taps, he started grinning like I was. His reservations from before the switch disappeared as soon as he wound it out through his trusty Marshall. When showtime came, he only used one other guitar, his PRS for a song with a trem bar part. His favorite battered cherry Standard sat forlornly on the stand, the 57 RI was the guitar of choice for the whole show. Bottom line.. another of my favorite guitarists has joined the WB Pickups family! Ronnie is going to endorse the line, and I have two of his guitars in the shop awaiting the magic. Will and Laura, here's a tip of the hat to you from two grizzled veterans. (Ronnie is more grizzled than I...shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!)...... Anyone interested in the pickups, feel free to contact me.
serial Posted September 27, 2007 Posted September 27, 2007 Brian has been one of my favorite players since 1980 or 1981. "Kix" and "Cool Kids" are two of my most essential LPs and these guys are still great live.Hey-WE played Hagerstown friday and saturday night. The owner of the bar was rambling about how he used to get Kix in all the time "until they got big" and left town. As for the pickups, I have a git that needs some attention!
zorrow Posted September 27, 2007 Posted September 27, 2007 I might want a neck / bridge set. I need a pair of good singing pups for my all-mahogany white Vector. The ones it has now I think are not originals, but in addition I don't like how they sound. Do I PM you?
BCR Greg Posted September 27, 2007 Author Posted September 27, 2007 I might want a neck / bridge set. I need a pair of good singing pups for my all-mahogany white Vector. The ones it has now I think are not originals, but in addition I don't like how they sound. Do I PM you? 717.730.9775
hamerjunkie Posted September 27, 2007 Posted September 27, 2007 One of the hard rock channels on my satellite dish plays "Blow My Fuse" at least once a week..........................
Crwth145 Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 "GregWind" fever, I've got it bad; con-ta-gious all the wa-ay... Discovered KIX back in the mid-80's while living in L.A. and proceeded to wear-out the "Midnight Dynamite" cassette and work-out the guitar parts. Saw them at a small club called "Jezebel's" in Orange County, California a few years later promoting "Blow My Fuse". An awesome, powerful performance.
Thundernotes Posted November 24, 2007 Posted November 24, 2007 Thanks for the history lesson - I always liked that band. I wondered where they ended up.
tommy p Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 Any chance you can make a pair uncovered, with the bridge cream and the neck zebra? My Special that's currently being refinished had some pretty weak pickups in it.BTW, Kix is one of my favorites. I've seen them at least 10 times (no easy feat - I'm not from DC/Baltimore) and have all of their commercial stuff, plus lots of "other" CD's and DVD's of them as well.
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