Steve Whiteman reveals he sometimes felt humiliated on how he was singing certain KIX songs live

Steve Whiteman reveals he sometimes felt humiliated on how he was singing certain KIX songs live

KIX frontman Steve Whiteman was recently interviewed by Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM‘s Trunk Nation.

Back at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland, USA in early May 2023, Whiteman revealed that KIX , which also includes guitarist Brian ‘Damage” Forsythe, drummer Jimmy ‘Chocolate’ Chalfant, bassist Mark Schenker and guitarist Bob Paré were going to be retiring later in the year. KIX‘s last show will be held at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, USA on September 17, 2023. Former KIX guitarists Ronnie ’10/10′ Younkins and Brad Divens are each scheduled to play a couple of songs with the band during the last show.

In terms of not being able to deliver the KIX material the way he used to in the past, Whiteman opined (as indicated on Wicked Pix‘s Facebook page):

“My voice, I used to… I never had a break,” he said. “I had a four-octave range and I never struggled hitting anything. I’ve had to pretty much totally change the way I sing. Luckily, I was a vocal coach, so I knew how to — I don’t wanna say ‘fake’ things, but change things so the fans really wouldn’t know that I’m not singing like I used to. And there are nights, out of the past couple of years, where I’ve come off stage just humiliated because I can’t sing ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ like I used to, or I can’t sing ‘Cold Blood’, and these are the songs that the fans are out there waiting for. And that’s when I started to think I don’t wanna do this if I can’t do it well anymore.”

On how KIX decided when and where would be their last concert, Whiteman revealed: “Jimmy and his wife discussed it and they’d come up with a date. And we were gonna end at Rocklahoma, because that was our first big festival show that [our booking agent] had booked us at, first time out of our little comfort area that we’ve been playing for four or five years before that. And we thought it would be cool to — that’s where we started and that that’s where we’ll end. But then [our booking agent] talked us into doing the next week in Hinckley, Minnesota. And we thought it’s not very fair to the hometown fans, because I basically wanted to just fade away. I didn’t wanna make a big announcement or announce a whore tour or final anything. I just wanted to go away. But the guys talked to me about it and they thought we should do one more big show at home. So, luckily the people at Merriweather were willing to go for it. And we didn’t know how it was gonna go, ’cause Merriweather is about a 15,000-seat venue. We thought, well, if we can draw four or five thousand people, that would be great. And I think we’re over ten thousand [tickets sold] 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.”

You can read another excerpt from the interview with Steve Whiteman via Wicked Pix‘s Facebook page.