Twisted Sister was a band from New York that helped pioneer the melodic hard rock era of the 80s with their monster hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock," which cruised to #21 and #68, respectively, in 1984. Propelled by their unforgettable music videos and the theatrics of lead singer Dee Snider, the band seemed poised for longterm success. However, they ventured into power ballad territory with "The Price" (not a bad song by any means) and hit a snag. Equally perplexing was the decision to release a cover of "Leader Of The Pack" (originally done by The Shangri-Las) as the first single from their follow-up to their breakthrough "Stay Hungry" album. It sputtered out at #53 in 1986, marking the band's final appearance on the Top 100. Twisted Sister returned with a new LP in 1987, "Love Is For Suckers," with help from members of Kix and Winger. Despite "Hot Love" hitting all the right buttons for a radio-friendly hit, it seemed no one was interested anymore.
Kix is a hard rock band from Maryland led by screaming Steve Whiteman. While hugely popular on the east coast, the band never got its due on the charts. Maybe because they share a name with a bland breakfast cereal. Kix is best known for their power ballad about suicide, "Don't Close Your Eyes," which made an impressive showing at #11 in 1989. This is an unusual song for the band, which normally just writes songs about sex and partying. Kix formed early in the 80s and worked hard to build a strong following. Songs like "Cool Kids," "For Shame," and "Midnight Dynamite" received considerable airplay but nothing caught on like "Don't Close Your Eyes." Their big hit came from the fourth record, "Blow My Fuse." I'm not sure why other strong cuts from this record, like "Cold Blood," didn't help sustain the band's success. Their follow-up record, "Hot Wire," arrived as grunge took over the scene, and was pretty much DOA. After a long hiatus, Kix released a solid comeback (throwback?) record in 2014 called "Rock Your Face Off."
The grunge movement came along in the early 90s and stepped on the hairband frenzy as if it were an ant hill. Bands and artists were scrambling, trying to make some sense of what just happened and why no one was buying their music anymore. Baltimore-based outfit Kix just had their first big hit with "Don't Close Your Eyes," but the failure of their follow up records testify to the damage grunge had done to the scene. In 1996, vocalist Steve Whiteman formed a new hard rock band called Funny Money. All in all, Funny Money very much adheres to the Kix sound and Whiteman's bad boy, skirt-chasing lyrics. If you long for the days of late 80s rock, Funny Money should please. My favorite cut off the band's fifth album (2006's "Stick It!") is "Fool's Confession," a thoughtful mid-tempo piece that had hit potential, even for 2006.
