Page 8 - Rocknation Issue 28_Neat

PAGE 8 ROCKNATION ISSUE 28

Interview with Kevin Steele

Perris Records will be re-releasing “The Voodoo You Love” worldwide on February 17th 2023. It was
originally released in 1995. You have mentioned in previous interviews that “The Voodoo You Love”
is your favorite Roxx Gang album, please tell us why that is.
Well, on our first album “Things You’ve Never Done Before”, the lyrics and melodies were mine but I didn’t
play a large role in the music. I had always wanted a bluesy, hard rock band in the vein of Aerosmith but with
a guitar player like Wade Hayes (who was one of the greatest but most overlooked guitarists of that era in my
opinion) a lot of my songs like “Ball n’ Chain” & “Red Rose” got pulled into more of a Metal vibe. There was
also “Live Fast Die Young” which although a good song, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with. On “The Voodoo
You Love” I was maturing as a songwriter and contributing more to the music and you can hear it in the
direction we took. It was the first time saxophone and honky tonk piano were used and the first time I played
harmonica on a Roxx Gang record. One thing most people don’t know is that with the exception of “Time
Bomb” and “Thick As Thieves” all the songs on “The Voodoo You Love” were performed by the original Roxx
Gang line up. By the time the record came out the new line up was intact so I felt we should use their picture
on the album cover

Any cool road stories come to mind in the Voodoo era?
The “Voodoo” era saw the initiation of Stacey Blades (guitar), Dorian Sage (Bass) and Tommy “Gun” Weder
(drums). We drank as much Jack Daniels, snorted as much cocaine and were thrown out of as many strip
clubs as the best of them. It killed Dorian and damn near killed the rest of us. Every night was an adventure
and frankly most nights are a blur. There was a lot of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll and quite a few fist fights.
I’m not proud of everything we did but at the time it seemed like grand fun.

One of my favorite tracks is “Daddys’ Farm”. Please tell us what that song is about.
It’s one of my favorites too. I’m proud of the wordplay in that song and I dig the sax. The subject isn’t very
original I must admit. Country boy leaves the farm with big dreams
of bright lights and big city but upon arrival
finds that a life of crime, fast women and
loneliness isn’t quite what he bargained for
and he longs for his home on the farm and
a simpler life where he’s left his poor heart-
broken mother and father.

The “Hot For Love” video looked like a
classic 80’s MTV shot production. Who
produced and edited that for you?
The “Hot For Love” video was directed and
edited by the very talented Christian
Moriarity and myself.