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GlamMetal.com TM last spoke with power vocalist and songwriter Steve Whiteman, back in March of 2004. Back when we talked with Whiteman, he and his band Funny Money were enjoying the success of their third independently released album, ‘Skin to Skin.’ The album got great reviews everywhere, as well as their live, high energy shows, which left people in awe! Lets face it, when you go out to a Funny Money show, you’re gonna get rocked, and rocked hard! Whether it’s with KIX, or Funny Money, front man Steve Whiteman takes great pride in giving his audience the very best show he possibly can.
Funny Money is currently putting the finishing touches on a brand new album which remains untitled at the moment, but the word is, that it’s gonna be one of the best Funny Money albums yet, and that it’s definitely going to ROCK! It goes without saying, that when rocker Steve Whiteman and Funny Money record, it’s going to be nothing but a great rock album! The very talented Funny Money is as follows, Ex KIX drummer, Jimmy Chalfant, Dean Cramer on guitar, Rob Galpin, (RG) guitar, Mark Schenker, bass, and of course, the one and only, Ex KIX vocalist, Steve Whiteman.
So, almost two years to the date, Steve Whitman is back! I recently had the privilege of talking with the very talented vocalist/songwriter of Funny Money about the upcoming album, his take on touring, Kix, and much more. Steve Whiteman is not only a man with a great sense of humor, but he’s also undeniably, a total asset to the Hard Rock world as we know it, and it’s an honor to have him back with us once again! Enjoy!
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Steve Whiteman, how are you man?
I’m good thanks!
The last time we talked with you it was March of 2004, Almost two-years to the date. Welcome back man!
Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time, and the interest.
Oh... thank you for taking the time as well man.
Not a problem, I’m here for the asking.
I understand that Funny Money has a new record coming out soon, and I heard through the grapevine, that it totally kicks ass! Do you have a title for it yet, and when will it be released?
That’s a lot of questions isn’t it? (Laughs) We do have a new cd coming out, and it’s been in the process, because we’re doing it on our own. It’s another one of those in-house deals that we’ve got total state of the art equipment that we’re recording on. Unfortunately, we had a computer crash midway through the recording, so that was a big step backwards, and we had to go back and do a bunch of stuff over again. It’s near completion right now, and we’re hoping to get it done sometime in early spring, and get it out by this summer. As far as the title goes, we haven’t even thought about a title yet, because it hasn’t even been mixed, you know?
OK, how many tracks are on this record?
We recorded fifteen, and we’re probably gonna put thirteen on there. We’re currently playing like five of em’ out live, and they’re really getting over like gang busters, and they’re not even the best cuts on the cd, so...an opportunity for me to work with guitarist Rob Galpin, our latest addition to Funny money has been a real treat, and he’s a real asset to the song writing.
How does this record compare to the last three Funny Money releases, and how would you best describe it?
I had a lot more collaboration on this one, the first two was pretty much all me, with a little bit of help from Dean Cramer, my original guitar player. He would come in with a song or two, but I pretty much had to come up with everything else, which I enjoyed, because I never had that freedom in KIX to do that kind of song writing. When I got Mark Schenker, the bass player, and eventually got Rob Galpin in the band, these guys were so enthusiastic about writing, that it’s just been a treat, and so much easier to collaborate with those two guys. I think due to the collaboration, the song writing is stronger, and just has more influences involved.
You’ve got a great line-up man, and I’m happy to see that Jimmy Chalfant is still in the band, I think he’s a great drummer. You guys have been playing music together for quite sometime huh?
Yeah, I lured Jimmy out of retirement. (Laughs) What a treat it is to have him back at the drums man. There’s no better drummer than Jimmy Chalfant. Yes, we’ve been together for a long time. We were together for eighteen years in KIX, and then we’ve seen each other off and on during the hiatus, but he’s been back with me for over two years now.
That’s great! So you guy’s have a pretty good relationship then huh? Just like brothers?
Most definitely! I’m probably as close to him as I am any family member.
That’s good to hear man.
It’s the same way with Ronnie and Brian from KIX, we get along like brothers, and it’s a shame that the one and only hold out just see’s an entirely different picture.
It’s a shame for sure, but in light of everything that happened with KIX...the demise if you will, you can’t deny the fact that it’s your roots, and where you came from, and that KIX was, and still is in my book a great rock band.
I’m nothing but proud of the work we did in KIX, and what we achieved. We took that band as far as we possibly could for five little rednecks from Maryland. (Laughs) We took it nation and worldwide, so we’re all really proud of that.
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You should be! KIX was and still is a huge part of my musical enjoyment.
Well thank you.
Your last record, Skin to Skin," was one of my personal favorites, and also got a bunch of great reviews. Do you feel pressured personally at all to make an even better record than the previous?
Honestly, I never really go into writing as trying to compete with anything that I’ve done previously, or what expectations are. The process of song writing is whatever hits ya, you record it, you know? That whole thing like, how are you gonna make this record different, or did you intend to do anything different, I never have, I just write songs, and if they happen to be good enough that people like them, then great!
So you don’t compete with yourself then. Some artists do, that’s why I asked.
Yeah, I know. I think that’s just putting extra pressure on yourself, and ah...after eighteen years of working with somebody like Donnie, and having to deal with that pressure for eighteen years, that’s the last thing in the world I want to put myself through. Donnie was a control freak, and everything that that band did, had to go by him, so there was a lot of pressure involved in working with him. Now that pressure’s been relieved, and as far as trying to beat my previous work, is just added pressure that I just won’t deal with.
I totally hear that! What’s the writing process like in Funny Money Steve?
Rob and I started the process out. We both had some music arrangements that were melody ideas, and we started together in my basement. These guys all introduced me to writing on a computer. I’m so old school, and now that I’ve been working with the new technology for about a year, I feel like I’ve really missed out for the past half decade, (Laughs) so these guys like to write on a computer, and it’s so much easier. Rob and I will both throw ideas down, and we’ll both work on it, and get back together, and after Rob and I came up with about eight songs together, Mark got into the picture, and he’s really good at saying what is good, or that needs to be changed, or whatever, he just has a really good ear for letting us know what’s finished, and what still needs work. Between Mark, Rob and myself, we’ve probably come up with about eight to ten songs together, and then Rob is probably gonna bring in four or five of his own that he co-wrote with Craig.
Editor's note: Craig Stegall is manager and co-writer of Funny Money, among many other things.
That’s awesome. I was blown away with pro tools and stuff that can be done pretty much all on a computer now, you know?
I’m still blown away by it, and I still have so much to learn, but man, what a great tool that is.
What’s a couple of your favorite songs on this record?
The one that we’re doing live right now, that gets over like gang busters, is a tune called "Crush." Honestly, I think I may have ripped off Collective Soul. (Laughs) I love that band, I love the guitar riffs, and their power. Their music is just so easy to listen to, and has a very distinctive sound. They’re probably one of my favorite bands that came out of the mid 90's. So...I would say that "Crush" is one of my favorites, and after that I don’t really know, I have to hear the finished product. We’re doing a song now that Rob wrote, and showed to me called, "A Thousand Thank You’s." It’s sort of a ballad, and it was his perspective on the way he views me after shows, and meeting with fans, and greeting with people, and how appreciative I am of their support and stuff. It inspired him to write a song about it. When he showed it to me, it blew me away, and so much so, that we’re now including it in our set, and again, it’s getting great feed back.
That song will be on the new record then?
Yes, definitely.
So you’re getting a great response from the new songs huh?
Yes, we’re getting great live feed back from them. That’s something we always did in KIX before we really considered a song eligible for an album, we’d always bounce it off a live audience, because that’s your tell tell sign. If a live audience gets off on it, then you’re on to something, and if it goes over like a lead balloon, then it’s back to the drawing board, or it just gets the boot altogether.
For the unfortunate people that haven’t seen Funny Money live yet, what can they expect when they come out and see a Funny Money show? Tell em Steve!
I haven’t changed! I do what I did in KIX, I take every show with every ounce of energy that I have. I give everything that I have, and I like to have fun, and make light of everything, I don’t want anything serious, or a downer of any kind during our shows. It’s all about the music, it’s all about making people feel good, and having a good time. It’s an all out high energy rock show man.
I understand that Funny Money doesn’t go out and tour much, but do you plan to tour some in support of this new record?
You know..we do keep it to Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the mid-Atlantic area, because Jimmy and I are just sick to death of touring. We did so much of it in KIX, and their really hasn’t been a need or a reason to take this thing out on the road. I’ve tried it a couple of times, we went out to Kentucky, and Ohio, and it just didn’t have the drawing power as we do around here. Now granted, it was back about eight years ago when this genre of music was pretty much discarded, and I think now that it’s popularity has grown again, and it’s appreciated once again, but unless this record actually would get some kind of distribution, and some radio would latch onto it and play it, and people were requesting it, would really be the only thing to make me take it out on the road.
How about if Funny Money was offered a spot on a package tour like Rock Never Stops, or something like that?
Yeah, again, it would have to be a reason to go out, and not have it be billed as a KIX spin off. If it was for a new record that people truly dug, and wanted to hear that music, yes! But, if it was going to be billed as a KIX spin off band, then I can do that right here.
I’d love to see you guys out on a big tour again.
I never say never, and again, if there was a reason to go out on the road and promote this record, I would do it in a heartbeat, if people were out there anxiously waiting for it, but to go out and try to jam it down peoples throats that don’t give a shit...no way.
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Back in the day, who were a couple of your favorite Glam Metal bands to tour with?
I’ve got to give it up for Ratt! I think those guys were the only guys brave enough to allow KIX to open for them. We had so many bands that would say, "Nah, we don’t really want them." Nobody would really give us a shot in an arena, but Ratt said "Yeah, label mates, come on aboard!" They opened their arms up to us, and treated us really good on that tour with Britny Fox. It was a great time, and we got our feet wet with those guys. They were truly great. The next guys that we toured with was Whitesnake, and they were all really cool as well, but the guys in Tesla I really really liked. I don’t know if you’d consider them Glam metal...
Well, I say Glam Metal, but I think Tesla was considered a "Hair Band," of that genre of music. Seems everyone has a different name for it though.
Tesla was a very underrated band. KIX was around before there was "Hair Metal," or Glam Metal." We were actually around in the late 70's, and we got lumped in with that whole "Hair Band" genre.
You did a lot of touring back in the day as well, what was one of the craziest things you’ve ever witnessed on the road?
There’s some filthy stuff, and there’s some cool stuff. Something really cool was when we went to Japan for the first time, and the airport was full of fans holding up KIX albums, and screaming girls and stuff, and we were like, "what are they doing, are these people here for us?" (Laughs) That really took us by surprise man! That whole first experience in Japan was probably the most memorable.
No crazy ass shit you can share with us? Anything really come to mind?
You know, honestly, when you do it for as long as we did it, it turns into a blur! (Laughs) The routine was, get up, play, party, sleep. Get up, play, party, sleep, and do interviews and sound checks in between, and it seriously just ran together. I’ll probably think of ten things after this interview, but nothing is coming to mind right now.
What do you like to do when you’re not working or touring Steve?
Because I’m so new to this computer thing, I’m spending a lot more time learning about it. I’m trying to get good at doing my best at recording and understanding how it all works with computers. I’m actually sending emails to people! (Laughs) This is all new to me, so I’m a student of it right now, and I’m spending a lot of time with it. I’m also a big sports buff. I love sports, I love football, and college basketball. I’m in my heaven right now with March madness. (Laughs)
Cool! Mind if I ask you a couple of KIX questions?
No, go ahead.
KIX recently went out on a short reunion tour. How was it playing with your ex-band mates again, and what was the response like?
The response was all sold-out shows. It was funny how this thing all evolved. It started with Ronnie Younkins and his band called The Blues Vultures. They would come out once and a while and open a Funny Money show, so we got the idea of getting Ronnie up on stage with me, and doing four or five KIX tunes. So...Jimmy Chalfant eventually started helping Ronnie out. Ronnie actually lured Jimmy out of retirement before I did, to come out and play when his drummer couldn’t show up for him. One night we had Jimmy, Ronnie and myself up on stage, in a club in Baltimore, which was nearly sold out, and people went crazy because us three were together on stage! The club owner thought we should get Brian involved, and bill it as a KIX show, so we did that. The money just kept getting stupider and stupider, people were offering us tremendous amounts of money to continue this. The money was to hard to turn down, so we try to make it a yearly thing now, and it’s a total whore tour, it’s for the money.
(Laughs) Whore tour, I like that!
Yeah, you like that? (Laughs) None of us really have any interest in getting KIX back together again, and realize that that was Donnie’s baby, but when it was all said and done with that band, we divided up a little bit of equipment, and that was all we had to show for it. I look at these KIX shows now as back royalties. People dig it, and again, it’s for the home town folks that supported us in the beginning, and we don’t really wanna travel with it, so we can drive out to the shows, make a boatload of money, and come home.
So this will definitely be an annual thing then?
Yes, we’re probably gonna do it once a year, and it’s probably gonna be in the DC, Baltimore, and the Hagerstown area, so we don’t have to get rooms, or a tour bus, and have no expenses. It’s a no expense tour, and after it’s all said and done, we just got a big pocket full of money.
I understand that Mark Schenker is replacing Donnie Purnell on bass, when you tour as KIX, yes?
Yes, Mark does an incredible job, and he also takes care of the merchandise, which has turned into quite a lucrative effort on his part.
Mark seems like quite an asset to Funny Money, and KIX.
I can’t even describe what an asset mark is. Not only is he a great bass player, but he came in at a time when I was really desperate for somebody in his profession. His eagerness to record the band at his house, and all that he’s done for me, like getting me set up with computers, he takes care of all the merchandise, the list just goes on and on man.
Ok, one more KIX question. Will you ever record another KIX album?
I never say never. If somebody came to us four with a price tag that was just crazy, yeah, we’d probably get together and do it, but it wouldn’t be KIX, because we weren’t the writers of KIX. I don’t think it would live up to what people would expect, I don’t write like Donnie, and nobody else has that ability either, and as far as getting Donnie involved, I don’t hear anything but bad coming from him about his opinion about the four of us, so at this point, I’d say it’s about ninety-nine percent closed.
What are your thoughts on the music scene today?
Um...like I was telling you earlier, I think that this genre, the classic rock genre, is opening back up, and it’s not a discarded style of music anymore. I’ve seen more kids, especially my own two kids are really into AC\DC, and Led Zeppelin, and Queen, all the music that I grew up with. They seem to appreciate it more than the new music that’s on the radio. I think there’s more than just those two, because I never persuaded them to listen to anything except what they wanted to. They all on their own, have turned into liking good music, so I think that’s a trend. As far as current music, there isn’t to much of it that I can take in large doses. I can listen to a lot of it in small doses, but after awhile, it all runs together for me. The singers all sound alike, there’s no solos, and it’s depressing music. There’s nothing happy or uplifting about it.
I just recently took my kids to see Motley Crue, and they loved it man!
Yeah, that’s what I mean! Kids are starting to understand the talent level from those bands in the 70's and 80's, and they are blowing away what some of these newer bands are doing. I think the kids are appreciating it more, which I think will make some of these newer bands re-think their approach, and think yeah, maybe we should get better at our instruments before we come out.
I definitely believe there is a come back, with this genre of music. I’m seeing it everyday.
I do to, that’s why I think this is the perfect timing for our new cd. If we could just find somebody who would be serious about distributing it to radio stations, and getting it out to some of the big retail stores, and more people knew about it, and heard a couple of cuts off from it, I think they would really like it.
The music business can be brutal. What advice would you give to any musicians trying to make it in this business today?
I’d say that the biggest mistake young musicians do is, try to spend a whole bunch of money to get a record deal, or to get noticed. My philosophy is, work your ass off, hone your craft, and do as much in-house as you passably can. Do all of your demo’s by yourself, don’t go out and spend all of your money on studio recordings, when you can do things at home. Um...don’t try to impress record companies with studio recordings, because they don’t care. I would urge musicians not to let record companies send em’ off to exotic locations to record albums, because that’s how they get their hooks in you, and that’s money that you’ll never ever be able to pay back unless you sell a million records.
That’s great advice man! Pro-Tools all the way right Steve?
Exactly! I’m sure everybody who has watched the "Where are they now" episodes on VH1, that same old story has just ran over and over and over again about record companies signing the bands, and getting them in such a huge debt that they could never pay it back with the little bit of royalties they got. They ended up either a tax write off, or they never ever made any money, because the record companies had their hooks in them. You couldn’t escape it.
Actually, that brought me to another question. When you first started Funny Money, you were dealing with Perris records, correct?
I still do. I think Tom deals more in the European market, but I don’t really know what the impact of what we’re doing over there is, but him and I deal more in product than we do in profit. He and I will go together, and the fact that I don’t have to get a bunch of reprints up, he’ll get them printed up, and send me five-hundred, and he’ll sell five-hundred, and I’ll sell five-hundred. So, that’s pretty much the way we work. He does initially try to sell, like "Skin to Skin," when that first came out, and the other two, he did some distribution. Tom’s been an asset to me. Also, Mark has got CD Baby involved to, which is a great website distribution that a lot of people hit, and we sell cd’s on there as well.
In closing, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans out there Steve?
Hey!
Thanks for talking with GlamMetal.com TM today Steve, and good luck with the new record.
Thank you Doobie, and I appreciate your time. Nice talking with ya.
Interested in more about Funny Money? Then go to www.funnymoneyband.com
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