4. Roxx Gang 1982–2000 (St. Petersburg/Virgin)

Roxx Gang, 1988 (from left): David James Blackshire (drums), Roby “Strychnine” Strine (bass), Kevin Steele (vocals), Jeff Taylor and Wayne Hayes (guitars). Photo: Roxx Gang Facebook.

 

South Florida’s Tuff Luck’s Gulf Coast glam-doppelganger fronted by mainstay vocalist Kevin Steele garnered A&R interest with a full-length cassette, Love ’Em and Leave ’Em (1987), and a self-titled, five-song demo (1988) — a tall order considering “hair metal” wasn’t yet in vogue in a state that ruled the national charts with the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and “southern rockers” Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and .38 Special.

Virgin — who also signed Fort Lauderdale’s Young Turk — won the bidding war. Beau Hill — known for his platinum-selling work with the metal-analogous Kix, Ratt, and Winger — produced the debut, Things You’ve Never Done Before (1988). Consisting mostly of re-recordings from the previous demos — the radio-singles “No Easy Way Out” and “Scratch My Back” — in particular, the album sold a disappointing 250,000 copies: Guns N’ Roses signed with Geffen in 1986; their debut, Appetite for Destruction (1987), became the best-selling debut album of all time, with over 30 million copies sold.

Cue the band infighting — compounded by the usual record company hassles regarding the writing of “hit singles.” The arrival of grunge — and the resulting programming shifts on rock radio in the early ’90s — didn’t help, either.

As with the label-dropped and undeterred Ronnie Garvin before him: Kevin Steele returned to Florida’s club stages with an all-new version of the band, self-releasing High Five (1993), a five-song demo tape precursor to their third and fourth indie-albums, The Voodoo You Love (1995) and Mojo Gurus (1998). The latter’s more alt-rock contemporary, blues-rock leanings lead to a moniker change — but same line-up — as Mojo Gurus at the turn of the decade (and the official demise of Roxx Gang). Their indie debut, Hot Damn! (2004), caught the hit ears of Jack Douglas (he pops up again with Gypsy Queen) — known for his work with Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and the New York Dolls — who produced the sophomore effort, Shakin’ in the Barn (2005). Tommy Henriksen — known for his work with Alice Cooper — assisted the band on their fourth album, Who Asked Ya? (2014).

The music of Roxx Gang lives on in 2025 — gaining new fans along the way — courtesy of their songs, “Ball N’ Chain” and “No Easy Way Out,” appearing in the action-adventure video game, Saints Row (2006). Their discography has been the subject of three compilation albums (1998 — 2001), an all-encompassing collector’s box set (2011), and a compilation of previously lost demos from their Virgin years, Last Laugh: The Lost Roxx Gang Demos (2014).

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Enjoy Roxx Gang's The Things You've Never Done Before, as well a couple videos and live gigs, on Over the Edge Radio You Tube.