“My first gig with them was at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000.”
— Steve Brown on playing with Def Leppard
LOS ANGELES – Still a kid in 1990 when Trixter scored a big hit with “Give It To Me Good,” guitarist Steve Brown parlayed his young success like a true master.
The highlight was probably subbing in with Def Leppard a couple of times through the years, but Brown never turned his back on P.J. Farley, Pete Loran and the rest of Trixter. Nearly 40 years since they first started, they’re doing an expansive summer tour, and in the interim Brown has also succeeded as a producer and co-writer with Ace Frehley in addition to founding his own SBS Guitars company.
Brown is the longshot who made it despite signing with MCA back in the day – the label failed just about everyone else who not named Tom Petty – and in this inspiring, rare interview, you can feel Brown’s optimism and enthusiasm even though he’ll be playing for crowds of maybe 500 instead of 50,000 like Def Leppard.
One thing is for sure. Success has not changed Steve Brown. He’s got a few battle scars like the rest of us, but inside he is the same 18-year-old who practiced in front of his bedroom mirror for hours 365 days a year.
1. You were just a kid when Trixter started. Looking back, how good were you back then?
Steve Brown: I started Trixter in 1983 at 12 years old. Hard rock ruled the world. It was an incredible time in Paramus, New Jersey. I had the energy, the spirit, and the youthful eye of the tiger.
Was I good back then? Yeah, I think I was pretty damn good. I had been playing guitar for about five years already, and I had my Ibanez Iceman guitar. I had my band with me, and we were going to take over the world. It was the 80’s when anything was possible, we had the drive and the determination to make it, no matter what, against all odds. I was rocking it. Just trying to be a mini Eddie Van Halen. That’s all it was at that point.
2. It’s been a long time. List three things you learned being in Trixter.
1, Enjoy every moment
2, Be nice to everyone
3, Save your money
3. Can you put into detail what it feels like to play the greatest songs in the world with Def Leppard before huge crowds of screaming fans?
SB: Playing with Def Leppard has been one of the greatest experiences in my life. Def Leppard was a huge influence on me as a child. One of the reasons why I started Trixter was reading an article in Circus Magazine that he was 15 years old when he joined . To me that was a light bulb moment in forming Trixter, because I said to myself: “Well, what is going to be the gimmick? What is going to be our Kiss gimmick?” And it was Trixter. In my mind: “I have the idea. We are going to be the youngest hard rock band ever. We’re going to play faster, sing higher, jump around more, have more energy, look better, have cooler hair, get more girls.” It was all about being youthful, and a big part was from the leppards.
When you’re a fill-in guitar player for a band, it always helps when that band is one of your favorite musical acts. Certainly, Def Leppard has been the textbook of most of my songwriting and production techniques. Mutt Lange, of course, is the greatest rock producer ever as far as I’m concerned. Those records have been my education for songwriting, playing, singing, and production. “Pyromania” and “Hysteria,” most notably. So to play those songs with them, of course it’s one of the best feelings in the world.
My first gig with them was at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000, and I played numerous stadiums with them over the last decade. One of the most surreal moments I had was the first real gig that I did in Las Vegas 2014. I was filling in for Vivian and looked over to my left, and I saw Sav, Joe, and Phil, and we were in the verse of “Photograph” and we’re all lined up, rocking out, and I said to myself: “Oh my God, I’m not playing ‘Photograph’ in my own cover band or Rubix Kube (my 80’s band), I’m playing ‘Photograph’ with fucking Def Leppard right now.”
It never gets old playing any of their songs but “Photograph” is by far my favorite Def Leppard song.
4. How much memorization does it take to know 25 or 30 Def Leppard songs because most have a lot of different little parts?
SB: It takes a lot of memorization. I still have my trusty DL notebook that I go through once a year to make sure I’m up to all the songs in case I get called.
But back in 2013 when I got the call from management about becoming the fill-in guitar player, they sent me a hard drive with all their songs, about 40 songs live, in Pro Tools and I was able to single out all the parts that I had to learn, Vivian’s parts, and then later on Phil’s parts.
I rehearsed for six months every day. Luckily, I was on retainer and every day, five days a week, I would go down to my studio for six hours a day to practice Def Leppard songs. So by the time 2014 rolled around, I had to actually play some shows, and I went out on tour with them in the summer of 2014 on the Kiss/Def Leppard tour, and started doing soundchecks with them. All of their material had become second nature to me, because I rehearsed it so much. I had set up my studio like I was playing a live show. I would have my mic stand to sing, different guitars, I had mirrors to make sure my moves were coo like I was performing a show.
Again, just so blessed to be able to do that. And most importantly, to be able to help out my friends because they were in a time of need. Joe, Sav, Phil, Rick and of course Vivian needed my help. The whole organization has been phenomenal to me. I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again, Def Leppard is by far the greatest hard rock band playing live right now. They are 100% live. There are no background vocals on tape. Again, for me, it was important to make sure I had every vocal part, every guitar part, my image, all the moves, and I’m always going to be there for the Leppard camp, should they ever need me again.
5. Is Trixter gonna have a tour bus? And BTW how fancy does Def Leppard travel in comparison?
SB: On the Trixter tour coming up with Enuff Z’Nuff and Pretty Boy Floyd, we are not going to have a tour bus. We are going to be traveling very economically – but comfortable. We’re going to be in an SUV with some extra legroom. We travel very light – we carry only a few guitars and small pedal boards. We use all in-ear monitors so we don’t have to worry about carrying big amps and what not. I use my Headrush pedalboard and my SBS guitars, stage clothes, and some merchandise that’ll be on a roof rack. But yeah, it’ll be great. We stay in hotels every night. So that’s the important thing. Hampton Inns and Holiday Inn Express, we dig those.
How fancy does Def Leppard travel in comparison? They have three or four tour buses for the band members. I usually travel in Phil’s tour bus when I’m out. I believe now all the band members have their own buses. Lear jets and limousines sometimes as well. But the big difference would be hotels. Instead of staying at Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inns like Trixter does, Def Leppard stays at Four Seasons, Ritz-Carltons, and some of the nicest hotels all around the world. That’s a real cool perk to have when you travel with a band of that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame caliber.
6. Please list everything interesting about Trixter’s big hit “Give It to Me Good”
SB: It was written in my parents’ house in New Jersey, in my bedroom in late 1988. It was inspired by Van Halen and Kiss, because they are my two biggest influences. But what a lot of people don’t know is that Tesla was a favorite at that point to me. We loved the band Tesla and also Guns N’ Roses. So if you listen to it, it has that open G chord, which we all love, but there’s a little vibe from “Paradise City” and also Tesla’s “Little Suzi.” The acoustic guitar mixed with the electric guitars, that was definitely copped from Tesla. It took me 15 minutes to write it. The song basically wrote itself, which is a magical thing. A lot of the lyrics that are in the song talk about my life at the time. My father was a teacher, and he was also the vice principal of our middle school, and then Paramus High, where me, the drummer and Pete all went to, and he helped us graduate – I can definitely tell you that. It talks of living in the fast lane, being young, girls around, and the rock & roll life. That’s pretty much tells the story of “Give it to Me Good.”
There’s a rumor that the song is also about “hand jobs.” I don’t really know if that’s true, but it’s a great story, so let’s go with that, too! The conspiracy will make a Blabbermouth headline out of that!
“Give it to Me Good” bought me my house that I’m living in right now with my family and helped buy the studio that I’m recording this interview in. So yes, “Give it to Me Good” is the gift that keeps on giving. It changed our lives forever.
7. FireHouse first made it big right before your eyes on their breakout tour supporting Trixter and Warrant. You’ve called the late C.J. Snare your “Rock brother.”
SB: The passing of C.J. Snare is very, very sad. The Warrant and FireHouse guys are like I said, our Rock and Roll brothers. We got together in the spring of 1991 to go out on this tour that was dubbed the Blood, Sweat, and Beers Tour. It was supposed to be a little tour playing a lot of secondary markets, third level small towns all around America, and it wound up becoming this monster successful tour, and I don’t think any of us believed that it would be that big, but it wound up being one of Pollstar’s Top 10 tours of 1991. We played in front of some of the biggest crowds ever for us at that point.
Trixter had just finished touring for four months with Scorpions, playing every arena in North America in front of 15,000 people most nights. It was incredible. It was Trixter-Mania at its best. But when we started, and the difference with the Scorps, they were a lot older than us. They had been doing this for decades. So, though we got to hang out with them, it wasn’t like when we toured with Warrant and FireHouse, who were close to our age, and we immediately became like family. We would hang out in each other’s tour buses and dressing rooms, drinking and partying, just having the time of our life.
The great thing about being around the FireHouse or the Warrant guys again, no matter when we see each other, whether we hadn’t seen each other for two years or 10 years, when we get together, it’s like time stood still and it’s 1991 all over again. God bless C.J. Snare, he’s up in rock and roll heaven with Jani right now. Jani Lane was also one of the best live frontmen I ever saw at that time, an incredible performer, and I’m so bummed they have both have passed on. But I know C.J. lived a great life. He has beautiful children and songs that will last forever. We’re all going to miss him dearly. Love ya C.J. I’ll see you on the other side, my man.
8. What’s the biggest difference mentally between playing before 50,000 with Def Leppard versus 500 with Trixter?
SB: Well, it makes no difference to me, because when I get up on stage, and I think, P.J. feels the same way, we put on the same show. We play like we’re playing Madison Square Garden. From day one with Trixter, back in the early eighties, that was our goal and mindset, that no matter where we are playing, we are going to make it feel like we are rockin’ an arena. And that’s all we’ve ever done. I feel that even more when you play in front of smaller crowds, you have to give even more because you’re in a small space. You have to perform at a higher level, I believe, because when you’re playing big arenas and stadiums, a lot of mistakes can fly by and things get lost with the big reverb sound of an arena or a stadium.
In clubs, it’s a lot tighter, and you have to be on your game. In this day and age of everybody having a camera phone and filming everything, I think the level of musicianship and vocal ability, if you’re singing live, there’s a lot of bands who are still using backing tracks and lip syncing, which I hate. The one thing I can say about Trixter, like I said about Def Leppard, we are 100 percent live, no backing tracks, no tom foolery, everything is real. Three musicians on stage, playing live, singing live, and everything you hear is 100 percent real. We are very proud of that.
Playing in front of 50,000 people is one of the greatest rushes in the world, especially playing with Def Leppard. I’ve done it with Trixter, as well, played in front of, I think close to 50,000 people on the Blood, Sweat, and Beers Tour. I believe it was the World Amphitheater in Chicago that we played the summer of 1991. I believe it was 46,000 people we played to, and it was one of the most exhilarating feelings ever. I believe that no matter whether it’s 50 people or 500,000, you just basically go up on stage and you kick ass, and you give it all. That’s all I’ve ever tried to do in my whole career. Whatever I do, I give 100 percent, no matter what.
9. List some reasons why music should remain in school curriculums for kids.
SB: Music is wonderful for kids’ brains. Learning an instrument is great for their mind ability – and being able to memorize notes and improve mind, eye and hand coordination. Music stimulates everything in their life for the better in my opinion. Music makes the world a happier place.
Also, music curriculums in school, you never know where our next big rock star is going to come from. It’s so important that kids have that chance, because not every kid has the outlet of being able to play sports or being super smart. Music is important for the kids who need an outlet. I know that music gave me one of the greatest lives you could ever imagine. I think that the Board of Educations in all the schools around the world need to make sure that they keep music and art in the curriculum because it’s so important.
10. “New York Groove” with Ace Frehley is one of my favorite songs, but he once said it was almost TOO basic. Your thoughts?
SB: Well, it’s kind of pop rock songwriting perfection, and as far as I’m concerned, you can’t argue with the mega hit of “New York Groove.” Russ Ballard, who wrote the song, wrote many stellar tunes like “Since You’ve Been Gone” and “I Surrender” by Rainbow and “Hold Your Head Up” by Argent.
Ace is a huge fan of bridges in his songs. “NYG” could maybe have a short bridge in it. And for me, with Ace being one of the most influential rock guitar players ever, a guitar solo I think would’ve taken New York Groove to a next level. But again, it’s been such a huge hit, an iconic song. It’s hard to argue with the way it is, but in my heart of hearts, I believe that a short guitar solo and possibly even a short bridge in the song could have even made it better. I love the way Ace and his band play it live in concert.
11. Tell us about your new line of guitars – and how many guys have hit you up so far for a free guitar?
SB: SBS Guitars, it’s the Steve Brown Sound, in conjunction with Guitarfetish.com for guitars and pick-ups This has been a dream come true of mine to be able to have my own line of affordable, awesome, 80’s Van Halen style guitars.
When you start a business or start a company, you have to figure out what is your niche going to be? What is going to be, like I said before, the gimmick? Well, our goal, my partner, Jay, and I, we came up with an idea that we were going to make the most affordable, incredible rock guitar that anyone could ever get.
This means that the kid on a budget can get a great guitar. At under $400. you can’t lose. We actually have a $259 version as well as a custom series. So there’s a price range for everybody, and these guitars are just incredible for the money. I use them out live, 100 percent stock the way they come from the factory because they are that good.
And yes, there have been a lot of people who hit me up, a lot of guitar player friends of mine. “Hey man, can you send me one of those guitars. I’m going out on tour.” I go, “Dude, if you can’t afford $359, you don’t deserve one of these guitars! We’re selling them all around the world, and everybody that gets one believes and knows just what I’ve been saying, that they’re phenomenal, stellar guitars at an unbelievable price. So, get yourself an SBS guitar. You will not be disappointed. And if you can’t afford the guitar, you could just buy the pickups. The SBS pickups will make any guitar that you put them in sound a hundred percent better!
12. How fun is it to work and play with Ace Frehley?
SB: Working on the Ace Frehley “10,000 Volts” record has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Ace and Eddie Van Halen were the reasons that I became addicted to rock guitar in 1978. So to work with one of your heroes has just been one of the most fulfilling and satisfying experiences of my whole career. He has been a friend for the better part of 30 years. His fiancé, Lara Cove, is a fellow Jersey girl. We grew up together in Bergen County. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers. So, she was the one who really got Ace to come on board and work with me, because she kept saying, “You gotta make music with Steve.” She was a big fan of the Trixter and Tokyo Motor Fist records that I made. She believed Ace and I would be a great team, and we hit it off musically immediately. We wrote “Walkin’ on the Moon,” “10,000 Volts,” “Cherry Medicine” and “Fightin’for Life,” and his record company, everybody in his camp said , “Whoa, this is the greatest stuff since the 1978 solo record.
The “10,000 Volts” record is a big hit all around the world. It continues to build up steam and I’m just so thankful to be friends with Ace, and thrilled to see his career still kickin’ ass after 50 years.
BONUS QUESTION. You get to perform KISS songs, the ultimate dream for most guitarists, correct?
SB: Yes it’s SSIK (get it? ha ha), playing Kiss songs with Ace, there’s nothing like it. Again, it’s like playing “Photograph” with Def Leppard, playing “Shock Me,” “Rock and Roll All Night,” or “Cold Gin” with Ace. There’s nothing like it. I’ve got to play with Ace a couple times with Rubix Kube (my 80’s show band), Creaturesfest & Kiss Cancer Goodbye 2. Ace did a private party with Rubix, and we played a whole set of Kiss/Ace solo songs, and it was mind-blowing – one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. I got to sing “Rock and Roll All Night” with Ace playing guitar. Nothing gets better than that. I recently played“10,000 Volts” with Ace and his band at a live show in New Jersey. That was extra special for sure.
So, in closing, thank you to Metal Sludge for all the love, to the Sludge faithful all around the world, thank you for blessing me with this Rock & Roll Fantasy Life. I don’t know if I said that before, but July 10, 1984 was the first ever Trixter show. So, as it is right now, in May 2024, we are two months away from the “40th anniversary of TRIXTER.” P.J. and I will be out on the road to celebrate with our friends – Enuff Z’Nuff, Pretty Boy Floyd and Band, Inc. on a nationwide tour. I couldn’t have done it without the support of the people in the rock community and all the rock fans out there.
Keep it up, support all the bands, buy the T-shirts, buy the records, stream it, YouTube it, whatever you can do to help us rock on – because we need gas money to get from city to city!
Read other Steve Brown and Trixter related articles on Metal Sludge found below.
September 27th 2023
NONE IN A MILLION … Steve Brown says Trixter will “Never” Reunite with their Old “Adequate at Best” Drummer Mark ‘Gus’ Scott, but Frontman Peter Loran is “Always Welcome”
July 29th 2020
FIGHTSTER … Trixter’s Steve Brown and P.J. Farley say their drummer Gus is on the “Sh!t List” and compare him to a Disobedient Dog
July 15th 2020
STILL GIVING IT TO US GOOD … Trixter guitarist Steve Brown talks Kiss, Van Halen, Def Leppard and Tokyo Motor Fist
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Reach Gerry Gittelson at gerryg123@gmail.com.
