Stephen Shareaux is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band

Kik Tracee Kik Tracee was an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 1988 during the last years of the glam metal movement, before the influx of grunge and alternative rock. History The band was formed in a Los Angeles sub ...

. He is also a solo artist as well as lead vocalist and co-founder of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band Zen from Mars which includes members of

Bang Tango Bang Tango is an American hard rock band. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1988 and was signed to MCA Records the same year. History Formation (1988) Initially the band was founded by guitarist Mark Knight and bassist Kyle Kyle in 1 ...

, Enuff Z'Nuff,

Flipp Flipp is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1994, founded by singer/guitarist/producer Brynn Arens. They were signed to Hollywood Records and later Artemis Records, releasing 3 studio albums up until their dis ...

, and

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...

Career

Kik Tracee

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 1987, Shareaux formed the

band Kik Tracee with L.A. bassist Rob Grad, guitarist Gregory "Hex" Offers, guitarist Michael Marquis, and drummer Scott Donnell (Later replaced by Johnny Douglas). The group were signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and initially managed by

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...

until Slaughter bassist Dana Strum persuaded the band to seek elsewhere for representation; Strum would then go on to produce their debut record ''No Rules''. The music video for the track ''Don't Need Rules'' had moderate rotation on MTV's Headbanger's Ball and the single ''You're So Strange'', which also had a music video, peaked at No. 46 on Billboard's

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart in 1991. The band's follow up, the Chris Goss produced EP ''Field Trip'', was released in 1992. Kik Tracee's marketing team treated almost the entire New York staff of RCA, the band's label, to a real life field trip to present the marketing plan for the album. A video was then released for the single ''In Trance''. Also in 1992, Shareaux was named a top contender to replace

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 formation until his departure in 1992. Neil reunited with the ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

; Shareaux turned down the offer to join, and John Corabi ultimately got the gig. In 1993 the band began work on its second full-length release, ''Center of a Tension'', with producer

Garth Richardson Garth "GGGarth" Richardson, (born ), is a Canadian record producer and sound engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson. He has worked with such musical acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crüe, Nickelback, Rage Against ...

. The band would end up falling apart at this point resulting in the album never making it past the pre-production stage. In 2017, Kik Tracee signed with EMP Label Group to release a 2-disc demos and b-sides album titled ''Big Western Sky''.

Post Kik Tracee

Still having to deliver an album to RCA after the break of up Kik Tracee, Shareaux then teamed up with guitarist/singer Brynn Arens to write together; Shareaux parted ways and Arens carried on to form

. Following Kik Tracee's break up, Shareaux would resurface in Revel 8 as well as Nectar, which featured Rik Schaffer of Tomorrow's Child and Engines of Aggression. As shown in the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

documentary ''The Rise of Velvet Revolver'', in 2002 Shareaux had auditioned for the lead singer position in ''The Project''; which would end up becoming

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of pu ...

. The position eventually went to

Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (, ; né Kline; October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013, r ...

. Shareaux's debut solo album ''Golden'' was released in November 2013. The album was produced by Bernie Larsen and features a guest appearance by

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

and

Faces The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

keyboardist

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

, who performs on the track ''R&R''. The single ''Stay'' was released along with a music video which was directed by

Kii Arens Kii Arens (born May 7, 1967) is an American contemporary, pop-artist, graphic designer and director. He is the owner of La-La Land Gallery in Los Angeles. In 2021 Arens was part of the dearMoon project and created numerous Non-fungible token ...

. In 2016, Shareaux had been chosen to audition in person for the then vacant frontman position in

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

. Jeff Gutt would end up getting the gig.

Zen from Mars

In 2015, Shareaux began performing acoustic shows with

guitarist

Drew Fortier Drew Fortier is an American musician and filmmaker. He is best known for his work with the Lucid; which he cofounded alongside Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge (band), Sponge), David Ellefson (ex Megadeth), and Mike Heller (Fear Factory). He was guitar ...

for which Kik Tracee material was performed live for the first time since the band's break up in 1993. This eventually led to the duo forming

band Zen from Mars along with bassist Chip Z'Nuff, drummer Mike Heller, guitarist Brynn Arens, and pianist Kate Catalina. The band released an early version of their track ''New Leaf'' in 2016 which was mixed by Matt Wallace. Their debut album ''The Ultra Head Frequency'' is currently being mixed and mastered for a 2018 release.

Other works

In 2005 Shareaux landed a role as Jimmy the Mod in the stage musical of

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While ...

. Shareaux also performs in The Who Generation, which is a

tribute band that have been featured on

AXS TV AXS TV () is an American cable television channel majority-owned by Canadian broadcaster Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musi ...

's World's Greatest Tribute Bands.

Legacy and accolades

Kik Tracee's debut album ''No Rules'' appeared at No. 46 on

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

's ''Top 50 Greatest

Hair Metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

Albums of All Time'' list. Kik Tracee landed at No. 78 for

's ''Hair Metal 100 Countdown'' list which ranked the greatest 80's hair metal bands of all time.

Discography

Kik Tracee

* ''No Rules'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1991) * ''Field Trip'' (RCA, 1992) * ''Center of a Tension'' (unreleased, 1993) * ''Big Western Sky'' ( EMP Label Group, 2017)

Nectar

* ''Afterglow'' (Dream Cirlcle, 1997)

Zen from Mars

* ''Inner Mission'' (2022)

Solo

* ''Golden'' (2013)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shareaux, Stephen 21st-century American singer-songwriters American rock songwriters Singers from Los Angeles 20th-century American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Living people 1965 births 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from California