OCEANSIDE — Stephen Jerome recalls the glory days in the summer of 1989 as front man for the rock band X Factor, where the group played nine consecutive sold-out shows at La Paloma.“At the same time our song ‘Running’ was being played three times a day starting at midnight on the Home Grown Hour on KGB radio,” he remembered.
The following year he joined the band, Menace.
Today, Jerome is owner of Rock Your Loxx where he incorporates his passion for hair styling in a rock ‘n’ roll themed salon.
The price scale is modeled after a stadium concert venue with the Nose Bleed section characterized by a no-frills “sit down, spray it down hair cut beginning at $23.”
The Loge section starts at $28 and includes a basic shampoo, cut and blow dry.
If a customer is willing to pay more for pampering, they might consider the Front Row Ticket section which comes with a massage at the shampoo bowl, custom styling, blow dry to the “Rockin’” finished style that can include flat or curling irons priced at $60 and up.
The $100 Back Stage Pass includes all the services of The Front Row Ticket section plus complimentary beverages and a minimum two-song, live performance by Jerome whose repertoire ranges from Elvis’ “Blue Suede Shoes” and Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” to Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”
“I receive a jubilant reaction and standing ovation from my VIPs afterwards,” Jerome says with a sense of satisfaction of a job well done.
He is serious when he addresses his customers as his “VIPs.”
“I never refer to them as anything but that,” he explained. “When I ask them to exit the chair, I say ‘Please exit stage right or stage left.’ I try to be as unique and different so that the theme is an experience.”
The salon’s voice mail features Jerome greeting prospective VIPs with the message, “We’re open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to the last encore.” Jerome’s VIPs include Derrick Riggs, creator of “Eddie” of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
From the time he heard Freddie Mercury’s live version of “Don’t Stop Me Now” at the age of 14, Jerome says he wanted to be a rock singer.
“It was a spark that just kind of hit and sent chills over my body,” he recalled. “At age 15, my mother cautioned me by saying, ‘you have to have something to fall back on Little Mick Jagger, in case it doesn’t work out for you.’”
After graduating from the Oceanside College of Beauty with straight A’s, his first job as a stylist was for Super Cuts.
In 1995 he bought Hair Quest Barber Shop, dropped the ‘barber shop,’ and began building a reputation for haircuts and color treatments.
In 2008, the recession hit many local businesses and eventually that included Jerome’s.
An old rock ‘n’ roll buddy came to the rescue.
“Robert Monger was the drummer in Menace and I still consider him a big brother,” he recalled. “I bent his ear and told him I wasn’t sure if I should do something else, work for someone else or become someone else.
“Three months later he called and said, ‘I had an epiphany about you Steve, and I think you should theme the shop around music and yourself and call it ‘Rock Your Loxx.’”
It was like the old days as Monger and Jerome began collaborating again.
They designed and implemented a concept to pay homage to rock ‘n’ roll greats by displaying photos, record albums and other memorabilia honoring legends from Ray Charles to Adele.
Their design included a small stage for impromptu concerts or an opportunity for a customer to perform.
Rock Your Loxx is at 1840 S. Coast Highway at the corner of Kelly Street.
For more information, call (760) 433-3038 or visit Facebook Rock-Your-Loxx. Discounts are offered to seniors and the military and their spouses.
