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Vixen (band)

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Vixen

Vixen is an all female American glam metal / heavy metal band which achieved some success during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

History

Vixen was formed in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1980 by guitarist Jan Kuehnemund while still at high school. In 1984, an early version of the band with Kuehnemund and singer Janet Gardner appeared in the movie Hardbodies as the on-screen band "Diaper Rash." In 1985 the band moved to Los Angeles to be part of the LA rock scene. Line-up changes happened during the following years until the 'classic' line-up of Jan Kuehnemund (guitar), Janet Gardner (vocals & rhythm guitar), Share Pedersen (bass guitar) and Roxy Petrucci (drums) was formed. This line-up of Vixen was interviewed in 1987 along with many other rock artists of the day by Penelope Spheeris for her film The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years.

In 1988 the band were signed to EMI and they began recording their debut album Vixen which was released in September 1988. Singer and Songwriter Richard Marx actually wrote and arranged their signature hit, "Edge of a Broken Heart," on the album.[citation needed] He also produced the song. Rumor was he was asked to assist the all-female band by EMI to produce their first major hit to compete with the all-female band The Bangles.[citation needed] Marx had nothing to do with their follow-up CD since he was becoming a more of a mainline singer than songwriter. The next year Vixen spent touring the world supporting acts such as Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions and Bon Jovi as well as headlining their own shows. The band returned to the studio in late 1989/early 1990 to record their follow up album Rev it Up which was released in July 1990. A year of touring followed including headlining their own shows and supporting acts such as KISS and Deep Purple. In mid-1991 the band split due to musical differences.[citation needed]

In 1997 Roxy Petrucci reformed Vixen with Janet Gardner on vocals, Gina Stile on guitar and Rana Ross on bass guitar. This line-up toured the US in 1997 and in 1998 Petrucci, Gardner and Stile recorded the album Tangerine. After the release of the new album Roxy's sister Maxine Petrucci was brought in to play bass guitar on a U.S. tour of 1998 but were sued for copyright infringement by Kuehnemund.

In 1999, Share Pedersen joined her husband's band the Dogs D'Amour, who were reforming after a long hiatus. She appeared on their 2000 album Happy Ever After, playing bass and keyboards and contributing prominent backing vocals. Share and her husband, Bam, also have their own band, Bubble, which is very popular in L.A.

In 2001 Vixen was reformed by Kuehnemund with a line-up consisting of herself, Janet Gardner, Roxy Petrucci and new bassist Pat Holloway. This line-up toured the US as part of the "Voices of Metal" tour, unfortunately half way through the tour disagreements caused the band to split up with only Kuehnemund remaining. Kuehnemund quickly recruited vocalist Jenna Sanz-Agero, bassist Lynn Louise Lowrey and drummer Kat Kraft to complete the tour. This line up is still together and as of early 2005 they are recording a new album and preparing to tour Europe and the US in the summer[1].

In 2004 VH1 approached the four members of the 'classic' line up to appear on their show Bands Reunited, the show was recorded in August 2004 and broadcast in the US in November 2004. Following the broadcast of the VH1 show EMI re-released the first two Vixen albums.

Members

Partial Lineups (1980-1986)

When Jan Kuehnemund first set up Vixen, she went through a variety of potential musicians for the band in quick succession. It was only when the first solid lineup formed in 1987 that enough information exists to form a full history. Therefore the lineups for 1980, 1983 and 1986 are incomplete. A long list of musicians who played in the band at some point or another is also included.

1980

1983

1984

1986

Complete Lineups (1987-1991, 1991-1997, 2001-present)

1987-1991

1991 - 1997

Band split

1997

  • Janet Gardner - Vocals, Guitar
  • Gina Stile - Guitar
  • Roxy Petrucci - Drums
  • Rana Ross - Bass

1998

  • Janet Gardner - Vocals, Guitar
  • Gina Stile - Guitar
  • Roxy Petrucci - Drums
  • Maxine Petrucci - Bass

1998 - 2001

Band split

2001

  • Janet Gardner - Vocals, Guitar
  • Jan Kuehnemund - Guitar
  • Roxy Petrucci - Drums
  • Pat Holloway - Bass

2001 - present

  • Jenna Piccolo (now Jenna Sanz-Agero) - Vocals
  • Jan Kuehnemund - Guitar
  • Kat Kraft - Drums
  • Lynn Louise Lowrey - Bass

Other members

Discography

Albums

Singles

  • from "Vixen"
    • Edge of a Broken Heart #51 UK, #26 US
    • Cryin' #27 UK, #22 US
    • Love Made Me #36 UK
    • Edge of a Broken Heart (re-issue) #59 UK
  • from "Rev It Up"
    • How Much Love #35 UK, #44 US
    • Love is a Killer #41 UK, #71 US
    • Not a Minute Too Soon #37 UK

Videos

  • Revved Up VHS 1990. 37 mins. UK
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