George Teixeira Blog: See Vixen in Ft. Myers, Florida

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

See Vixen in Ft. Myers, Florida

Watch VIXEN Perform In Ft. Myers, Florida

Fan-filmed video from VIXEN’s June 17th performance at the Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon in Ft. Myers, Florida can be seen below.

Earlier this month, VIXEN guitarist Brittany Denaro (aka Britt Lightning) spoke to Talking Metal about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band’s next studio album. “Well, it’s going a little slower than we expected,” she said. “Before COVID, we had a series of writing sessions planned – in person – where we would all meet, hang out, and work on things.

“We all live in different states in the country – from LA to Michigan to Florida – we’re very dispersed,” she said. “So it’s not easy to travel. And honestly, no one is super excited about sending tracks back and forth, recording them separately, and so on. So we slowed down a little. But we have some great ideas. We’ll see each other in a couple of weeks so we’re really looking forward to getting back on track and just getting the writing done so we can go into the studio and get this thing out. I’m very excited to let it do it. I know we’ve been talking about it for a while. “

When asked about the musical direction of the new VIXEN material, Britt, who has been with the band since 2017, said: “Definitely it will be traditional VIXEN. When you hear it, you will know that it is VIXEN. We are I will stick with the big three-part harmonies, the big, catchy choruses, cool, rocking riffs and solos and that booming bass and of course Roxys [Petrucci, drums] great sound. I think it might be a bit of a modern twist – I think maybe I’ll bring that with me a bit, but I’ve been so influenced by VIXEN and other bands from that era that I think it’ll stay consistent. And we want that – we don’t want the fans to say, ‘What the hell is that? This is not the band I love. ‘ But I think it’s going to be a good mix. “

Britt’s comments echo those of VIXEN vocalist Lorraine Lewis, who told Metal-Net last November that the band’s new material “will always sound like VIXEN in terms of harmonies – [which is] very important to us – but really fresh. Lots of messages, lots of what our journey was like as individual women. And we all put our horses together and I’m really excited. I’m just stoked to be back in the studio.

“We didn’t plan it one hundred percent,” admitted Lorraine. “At the moment we’re still in the writing process, we’re still working on things – lots of texts and just sharing them with all of us. Refrains share [producer] Fred [Coury from CINDERELLA]. He says, “Yeah, that’s a great chorus. Let’s work on it. ‘ We are really very happy and proud to work with him. He believes in us and he believes in me, which I really love. We had some really great conversations in the studio and elsewhere, like with Britt there, and he just said, ‘You guys have everything for you guys. You have a great band. You are a legacy band. And Lorraine did singing for you. ‘ And I’m so grateful that he believes in me and thinks I can sing anything. If Fred tells you you can do anything, believe it. So I’m really looking forward to going into the studio and working with him. And I’m really honored that he said some of the things that he said to me. So the sky is the limit here. ‘

Lewis added, “I want to make a really powerful, amazing album. And let’s get some singles out, revamp the VIXEN legacy and keep rocking.”

In January 2019, VIXEN recruited Lewis as the new lead singer following the departure of Janet Gardner.

Lewis had performed with VIXEN in Durant, Oklahoma in March 2018 while Gardner was recovering from surgery.

Prior to Lewis joining VIXEN, Petrucci, Ross and Denaro vowed to “expand the legacy of VIXEN while remaining true to our musical roots”.

Gardner, who released her first self-titled solo album in 2017, announced news of her departure from the group on January 16, 2019.

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are part of the classic line-up of VIXEN, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN’s most commercially successful studio albums – “Vixen” (1988), “Rev It Up” (1990) and “Tangerine” (1998) – as well as the group’s latest release, the live album “Live Fire ”from 2018.