Episode 23 - Jan Kuehnemund of Vixen

Anyone that was around during the glam rock era of the late 1980’s remembers the teased hair, lipstick, and revealing clothing. There was also a female rock band named Vixen that was giving the pretty boys a run for their money in the hooks and looks department. Plus, you could unashamedly stare at them and drool without requiring therapy in later years.

We recently had an opportunity to spend some time chatting with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund about all things Vixen and some theories on the music business in general.

Jan gave us all the details of the current Kickstarter project that Vixen has launched to help fund their next album.

We take a trip down memory lane from Jan’s early days forming Vixen in St. Paul, Minnesota with high school friends to their journey out west to Los Angeles in the early 1980’s.

It certainly was not an overnight success story for Kuehnemund  as she struggled for a number of years moving Vixen forward while enduring demanding producers and numerous lineup changes.

One lineup of Vixen saw the band portraying a group known as Diaper Rash and performing at a bikini contest on the beach. The group toured the Midwest in between shooting their parts as well as working waitress jobs in the Los Angeles area to survive.

Jan gives us her recollections of the formation of the most notable lineup of the band which included singer Janet Gardner, bassist Share Pedersen, and drummer Roxy Petrucci. We hear her story of how ‘Edge of a Broken Heart’ was written and delivered in 24 hours by singer/songwriter Richard Marx as well as her comparisons of the 1988 debut album to the follow-up Rev It Up.

Aaron and Chris hear Jan’s memories of touring with artists such as KISS, Deep Purple, and Ozzy Osbourne among others.

Throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s, Vixen became a chameleon –like group, shuffling members but the transition was certainly not seamless as Jan was in and out of the group and even took them to court over copyright infringement for the 1998 album Tangerine. We asked Jan about the stresses and strains of that era and she was very open about what took place.

We hear about the current lineup of Vixen and how they formed in only a few weeks time to finish out the Voices of Metal tour.

Vh1 came calling a few years later and got Vixen back together for a single one-off performance in Los Angeles. The tension in the room was palpable when the four women met again for the first time in years but they pulled it together to perform. 

We also ask Jan if there’s any possibility of another Vixen reunion and she gives us the low-down on recent contact between band members. Pretty interesting stuff.

We want to thank Jan Kuehnemund again for coming on the show and wish her luck in the future with Vixen. To check out more Vixen stuff go to www.vixenrock.com.

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