The song was produced by Cinderella drummer Fred Coury
Legendary female rock band Vixen has released their new single, “Red,” and premiered the track’s official music video. The song was produced and written by Cinderella drummer Fred Coury and self-released by the band.
Vixen featuring Roxy Petrucci on drums, Lorraine Lewis on vocals, Britt Lightning on guitar, and Julia Lage on bass debuted the infectious rocker on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk. Regarding the single, original member Petrucci shares, “‘Red’ is a very dynamic and hard-driving rocker of a song! Modern yet embraces the amazing harmonies and catchy choruses that are signature to the classic Vixen style. It’s important to me that we honor Jan and the band’s 35-year legacy by staying true to the Vixen sound while melding in fresh new ideas. I feel confident we nailed it with our new release ‘Red’!”
Coinciding with the single’s release, Vixen premiered their music video for “Red” featuring the band rocking out on the Sunset Strip and Lewis belting out the catchy chorus: “You’re taking me to the red, to the red. You’re pushing all my buttons. To the edge, to the edge. I’m getting such a rush. So intense, so intense. Don’t let it in. You’re taking me into the red.” The clip was directed by Drew Johnston and Vicente Cordero.
After a busy summer of touring, Vixen will finish off the year performing at Life After Death Horror Fest in Mexico City on December 1st and then gear up for another busy year, kicking off 2024 with the Monsters of Rock Cruise next March 2nd-7th, with more dates to be announced.
There’s only one all-female hard rock band from the 80’s who sold over two million albums, had six No. 1 videos on MTV, and four songs on Billboard’s Top 100 ‒ Vixen. The legendary rock band found commercial success in the late ’80s and early ’90s with singles like “Edge of a Broken Heart,” “Cryin’,” and “How Much Love,” all of which enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV.
Vixen was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota by high schooler guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who relocated the group to Hollywood to follow her rock star dreams, eventually retooling the lineup to include: vocalist Janet Gardner, drummer Roxy Petrucci, and bassist Share Ross (Pedersen). Despite all the stereotypes regarding female-fronted bands, EMI Records rolled the dice on Vixen in 1987 and the all-female band was thrown into the male-dominated world of hard rock. EMI released their self-titled debut album in 1988, featuring two Top 40 singles: “Edge of a Broken Heart” (penned by Richard Marx and The Tube’s Fee Waybill) and single “Cryin’,” which reached No. 26 and No. 22 on the Billboard Top 100, respectively. Vixen was certified gold and came in at No. 43 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time.” After the release of Vixen, the band spent the next year touring the world supporting acts such as Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Bon Jovi, and Eddie Money, as well as headlining their own shows, distinguishing themselves as a premiere rock act to be taken seriously. Vixen released their second album, 1990’s Rev It Up, establishing the band as hit songwriters with their infectious singles “Love Is A Killer” and “How Much Love,” the latter of which they performed live on The Arsenio Hall Show. The band would go on to promote Rev It Up with a headlining tour and as a support act for Kiss and Deep Purple.
In the wake of the grunge and alternative rock boom, Vixen disbanded in 1992, before reconvening in 1997 around Gardner, Petrucci, and live-wire guitarist Gina Stile to release the group’s third studio album Tangerine on CMC International. The comeback proved short-lived but in 2002, Kuehnemund put together another iteration of the group, recruiting vocalist Jenna Sanz-Agero, bassist Lynn Louise Lowry, and drummer Kat Kraft, to release a live album Extended Versions, a recording of their set at 2005’s Sweden Rock Festival, and a new studio album, 2006’s Live & Learn, the latter of which was nominated for Best Album: Hard Rock/Metal at the 2007 Independent Music Awards.
Kuehnemund would eventually reach out to Gardner, Pertrucci, and Ross in hopes of a long-awaited reunion but sadly, only days before officially announcing the news, Kuehnemund was diagnosed with cancer and the reunion was put on hold. Jan Kuehnemund, the founding member and lead guitarist of Vixen, passed away on October 10, 2013, after a long battle with cancer. The remaining classic lineup members (Gardner, Petrucci, and Pedersen), plus new guitarist Britt Lightning (Alejandro Sanz, Rachel Platten), elected to carry on in Kuehnemund’s honor and expand upon the Vixen legacy by continuing to tour, culminating in the release of the concert LP Live Fire in 2018. In 2019, with Gardner pursuing other ventures, a new chapter began with the addition of Lorraine Lewis (Femme Fatale) stepping into lead vocals. In 2022, Brazilian bassist Julia Lage (Barra Da Saia, Smith/Kotzen, The Sister Knot) joined forces with Vixen when Ross announced she was taking a hiatus from the band. Lage spent over a decade with Latin Grammy-nominated Barra Da Saia, playing arenas all over South America, as well as performing live with members of The Cars, Extreme, and Sugar Ray.
