Ex Members!

[Nimasis]

Anyone knows where are the ex band members right now?! Specially the Shinning Janet Gardner! Any information about where is she now? What is she doing right now?! I miss her so much. No one is like Janet and no one can replace her in this band!! NEVER!!!

[Mark Carras]

From the links page on the official Vixen website...

http://www.roxypetrucci.com/

http://www.planetbubble.com/ Planet Bubble - Share's band

From Wikipedia:

http://bubblebabble.typepad.com/ Share's knitting blog

I can't find any links for Janet Gardner though. Sorry.

[Nimasis]

Thanks Mark, but actually I want informations about Janet Gardner. Cuz As you just couldn't , I can't find any news about her too!!

[Downy]

All i can tell you mate is Janet is out of the music business and she is married with children so i guess shes just being a wife and mother now.
Shame though as Janet has an awesome voice maybe we will here from her again in the future.

[Musht]

I think I have read on a website that Janet was working on a solo album...

But I don't know when was the last update of the website, I think that this solo album was scheduled for 2006...

[Nimasis]

For Godsake man! Isn't anybody out there that know where the heck is Janet Gardner?!! How it can be that an amazing singer like her is disappeared like this?!! I can't believe it. No information, no site, no email...

[Mark Carras]

For Godsake man! Isn't anybody out there that know where the heck is Janet Gardner?!! How it can be that an amazing singer like her is disappeared like this?!! I can't believe it. No information, no site, no email...

It could be that she grew tired of the spotlight and wanted to focus on family life. With the internet what it is, if she wanted to be found she would be. I'm sure she will pop up again when she wants to. :cool

[Nasty_]

For Godsake man! Isn't anybody out there that know where the heck is Janet Gardner?!! How it can be that an amazing singer like her is disappeared like this?!! I can't believe it. No information, no site, no email...


I wish I knew. Actually, I’d rather know that she’s doing great than know what she’s up to. I mean, as long as she’s happy I am too, no matter what she’s doing…
However, last time I heard (on VH1, for the Bands Reunited show) she was living in Connecticut, happily married with children and was studying to become a dentist or something like that. However, that was 3 years ago.
Then I totally agree with the shame part: she’s an immensely talented singer and it would be amazing to have her back on the road. But then again, if she’s enjoying what she’s doing, I’m more than happy for her.
Cheers :)

[Mark Carras]

I wish I knew. Actually, I’d rather know that she’s doing great than knowing what she’s up to. I mean, as long as she’s happy I am too, no matter what she’s doing…
However, last time I heard (on VH1, for the Bands Reunited show) she was living in Connecticut, happily married with children and was studying to become a dentist or something like that. However, that was 3 years ago.
Then I totally agree with the shame part: she’s an immensely talented singer and it would be amazing to have her back on the road. But then again, if she’s enjoying what she’s doing, I’m more than happy for her.
Cheers :)

Nasty! You made it! Glad to see you got it all sorted out. Welcome. :monkey

[Nasty_]

Nasty! You made it! Glad to see you got it all sorted out. Welcome. :monkey


Haha thanks! I had to register again with a different nick though... No prob, it's great to be here! :metal

[Nimasis]

Sure we're more than happy if she's happy too, but losing someone like her that I think played a huge part of our love to Vixen is really disappointing, For me it's a real blow! She's like the voice of heaven for me...Words can't describe my feeling sincerely!

[Carl]

Well. anything more then telling you that she is a mom, lives in "somewheretown" in New England working as a dental hygienest, which is public knowledge from the VH1 reunion, what more do you demand to know? Janet doesn't perform anymore. As she's been quoted, " I don't even sing anymore, unless it's to my son." She wishes to be left alone, that's certainly her choice, and her right, that should be respected. If she wishes to make her self known she will, otherwise, best wishes and good health to her. I hope only good things for her, despite what she and Share did to Jan.

[Nasty_]

Well. anything more then telling you that she is a mom, lives in "somewheretown" in New England working as a dental hygienest, which is public knowledge from the VH1 reunion, what more do you demand to know? Janet doesn't perform anymore. As she's been quoted, " I don't even sing anymore, unless it's to my son." She wishes to be left alone, that's certainly her choice, and her right, that should be respected. If she wishes to make her self known she will, otherwise, best wishes and good health to her. I hope only good things for her, despite what she and Share did to Jan.

Maybe one of the reasons why she wants to be left alone is that she’s sick of reading stuff like “despite what she and Share did to Jan”. The only thing Janet ever did to Jan was making her band famous, as I don’t remember Vixen being any successful in the 10-15 years that went by before Janet finally joined in. Same for Share, and Roxy.

[Anthony]

The only thing Janet ever did to Jan was making her band famous, as I don’t remember Vixen being any successful in the 10-15 years that went by before Janet finally joined in. Same for Share, and Roxy.

Janet was an original member of Vixen since 1983. Jan formed the band in 1980. But I agree, Janet's vocal are what gave Vixen that edge. But as the story goes, EMI dropped Vixen around the time they started working on the third album because glam-metal was dead and grunge was the new thing. According to Jan in an interview with Mark E. Waterbury in 2007, she and Roxy were going to work with outside writers for the third album; Janet and Share didn't want this. This, coupled with the EMI issue, and then Jan beginning to work with another band called Population 361, led to Vixen breaking up. Roxy hooked up with Janet for another project which wasn't originally going to be a Vixen album. They both got excited and tried to get the others onboard, but there was no interest, so they made the new Vixen album on their own.

I remember there being talk about Jan and Share trying to oust Janet during their commercial peak, and I also remember Roxy not being involved in that. There was a discussion of this in their Bands Reunited episode, but I can't locate a copy. It would be nice if someone could post it to YouTube cause my memory is hazy.

[Nasty_]

Janet was an original member of Vixen since 1983. Jan formed the band in 1980. But I agree, Janet's vocal are what gave Vixen that edge. But as the story goes, EMI dropped Vixen around the time they started working on the third album because glam-metal was dead and grunge was the new thing. According to Jan in an interview with Mark E. Waterbury in 2007, she and Roxy were going to work with outside writers for the third album; Janet and Share didn't want this. This, coupled with the EMI issue, and then Jan beginning to work with another band called Population 361, led to Vixen breaking up. Roxy hooked up with Janet for another project which wasn't originally going to be a Vixen album. They both got excited and tried to get the others onboard, but there was no interest, so they made the new Vixen album on their own.

Hmm Vixen was formed in the early seventies (the band was originally called Genesis), so Janet would’ve been a little too young to be the original vocalist. Nancy Shanks was the original singer, and stayed until about the mid seventies, when she and some other members left Vixen and went on to form a band called Wild Cherry. The rest of the line up consisted of Jan (guitar), Cindy Boettcher (keys), Gayle Erickson (bass), and Marlene Peterson and/or Laurie Hedlund (drums – for a while Vixen performed live with two drummers). Then in the eighties Jan finally moved Vixen to LA, where Janet was touring with the Young Americans. Legend has it that one day Jan’s manager noticed this amazingly talented vocalist in an LA club and was so impressed that begged her to audition. Which, much to our delight, she did. When Janet joined Vixen the line up was: Jan (guitar), Janet (vocals), Tamara Ivanov (guitar), Laurie Hedlund (drums) and Pia Maiocco, who had just replaced Liza Carbe (now in a band called Incendio) as bass player. Then in 1987 Roxy became the new drummer (after leaving Madam X) and next came Share, who replaced Pia Maiocco. The rest is history…

I remember there being talk about Jan and Share trying to oust Janet during their commercial peak, and I also remember Roxy not being involved in that. There was a discussion of this in their Bands Reunited episode, but I can't locate a copy. It would be nice if someone could post it to YouTube cause my memory is hazy.

The talking was about Share & Janet trying to oust Jan. However, truth is that they just wanted to add another guitar player. The discussion on Bands Reunited was rather deceiving: they omitted most of the real story, so that they could make Janet, and to some extent Share, look like the bad guys, because the story would sound more dramatic if told that way. It sucks that they tried to make Janet look that way, as she’s really such a wonderful person, and I’m sure she was really hurt.

[ilknu®]

I’ll keep this one short and simple…
It takes a combination of people to make up a band and it’s this combination that works and has its magic; not the singer, the guitar player, the drummer or the bass player.
(To prove my point, you can all ask yourselves why Tangerine was an “unsuccessful attempt”. Remember now, Janet was in the line-up… so what was the problem?!)
I think to say that Janet was single handedly the reason for Vixen’s success during the first two albums is simply ignorant. Not to mention, extremely disrespectful especially to Jan, who has always been and still is the heart and soul of Vixen today. I’m not here to take sides or favor someone over another person. But as a fan of Vixen the band, I’d really appreciate it if people were more considerate and would choose their words wisely when they try to address some of these issues next time.

Thank you.

[Anthony]

They couldn't have formed in the "early" '70s though. Jan was born in 1961. All the accounts I have was that the band became Vixen in 1980, and prior to that Genesis. Jan renamed the group because of rising popularity of the Peter Garbiel band, Genesis. Now that band had a breakthrough album in 1973, but it wasn't til after '77 that Genesis was big in the US. Logically, I would place the Vixen-Genesis years as being sometime between '77-79.

But if you have any sources saying they were a band earlier than '77, I'd like to see them please. The Wikipedia entry on Vixen can use an update, and i've been trying to assemble a complete history of the band. I could use some pre-1980 data.

[Nasty_]

I’ll keep this one short and simple…
It takes a combination of people to make up a band and it’s this combination that works and has its magic; not the singer, the guitar player, the drummer or the bass player.
(To prove my point, you can all ask yourselves why Tangerine was an “unsuccessful attempt”. Remember now, Janet was in the line-up… so what was the problem?!)
I think to say that Janet was single handedly the reason for Vixen’s success during the first two albums is simply ignorant. Not to mention, extremely disrespectful especially to Jan, who has always been and still is the heart and soul of Vixen today. I’m not here to take sides or favor someone over another person. But as a fan of Vixen the band, I’d really appreciate it if people were more considerate and would choose their words wisely when they try to address some of these issues next time.

Thank you.

Ok, here are a few things that I want to get straight:

First: I don’t want to fight with anyone, but the request to use "wise" words sounds pretty ludicrous, when coming from someone who just called me an ignorant.

Second: before calling anyone an ignorant, you should at least make sure you know what you’re talking about. As it’s pretty obvious that you ignore facts and things that more than justify what I wrote, and that should be never discussed publicly, if you know what I mean.

Third: I didn’t say that Janet was the sole reason for Vixen’s success. In fact I did write “Same for Roxy, and Share”. Still, I’m sure that most Vixen fans will agree on Janet’s vocals being the most outstanding thing in Vixen, and on Janet herself possessing enough talent as to turn the destiny of a band, which she undoubtedly and objectively did. It doesn’t mean being disrespectful to either Share, Roxy, or Jan.

Fourth: Tangerine was musically and lyrically an extraordinary record. May be the finest, and most consistent work Vixen ever did. It wasn’t Janet’s fault if didn’t achieve the recognition it deserved. It just came out in the wrong moment: too early to shake off the Hair Metal mark Vixen had been labelled with since the early days, and too late to exploit the momentum coming from the first two records. Besides, it had no support whatsoever from their record company, no airplay, and the promo tour that might have been ended up in a legal trial. Kind of hard to make a record a success in such conditions.

[Nasty_]

They couldn't have formed in the "early" '70s though. Jan was born in 1961. All the accounts I have was that the band became Vixen in 1980, and prior to that Genesis. Jan renamed the group because of rising popularity of the Peter Garbiel band, Genesis. Now that band had a breakthrough album in 1973, but it wasn't til after '77 that Genesis was big in the US. Logically, I would place the Vixen-Genesis years as being sometime between '77-79.

But if you have any sources saying they were a band earlier than '77, I'd like to see them please. The Wikipedia entry on Vixen can use an update, and i've been trying to assemble a complete history of the band. I could use some pre-1980 data.

Great idea that of writing a complete history of the band. I would love to write it myself, if only I had time, and if only I spoke some decent English. As for reliable sources, I suggest that you should try and get in touch with all the band members, past and present, especially Jan, for obvious reasons. Some may be easier to find than others ;) As for the early days, there’s a website whose name now eludes me (Vaxen.com or something like that), featuring a brief history, and some great pictures of the band in the early days (1971 on). Another person you should try and get in touch with, is Sir Neil Winston Spencer III, OBE, who’s widely regarded as the official biographer of Vixen ;) He knows more about the band than anyone else, and you can reach him through his website, Neilsvixenpage.com, the most comprehensive and exhaustive Vixen page out there. Good Luck!

[ilknu®]

Yo, Nasty!

I don’t know why I’m being attacked?! I’m sorry that you took this so very personal for whatever reason. You know, a lot of people have bombarded the guestbook with unkind comments regarding ex-members etc. since the very beginning. Now, I see that’s starting to happen on the forum and guess what… I’d hate for it to reach to the level it did on the guestbook! I’m also tired of reading how a certain member is far more superior than the others etc. And mind you, those are usually the guys who are ate up with that certain someone for reasons other than that person’s talents… so much for credibility, huh? Some people also think they own the band and they should be the ones telling them whom to hire and how to do their job. Sometimes, we all cross that thin line between being a hardcore fan and a manager, don’t we?
Anyway, to recap… I just took a few things that was already said in this thread and made an example… I can’t even believe I have to explain this out loud…

As for your last post, I think it speaks for itself. I would appreciate it if you’d stop your word games and talking in circles. You have a weird perception… So, let me get this straight.. It’s OK when you state your own opinions but I don’t have the slightest clue when I state mine, or some of the facts for that matter. Sounds like bunch of b/s to me, especially coming from someone who can’t even put a name and a face to the posts. I said what had to be said in my earlier post and that’s that. But according to you, “I don’t know what I’m talking about”… Fine… if it’ll make you feel better! If only you knew what I knew, then maybe you’d realize how funny that sounds.
Last but not least, it’s a free country… of course, you’re entitled to think Janet Gardner is the greatest thing on earth! But don’t try to impose that opinion on others.

Please do not reply/comment on any of MY further posts.. that’s if I do post anything, as this forum is sadly turning out to be one of those. :uhoh

[Nasty_]

You seem to have a rather bizarre sense of reality: why are YOU being attacked!? Is that coming from the same guy who came into this discussion calling me an ignorant, and now finds it convenient to play the martyr? I have to admit that you do have a knack for twisting arguments. It would be so preposterous, wasn’t it so pathetic.

As for “Sounds like bunch of b/s to me, especially coming from someone who can’t even put a name and a face to the posts”: Dude, whatever drug you’re high on, I’m sorry to remind you that you haven’t put a face to your posts either. Unless you’re trying to pass off your dog’s picture as your own.

Finally, please don’t YOU reply to MY further posts. Two posts each: you started it, I finish it. Unless you’re so confused that you think you can start an argument and have the last word, too. After all I’m sure your posts already earned you a backstage pass (as for who’s REALLY ate up with a certain member for reasons OTHER than that person’s talent).

Adieu.

[Anthony]

Great idea that of writing a complete history of the band. I would love to write it myself, if only I had time, and if only I spoke some decent English.

Thanks Nasty, I am aware of Neil's work already; always a great place to read up. The Vixen bit I'm working on is actually for a larger project I'm involved in, trying to document the LA music scene during the late '70s and early '80s. Vixen is actually one of the more fun bands to research, my other favorite being Quiet Riot.

[Downy]

I’ll keep this one short and simple…
It takes a combination of people to make up a band and it’s this combination that works and has its magic; not the singer, the guitar player, the drummer or the bass player.
(To prove my point, you can all ask yourselves why Tangerine was an “unsuccessful attempt”. Remember now, Janet was in the line-up… so what was the problem?!)
I think to say that Janet was single handedly the reason for Vixen’s success during the first two albums is simply ignorant. Not to mention, extremely disrespectful especially to Jan, who has always been and still is the heart and soul of Vixen today. I’m not here to take sides or favor someone over another person. But as a fan of Vixen the band, I’d really appreciate it if people were more considerate and would choose their words wisely when they try to address some of these issues next time.

Thank you.


Great post Ilknu! Well said!:thumbsup

[Nasty_]

Anyone knows where are the ex band members right now?! Specially the Shinning Janet Gardner! Any information about where is she now? What is she doing right now?! I miss her so much. No one is like Janet and no one can replace her in this band!! NEVER!!!

Well, apparently it won't be long before you know what's going on with Share, Roxy and Janet:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=191580571&blogID=394161561

Oh yeah! :movie

[Nimasis]

Well, apparently it won't be long before you know what's going on with Share, Roxy and Janet:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=191580571&blogID=394161561

Oh yeah! :movie

Man it was a real shock. All of a sudden it happened. HELL YEAH!!!