Roxy Petrucci – Vixen – An Xperience Interview

Roxy Petrucci – Vixen – An Xperience Interview – by Rob Smittix.

RRX: What I thought was cool was when you hit me up, I was watching your latest video that you put out not even just a few months ago “Red.”
RP: Yeah, we had a blast making that too.
RRX: Now, the coolest part I think for me is… I know a lot of heritage bands from that era are doing tours but you don’t really see a lot of them putting out new music, but you still are. And that’s pretty amazing.
RP: Well, you know what? We were just ready to do something new and to get Lorraine Lewis’s voice onto something. She’s got a great voice and a great stage presence. We were talking about doing a single. We were writing as a band and Fred Coury had the song “Red” and said, you know… I think this would be perfect for you girls. We gave it a listen and we said, oh, hell yeah!
Obviously, we don’t have Janet, Jan or Share. But I think the spirit of Vixen is still in there. You know? I wanna keep true to the Vixen sound as much as possible. I think Britt Lightning is doing a great job on guitar, she adds her own little flavor in there. But she does a great capturing Jan’s essence on all the songs. Because it’s important to keep that Vixen sound, we were all about the big choruses and the hooky riffs and I think “Red” has that.
RRX: I couldn’t agree with you more. It sure does. That’s phenomenal. It’s so funny to me, just growing up as a kid in the eighties in the MTV era, when it really mattered. I say, within the last year I got to talk to a few of my early crushes from when I was growing up, I interviewed Tiffany…
RP: Very cool.
RRX: And now I’ve got you on the phone. So, yeah, you were definitely a heart-throb to many of us back in the day.
RP: That’s awesome. I love hearing that. Well, you know? I’m still trying, I’m still out there banging away. I mean, I don’t have any intention of quitting, not until I can’t play anymore. Which, who knows? I don’t know. But I think that’s what’s keeping me in shape is playing drums.
RRX: Sure. Absolutely. You’re owning it. And I think you’ve got decades left to rock out.
RP: Oh, I love that. Yeah, I’m going with that, Decades! I know we’ll bring it, it will be 1980 again.
RRX: Yes!
RP: Maybe I’ll do my hair up real high.
RRX: So… what are people to expect from a Vixen show in 2024?
RP: Oh, you’re in for a treat! If you’re watching our videos you’re gonna see these girls are all over the stage. There’s so much energy now with Julia Lage on bass. Julia and Britt, they’re the younger ones in the band and they brought a certain energy that keeps us on our toes. They bring new life and we’re having a lot of fun with each other. Everybody gets along great. We’re all eighties girls at heart.
We are genuinely enjoying ourselves, loving the music, loving the fans and Lorraine actually includes the fans in a few of our songs; you will be singing with us!
RRX: Cool. Yeah, another thing is that the eighties really have been making a comeback right now. I know it’s normal, things do kind of cycle back but the eighties are big. I wish acid washed jeans would make a come back.
RP: Pull them out of the closet, I’m sure you still have a pair.
RRX: Yeah, yeah, I don’t know if I could fit into those anymore, being I am a grandfather now.
RP: Oh, the tighter the better. Back then anyway.
RRX: That’s right. Yeah, speaking of being a grandfather, my son and his wife are actually at the hospital right now, she might be having this baby today!
RP: Oh my God. Congratulations.
RRX: Thank you. Yeah. Gonna be a grandfather times two now.
RP: Oh, my God! A hip grandfather. It’s like the coolest thing ever!
RRX: My grandson (RJ) now is almost two years old. I bring him into the radio station here all the time and I let him co- host with me.
RP: What’s his favorite music?
RRX: I got him into Bob Marley type stuff. He’s, half, Haitian. But honestly, I’m not very familiar with Haitian music, so I figured I’d just bring him into some Caribbean music.
RP: That’s awesome music is universal. Everybody loves music.
RRX: I also know that his mom (my daughter) doesn’t really have the best taste in music, so I’m trying to make sure he gets a little bit of it in his life.
RP: Well, you’re doing a good job then, you bring him to the radio station. That’s awesome.
RRX: I also look at these kids now and the music that’s being put out there. I mean, Taylor Swift is like the New Beatles.
RP: The biggest thing on the planet, right?
RRX: She is. But then we have this great, successful up and coming musician from this area, Moriah Formica who is kind of doing like an eighties style kind of thing since a very early age.
RP: Oh yes I’ve seen her, she’s a great singer! She actually posted a video singing “Edge of a Broken Heart.” Interesting that you say that because when we tour and do meet and greets after our shows… we’ll meet people, sign autographs and all that good stuff. There’s a lot of younger girls and boys, not just people my age and it runs the gamut. People bringing their kids that love eighties rock. These younger kids are into it, their parents are turning them on to it. Just introduce this music to them, there’s something about it, they listen to it and go, wow! That’s cool, I like it. How could you not? I mean, these choruses, those eighties choruses, they’re so addictive. You know? You can’t help but sing it?
RRX: And dance!
RP: And head bang! It’s about the groove. So I’m not surprised that Moriah has kind of got that eighties thing going because it seems like they’re gravitating towards that right now.
I love the idea of that. I think that’s great. A lot of girls and guys say that Vixen has an influence on them, which is great! They’re young kids. So, we love hearing about it, that just makes it all more worthwhile.
RRX: Is there anything else you would like your fans to know?
RP: Just come check us out on social media, when we come to your town, come see us play. You’re gonna have a great time, we’ll definitely include you into our show. It’s gonna feel like one big party as David Lee Roth once said “it’s one big party and you’re all invited.” We love our fans.
RRX: I really appreciate your time.
RP: It was great talking with you and congratulations on the grand baby!
PS: As soon as we hung up, I got the call that my granddaughter Iris was born!

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