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Vains of Jenna are an exciting new band straight out of Sweden. They formed in January of 2005, and are already making waves around the world, with their Sleaze Rock sound, and Glam-Metal looks.
Vains of Jenna are causing quite the musical buzz these days, as they take Los Angeles by storm, and are currently gearing up to embark on their first ever U.S. Tour this summer, on one of the hottest concert bills -The Metal Sludge Xtravanganza III. The bill also features Teenage Casket Company, The Erotics and a special jam featuring lead singer Stevie Rachelle from Tuff.
Vains of Jenna have a metal sound that is reminiscent of GNR and Faster Pussycat. Lead by dynamic front man Lizzy Devine, the band also features bass player JP White, drummer Jacki Stone, and guitarist Nicki Kin.
Vains of Jenna have a new album coming out entitled, "Lit Up/Let Down." Singer Lizzy Devine says,” It’s a rock and roll album. If you like our old stuff you will like this. If you are into GnR, Aerosmith, Faster Pussycat you need to get this. It is sleazy and kick ass. I usually don't listen to my own recordings, but I can't stop listening to this."
I recently caught up on all of the exciting Vains of Jenna news with singer Lizzy Devine. In this exclusive interview for Glam-Metal.Com TM., Lizzy discusses the making of Vains of Jenna, Sweden, his musical influences and the upcoming Vains of Jenna Metal Sludge Tour which begins on June 30th.
Hello Lizzy! Welcome to GlamMetal.COM TM. First of all let me congratulate you on the Metal Sludge Xtranvaganza Tour III that is starting on the East Coast June 30 in Albany, New York. What can the East Coast fans expect to see from Vains Of Jenna on the Metal Sludge Xtravanganza III this summer?
Hey, thanks alot. This tour is gonna be awesome. It's our first US tour,so we are really looking forward to it. We're ready to kick some east coast ass this summer. It's only rock n' roll but I like it.
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Now will Vains of Jenna open the show every night? How long will you be performing for each night?
We and Teenage Casket Company will change slots every night. The Erotics are the headliners. But we don't mind playing early. That will give us more time to hang out with the fans and party. Our set is about 30 minutes long. But it's 30 minutes of pure energy!
Let's talk about how Vains of Jenna got together. By the way, that is a very cool name that you have. How did you come up with the name of the band and the different spelling of Veins?
Well, me and JP White used to be in the same band many years back. He quit that band to travel the world. Years later we started talking again about putting together a sleazy rock n' roll band in the same veins as Mötley and GnR. We started writing some songs and got JP's brother Jacki to play the drums. At this time Jacki played in another band with Nicki Kin. I saw'em play and I could have killed someone to get Nicki in the band. We asked him to join and he said yes.
The name Vains of Jenna? I don't really remember why we picked that name. It just sounded cool. It was JP's idea. The misspelling of Vains was a mistake. We're Swedish, uneducated and thought it looked cooler with an"a". And yeah, we all love Jenna Jameson
How you would describe Vains of Jenna? Would say it is Sleaze Rock or Glam-Rock? You remind me a lot of Faster Pussycat and LA Guns.
People often call us a Glam band. But we're not. I listen to alot of old glam bands and I even have "Natural Born Glam Star" tattooed on my arm. But our music is more like you said, Sleazy Rock N' Roll. And to be compared to Faster Pussycat and La Guns isn't a bad thing. They are two of my favorite bands.
You guys are from Sweden. Are you living in Los Angeles now, or are you making both LA and Sweden your home these days?
We're in LA for the summer. We're goin' back in mid August. We have to do some shows back home in Europe as well.. But I really love California. So we will be back as soon as we can. In Hollywood you can meet so many people that can help the band. In Sweden it's much harder. It's such a tiny country. But I consider both my home.
How did Vains of Jenna get together? You recently formed last year January, am I correct?
Yeah, we formed in January 2005. These last 18 or 19 months have been the best months of my life. And it's getting better every day.
How is the music scene in Sweden these days? Have you been to the Sweden Rock festival? Is metal still really big over there?
The rock scene is huge in Sweden. Teenage kids are really getting in to metal and rock again. And that's a good thing. I think that Sweden is the best rock country out there. I haven't been to Sweden Rock Festival since 1999. I don't know why. JP goes there every year and he loves it. But it's a great fuckin' festival.
What are is your favorite thing that you liked most about Sweden?
The girls, for sure! Sweden got the most beautiful girls in the world.
When you were growing up in Sweden, what kind of music did you listen to? Were you always into metal? I can hear some real Guns N' Roses influences in your style.
I always been into metal. The first record I got was Twisted Sister's "Come Out And Play" I think. Since then I've been listening to GnR, Mötley, Ratt, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Poison and shit like that. The other guys in the band opened up my eyes for bands like Nirvana and other grunge bands. I was never in to that when I was younger because I thought they destroyed the music I loved. But now days I love it. I listen to anything from David Bowie to heavy shit like Disturbed.
The majority of the band formed when you just got of high school. I think that is real Rock and Roll!! Did you guys go to the same school?
Jacki and Nicki just got of high school when we started the band. So this is a dream come true for 'em. To be able to go from school to play music full time. Me and JP is a bit older. They went in the same school. JP went in the same class as my little brother. I used to work as a drivers instructor and Jacki and Nicki were my students.
Now actually drummer Jacki Stone and bassist JP White are brothers? Why did they change their last name?
They couldn't decide what name they should take. So they picked two different ones.
Who inspired you to become a singer?
I think it was Axl Rose. He's got a great voice and he's a great front man. Or he used to be!
Vains of Jenna first gig in the U.S was performing at the Cruefest. Tell me about your first gig in Hollywood. Is LA everything you thought it would be?
We flew over here without any expectations. We played at 4 PM in front of 40 people. But It was a dream come true. I had been dreaming about playing the Whisky since I was 12 years old. We met the right people and now we're here doin' what we love. But it was a great feeling to be onstage at the Whisky-a-go-go.
Vains of Jenna have been performing around LA and garnering quite the musical buzz. How is the metal scene in LA?
The metal scene seams quite dead here. But we're here to change it. People are not used to see guys like us walking down the Sunset Strip. But I feel it in the air. It's gonna change.
Growing up did your parents listen to 80's metal like La Guns, Faster Pussycat, Guns N'Roses? Did they encourage you to pursue a career in music?
Yeah, my parents bought me those kinda records when I was a kid. They took me to concerts, encourage me to grow my hair long etc etc. They are the best parents ever. It's all because of them I am the way I am! One of the best shows I've ever seen was when my father took me to Rolling Stones.
Let's talk about your upcoming CD to be released this summer. What is the name of the CD, and how would you describe the music? Where can the fans purchase the CD?
The CD is called "Lit Up / Let Down". It's self produced for the most part. Two songs were recorded by Matt Thorr here in LA, two acoustic bonus tracks were recorded in Italy earlier this year. The rest of the songs were recorded and produced by ourselves. It's a rock n' roll album. If you liked our old stuff you will love this. If you're into bands like GnR, Aerosmith and Faster Pussycat you need to get it. It's sleazy and kick ass. I usually don't listen to my own recordings but I can't stop listening to this. You can buy the CD from www.vainsofjenna.com
What is your favorite thing about Los Angeles? Any cool Rock and roll tour stories that you would like to share?
The weather, the people and the places. It's the perfect place on earth. I
love it.Tour stories? haha.. Yeah! Nicki Kin our guitar player went with a girl to her place and ended up in
bed a couple of weeks ago. All of a sudden there's this loud banging on the door. It's the girls boyfriend. Nicki runs and hides NAKED in the closet. The guy comes storming in. They girl and the boyfriend starts screaming at each other. After a couple of minutes the guy turns around and walks up to the closet open it up and sees Nicki. All the guy could say was "Hey, Rocker!". Then he runs out of the place. The funny part is that the guy was wearing a VAINS OF JENNA t-shirt. So he was a fan. haha I almost feel sorry for the guy.
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What are your thoughts on MySpace?
I think that myspace is great place to make new fans. Thanks to myspace we've gotten our name out more than we could have done without it. Check out www.myspace.com/vainsofjenna There's some soundclips from the new album uploaded.
After the Metal Sludge Xtravaganza finishes, will the band perform in Europe this summer?
No dates in Europe this summer, But properly . this fall. We hopefully will come back to the States this winter for more shows. We don't know yet. A lot of things are happening right now.
When you are not performing, do you have any hobbies that you like to pursue? Are you into racing or sports?
Not really! We play as much music as possible. Besides that we party quite alot. Life is about having fun. And we're having fun right now!
You guys are living the Roll and Roll dream, and making metal music exciting again! What can the fans expect to see from Vains of Jenna this year?
If everything goes as planned, ALOT more people will know who the Vains Of Jenna boys are. I'm not allowed to talk about it, but the future looks bright. You have to wait and see.
Thanks Lizzy, hope to check out Vains of Jenna on the road this summer! Have fun touring on one of the hottest concert tours this summer, The Metal Sludge Xtravaganza III. I high recommend everyone check out the tour, and be sure to get there early to hear Vains of Jenna perform. www.vainsofjenna.com www.metalsludge.tv
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