VAINS OF JENNA formed in the small town of Falkenberg, Sweden in January 2005. In the summer of 2005, VAINS OF JENNA began their 10,000 miles musical journey from Falkenberg, Sweden to perform at the Cruefest at The Whisky-Go-Go on July 30th. Their 4pm. performance captured the attention of many metal fans, and began their Rock and Roll fairy tale. In the short time that they have been together, they have gone from opening for bar bands in small clubs to recently being picked to open for the Poison/Ratt tour this summer, which is slated to play in the some of the biggest amphitheaters in America. 

It has been an incredible journey, as the band has spent much of the year on the road touring in support of their latest album "Lit Up/Let Down" on the Bam Margera Label - Filthy Note Records called. Through hard work and perseverance they have sparked the interest of the public with raw power and an exciting hard rock style similar to that of early Guns N' Roses.

In this exclusive interview, I had the opportunity to speak with Vains of Jenna guitarist Nicki Kin about the upcoming tour, the new album and how Vains of Jenna hope to bring Glam-Metal music back to the charts.


Nicki, Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview for GlamMetal.com. Now rumor has it that Vains of Jenna will be performing on the Poison/Ratt Tour beginning June 13th. Is this true?
KIN: Yeah it's true, we will be out with them all summer, we're really fuckin excited about it. It’s gonna be a great tour and a great opportunity for us to show everybody what we’re all about.

How did you get the gig. It is such an amazing opportunity for Vains of Jenna? Did C.C. Deville come to see the band perform earlier this year?
KIN: He saw us last summer at The Cat Club, and he and Bobby Dall saw us at The Viper Room, last time we played there. They're really cool guys.

Were you influenced by Poison/Ratt at all, growing up in Sweden?
KIN: Yeah, we were all influenced by that kind of music. It’s really big in Sweden right now.

Vains of Jenna have been on the road touring constantly in support of your debut album,"Lit Up/Let Down on the Bam Margera label Filthy Note Records. How important will this tour be to the band?
KIN: this is really important, we never played in front these big crowds before and hopefully It will help us sell some more copies of our album.

How have the sales of "Lit Up/Let Down" been so far? Where can the fans buy the album?
KIN: the sales has been ok I guess, none of us expected too much from an album we recorded in one week in a cabin in Sweden, produced and mixed by ourselves… so it’s been ok.

Let's talk about the first video off of your debut album," No One's Gonna Do It For You." Where was it filmed and what were some of the highlights?
KIN: We recorded the video in one day at Bam's house in West Chester,Pennsylvania.That whole day was fuckin great, we were really hungover when we started shooting early in the morning and we had slept for like two hours, but we
had a great time!! What I like most in the video is the live shots, cause we’re playing a real show and that’s when we look the coolest. The video was what it looks like, a big fuckin party.

I really enjoyed the sound of your new album. It kind of reminds me a lot of "Appetite For Destruction." Who does most of the songwriting in the band, or is ita group effort?
KIN: Thanks, yeah it's a really raw sound on the album, which we like!!! All of us write songs. Usually, me or Lizzy comes up with an idea and then we all work on it, that’s how it usually works... but some songs on the album we wrote in like 10 minutes and it just sounded cool!! The songs on Lit up/Let down were written like the first four months we were a band.

Let's talk a little bit about your guitar playing on the album. I can hear a lot of punk influences, and at the same time a lot of metal influences. Who were some of your guitar heroes growing up? Who inspired you to first pick up the
guitar?
KIN: I think a lot of different guitar players inspired me.. Keith Richards is definitely a big inspiration for me!! No one can play like Keith... Slash, Joe Perry, Jimmy Page are some other heroes of mine, I been listening to them since I was 5 years old or something…A band that I been listening very much since like a year back is Avenged Sevenfold, They have really inspired me. I grew up with a lot of blues music too, I guess everyone from B.B King to Kerry King made me wanna play guitar.

Is Vains of Jenna working on a new studio release?
KIN: We're in the middle of recording right now with Brent Woods as a producer, but we're not planning to release a new album yet... first we have some tours to do then we see what happens. I really want people to hear our new shit though!!

Will the new material follow in the veins of "Lit Up/Let Down"?
KIN: I think our new songs are much better, but it's not like we want to change our sound, it just comes naturally....I think we've grown as songwriters and musicians, and we get inspired by new things all the time….. but it’s still sounds like Vains of Jenna.

How as the band grown musically, since your constant touring schedule has played a major role in your career?
KIN: The band has definitely grown musically!! we have played over 150 shows in the U.S since October and toured all over the country and it made us a lot better and stronger as a band.

How did you meet Bam and what was it like working with him on his reality show, "Unholy Alliance"?
KIN: We met him the first time at house of blues in Hollywood, we talked for like two minutes and like three days after that we met him again when I was getting a tattoo on Hollywood Boulevard,we told him about a show we had at Cat club that week. He came to see the show and wanted to sign us to his label Filthy note right after the gig. So we signed with Filthy note a few weeks later, recorded video and all that To be on is show on MTV was really cool, we were just hanging out with him, getting drunk and all that and it was just fun.

Now Bam is also from the show, "Jackass" fame? Has he ever pulled any funny stunts on the band?
KIN: HAHA, not really I think, not that I can remember at least..

Nicki, Let's go back to your early roots, and talk about your amazing 10,000 mile journey from Falkenberg, Sweden to perform at the Whisky-A-Go-Go on July 30, 2005. What was it like perform in LA in the first time? What was running through your mind onstage?
KIN: We were so fuckin excited just to be in L.A and walking around on sunset strip and that stuff and to play the whisky where a lot of heroes used to play was so cool for us then. I don't really remember what I was thinking in stage, but I was really fuckin' happy to play in L.A

Vains of Jenna has to be one of the most exciting bands to emerge on the scene in along time. Four days after tour performance at the Cruefest, you were recording with Gilby Clarke. What was it like working with Gilby?
KIN: Gilby was really cool, a really nice guy and we're all big Guns fans so that was really cool to be able to record with him and hang out at his house.

Did he give you any advice as a band to follow?
KIN: Not really I think, we focused on the recording.

What kind of sound did you hope to inspire on "Lit Up/Let Down"?
KIN: I don't wanna call us a glam or a sleaze band. For me this is just how we write songs and I call it rock n roll and it can be what ever the fuck we want it to be. But people can call it Glam or whatever, I don’t care.

How would you describe the sound of Vains of Jenna? it kind of reminds me of early Faster Pussycat and LA Guns.
KIN: Yeah, we listened a lot to those bands and still do. Just like them we have a raw sound, and if I would describe Lit up/Let down I would say it's just raw rock n roll with a little bit of punk to it...and a lot of energy

 Did you perform in High School with any of the members? Is that where the band first met?
KIN: Me and Jacki were still in high school when the band was formed, we've been friends since we were 9 years old or something like that and we always played in the same bands too.Lizzy and J.P used to play in the same band, and since we're all from the same small shitty town we all kind of knew each other and yeah J.P and Jacki are brothers

What are some of the differences in performing to European audiences and American  audiences?
KIN: It's not that different, we played a lot more in The States though so we know a lot more about
the crowd here. I love to tour in the U.S we have met so many cool people here!!

How is the music scene in Sweden? I hear the Sweden Rock Festival is amazing?
KIN: There's a bunch of really good bands from Sweden. There’s not a lot to do in Sweden, so kids start to play music and form bands when they’re really young and now we have a lot of great bands!! More bands should try to come to the states though.I hear Sweden Rock Festival is really good, I never been there myself, but most of the festivals in Sweden are really good.

Any bands that have influenced you from Sweden?
KIN: Yeah a lot of them....Backyard Babies, Hardcore Superstar, Hellacopters, Crashdiet, Ebba Grön Dia Psalma are just some of them..they're great bands

Has touring The States been everything that you thought it would be? What have some of your favorite cities been to perform in so far?
KIN: It’s been even better than I expected. We have had a lot of great shows and people been really cool to us. We all love all cities we play in Texas. Phoenix and New York is always really good too…and you can‘t have a bad time Las Vegas.

Are their any funny road stories that you would like to share with us?
KIN: There’s too many…haha.. crazy shit happens all the time on the road!!

How is the LA scene? How do you hope to make an impact on the metal scene?
KIN: The rock scene is getting better all over the world right now. I hope we’re gonna get the kids to listen to our kind of music. We’re the new generation of rock n roll and I think people need good music again!! Since we been living in L.A we’ve seen that it getting much better, kids start to dress like us and form bands, so it’s great.

Are you making Los Angeles your home these days?
KIN: Yeah, we're in Los Angeles when we're not on the road

How did the band come up with the name Vains of Jenna? Any special meaning behind the name?
KIN: J.P came up with the name one night, he was really drunk and wrote down like 10 different names and Vains of Jenna was the coolest one. Most people think it has something to do with Jenna Jameson, but it has not, it’s just a cool name.

What special gear do you use onstage, and do you have any guitar endorsements?
KIN: We're endorsed by B.C Rich and Carvin. I play a B.C Rich EM1 through a Carvin V3 amp. It sounds fuckin great..

Nicki, Is their anything else that you would like to say to the fans at GlamMetal.Com about your album and upcoming tour?
KIN: Don’t fuckin miss us this summer, buy the album… and thanks for supporting rock n’ roll. That’s all I have to say
www.vainsofjenna.com  www.myspace.com/vainsofjenna          www.myspace.com/nicki_kin

Vains of Jenna tour dates

Jun 17 2007 7:00P
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Charlotte, North Carolina
Jun 19 2007 7:00P
Riverbend Music Center w/ POISON & RATT Cincinnati, Ohio
Jun 20 2007 7:00P
Post-Gazette Pavilion w/ POISON & RATT Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jun 23 2007 7:00P
Blossom Music Center w/ POISON & RATT Cleveland, Ohio
Jun 24 2007 7:00P
Germain Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Columbus, Ohio
Jun 26 2007 7:00P
Chevy Theatre (Oakdale) w/ POISON & RATT Oakdale, Connecticut
Jun 27 2007 7:00P
Sovereign Center w/ POISON & RATT Reading, Pennsylvania
Jun 29 2007 7:00P
The Summer Stage w/ POISON & RATT Big Flats, New York
Jun 30 2007 7:00P
Tweeter Center w/ POISON & RATT Boston, Massachusetts
Jul 1 2007 7:00P
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Virginia Beach, Virginia
Jul 3 2007 7:00P
House Of Blues w/ POISON & RATT Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jul 4 2007 7:00P
House Of Blues w/ POISON & RATT Orlando, Florida
Jul 8 2007 7:00P
Nokia Live Theater w/ POISON & RATT Grand Prairie, Texas
Jul 11 2007 7:00P
Snowden Grove Park w/ POISON & RATT South Haven, Mississippi
Jul 14 2007 7:00P
Zoo Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jul 15 2007 7:00P
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Bonner Springs, Kansas
Jul 17 2007 7:00P
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Chicago, Illinois
Jul 18 2007 7:00P
The Myth w/ POISON & RATT Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jul 24 2007 7:00P
Nikon @ Jones Beach w/ POISON & RATT Wantagh, New York
Jul 26 2007 7:00P
Meadowbrook Center w/ POISON & RATT Gilford, New Hampshire
Jul 27 2007 7:00P
Etess Arena w/ POISON & RATT Atlantic City, New Jersey
Jul 28 2007 7:00P
PNC Bank Arts Center w/ POISON & RATT Holmdel, New Jersey
Jul 29 2007 7:00P
Nissan Pavillion w/ POISON & RATT Bristow, Virginia
Jul 31 2007 7:00P
DTE Music Theatre w/ POISON & RATT Detroit, Michigan
Aug 2 2007 7:00P
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT St. Louis, Missouri
Aug 4 2007 7:00P
Iowa Speedway w/ POISON & RATT Newton, Iowa
Aug 10 2007 7:00P
Salinas Sports Center w/ POISON & RATT Salinas, California
Aug 11 2007 7:00P
Gibson Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Los Angeles, California
Aug 12 2007 7:00P
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Irvine, California
Aug 14 2007 7:00P
Coors Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT San Diego, California
Aug 15 2007 7:00P
Dodge Theatre/Cricket w/ POISON & RATT Phoenix, Arizona
Aug 17 2007 7:00P
The Pearl - Palms Concert Theater w/ POISON & RATT Las Vegas, Nevada
Aug 18 2007 7:00P
USANA w/ POISON & RATT Salt Lake City, Utah
Aug 19 2007 7:00P
Coors Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Denver, Colorado
Aug 21 2007 7:00P
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Indianapolis, Indiana
Aug 22 2007 7:00P
Darien Lakes w/ POISON & RATT Buffalo, New York
Aug 24 2007 7:00P
New York State Fair w/ POISON & RATT Syracuse, New York
Aug 25 2007 7:00P
Toyota Pavilion w/ POISON & RATT Scranton, Pennsylvania
Aug 26 2007 7:00P
Performing Arts Center w/ POISON & RATT Saratoga, New York
Aug 31 2007 7:00P
Ford Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT Tampa, Florida
Sep 1 2007 7:00P
Sound Advice Amphitheatre w/ POISON & RATT West Palm Beach, Florida