Quick Facts
Biography
Janice Lynn "Jan" Kuehnemund (November 18, 1961 – October 10, 2013) was an American lead guitarist who founded the all-female hard rock/glam metal band Vixen.
Life and career
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kuehnemund formed Vixen in St. Paul in 1973. She moved the band, along with singer Janet Gardner, to Los Angeles in 1981. The band gained notice by appearing in the 1984 teen film Hardbodies under the on-screen name Diaper Rash. She eventually added Roxy Petrucci on drums and Share Pedersen on bass, the lineup that signed to EMI Records. They released their self-titled debut, Vixen, in 1988. The band toured with the Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, and Bon Jovi, and appeared in Penelope Spheeris' 1988 film, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.
The album Rev It Up followed in 1990, along with tours with Kiss and Deep Purple. The band's album sales declined and they were dropped from their record label. Vixen disbanded in 1991, but formed again in 1997 without Kuehnemund, while she was working on side project Drawing Down the Moon. Kuehnemund sued and won the rights to the band's name. She then continued the band in 2001 with new members, and toured and released Live & Learn in 2006. Gardner, Petrucci, and Pedersen formed their own band JanetShareRoxyGina (aka JSRG) with guitarist Gina Stile. The group's most well-known lineup did reunite in 2004 to perform for VH1's Bands Reunited.
Kuehnemund died in Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 10, 2013 after a 10-month-long battle with cancer.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Vixen (1988)
- Rev It Up (1990)
- Live & Learn (2006)
- Live albums
- Extended Versions (Live in Sweden) (2006)
- Live In Sweden (2013)
- Compilation albums
- Full Throttle: The Best of Vixen (1999)