The Almighty and Illustrious Jan Kuehnemund...
Ya' know? It's funny how many different ways a guy can be slapped in the face. Jan not only was an influence on my musical development, but on my views on women. See, when I first heard the Vixen tunes in the pool hall that day, I (typically of a teenage male) automatically assumed some guy played the parts in this band and there was just a great woman singing. I went to Music Plus on Perris Blvd in Moreno Valley, CA, and bought the first Vixen album. On the back cover, there were four women. Jan and Roxy were immediately my favorites from that "male teen point of view". Upon listening to the album, I was immediately confronted with the fact that not only could Jan play, but she could flat-out rock!
To be honest, I knew the Vai thing was WAY out of my reach. Vixen offered me a fun route into playing rock. It was music I could learn by ear. I spent several months playing along with the first Vixen album, and fell in love with each of Jan's solos. The tone of the solos in "I Want You To Rock Me", the harmony with Vivian Campbell on "Desparate", the solos in "Love Made Me", and the bat over the head of "Cruisin'" all kept me practicing. "Cruisin'" was especially cool for me, because I loved the whole thing. The intro took me forever to get. But I spent even longer trying to get the lick as smooth as Jan did for the break before the solo, and in the outro.
When Vixen's 2nd album (Rev It Up) came out, I waited outside Tower Records until midnite to by it. I immediately opened it up, threw it in my walkman, and started memorizing it. Once again, Jan fed me some wonderful playing to play along with. Rev It Up was also cool for me because there was more of a rock feel to it. The first album was cool, and I love it to this day, but Rev It Up was my favorite. Jan succeded in giving me goose bumps with beginning of the solo in "Hard 16". I loved the way the notes just sorta shake. Her vibrato really hit me there with those opening notes to the solo. The title track is a favorite to this day for me because of her playing in the outro...sliding these diads around the neck as the song fades. That outro could've went on for an hour. In the song "Love Is A Killer" I loved the whole vibe...the chords are really beautiful, and it's a great song. "Streets In Paradise" is a fun one for me to play to this day. Another fun harmony lick in "Not A Minute Too Soon", and a moody song called "Fallen Hero" were fun too. Fallen Hero was fun for me to just listen to because I loved Jan's responses on the guitar to the vocal during the 2nd verse. Like "Cruisin'", the song "Wrecking Ball" was my big finish to learn. The solo was so wild, and I spent about 2 weeks playing it over and over.
Sadly, Vixen's catalog is gone. Ebay is a great resource for finding them. The only album in stores is the Best of and the Tangerine album, which didn't have Jan on it, so I never really got into it...no disrespect to Gina Stile, but Jan has always been Vixen to me. On the Ebay note, I have become this monster for getting Vixen stuff there. When something comes up that I don't have, you are not likely to outbid me for it.
In keeping with my art/creative side, Jan was also a subject for me to practice other things on. Since she was my first real guitar influence, she's always gonna be a favorite. So, when I started learning to make digital 3D pictures with my computer, Jan was often featured in them. The photo on this page is one of about 15 or 20 that I have made with her in them. For a long time there, I had no idea what Jan was up to. When I got my first computer, the first thing I did was go try and find her. There was really only one guy out here named Neil who had any info. When he finally found her band Population 361, I was ecstatic. It was like "YAY!!!! JAN IS ALIVE!!!!!". Another band called Drawing Down the Moon featured Jan too. As well as a new Vixen lineup...
In January of 2002, the very dream of meeting my idol, mentor, and favorite woman on the planet became reality at the NAMM show in Anaheim California. I saw Jan with a friend, and debated about even saying hi. Sheepishly, I asked if she was in fact Jan of Vixen... I got a piece of paper autographed by her, a picture with her, and a memory to take to my grave. See, for me, Jan Kuehnemund is heavily woven into my life's fabric. I essentially learned to play guitar from her. When I went through really hard times, I listened to her, and when I later in life went to clean myself from a really bad addiction to substances nobody should expose themselves to, I took her CD's with me for company. I proudly call Jan my biggest influence. And whether you think women can rock or not, I will throw her name first when someone asks who got me started playing guitar. Through her music, I fell in love with guitars. And because she made the music that kinda accompanied me everywhere I went, I sorta loved her. Nowadays, I've gotten a few emails from her, and she'll never know how special she is. That kinda makes me sound like some wierd cyber-stalker or something, but the fact is that she's just incredibly nice, still really beautiful, and will always be my favorite guitar player.