By Daniel Corey

More from the floor of Winter NAMM 2020!

I knew it was going to be a good NAMM when the first familiar face that I saw while in line to get my badge was that of Britt Lightning, guitarist and backing vocalist for the platinum-selling metal band, Vixen. Britt had a busy schedule, but I was lucky enough to catch her again on the show floor the next day, where we talked a little shop.

Daniel Corey:  I am on the floor at NAMM 2020 with the one and only Britt Lightning, guitarist extraordinaire for wonder-band Vixen.

Britt Lightning: (laughs) Hi!

Daniel Corey:  Is that a good descriptor?  I don’t even know.

Britt Lightning:  That was really good.  Actually, can you record that on my voicemail, so that’s what people hear when they call? (laughter)

Daniel Corey:  I’ve never said those two words together, ever.

Britt Lightning:  I like it.

Daniel Corey:  All right, so what’s going on at NAMM for you this year?

Britt Lightning:  Oh, just came from the GHS booth, and going to head over to Hughes & Kettner amps now.  I checked out the new Gibsons and Epiphones.  Yeah, a lot of amazing stuff here.  This show seems to get bigger and bigger every year. It’s so fun.

Daniel Corey:  How many NAMMs have you been to?

Britt Lightning:  I’ve been to quite a few.  I came out to NAMM before I even lived here in L.A. So, I don’t know how many, but I’ve been to a few.

Daniel Corey:  You’re a veteran.

Britt Lightning:  Yeah. (laughs)

Daniel Corey:  You were just naming some brands.  What kind of guitars do you commonly play when you’re onstage with Vixen?

Britt Lightning:  I’m starting to work with Epiphone now, but I like all guitars. Gibsons, Jacksons — I’ve been jamming a lot lately on Carlino guitars.

Daniel Corey:  What’s going on with Vixen? You’re traveling all the time.

Britt Lightning:  We’re traveling a lot. We’re getting ready to head out to the Monsters of Rock cruise, coming up in a week or two.

Daniel Corey:  Where’s that going?

Britt Lightning:  It goes to Belize and Cozumel, a few places in the Caribbean.  It leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale.  So, that’ll be really fun.  Then we are finishing writing for a new album.

Daniel Corey:  Well, that’s great, a new album. Congrats on that!  Can you give me any details, like how’s it going to be released?

Britt Lightning:  I think we’ll just have it released in a package.  It’s coming out on Rat Pak Records.  It’ll be available on Spotify, but I’m sure we’ll do a vinyl pressing. We always do a cassette tape pressing, and CDs, of course.  And, yeah, I’m sure we’ll be doing a lot of touring in support of that, too, after we finish.

Daniel Corey:  Are there specialty companies popping up now that do cassette tapes?

Britt Lightning:  We just do it through our record label. They did a really cool vinyl/cassette/CD package for our live album.  I’m assuming we’ll maybe do something similar with the new album, because that was so cool.

Daniel Corey:  Recently, when you were on tour, I saw a video of you playing with Stryper.

Britt Lightning:  Oh, yeah. That was so fun!

Daniel Corey:  You told me this story before–full disclosure–because the last time I saw you, I geeked out pretty hard and I made you tell me everything. (laughter) But I gotta make you tell me everything again, if you could.

Britt Lightning:  Oh, that was just really fun.  What city were we in? I can’t remember what city we were in, but it was a cool arena show with Queensrÿche and Stryper. I’ve known Michael for a little while, and he’s from the Massachusetts area, too.  So, I got up and jammed To Hell with the Devil, and that was so fun.  I’ve always loved that band. (laughter) And I played my tiger-striped, black-and-yellow Jackson Flying V, so it was an appropriate fit.

Daniel Corey:  I saw that, and I was pretty amazed.  I was thinking, “did they give her a guitar?”

Britt Lightning:  No, that was my very first nice guitar that I ever bought.

Daniel Corey: And it was because you wanted to have a Stryper-like guitar?

Britt Lightning:  Well, I dug Stryper, but, yeah, I also loved playing that model, anyways, the Jacksons.  And I love tigers, also, so it all just plays in. (laughs)

Daniel Corey:  So, what else do you have left to do at NAMM?

Britt Lightning:  I’m going to head over to Hughes & Kettner right now, and just say hi to a couple other friends and people that I know are floating around.  Maybe see Adam Reiver over at FU-Tone. And then not drive myself crazy and not get burned out, maybe take a break.

Daniel Corey:  When is Vixen playing L.A. again?

Britt Lightning:  Good question. Probably after we record the album.  We don’t have any L.A. dates coming up right now.

Daniel Corey:  All right, well, I saw you play The Whisky. It was the end of 2018, maybe.  It was the first time that I had seen Vixen.  You did an amazing show.

Britt Lightning:  Oh, thanks.

Daniel Corey:  And I’m not just saying this because you’re standing right here.  You were really terrific, and I would go back and see you any time, just so you know.

Britt Lightning:  Oh, thank you. That was fun.  We love playing The Whisky.  It’s always a fun venue.

Daniel Corey:  Well, thank you so much for talking, and we’ll keep an eye on what’s going on.  So, where can you find you on social media, and where can you find Vixen?

Britt Lightning:  My website is BrittLightning.com, and I’m Britt Lightning on Instagram and Facebook.  I don’t really Twitter, tweet, whatever–I’m not into it. (laughs) And then VixenOfficial.com, and Vixen_Band on Instagram and Facebook.

Daniel Corey: Thanks, Britt. We’ll catch up with you soon!

Britt Lightning:  Thank you so much!

• Follow Britt on her social channels! She recently celebrated a birthday, so wish her all the best! And be sure to buy Vixen’s music on Apple Music!

Until next time, enjoy the music, DangerKatts!

– Daniel Corey