VEXINE is a 4-piece band based in Richmond, VA . Formed in 2012, the group features front woman Sarah Frances Gleason on vocals, Paul Pearce on lead guitar and vocals, Michael Skiffington on bass, and Jorge Santamaria on drums.

VEXINE’s self-titled debut was released in 2013. It features 10 original songs and has been described as “taking sultry to bodacious levels, combining rock and roll attitude with country soul”. Their follow-up record, “Live from Nashville” was recorded at The Rutledge in Nashville, TN by renowned sound engineer Frank Sass. VEXINE recorded their third record throughout 2015. They produced a collection of songs that caught everyone’s attention, and they called it LITTLE SIN.

Buzzfeed describes VEXINE’s LITTLE SIN as “refreshing” saying Sarah Gleason possesses “a voice I have been searching for my entire life”. Richmond’s own Style Magazine describes VEXINE’s music as “retro future rock”, and Richmond Magazine refers to it as “lounge rock noir”. PASTE Magazine calls LITTLE SIN “bad-ass”, and No Depression Magazine says of VEXINE, “get ready to meet your new favorite band”.

All three VEXINE albums are released on their own label, ZAP Records. LITTLE SIN was released April 30th 2016.

Vexine took a sabbatical from 2020 - 2022, when Sarah and Jorge moved to New Orleans and Paul and Mike pursued other musical avenues. But, Sarah and Jorge returned to Richmond, VA in late 2022 and “the band got back together”. They’re currently working on a new album of original music that will be released in the latter part of 2023.

About the Songs

VEXINE began writing Little Sin in 2014 both in and out of the rehearsal hall. Individual contributions by Gleason and Pearce are augmented by full-band efforts as well as one carefully selected song by a certain Declan MacManus.

“It doesn’t matter what we write independently of one another,” says Gleason. “It doesn’t become a VEXINE song until we all get in a room together and hash it out.” The songs were recorded at The Shed (by Paul Pearce and Brian Farquhar) and Montrose Studios (with Bruce Olsen) in Richmond, Virginia, and mastered by Jim Demain at YesMaster.

The title track, “Little Sin” is a sultry little number with gypsy rhythms pounding out the panic of a terrible secret. Santamaria notes that “it was fun to break away and do something a little different with the drums on this track, it is song about murder that is simultaneously dark and bouncy.”

“Tantilla Gardens” speaks of the fantasy of the Richmond dance hall landmark that once was the “South’s Most Beautiful Ballroom” before it was demolished in 1970. Gleason grew up hearing her grandmother tell her stories of the “rooftop that rolled away,” where couples danced beneath the stars. “I wish I could have experienced it first hand. Writing about Tantilla Gardens helped me feel closer to my grandmother. She was dizzy over the splendor and glamour of the place when she was a young woman in the 1930’s.”.

“Only One Left” is Pearce’s wild ride that puts you right in the driver’s seat of this zombie love-story. “Hey, zombies need love, too,” says Pearce. This is part 2 of a 3 of Pearce’s 3 part “Zombie Trilogy”.

VEXINE also chose to include Elvis Costello’s “I Want You” in this release because “it was a long-time favorite” of Skiffington’s. “I knew we could do something special with it.”

For booking information, contact Jorge Santamaria at 804.241.2609.