Varix Vanity

It's almost always impossible to find the words to describe a group or band accurately. No band wants to identify completely (or in many cases even partially) with another group, sound, or even genre. Everyone is 'breaking conventions', 'defying the norm', or 'going a step beyond' the established sound. Why bore the reader with these clichés? Why not just give an authentic story of how the band came to be and why they think they're here?

By that token, Varix Vanity is best described as a group with divergent interests but common purpose.

Matt and Dan Douglas were raised in a musical household; it wasn't uncommon to see them playing drums and bass together for ten hours straight on a hot July afternoon. The untimely death of their older brother and musical mentor brought them out of the juvenile musical hobby shop and into the idea that they wanted to succeed as musicians both for satisfaction and redemption.

Paul Lucenti, the oft regarded "eccentric lead guitar player", is the silhouette that comes to mind when people describe a 'guitar guy'. He would tell you that music is the only thing he's ever really wanted in life. When he's not playing his own music, he's teaching music, recording, or working the stages of various concerts. Paul and the Douglas brothers first started collaborating in the Fall of 2003 with the group Dirty Mother Nation.

Sean Kerrigan could be seen as a link between Paul, Matt and Dan. Quite fatefully, he first met the brothers while taking lessons from Paul. When DMN was seeking a fuller sound and a new creative partner, Sean, one of Paul's most gifted and dedicated former students, was an obvious choice. Sean quickly took on an active role in all aspects of the project.

In early 2008, DMN parted ways with their front man and the search for a new one looked to be a very challenging one. Fortunately shortly after the search began, Zippergrin's Gavin Reign came in contact with what was left of DMN and everyone involved knew that there was definitely something special there, and Varix Vanity was born.

The very different styles and influences of Gavin's adds a much more eclectic touch to the style from Sean, Dan, Paul and Matt. The collaborative project that was Dirty Mother Nation combined with Gavin Reign's musical endeavor, Zippergrin have created something much bigger and much better….