Virago are: Nicole Barre, Ashley Barre and Stephanie "Venus Opal"Weinstein

Reviews of Transition

Transition is the debut CD release of New Orleans raised singing trio, Virago, which means Amazon Women in Latin. The recording for the New Orleans based label, St. Roch. Records is produced by recent New Orleans arrival Kim Fowley, who discovered the Bayou blend singers at an open audition one evening at the local "Howlin Wolf" nightclub. Fowley, who has produced chart hit records on The Murmaids and The Runaways, among others, describes Virago as "The Children of Axel Rose and Sharon Stone". This 1996 summer studio effort follows other Fowley 1995/96 U.K. productions with BMX Bandits, Nilon Bombers as well as studio work with Andy White and St. Roch labelmates: Blowtorch and Scotland's Radio Sweethearts, both just out in release.

Virago showcases yet another New Orleans musical style and amalgam that has emerged from the city, and has very little to do with cajun, zydeco, R and B, jazz and the expected musical heritage of New Orleans. "Not everybody who grew up here eats gumbo, crawfish and talks with an accent right out of 'The Big Easy' TV show", suggests Stephanie "Venus Opal" Weinstein. "There are some regional lyric references like 'River Rat' a song on the album, but our influences come from today's college radio, and alternative music in the pop, rock, and dance formats. I think 'Transition' acknowledges we come from the area, but like a lot of bands and performers in New Orleans today, we are bringing some new energy and our CD will further clear up the stereotype people and the media have of the city".

Nicole Barre adds, "Because I am a female and live in The South, there are still people who seem to think women can't do much. We're entertainers." states Barre, who attended the University of New Orleans, studied drama on the campus and has acted in TV and had bit parts in the films "Pelican Brief", "Interview with the Vampire", "JFK", and "Exit to Eden". "I am grateful to be in the position I am in", she muses, "the way it happened with Virago does not happen every day. It happened so fast. We go to Open Mic Night on a full moon and in front of the Howlin' Wolf we sing on the sidewalk for a stranger, Kim Fowley. A month later we are rehearsing and recording, and now all those nights of songwriting and meeting surface on 'Transition' explains Nicole, who co-wrote the tunes "Chu Chu","River Rat", "Hanging From the Tress" and "2 o'clock" on this group collaboration.

Then there's Ashley Barre. Check out her self-penned "Empire" selection on Virago's initial album. "I learned a lot about the recording process and working with other people," Barre acknowledges, "Kim as a producer came up with a lot of wacky and good ideas. I love to sing," she stresses, "and when you hear our CD you're not going to hear the heavy influences of Dixieland, Zydeco, Jazz, or Gospel. We are nurtured by the South, but I know we are doing something different".

"I met Venus Opal when I worked in the mall, she remembers, "I had seen her around the clubs. We became friends and used to write songs with a Karoake machine. Some of the songs on our album are a little more dance oriented than the first drafts. In high school I was in the choir. IN 1994 we were able to perform at Carnegie Hall. I was with The New Orleans Symphony for a year. Venus, my sister Nicole and I just clicked when we wrote songs and sang in our apartment late at night. I had the mad idea one night to perform some of my poetry and suggested we go to the club. Here we are now. Who knows what is next".

Stephanie aka "Venus Opal" always wanted to be a singer, "even when I was skateboarding and should have been paying attention to my math". She owns 6000 tapes. She auditioned for Fowley with 40 already written songs.

"I was in groups", she recalls, "but all the guys really wanted to do was 'get involved'. I wanted to be taken seriously. Some of my work on 'Transition' evolved from 'folk-things' I had already written, and in the co-writing process, the music went through changes. I enmjoyed making this recording. I learned a lot," points out Venus Opal who scripted "Ride" and "Wanna Breed" and also co-authored seven of the other melodic/vocal expeditions on Virago's debut album.

"I also wanted to do a CD, I didn't want to end up with regrets" she ponders. Venus Opal was a homecoming queen. "Yep, I was. But," she pleads, "I was not typical. I wore a leather jacket, and was not a cheerleader. I was into the Misfits, Danzig, and Type-O Negative. I'll tell you a little secret. I am more than a Viking comic book hero Woman Goddess. I'm Russian, Greek, and American Indian. With Nicole and Ashley I feel like their sister and if all of us are together, expect a crazy time" she promises. Venus Opal has done TV and Commerical work on the shows "Orleans", "The Big Easy" and "Dark Angel", to pay bills. "I love to entertain. I think we are doing this to make people smile."