LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Janet Gardner, the lead singer of the 1980s glam rock band Vixen, stated she is currently employed in Connecticut as a dental hygienist, although few of her patients are aware of her previous career. The 61-year-old, who hails from a family of dentists, left the band in 2001, long after the end of the glam rock music era.
Gardner is working a part-time job at a practice, which enables her to keep writing music. The former rock star continues to play, and she and her guitarist husband Justin James recently released a new album called 'No Strings'. She told Fox News Digital, "I needed something that would allow me enough time for my family, for my music, and for other things in life." She added, "That work/life balance really appealed to me. If I had this kind of skill, I could work more when I needed more money, and I could work less when I needed more time for other things."
'Going back to school was very satisfying'
She told Fox, "I like learning. I like school. So going back to school for me was very satisfying. And I loved what I was learning. We had to take pharmacology… And I love science. It was invigorating. I loved it. I studied my butt off. I kicked a**."
She added, "Not only did it give me something that I could do in my life… for money and security and for my family. [But], I also [get] to use a side of my brain that hadn't been used in a while." She further added, "I do it three days a week, and then I have four days a week for other things."
"And music is one of those things, and of course, my family," Gardner continued. "I don't know when I'll stop. I'll do it as long as I can still do it." Many of her patients discovered her actual identity after years of employment at the same Connecticut office. But in her new practice, most are clueless about her fascinating history.
'Some of them know, but a lot of people don't'
She said, "But where I currently work, I've only been there for about a year, so not many people know. It doesn't come up. It's never, 'Any concerns with your teeth? Oh, by the way, I was in this band in the '80s." She added, "Some of them know, but a lot of people don't. But I guess after they see this docuseries, they'll go, 'Hey, isn't that the girl who just cleaned my teeth?''
Vixen was founded in 1973 by guitarist Jan Kuehnemund while she was still a high school student and is regarded as the first recognized all-female rock band in Minnesota. The group's debut album came in 1988 and peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200. Their most well-known song, 'Edge Of A Broken Heart', was made available as the first single for the album 'Vixen'. In 1989, the band went on tour with Gardner's favorite musician, Ozzy Osbourne.
