Viva la Venus!

Female-fronted guitar rock…

Viva la Venus is a female-fronted guitar rock band from North Carolina founded by vocalists/guitarists Wendy Brancaccio and Susan Darney. The two began writing music that combines powerfully seductive vocal melodies with complex and intricate guitar leads wrapped around sexy rhythm guitar hooks. Mary Anne Barckhoff soon joined with grooving bass lines, adding rhythmic vocal harmonies and occasionally trading bass and guitar duties with Susan. Trey McLamb’s thunderous drumming intensified the Viva la Venus sound: not quite metal, certainly not pop, but well-written, solid rock songs to keep your body rocking and mind rolling. The band quickly gained popularity through constant touring, radio airplay, press, and winning “battle of the bands” competitions.

The band’s debut CD release, The Never Ending Mending Story, proved the group’s strong song writing and musical talent landing them a deal with Sony Music Television. Their second CD release, Forget the Fairy Tale, quickly skyrocketed, gaining them national attention and was selected as one of the Top 25 CDs of the year by indie-music.com. The band toured heavily and gained popularity throughout the East Coast and Midwest club circuit. The band's most recent CD release, Bleeding on the Edge of Happiness, shows a clear maturity of seasoned musicianship and proves how well they complement each other as a solid unit, delivering their own brand of rock.

The band has made television appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the North Carolina band TV showcase, Barchords. The music of Viva la Venus has been featured on national TV shows including Lifetime Network's Strong Medicine and in the film, The Forever Dead written and directed by Christine Parker. Their music is available online at CDBaby, iTunes, Rhapsody and other online outlets.