Virago is a powerful, progressive rock project newly created by Seattle based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, Jane Mabrysmith (Love and Fury, The Januariez). The band features Amy Denio (Kultur Shock, The Tone Dogs) on bass and vocals and Alex Dillard (Huey and the InFLOWentials) on drums and keys. They began working together in 2016 after Jane reached out to Amy about recording some of her songs, to which Amy responded, “I’ve been wondering when you were gonna ask me to play!” 

After sifting through several drummers, Alex, who is also Jane’s oldest son, had already learned the songs by proxy and wanted to try out. Amy was keen, and so it began. They recorded the basic tracks at Studio Litho in Seattle and invited Alex Faide (Los Twang! Marvels), Gretta Harley (Love and Fury, These Streets), and Michelle Brayson into the mix for additional collaboration. 

Following a year of recording, writing, improvising, editing, and mixing, the tangible result of this endeavor, titled Virago’s Lament, delivers a dark and moody mix of the whimsical and the ironic. Jane’s lyrics range from the surrealism of fake news in “To Believe in You” to the irrational sense of loss from leaving social media with “Offline”. Amy’s bass lines and harmonies combined with Alex Dillard's drums and keys deliver eccentricity and attitude. The contributions of Alex Faide's preternatural guitar interwoven with Michelle and Gretta's soaring vocals provide texture and depth that make this record a complete sonic experience. 

Virago's Lament is set for release Friday, May 31, 2019 with a live performance at The Royal Room in Columbia City, featuring Into The Cold, Beyond Captain Orca, and DAIPANbutoh. The Virago performance team consists of Amy Denio on bass/vocals, Gretta Harley on keys/guitar/vocals, Alex Dillard on drums, and Chris Gibson (The League of Crafty Guitarist North America, King Crimson Fall 2017 tour) on lead guitar. Reservations are highly recommended for this show.