Richmond Counterculture / Shockoe Sessions

Richmond Counterculture/Shockoe Sessions Ep.2 Vexine & Los Hermanos Alacranes

Mon, Jun 2, 2025

VEXINE is a 4-piece band based in Richmond, VA . Formed in 2012, the group that features front woman Sarah Gleason on vocals, Paul Pearce on lead guitar and vocals, Michael Skiffington on bass, and Jorge Santamaria on drums. VEXINE’s self-titled debut was released in 2013. It features 10 original songs and has been described as “taking sultry to bodacious levels, combining rock and roll attitude with country soul”. Their follow-up record, “Live from Nashville” was recorded at The Rutledge in Nashville, TN by renowned sound engineer Frank Sass. VEXINE recorded their third record throughout 2015. They produced a collection of songs that caught everyone’s attention, and they called it LITTLE SIN.

Where have I heard that song before? If you answered a Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez movie, then you know the music of Shockoe Records recording artists, Los Hermanos Alacranes. the newest band in Richmond, Virginia featuring Paulo Franco on guitar and vocals, Paul Pearce on lead guitar and vocals, Rob Lytle on drums and vocals and the newest member of the band, Turtle Zwadlo on bass. Turtle joins the band and reunites with Paulo from their days together in Paulo’s first band showcasing his original music, The Rateros. Together, these musicians have decades of experience playing in venues throughout Virginia and the United States.

Los Hermanos Alacranes features Paulo’s original songs in English and Spanish. Paulo is a first generation American whose parents were raised in Medellín, Colombia. The band also includes covers in its repertoire by artists like The Mavericks, Los Lobos, Chingon, Cruzados, Tito and Tarantula, Alejandro Escovedo and more!! The songs are up tempo and designed to get you grooving!! You’ll hear these songs with an authentic voice (Paulo speaks and sings fluent Spanish), filled with the passion and energy that they convey musically and story wise. In fact, the band takes its name from the song Alacrán y Pistolero, one of the tracks on Chingon’s 2010 eponymous release. Alacrán is the Spanish word for Scorpion! You’ll be transported to towns in Mexico, wind swept evenings in Havana, the mountains of Medellín and the deserts of Texas and the American Southwest. Stories of love both actual and unrequited, tragedy and adventure – in English and in Spanish. Are you ready to get stung? Because Los Alacranes de R.V.A. are ready to rock!! LLENO DE VENENO!!

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