|
All news is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves.
Have Joan Jett news to report? Email us at jettfc@aol.com, and please include the source of the information so it can be validated.
JOAN JETT hits Warp speed
New album 'SINNER' takes on a whole new meaning
from: thetimesonline.com
by Tom Lounges, Times Correspondent
Long before the lads of bands like Good Charlotte, Something Corporate or
Fallout Boy were even born, the Philadelphia-born JOAN JETT was busy
building the foundation of the Southern California punk scene. At 15 she
formed the teenage all-girl band The RUNAWAYS.
Signed to a multiple album deal with Mercury Records, The RUNAWAYS dressed
like street walkers and blended heavy metal, glam and punk into a sound of
their own.
Jett's RUNAWAYS set the template for all the girl rockers who followed in
their wake.
"When I moved to California as a kid, there was this cool place called
Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco that was for teenagers," reflects Jett
on her teen years.
"There was no booze or anything, just this guy playing all the latest
British singles and glam rock stuff of the early '70s," she continued.
"That's where I turned on to T-Rex, David Bowie, Gary Glitter, Alvin
Stardust, Mud, Slade, Suzi Quatro, The Sweet and all those great bands."
Jett soon grabbed a guitar and set out to follow in the footsteps of her
idol, Suzi Quatro. The RUNAWAYS were as important to the West Coast music
scene as the New York Dolls were to the East Coast scene.
Jett also was one of the first truly successful indie recording artists when
she and manager KENNY LAGUNA teamed up to form their BLACKHEART RECORDS
label, creating a template for the likes of Ani DiFranco and a generation of
others to follow over the years.
BLACKHEART RECORDS eventually was picked up for distribution by CBS-owned
Boardwalk Records.
Over the years, the raven-haired, mascara-wearing guitar-slinging
46-year-old rock queen has amassed an amazingly broad fan base. Jett's
no-frills garage rock sound and street-savvy attitude has been embraced,
respected and played by punks, riot grrrls, classic rockers, metal heads,
indie rock fans, gays, straights and trans-genders. In short, this Jett
flies with people from every walk of life.
"Us being on Warped makes perfect sense to me," mused Jett. "I guess we
never really pursued this kind of thing in the past and they never really
thought about us. But it's happening now and that's all that matters. I've
looked forward to this tour and to seeing all these great bands. I'm feeling
good and I'm ready to rock!"
And having such a high-profile tour could not have come at a better time for
Jett, who this month has released her first album of new songs in over seven
years.
"SINNER" is the first release since returning her BLACKHEART RECORDS to true
indie status and coming as she says, "full circle."
This CD finds Jett still very much in our face, eliciting cat screams,
shredding on her guitar, kicking butt and taking names.
About half of the 14 tracks on "SINNER" stretch back more than a half-dozen
years to the lost Warner Brothers sessions Jett did with producers Bob Rock
and Ted Templeman. Those infamous sessions, long shelved, has been the talk
of Jett fan club chat rooms for years. Among them are "Tube Talkin," "Five,"
"Androgynous," "Baby Blue" and "Fetish."
While a couple of those particular songs may be familiar to serious Jett
fans, as they were included on the "Fetish" CD released overseas around the
turn of the millennium, the singer notes that album was never released as a
commercial record in America.
"About three years ago, we pulled out those old (Warners) tapes and gave
them a listen. We'd done upwards of 30 songs, so I listened for what still
sounded valid to me and what I still wanted to put out there to present as
my music," she explained.
"There were probably about seven songs that I wanted to keep and those
became the core of 'SINNER.' The past few years I have been writing and
going in the studio," she continued.
onstage
Van's Warped Tour 2006, featuring JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, Rise Against,
Helmet, Thursday, Less Than Jake, NOFX and others
When: Noon Sunday
Where: First Midwest Bank Amphitheater, I-80 and Harlem Avenue, Tinley Park,
Ill.
Cost: $30
FYI: (708) 614-1616
|
| |
This Week:
No shows scheduled this week.
Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows |
Item Of The Month:
|
