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Interview: JOAN JETT
from: Eye Weekly
by Helen Spitzer
JOAN JETT has never tried to please anyone but herself, which may be the reason for her enduring appeal. Jett launched herself back into action earlier this year with a cameo on Peaches' recent Impeach My Bush album and some high-profile NYC gigs to show off her chops (and newly chiselled bod); she followed with SINNER, her first new album since 1994, and a spot on the Warped Tour. Ever the contrarian, the lesbian icon chose Sweet's decidedly un-PC bisexual parable "A.C.D.C." as the killer cover (and cast Carmen Electra as her trampy girlfriend in the video).
So many female rockers cite you as an inspiration -- that seeing you up there made them think that they could do it, too. Who was that person for you?
Actually, it was my parents telling me as a little kid that I could be anything I wanted to be. I just kind of took that to heart. You know, I never doubted that I could do it. Once I did see another woman do it, though, it confirmed [it] for me. That was Suzy Quatro. Hearing those records, I thought, "Well, man, maybe there are other girls who wanna do this."
You say your folks were supportive -- did they let you play all those LA clubs in the late-'70s at 15 with The RUNAWAYS?
Yeah, they did actually. Well, my parents had separated at the time, so my dad probably didn't really know exactly what was going on, but my mother was definitely an accomplice. She would actually drive me to clubs, or drive me to rehearsal, or -- once I was in The RUNAWAYS -- drive the girls to rehearsal. She did a lot of that kind of stuff.
You're playing the Warped Tour -- are there many ladies on the bill?
Not really, though I think that's slowly changing. There was Paramore, and The Sounds from Sweden; there's also this outfit Shiragirl. Last year, what they did is build their own stage out of a truck. They tried to get on Warped and apparently didn't -- so they just set up in the parking lot and played. Shiragirl is an all-girl band but also they had a lot of girl bands on the stage. I guess Kevin Lyman, who [founded] the Warped Tour, thought it was very ingenious, and he invited them as part of Warped this year. So, I think things are changing -- slowly. You know, I'm sitting here a long time after The RUNAWAYS, and I would have certainly thought by now girls playing rock 'n' roll woulda been just part of the way it is. But it's not.
You chose to play for troops in Afghanistan after 9/11.
I have played for troops over the years but I haven't really spoken about it, 'cause it's not really a publicity thing. It's between me and them, and it's a morale thing; it's not about policy. I don't shy away from talking to them about politics, but it really depends on the arena. When I'm with 'em one on one, we talk about stuff, and some of 'em have views similar to mine, and some are completely supportive of what's going on. You have to see all perspectives. I don't know if it's because I briefly entertained joining, after The RUNAWAYS broke up, because I was pretty screwed up -- I just thought if something bad's gonna happen [at least] I'll know what it's gonna be. That lasted for a week. Still, it made me realize that all these people were just like me, a lot of 'em trying to maybe get out of a shitty situation, go to school, travel. People don't always join the military to kill people.
I read this interview from 1979, where the interviewer was goading you by saying your audience was "getting lesbian." You said, "I don't give a shit if they're transsexual, bisexual -- just so long as they enjoy it." You were incredibly ahead of your time -- do you ever feel envious of younger people now?
No. I don't care that there wasn't somebody to do it for me. Then I wouldn'ta had anything to do.
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