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She still loves it
from: azstarnet.com
by Sarah Mauet
JOAN JETT is a rock goddess, the godmother of punk rock, the patron saint of women rockers.
In the RUNAWAYS in the late '70s and later with her band the BLACKHEARTS, Jett awed generations with her leather-clad confidence, her gritty rock guitar, her smoky snarl and her nonchalant attitude.
"I don't think I was aware of it," she said of being a rare female rocker. "It probably saved me in the RUNAWAYS when I was super naïve. I just thought everyone's minds were going to be blown and I'd waltz right in there. And then there was a lot of resistance, so then I thought it was going to be a lot more work but it would still be doable."
When 23 labels turned her down as a solo artist 25 years ago she started BLACKHEART RECORDS and became the first woman in rock to own her own record company. She then roared out hit songs, such as the irresistible "I Love Rock N' Roll," which continues to be a rock 'n' roll anthem today.
No wonder she inspired the phrase WWJJD — What would JOAN JETT do? Bust Magazine even sells shirts with that logo at www.bust.com.
To celebrate the label's 25th anniversary, Jett and the BLACKHEARTS will re-master and re-release the majority of their catalog along with bonus material.
"It was great seeing some of those pictures," she laughed in a phone interview from her New York home just before recording Radio Revolution, her Sirius Radio show. "I can't believe some of the stuff I wore or some of the hairdos — oh man!"
Jett, who in her 40s looks just as good as she did 25 years ago, also released a new album, "SINNER," her first in a decade. Though her music was always somewhat political, if only because she was a woman rocker, "SINNER" contains her first overtly political protest songs.
"With the state of our country and world and everything that's going on, I think it got to the point where I had to say something," she said. "A song like 'Riddles' is looking at all the things going on and wondering if people see what I see. To me it's very maddening and I feel like we should be in the streets. Sometimes I wonder what it would take to get everybody sufficiently involved where they have some control over their life in a political sense."
"SINNER" is full of fresh and vital punk rock, and it received many positive reviews, but the definitive test came this summer when Jett joined — and was accepted at — the Warped Tour, that bastion of youth punk rock.
"It was so much fun," she said. "What a way to spend a summer. . . . It was like a roving block party punk rock circus."
Jett's new music fits right in with the rest of her catalogue, but she has no problem playing hits, such as "I Love Rock N' Roll," "Bad Reputation" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)."
"Years ago I had to make a decision because I started to get frustrated, like hey, I have other songs," she said. "I had to sit there for a minute (it was longer than a minute) and think about how are you going to handle this? Are you going to resent the enormity of that song and your involvement in it or are you going to feel blessed that you were involved in it and involved in something so big?. . . I feel so blessed to be part of it and to have this job for a living."
Jett still loves rock 'n' roll.
"Yeah, I do," she said. "As corny as it sounds, I do."
KFMA Fall Ball
What: Daylong rock, punk and metal music fest by radio station KFMA (92.1-FM and 101.3-FM)
Where: Tucson Electric Park
When: Sunday
Tickets: $25 at any Catalina Mart or online at www.kfma.com
Lineup:
1 p.m. — Trik Turner
2 — As Fast As
3:10 — Atreyu
4:20 — Buckcherry
5:30 — JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
7:15 — Muse
8:45 — Avenged Sevenfold
Plenty of high-powered acts at TEP
Daylong rock, punk and metal music festival presented by radio station KFMA (92.1-FM and 101.3-FM) at Tucson Electric Park
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