September 2008 News

Carianne Laguna may look like a fresh-faced intern entering a building standing among lofts owned by fashion models in Manhattan's NoHo neighborhood. However, the 28-year-old is Vice President and General Manager of BLACKHEART RECORDS, a label that rock legend JOAN JETT helped create in 1980. Laguna, who resides in Brooklyn, tirelessly commutes to her office, where she signs new artists to the label, including punk acts like Girl in a Coma and The Cute Lepers. Not only does she spend days promoting artists, but she manages the "I Love Rock N' Roll" rebel. In the music industry - where few women take behind-the-scene roles in impacting listeners, Laguna does it all with a toothy grin. Yet, she wouldn't have been crowned queen of indie music management if it wasn't for her family.

Her father is KENNY LAGUNA, a music producer who, in 1980, began managing a 17-year-old Jett. Despite Jett joining a band when she was just 15 and befriending Sid Vicious, 23 music labels turned her down, causing her manager to sell demos from the trunk of his car. Consequently, the duo started BLACKHEART RECORDS, one of the first music labels owned by a woman. Jett would go on to sell millions of albums, becoming one of rock's top-charting females in history. Laguna, who grew up traveling around the world as Jett performed for thousands, would later carry on her father's legacy. She graduated from the University of Colorado in 2001, where she took several internships to fully understand the business of music. "When I got to BLACKHEART RECORDS, I said 'I'm going to do this, but I would like to sign a lot of new bands that are in it for the music and not the fame,'" she says.

Laguna did just that, all while proving herself. "People tend to dismiss you if you're a girl," she reveals before groaning at how few females are leaders in the music business. "People think it's just a fabulous thing to look as young as an intern, until you have to be taken seriously." After many frustrations from Devil Wears Prada archetypes, she chose to keep moving without ever looking back. She takes a deep breath before gushing about her love of finding overlooked musicians and giving them a chance. "It just makes me feel good that IÕm spreading their music. That beats out all those days when people would look down at you just because they had their own hang-ups."

Tickets for JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack in Ruidoso Downs, N.M.

Tickets cost $20.

She is best known for her hit "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," which was No. 1 on the Billboard charts from March 20 to May 1, 1982. Other hits include "Crimson and Clover," "Do You Wanna Touch Me," "Love Is All Around," "Bad Reputation," "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Little Liar."

Information: 575-378-4140.

Top 10 Female Artists Who Could Kick Oasis' Ass Bands, like other groups of friends, often engage in mild, pointless debates during their downtime. Oasis is no different. However, unlike other flippant, amateur bands, the affair is no laughing matter where they're concerned. Their debates are etched into white crystal towers, there to enlighten the masses.

Or so it is according to Noel Gallagher, who as NME reported Wednesday, has presented the official list of top 10 bands of all time, per Oasis. The criteria are strict: Quoth the bandÕs blog, "This means the top 10 bands of all time. No solo artists allowed. No female artists allowed. No collectives allowed."

Ok, so we're talking about bands, not solo artists and collectives. Got it. But something is amiss ... it seems for this to be a list of true bands, there will be absolutely no estrogen on it. So do these rules mean Blondie is not a band? What about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? I doubt JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS would take this lightly.

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Don't miss your chance to be the proud winner of this incredible package for you and a guest: coach class airfare, two nights hotel accommodation, and VIP passes for a JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS concert in 2009.

JOAN JETT has been a force in pop culture since she was 15 years old. She is an originator, an innovator, and a visionary. Not only is she an accomplished singer/songwriter/guitarist with eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, she founded her own independent label, BLACKHEART RECORDS.

Though Jett is called "the eternal outsider" she continues to erase boundaries and beat down walls, while remaining humble and appreciative. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS' music remains a major force in mainstream culture, and show no signs of stopping anytime soon.

In leather pants and a skimpy bikini top, JOAN JETT came out earlier in the afternoon firing with two of her best known songs: "Bad Reputation" and "Cherry Bomb." After a mid-set lull that featured largely newer, less-known material, Jett broke out the familiar cuts that got the crowd up: the fist-pump-able "I Love Rock N' Roll," the arm-waveable "Crimson and Clover." But it was two less-expected cuts that seemed especially Harley Fest-appropriate: Punky covers of "Everyday People" and "Love Is All Around," the theme from the midwest-set Mary Tyler Moore Show.