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Fiery JOAN JETT Primed for Return Visit to Capital Region
from: The Daily Gazette, Albany, NY
by: Michael Lisi
The date still sticks in KENNY LAGUNA’s mind: Feb. 12, 1982
Laguna, record producer, manager, music collaborator and longtime friend of rocker JOAN JETT, had great news for Jett, whose solo career was starting to soar after three years of very hard work.
Music mogul Neil Bogart, who created bubblegum acts such as the Ohio Express and signed KISS, had slated Jett on ABC-TV’s live comedy show, "Fridays" on that date. With her single "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll" climbing the charts, Bogart figured they could easily sell 600,000 copies simply by Jett appearing on the show.
The problem was that Jett and her band, the BLACKHEARTS, were set to play a sellout show at the Palace Theatre in Albany that night and she was not about to back out.
And she didn’t.
"I went back to Joan about the ("Fridays" show appearance) and she goes, ‘Oh no man, I’ve waited two hears to sell out the Palace Theatre, I’m not canceling this,’" said Laguna, in a recent phone conversation from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "So Neil comes to New York and attacks Joan on this."
Bogart, who released Jett’s "Bad Reputation" on his Boardwalk Records a year before, promised to buy a gift for each fan with a Palace ticket if Jett canceled the concert and did "Fridays." But Jett, who played a trio of packed shows at the old J.B. Scott’s leading up to the Palace gig, refused.
"He said ‘we’re talking about 600,000 units’ and she says ‘Neil, we’re selling enough records already don’t be a gig.’" Laguna said laughing. "And that’s a true story."
That’s Jett. And, she is coming back to the Capital Region on Wednesday in a free 7p.m. show at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
Gut Feelings
A pioneer of the grrrl punk movement that helped bands such as L7 and Bikini Kill get signed, Jett does things her own way or they don’t get done, said Laguna, who has stuck with her for so long because she’s independent - just like him.
"She is who she is: there is no image," said Laguna of Jett. "If you always do what feels good in your gut, it usually works out and that’s helped her have a long career. One of her greatest talents is knowing who she is and what her fans will tolerate."
Jett hasn’t burned up the charts in awhile, but the rocker has certainly kept things interesting for herself by doing what she wants to do, Laguna said.
She recently finished filming an independent movie called "The Sweet Life" - she plays a biker chick in the film and co-wrote the movie’s theme with Laguna - that’s due out in the fall. Jett is shooting a second indie film called "Prey For Rock And Roll" - she plays herself and wrote music for the movie, which also stars Gina Gershon and Iggy Pop.
Jett took the BLACKHEARTS overseas to start 2002, playing for U.S. troops in such places a Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Last October, Jett did a big benefit gig with Bruce Springsteen and a host of other rockers in New Jersey for families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Sporting a shaved head, Jett performed on Broadway for eight months last year, winning favorable reviews as Columbia in "The Rocky Horror Show."
Hits such as "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll" and "Bad Reputation" continue to pop up in movies and television shows; the former was recently featured in "Charlie’s Angels" and the later ended up in "Shrek" and NBC’s canceled "Freaks and Geeks."
And she’s still rocking with the BLACKHEARTS playing a slate of weekend dates and an occasional weekday gig, such as at the Empire State Plaza.
Laguna is a pop legend in his own rite - he sang and played on the bubblegum hits Ohio Express "Chewy, Chewy" and 1910 Fruitgum Company’s "123 Red light," played with Tommy James and the Shondells and produced hits by Jett and Bow Wow Wow. Sometimes, he plays keyboards in Jett’s band.
"It goes in waves for Joan but the waves also go geographically," Laguna explained. "I guarantee that anytime someone says ‘where’s Joan?’ that she’s having a hot moment somewhere."
Hit Overseas
Jett, a former member of 1970s girl punk band The RUNAWAYS, did well overseas in the 1990s; she drew 60,000 to a concert in Thailand in 1992 and had a big record in France in 1995, Laguna said.
But as much as thing have changed for Jett, they are still the same when it comes to her luck with record companies, Jett and Laguna formed BLACKHEART RECORDS in 1980 to put out Jett’s records after every major label passed on her music, calling it too punk to be commercial, Laguna said.
She is back on Blackheart these days - a label Laguna described as a place for talented musicians who can’t get signed anywhere else - after inking a record contract with Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1990s. But a series of management changes at Warner Bros. And record company red tape kept the music from seeing the light of day.
"We’ve been working on this for six years," said Laguna, in his thick New York City accent. "We went to Warner Brothers and they kept changing heads. It wasn’t that they didn’t love Joan, but we couldn’t get them to put a record out."
It makes little sense to put the Warner stuff out as a new record now because the music - produced by Laguna, Bob Rock and Ted Templemen - is somewhat dated. But Jett fans who want an earful of these rarities may soon be able to pick them up for $10; Laguna said he is planning to put them on the JOAN JETT Web Site for download.
"Those songs are more like an anthology of the ‘90s more than anything," Laguna said. "To put this music out as an odds and sods thing would makes more sense to use, something like the Warner basement tapes that cost $1 million to make."
Individual Cuts
There is a new JOAN JETT album in works. Her last full studio album was 1999’s kinky "Fetish," but Laguna said it’s possible that a new Jett record would include punk and electronica versions of "Science Fiction" from "Rocky Horror" and "Love Is All Around."
She has also got a punk version of "Love Is All Around" the theme from "The Mary Tyler Moore" show. She originally recorded it as a promotion for the WNBA. She cut a full-length version of the song after the promotion got airplay request in New York City, Laguna said.
Jett recently recut a version of "Don’t Surrender," a song she wrote in the 1980s for late actress Jill Ireland, at the urging of Springsteen after playing it at the October New Jersey benefit.
And a live version of The RUNAWAYS’ "Cherry Bomb" sung with original RUNAWAYS member Cherie Currie last year has been issued on a CD single available only through Jett’s fan club, Laguna said." Unfinished Business," a limited edition five-song EP featuring "Love Is All Around, "I Left My heart In San Francisco" and other songs recorded for the WNBA, was released to fan club members last year.
"We just keep doing everything," Said Laguna. "We do a lot of charity work; we do a lot of stuff."
The music is what continues to drive Jett and she still revels in playing live. And make no mistake; she doesn’t skimp on the hits. She’ll be playing "Bad Reputation," "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll," "I hate Myself For Loving You," and "Do You Wanna touch Me"" among other staples, Laguna said.
"We always do the hits," Laguna said. "We never play without doing the hits. And she will kick ass."
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