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. Ask Joan from: JOAN JETT I was wondering do your tats have special meaning and how many you have and where did you get them done? I was wondering what ever happened to Gary Ryan, Lee Crystal, and Ricky Byrd? Would you mind setting the record straight on why you left 'Rocky Horror' and why you didn't appear on the soundtrack? Joan, My wife and I are huge fans and caught your show on April 4th in Harris Mich.,and to say the least,you and the band were as expected,AWESOME! I noticed that a couple Ramones songs were played before you came out and my question is,are you a fan? If so, any favorite Ramones song or album? Brian Dear Brian, My favorite Ramones CD's are the first one, "THE RAMONES", and "ROCKET TO RUSSIA". I have no favorite song, as there are so many I love. Keep Rockin', JJ* PS (from KENNY LAGUNA): JOAN JETT and I are huge Ramones fans. we were both very close to Joey on a personal level and Joan toured with the Ramones both with the RUNAWAYS, and the BLACKHEARTS. Hi Joan Thanks for the opportunity to ask a question. I bought the Live! DVD & love it, but are you going to release the promo VHS tapes on your site on DVD format. I ask 'cos I would love to buy them. Are there any plans??? Regards, Damian Hey Damian, Yes, it is coming soon. Rock on! JJ* Hi Joan Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of our questions. We all truly appreciate the time you have dedicated to doing this. I have two quick questions. First, I have noticed that you always sign your name with a star at the end and was wondering if there is any meaning behind that? Second, at every concert you always take the stage to the Who's "Won't get fooled again". Just wondering if that song has special meaning to you or what the significance of that song is? Just curious!! Also, thanks for all the great years of music, and for always making your fans a priority. You are the best!! Steph Hey Steph, The star at the end of my name is something I started probably before I even formed the RUNAWAYS. It was a projection. I wanted to be a rock star, so I practiced my autograph, and don't know exactly why I chose a star. In my teen brain I was thinking, '"rockstar, rockSTAR." and I cross my t's and make the star in the same way. So, its what I wanted to be, and I sent out that energy to the universe. As for The Who, we are friends with that organization for many years. It was also The Who that enabled us to record what became the 'Bad Reputation' album. In England in '79-80', we had no money at all, and The Who let us record our whole album on spec, and we could pay them when we were able. This was unique behavior, to say the least, in a very tough business. This was an absolutely crucial point in my career and so I would say this is kind of a 'tip of my cap' to some people that came to my aid in a time of need, and I'm a fan too! Thanks for your questions. Rock on! JJ* Hi Joan, I think this is a great feature that you've added to your site. I am a long time fan and I think that you are the Queen of Rock and Roll. You, your music and your style have had a major effect on my life. I truly thank you, as well as the BLACKHEARTS, for all that you have done! Thank you very much!!! My question is regarding whether you will be doing any signings in the (near) future. I have been following you for over 20 years now and have always wanted to meet you in person to say thanks, and perhaps to get an autograph (and photo if possible). I know you probably get that alot, but I just had to say it. I have been to countless concerts in the tri-state area over the years and have never had the opportunity to get an autograph. I know that there are security reasons, as well as a lot of sick people out there. That's why I was inquiring about the signing. Is there any hope? I think you are an amazing individual and a great performer!!! Keep up the great work and, again, THANK YOU JOAN!! You are the best!!! Sincerely, Rob Dear Rob, Wow, Rob. I can't believe I've missed you. I have signed autographs after pretty much every show for over 20 years. But you can definitely get an autograph. Just ask when you see me, don't be shy. Coming early to shows can be a good time sometimes. I will be stopping after some shows to sign, but I don't always know ahead of time. But I would say your chances are good. Have a great day dude! JJ* Hey Joan, Hope you had a wonderful holiday! My daughter and I enjoyed NYC for a few days before Christmas. We're in eastern NC and are hoping you'll come to the NC,SC,VA area on this year's tour. We saw you at Innsbrook last summer and loved it. My daughter cherishes the photo of you 2 and the autograph and proudly wears her JJ t-shirt and RUNAWAYS' dog tag. I love tattoos and have 8. I was wondering do your tats have special meaning and how many you have and where did you get them done? I had one done at the Village Star on Bleecker, when I was visiting. I was also wondering who books your opening acts and how could a band get a cd to that person? Also, if you're not currently booked around here, how could I help get a booking for you? I have a friend who owns a 2,000 seat venue here in eastern NC, that would love to have you. Hope you got our cd. Nannette Hiya Nannette, I'm glad you and your family had a good time at the show last year. It's always nice to hear that people are having fun! I would think we would definitely get to your vicinity at some point this year. You can send gig requests to the office, BLACKHEART RECORDS. I also have 8 tattoos. They do have special meaning. Most of them do anyway. I got all but one of them at a shop called "Dare Devil" Tattoo. On Ludlow Street between Houston and Rivington Street in the East Village. Michelle is the person who does mine, but anyone in the shop is good. My first tattoo I got in LA at the famous Sunset Strip Tattoo across from the Hyatt House, and had to hide it from my parents with a band-aid. Thanks for writing and I'll see ya on the road! JJ* Hi Joan, I've been a fan of your for twenty years and was wondering what ever happened to Gary Ryan, Lee Crystal, and Ricky Byrd? When did you last perform with them? Do you ever see them anymore? The band you have now sounds great, but I am just curious what happened to the older BLACKHEARTS. Thank you. NEVER STOP ROCKIN' Brian Dear Brian, Thanks for the letter. I do get asked a lot if the band is still the 'original' band. Gary, Lee, and Ricky all got married and settled down. Some have children. It is not an easy life on the road. It is not that it is so physically hard. It is mentally tough, especially when as a society, we are so conditioned to marry, or couple up in general. So the guys each moved on in their personal situations. I am still on friendly terms with all of them and we see each other occasionally. Ricky played with us on the Live DVD, which is late 90's. Gary, Lee and I haven't played together since the mid 80's, I believe. Hope that answers your question. Keep Rockin JJ* Joan, Happy New Year to you and yours, and best wishes on a great 2003! Is seems that you get asked with every question if you are coming back to a certain area, and mine is no different. One of the best shows I've ever seen was your performance at the Theather of Living Arts on South Street in Philadelphia. Absolutely the best! My first question being, any plans to return to Philly? My second question is, do you prefer a large crowd, like a festival, or a smaller intimate location, like a club? And one ass kissing comment if I may...I have been a fan for a very long time, and I want to thank you for making music that make me sing non-stop all day long. You rock, and hope to see you sooner than later! Best Wishes, Steve Rice Dear Steve, Yeah Steve, that was a fun show in Philly! I am not sure about our next visit to Philly, but I hope we at least are in the vicinity this year. The website is the best way to track it. As far as venue size, I get a kick out of all of it. It is quite an indescribable feeling to walk out in front of 100,000 people, which I've done a couple of times. That is a lot of people! Big shows are cool, but if I had to choose one venue size to play to, I'd have to say smaller is better for the vibe and intimacy factor (and sweat factor!!!). I like to be close to the audience and I love to sweat, which is hard to do in the big places. Small theatres or clubs would be my venue of choice, but the big ones are fun too! See ya. Rock on JJ* Hi Joan! First of all, my favorite band is Kittie. I was wondering what you thought about them, if anything at all. Second question...my friend just opened an independent record store in the Seattle area, Touch My Vinyl Records + CDs "changing the way you hear music". And I was wondering, as a huge fan of yours, if you'd ever be willing to come in and do an in-store signing. I know we and the rest of your fans in the area would truly appreciate it. We only have one JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS album, at the moment, apparently they're hard to come by. But hopefully some day soon we'll have some more. Hope all is well with you! Take care. Much Love Jen Hey Jen, I'm sure there may be a way to set something up if we are in the area and time permits. Are we coming to your area? Probably the best course to take would be to call the office if you know we'll be in your area, let them know what you're thinking as far as an 'in-store'. Maybe they can help you get our records, regardless of an in-store or not. I'll tell the office to contact your friend's store. And yes, I do like the band 'Kittie'. I would like to hear more tho'. Thanks for your interest... Rock Hard! JJ* Dear Joan: When you left "Rocky Horror Live," there were conflicting reports regarding your departure. I'm the type of person that doesn't believe everything I read and only half of what I see. Would you mind setting the record straight on why you left and why you didn't appear on the soundtrack? Do you have any desire to be "on Broadway" again? By the way, I saw the show four times and loved it. Your involvement in the play brought a lot of people to a Broadway show that probably wouldn't have otherwise...and that is very cool. What has been your most embarrassing moment ever? Thanks for the opportunity to answer my questions! I appreciate it!! Catherine Hiya Catherine, The people I dealt with did not live up to their deal. Plain and simple. That is totally separate from my wonderful experience working with so many talented actors, crew, and people behind the scenes, not to mention, kick-ass material. As far as embarrassing moments, I will keep those to myself! Thanks for asking! Rock On! JJ* Dear Joan, Hi. Happy New Year to you and yours and everyone at BLACKHEART RECORDS. I've been on disability from work for the last 6 months due to a serious motorcycle accident I had back in July. My hobbies have always been all sports but at the moment, most sports are impossible for me to participate in. So I took up learning to play the guitar as a new interest. I purchased myself a Paul Reed Smith guitar (one of the more affordable models) along with a couple of instructional DVD's and cd-roms. I'm making progress on the basic chords and strumming but I'm having a lot of difficulty mastering the "dreaded" barr chord. I'm having trouble getting a clean sound with it. So my question to you is, "Do you have any tricks of the trade for making the learning of barr chords easier? "My hands are fairly small so I'm having a tough time with this. o if you have any tips on playing barre chords, it would be greatly appreciated by this frustrated guitar student. Thanks for your advice Joan. Hope to catch one of your shows later on this year. I'm from Long Island so hopefully you'll have an upcoming show in the area this summer. I can't get out much this winter due to my injuries and the weather or I would be at your upcoming China Club show. So,I look forward to seeing you later on this year when the weather improves. Take care, Phyl Hey Phyl, Sorry to hear about your accident. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope you can be out rockin' soon! Aahhh!! The dreaded barr chords!! I'm not sure exactly what kind of guitar that is that you have. Is it electric or acoustic? I found for myself that it was much easier to learn barr chords on an electric guitar because for the most part, the action (the distance of the string to the fretboard surface) is lower on an electric, which makes it not as difficult to hold down. You are getting noise because the pressure from your fingers is not even on the fretboard. So I would recommend, regardless of electric or acoustic, that you have the action as low as you can without it buzzing on its own. You don't need that too! Unless you're good with guitars, I would take it to a shop or someone who can work on a guitar and lower your action. That should help a lot. Thanks for your question and take care of yourself. Rock On! JJ* This Week: No shows scheduled this week. Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows Item Of The Month:
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