|
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.
Women Who Rock
from: philadelphiaweekly.com
by Jonathan Valania
These days the ladies aren't just performing. They're also running the show.
It's been said that while most girls wanted to sleep with Brian Jones, punk poetess Patti Smith wanted to be Brian Jones. It's this sort of boundary-smashing switch from adoration to emulation that knocked the door off the boys' club of rock 'n' roll. Suddenly there were chicks in the tree house, and soon enough there was a riot goin' on.
The spiritual den mother of women in rock in Philadelphia is JOAN JETT, who was born right here in the City of, ahem, Brotherly Love.
"I just never questioned whether or not I could rock," Jett says now. "And the fact that I was a girl never led me to believe that I couldn't."
Jett eventually moved to L.A., and in the mid-'70s formed the now legendary proto-punk all-girl RUNAWAYS.
"I expected people to love it--seeing five teenage girls playing rock 'n' roll," says Jett. "But nobody took us seriously. It was all sorta pat you on the head and say, 'Isn't that cute?' When it became apparent that we were serious, people got very confrontational, calling us 'slut,' 'bitch' and 'dyke.'"
In the '80s Jett went solo and scored a fairly deathless string of jukebox classics--"I Love Rock 'n' Roll," "Bad Reputation" and a stellar cover of Tommy James and the Shondelles' "Crimson and Clover," to name a few. By the '90s she was embraced by the riot grrrl movement as the Betsy Ross who sewed the girl-power flag.
The story of women picking up guitars has been told, so we've elected to focus on a much-less heralded revolution: women who have influence and power behind the scenes--whether through running labels, booking clubs, promoting records or recording albums. All these women, whether they stand onstage or work behind the curtain, share one thing in common: They rock.
|
| |
This Week:
No shows scheduled this week.
Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows |
Item Of The Month:
|
