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JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS an interview with rock veteran / Blackheart KENNY LAGUNA
from: news-4u.com
Mike Shoemaker
On nearly any and every given weekend, one can go out to a local nightclub and hear the song "I Love Rock And Roll." Ever since Britney Spears shook her sexy ass to it during the karaoke scene in the movie Crossroads, cover bands everywhere (especially here in Evansville) began playing it in their standard set lists. The song definitely has stood the test of time. When it came along back in 1981, radio stations, car stereos, and pizza parlor jukeboxes were constantly blasting it. It was harder to escape then as a Nickelback song is today. But on the weekend of May 6 & 7, there will be no need to go hear a half-baked rendition or crank up the stereo to jam on the song. The band that originally recorded it, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, will be playing the authentic version of the song at Aztar's Hoosiers Lounge.
As a member of The RUNAWAYS, frontwoman JOAN JETT led the way for what would become the riot grrl scene. Besides the RUNAWAYS song "Cherry Bomb," her other hits include "Bad Reputation," "I Hate Myself For Loving You" and "Little Liar." She appeared on the silver screen with Michael J. Fox in the film Light Of Day. It also featured actor Michael McKean, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and a young Trent Reznor.
In 1995, Joan recorded with a band known as Evil Stig (Gits Live in reverse). The band was comprised of former members of The Gits whose vocalist Mia Zapata was murdered on her way home after playing a show on July 7, 1993. The album was all new versions of Gits songs with Joan on vocals. The proceeds from sales went towards a crime investigation fund to help solve Zapata's murder. Recently, Joan appeared as Columbia in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show. Today, she hosts the radio program Underground Garage on Sirius satellite radio.
Along the way with her has been KENNY LAGUNA. He has produced and played on all post-RUNAWAYS records. He too is a rock veteran who has worked with such acts as Tommy James & The Shondells and The Archies. He is also the president of BLACKHEART RECORDS, which he owns with JOAN JETT.
I spoke with him on his cellular phone as he drove home (a crime in New York) one afternoon.
Mike Shoemaker: For the show you're playing at Aztar, who other than JOAN JETT will be the members of the BLACKHEARTS?
KENNY LAGUNA: We have THOMMY PRICE on drums. He goes back with us to 1980. He was also the drummer on all of Billy Idol's hits. We have DOUGIE NEEDLES on guitar. On the bass, we had a guy who got sick and couldn't stay on the road. So we had this roadie who said he knew all the songs. We let him fill in one night and he stuck. We call him Enzo because we can't figure out his last name. I'm like the Ma Partridge of the band. I stay in the back and play keyboards and sing backup.
At these shows at Aztar, you'll be doing four performances. Will the set list be the exact same all four times or will there be differences?
We'll mix it up a bit. But there will be no show without all the hits. But we will mix it up some because there is such a huge repertoire. I didn't even understand that it was four shows. Joan's gonna freak!
For those who collect memorabilia, what all will be available at the merchandise stand?
We have some new higher end t-shirts as well as some of the classic ones. We also have girls' underwear. Two kinds, string and jockey type. CDs of Joan's greatest hits and THOMMY PRICE's solo record. We have pictures of Joan. There are two DVDs. We have one that is a fan club only. It has all the concept videos including the ones we scrapped. The other one is a live show that we did in Colorado a few years ago.
Could you tell me a little more about the radio show?
We're friends with Little Steven. He has this show called the Underground Garage. He plays a lot of old style of rock from all the back to the inception of rock and roll to today. He'll play like Eddie Cochran and then play some new cutting edge type of rock from today. The main focus though is garage rock. So there are a lot of things like classic rockers and even really good underground unsigned bands. Staples of the show are The Kinks, Social Distortion, Ramones, Rolling Stones, and The Byrds.
Steven came to one of our shows because he really likes the music and plays a lot of it on the show anyway. So we were hanging out and he asked Joan about doing the show. We talked and she thought it would be a good opportunity to get some of the stuff she likes heard. Like Gary Glitter, T. Rex, certain Bowie stuff that's not so often heard, X, and especially Fugazi. It's gotta be one of the only places you'll hear Fugazi.
Are there any plans to release the movie Light Of Day on DVD?
I've been trying to see if we can get the rights to put it out through Blackheart. It's really a little frustrating. But then those Beatles movies weren't available for a long while. I guess things happen. It's a really good film that deserves to be in print. What was really neat was that the band in the film really played live in it. The BLACKHEARTS and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers played on the soundtrack. But the band in the film were actually the ones playing in the film. They were talented musicians.
At the end of the Evil Stig album, there is a hidden track of a chant. Is that Joan doing that or a lost recording of Mia Zapata?
That was Joan. She is into a lot of Middle Eastern philosophy and yoga. That chant has a meaning that ties into everything with that album. That was really one of our best albums. It was done in a unique way. We recorded it as a live album. Then we went into the studio and did overdubs. So it was a live album that became a studio album. There was one part we were able to dub in with Mia's voice that worked. It was her saying "Someone's creeping up behind me." We are going to re-release it through Blackheart sometime. It's out of print now due to the nature of the deal. But we are gonna put it back out. You are able to download it right now through either blackheart.com or JoanJettBadRep.com.
How soon will the next BLACKHEARTS record be out?
It's almost done right now. We're looking at it sometime this summer. We're aiming for August.
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