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JOAN JETT puts opinion into her punk
from: bergen.com
by Bryan Sabella
It may be hard to believe, but rock legend JOAN JETT was once passed on by no fewer than 23 record labels.
After the disbanding of the RUNAWAYS, the pioneering all-girl group she founded as a teenager in the late '70s, Jett found herself in a London studio with former Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook. That's when music business vet KENNY LAGUNA became aware of her. "We just fell in love musically," Laguna said recently, en route to a radio gig in Manhattan. He's been her right-hand man ever since, serving as producer, co-writer, arranger and backing musician for her solo career.
Following that initial meeting, Laguna put Jett in the studio, cutting eight tracks in just six days. After all those labels passed, they went the indie route, issuing her debut album on their own label. "It was the whole thing, selling records out of the back of a van," he recalled. Jett would soon take off, notching a string of hits over the next two decades. And those demos? Well, they included such future staples as "Do You Wanna Touch Me?" and the mega-hit "I Love Rock N' Roll," which topped the Billboard charts for 20 weeks.
"Clive Davis [the legendary founder of Arista Records who signed, among others, the Grateful Dead, Barry Manilow and the Kinks] could have had it for free," Laguna laughed. "Thank God they said no, because now we own it." It's a space lots of artists can only wish they were in, Laguna said, noting that several big names, including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, don't own the rights to their own material.
Now Jett is prepping the release of her latest album, "SINNER," tentatively scheduled for June 6, and gearing up to join the main stage of this summer's Warped Tour.
She's also recently signed two up-and-coming punk acts, the Vacancies and the Eyeliners, to her label and hosts a weekend show, "Radio Revolution," on Sirius Satellite radio's Channel 25.
Laguna said the new record stays true to the glitter-punk sound that's been a Jett trademark for nearly 30 years. "She's got a style," Laguna said. "It's always that three-chord rock-and-roll and the voice, but there are always nuances. And people sometimes don't recognize that she's created her own sound as a guitar player. You hear it, and you know it's her."
While Jett has never shied from speaking her mind, her records have largely been free of socio-political commentary. In that regard, "SINNER" represents something of a departure. The record opens with "Riddles," a bouncy singalong that takes aim at media talking heads and President Bush, while the punk anthem "Change the World" could be read as a call for social justice.
"I think she felt like she had to say something. It's a scary time," Laguna said.
WHO: JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS.
WHAT: Rock.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Starland Ballroom, 570 Jernee Mill Road, Sayreville; (732) 238-5500 or starlandballroom.com.
HOW MUCH: $25, Ticketmaster.
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