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Jett gets political in album and on tour
from: detnews.com
by Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Contribute $1,000 to local candidate and get to meet rocker back stage on Warped Tour.
R ocker JOAN JETT is known for a lot of things: her stint in the RUNAWAYS, low-slung leather garments, a judicious use of black eyeliner and a rebellious stance against gender stereotypes, but thus far she hasn't mixed politics that much with her music.
That's changed with her new album, "SINNER," which shows off Jett's trademark blend of pop hooks and punk energy.
In the song "Riddles," Jett sings, "Don't claim that you represent me because I don't believe a word that you say" and yowls, "Clean skies, baby, healthy forests, no child left behind wake up people!"
But the rocker cautions that she doesn't want to be perceived as harshly partisan, as some groups are seen.
"I'm not calling anyone a moron, I'm trying to have a discussion," Jett says. "When you get into that frame of mind of just calling names, people stop listening, and you're just preaching to the converted. It can feel good, but it doesn't really do anything."
Jett is hoping some of her rock star mojo will rub off on local Democrat Nancy Skinner -- the former radio host is running for Congress in Michigan's 9th District.
Jett, who performs as part of the Warped Tour this Saturday at Comerica Park, is offering two tickets and two backstage passes, and she'll make a personal phone call to the contributor in exchange for $1,000 donated to the Skinner campaign.
The standard price for a regular ticket for the Warped tour is $29.75.
The rocker/politico pair-up happened after a chance meeting between Jett and Skinner at a Super Bowl party in Detroit in February.
Skinner is running in November unopposed as a Democrat against the Republican who wins the August primary, incumbent Joe Knollenberg or his challenger, Pam Godchaux."Since I'm looking for the Democrats to take back the House and Senate in November, I'm happy to help Nancy," Jett says.
Jett, 47, is a rock veteran, having started out in the notorious teenage band the RUNAWAYS in the '70s (their classic, "Cherry Bomb"). She parlayed her tough girl, leather-clad image, husky growl and guitar chops into hook-laden pop hits over the years, including "I Love Rock and Roll," "Crimson & Clover" and "Bad Reputation."
At first blush, the Warped Tour might not seem to be the go-to place to find people geeked up about a congressional race.
But Jett cautions against that assumption. Many of the Warped Tour's punk rockers are very political, she points out.
"Fat Mike of NOFX is very politically involved, so are Anti-Flag," she says. "It's great to see these big young audiences watching and singing along to the lyrics. I hope it reflects that they're aware of some of the issues they'll be affected by. They're growing up and will have to run the place soon."
Jett traces her own nascent political feelings back to 1972 when, at 14, she supported antiwar Democrat George McGovern against Republican President Richard M. Nixon. She was "devastated" when her candidate lost, but Jett registered to vote as soon as she could, at 18, and has voted ever since. She worked on Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign.
Thus far, Skinner's campaign is the first and only one for which the rocker is offering a ticket and backstage pass deal, but she says she'll probably hook up with other politicians in the run-up to the November elections.
The same deal is in place for her Warped Tour appearances outside Detroit, as well; but the donation asked for the non-Detroit shows is $500.
According to her campaign, candidate Skinner will only be in attendance backstage at the Detroit show at Comerica Park on Saturday.
What: JOAN JETT and the Vans Warped Tour
Where: Comerica Park parking lot, Detroit
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Tickets: $29.75 each at ticketmaster .com
For a special package of two tickets, two backstage passes and a personal phone call from JOAN JETT in return for a $1,000 campaign contribution to Democratic congressional candidate Nancy Skinner, go to skinnerforcon gress.com.
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