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WARPED TOUR WELCOMES ORIGINAL PUNK ROCK QUEEN JOAN JETT
Jett loves her country just as much as she loves rock "n" roll
from: thnt.com
by Chris Jordan, Pulse Online
JOAN JETT doesn't care about her bad reputation.
But she does care about her country. Jett, the original riot grrl who's on this year's Warped Tour, has plenty to say about living in the U.S.A.
"Congress needs a real kick in the (expletive)," Jett said. "They use issues like flag burning and gay marriage, these are wedge issues they're wasting their time on when there are so many serious issues. Both parties are playing these games because they can taste that power and they want to get reelected at any cost.
"No one is willing to lose an election over what they believe in and that's sad."
Jett sees many members of the Warped generation starting to get active in political affairs.
"NOFX is very much involved, Fat Mike (NOFX lead singer) has his punk voter group (www.punkvoter.com), and Anti-Flag is another band on Warped and they're getting a huge audience response — their fans know all the words of the songs," Jett said. "I can tell you kids are getting involved and it certainly goes further than the Warped Tour."
Jett knows this firsthand as she and manager-producer KENNY LAGUNA worked with Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean and were on hand for the infamous post-Iowa caucus scream speech of Jan 19, 2004, that ultimately torpedoed Dean's candidacy.
"There were 3,000 college kids there who were invested in his candidacy and they were crushed when Dean lost," said Jett, who added that Dean had to shout to be heard over the enthusiastic crowd. "These kids were chanting Dean's name."
"The kids are paying more attention to what's going on certainly than I was — I wasn't involved at their age."
That's because Jett — born Joan Marie Larkin in Philadelphia — was busy turning the rock 'n' roll world on its head. Jett was a member of the RUNAWAYS, an important all-female proto-punk band from the 1970s, but her early solo career was an up-hill battle.
"They dismissed us in 1980," Laguna said. "We couldn't get a record deal in the beginning — that was the deal."
Jett and Laguna, a former member of Tommy James and the Shondells, formed BLACKHEART RECORDS and released her albums themselves. "Bad Reputation" was a minor hit in '81 then "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was a No. 1 smash for seven weeks and firmly established Jett as a rock 'n' roll hero and MTV icon.
More recently, Jett's been through her share of major-label drama, but she still tours regularly and has an international following. Her new album is the torrid and wonderfully primal "SINNER."
Her toned physique and closed cropped hear is still very visible. Jett is a big supporter of the Women's National Basketball Association, often seen courtside, and she regularly visits with U.S. troops around the world.
Jett, 47, is apt to show the kids on the Warped Tour — which comes to Old Bridge's Raceway Park on Sunday — a thing or two about rock 'n' roll.
"It all depends on where are in your own mind," said Jett, who will perform with her band the BLACKHEARTS. "The Warped Tour is geared toward young minds in one sense but rock 'n' roll and punk are timeless."
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