|
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.
Doing Her Part to Change The World
from: musicpix.net
Photo by Steve Mitchell
Without question, JOAN JETT is an institution. Joan holds the 87th spot on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of ALL Time and #7 on AOL’s list of Women Who Rock. JOAN JETT is a genuine rock and roll icon who broke down musical and sexual barriers by co-founding The Runaway’s in 1975 with Sandy West, Joan’s beloved friend who recently lost her battle with lung cancer. BLACKHEART RECORDS web site states her feelings best: We are deeply saddened by the loss of our good friend Sandy West. She was an incredible drummer and a kind soul. She will be missed. "I started The RUNAWAYS with Sandy West. We shared the dream of girls playing rock n' roll. Sandy was an exuberant and powerful drummer. So underrated, was the caliber of John Bonham. I am overcome from the loss of my friend. I always told her, we changed the world."-JOAN JETT
After the RUNAWAYS disbanded, Joan rocked everyone’s world with multiple Top 40 hit singles and eight Platinum and Gold LPs. Hits such as "I Love Rock ‘N Roll", "Do You Wanna Touch Me", "Crimson and Clover" are songs that are easily identifiable as Jett. Joan has starred in movies, on Broadway, and is as vibrant today as she was in the 80’s. Joan also hosts "JOAN JETT's Radio Revolution" on Little Steven's Sirius Satellite Radio's Underground Garage.
After seeing JOAN JETT perform this summer on the Warped tour, and again in Cincinnati, OH and getting a chance to meet her backstage before her show at Bogart’s, it’s more than evident that Joan is playing at the top of her game. She looks fantastic, she sounds as good or better than she did in the 80’s, and it’s obvious that she’s extremely comfortable in her own skin. Joan remains on tour through early December so there’s still time to catch her in action.
On tour with her BLACKHEARTS, Joan is on the road promoting her latest release, "SINNER" which has received a thumbs-up from fans and critics alike. Joan is also celebrating the 25th Anniversary of BLACKHEART RECORDS with her partner and best friend, KENNY LAGUNA who I also had the privilege to interview. I was able to spend a few minutes on the phone with Kenny and a few more minutes with Joan before her show in Portland, Oregon.
Kenny picked up the line so we had a minute to catch up from our last conversation in Cincinnati. "We’re pretty tired… we traveled through the night to get here. Joan’s in a lot better shape than me." We talked a bit about New Orleans and the Voodoo Music Experience to which Kenny sarcastically offered "yeah, we’re too busy rebuilding Bagdad instead of our own country."
Kenny kindly shouts, "Joanie…its Gwyn." Listen in…
Musicpix: I’d like you to know that I share your belief that it’s all about the music…that powerful, indiscriminate connection that’s made with living breathing human beings. And what a connection you continue to make! I’d like to begin talking about your latest release "SINNER." "Change the World" gets right to the point. It’s more than a socio-political statement. You’re on a crusade aren’t you?
Joan: Well, I don’t know if it’s an intentional crusade. It’s about trying to make your own world better. I break it down like this: each of us look at it subjectively and each of us live in our own world everyday. What my opinion about something might be is going to be completely different from what someone else’s opinion is about a certain subject. You know vibes are real. When you walk into a room and someone’s in a bad mood and it permeates the room and everyone closes down. That’s tangible, that’s real. On the other side, the same thing goes when someone is light, or ‘a light,’ and they’ve got a beaming smile and they just make you feel good by their presence. That’s real too. To me, "Change The World" could be something as dramatic as getting involved in politics, running for President, or doing something big on that level to change the world for the better. Or it can be something as small, and I don’t mean that it’s small I’m just saying small to describe it, as trying to being a light to people and trying to put a smile on people’s face and to give them strength however you know how to do that. To me that what "Change The World" is…it can be big things or it can be little things to make each person’s world better.
Musicpix: Until recently, you’ve kept your political views private. "SINNER" clearly reveals your platform and perspective. Is there one crystallizing moment when you said to yourself, "That’s it, I’ve had enough!"?
Joan: There’s one thing on top of the other…so no, I can’t point to one thing because it’s just been a constant drip right from the outset. All of a sudden there aren’t activist judges when the Supreme Court steps in and just anoints a President. I didn’t understand that as a citizen and it made me lose faith in the judicial system to be seemingly bought and paid for…The Supreme Court! It’s like a joke…. That was the initial sort of ‘uh oh what’s going on here’ and then everything that followed. For me, it’s really important the separate these things. We’ve become so partisan now and everyone is so hateful and so ridged on their sides that there’s no possibility of a conversation and I think that’s really dangerous. And for me, there are issues or parts of issues that I can agree with conservatives on. I think it’s imperative to have a conversation about our country. We all love it and we’re doing what we’re doing because everyone loves it whether you’re against certain policies of this administration or if you’re for it. It’s back to that subjective world I was talking about. Everyone sees it differently. But I don’t think a lot of people want us to just fuck it all up. Everyone is looking for ways to improve America. But the fact that we’ve become so partisan, I think is really dangerous. In a song like "Riddles," what we were trying to describe what was going on around us. Everything from the economy, to the lack of jobs, to tax cuts, to the deficit, to the environment, Hurricane Katrina’s response, obviously the war, and all these things…it’s constant. I think that the administration has been very tricky with their language and the way they speak to the citizens of the county. It’s very deceptive. It’s very Orwellian. When Clean Air Initiative means you can put more pollutants in the air, or a healthy forest means that you can put roads in and chop it (the forest) down…so I was just kind of wondering if people see this. It was really about just starting a conversation without saying: "moron, moron, idiot, idiot" because you don’t get any place with that. [Joan uses a sing-song, child-like voice to emphasize her point.]
Musicpix: Neil Young just released "Let’s Impeach the President" that’s being featured on Musicpix which is the boldest musical and video statement to date which points to everything you’ve just said. You’d literally have to be blind AND asleep to miss what’s been happening…
Joan: Yeah but there’s a segment of the population that sees things differently…that sees it in an opposite way…which to me is fascinating. You can have one set of facts and two people can see things so dramatically different. One person could be completely supportive of what’s going on and not see anything wrong like, ‘we’ve got to get to there so they don’t come here. [Laughing] That kind of stuff…
Musicpix: Shifting gears a little bit…You were recently inducted into Long Island’s Hall of Fame as the very first inductee…so Congratulations! Not to minimize that achievement whatsoever, but I know that many have been lobbying for your induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for quite some time and deservingly so. Did Long Island’s induction make you long for the industry’s most prestigious achievement?
Joan: I don’t know that I long for those things in general. I guess it’s nice to be acknowledged in a way but I don’t really long for it. It would be nice but I can step back from the whole thing and look back on my career and separate the two things. We deserve to be there but I combine the two things…The RUNAWAYS and that…in my own mind, I think as a statement, girls and rock and roll…girls playing rock and roll, it’s important. It was real and it was there and it still is.
Musicpix: I understand that you would like your tombstone to read: 'This girl did something extremely important for rock and roll.' That ‘something’ was breaking down sexual barriers and being a role model for girls and women in music. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Joan: Long pause…. She wasn’t mean. A lot of people I guess, buy into an image and a lot of people think I'm mean or I’m going to bite their head off or something and that’s not the case. If I’m treated like a person, I’m very approachable.
Musicpix: I used a line from a bumper sticker in your Cincinnati show review: "Women Who Behave Rarely Make History."
Joan: And what’s behaving nicely and by whose standard? I’ve always find that fascinating that men decide what women can be.
Musicpix: Even in 2006, women have to behave outside the accepted norm to be heard. Can you share your perspective and offer some advice to all of us who struggle with our voice?
Joan: I’ve got a couple of things to say about that. First of all, "Androgynous" speaks to that in a way. For me, I know I’m a woman, I love being a woman and I embrace it, But I don’t like the roles…this is how you can be…this is how you should look…these are the jobs you’re going to have ... I don’t like that and it makes me really uncomfortable and I’m sure I’m not the only one for girls or guys. So it’s about blurring that line. It’s not even necessarily about sexuality, it’s about gender roles. It can be about sexuality but it’s not necessarily. So for me, it was important to do the song "Androgynous" for those reasons…it’s about messing up these roles that we’re supposed to have and breaking it…saying ‘I’m not comfortable with that, we’re going this way.’ Beyond that in 2006, is this illusion of equality…that women have arrived and girls can rock now. Well, I don’t see it. At least in 1976, we knew there were no girls around. We knew what we were up against. Now, there’s this illusion and the press plays into it by using words like ‘rock’ and ‘rocking’ and use them to describe everybody from Britney Spears to Sheryl Crow to Melissa Etheridge. It gives the impression that women playing rock and roll is an everyday occurrence and it’s not. I’m talking about rock and roll…like L7, likes Babes in Toyland, like Bikini Kill…like screaming sweaty rock and roll. Not pop-rock, not pop music…that’s not rock and roll. It’s not belittling or demeaning…it’s just called what it is. I’m very frustrated because women aren’t making headway beyond the club level and it’s very frustrating because the girls are out there. We saw a lot of great bands on the Warped tour…a lot of very talented women and bands. So every town I go into somebody comes up to me and says I’m in an all girl band and you inspired me so they are out there but there’s no outlet for them. With me too. We’re struggling to be heard. I’m not sure how you get around it. You just keep going out there and hope that you music is good and people like and you build your audience.
Musicpix: In the early 80’s, you rode the wave of the pioneering Patti Smith, Blondie, and obviously your own success with The RUNAWAYS. Smith and Harry had the same challenges you had as far as being women in rock. I know that you had an alliance with Blondie, but what about Patti Smith or other women who were also trying to break that sexual barrier…was it a ‘ladies bathroom topic’ so to speak?
Joan: No. I probably met Patti Smith once early on. There wasn’t any kind of discussion going on. I had met Chrissie (Hynde/The Pretenders) a few times too but we didn’t sit down and formulate an attack plan or discuss music in women or any of that stuff. Certainly, the way I felt was, we’re just girls who play rock and roll. We were trying to not make a big deal of that. We knew we where that and you can’t get away from that but we didn’t want to push that. Yeah, we’re girls playing guitars and we’re musicians. That was the attack that those women were taking too in that they were artists but they were women first.
Phoner Break in: "Sorry to interrupt but I’ve got quite a few calls backed up for Joan…"
Musicpix: Can I have one more question?
Joan: Sure go ahead.
Musicpix: I’d like to know about the tattoo on your chest. Can you talk about the significance of the symbol?
Joan: I read a lot of eastern philosophy…about ancient spirituality and how humanity started worshipping these figurines about 7-10,000 years ago, worshipping God when societies were matriarchal… we’re going back 10,000 years ago… a lot of these goddess figurines were marked with this V on their chest to signify divinity. So for me, that’s what it means.
Musicpix: I’m curious because I designed a logo ten years ago for myself to look like a flower tagged w/ a Japanese proverb: ‘Behind Every Flower Stands God’ and your tattoo looks exactly like it! So coincidentally, it works out in a really cool way.
Joan: See? That’s the same thing really. To see the divine in me is to see the divine in everybody because a lot of times, that’s hard to do… Especially when somebody cuts you off in traffic! [Laughing] Yeah, that’s a piece of God there…
Musicpix: [Laughing too] Yeah, I know what you mean…like when somebody cuts you off during an interview because you’d love to have more time to talk!
Thanks for your time Joan…safe travels and best of luck to you.
Joan: We’ll see you again real soon I hope.
|
| |
This Week:
No shows scheduled this week.
Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows |
Item Of The Month:
|
