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Joan of rock
from: silive.com
by Ben Johnson
Attention children of the 1990s. If you think, even for one second, about writing off JOAN JETT as "that leather mommy who sang 'I Love Rock N' Roll," consider this: Almost every female rocker who has come since " and hundreds of male rock stars as well " list Jett as a major influence in making music and copping an attitude.
The godmother of punk, as she's often called, has been playing raw three-chord songs since she was 14, and is an inspiration to anyone who believes there's a difference between music that's manufactured and music that is wrought from bloody fingertips.
More specifically, Jett has been one of the best examples of how girls can rock just as good -- or better -- than guys.
That's why AWE's conversation with the seemingly ageless Jett, who with her band the BLACKHEARTS will perform what promises to be the sweatiest rock show to ever grace CSI's Center for the Arts on March 24, starts with a discussion of barriers in today's music business. After all, the 48-year-old musician always has been breaking them, from The RUNAWAYS' first record in 1975 to her most recent solo album, 2006's "SINNER."
"I think some of the barriers aren't as obvious today -- it's harder to find them until you actually run into them," Jett says. "There's this sort of illusion that girls have arrived, you know, and girls can now play rock 'n' roll, and it's fake. It's an illusion, because I feel very alone, in the sense that I don't really see a lot of girls playing rock 'n' roll, doing what I do. There's plenty of great girl bands out there that play hard rock, sweaty, screaming rock 'n' roll, but they're not allowed to rise above the club level -- it doesn't translate into more of a mass market thing."
Jett's opinion may be a surprise to some. Surely, as arguably the first woman to own her own record label, the first Western rocker to perform on the other side of East Germany's Iron Curtain, and the inspiration for pretty much every Motley Crue hairdo, she lives and breathes punk empowerment. But Jett's not about to pass out rock star status to any gal who has thrown the horns and spit on stage -- you've got to have more than just the moves to convince this queen of distortion.
"Artists like Sheryl Crow or Gwen Stefani are now characterized as 'rock stars,'" says Jett. "And it's no criticism of them -- they've got nothing to do with it -- it's the press trying to give an edginess to something. But I don't think these artists would consider themselves rock 'n' rollers. I don't know for sure, but I do think calling them that dilutes the original meaning."
So who, then, is carrying on the legacy of Jett's idea of true rock 'n' roll -- an idea she herself admits is hard to define and constantly changing? Well, she did recently collaborate with Canadian shock-rapper and electronica artist Peaches. Peaches, who wanted to use Jett's hit "Bad Reputation" for a tribute track of her own called "I Don't Give a Damn," sent a demo to Jett to request permission, and Jett loved it. Soon, the two women were getting together to work on some tracks for Peaches' 2006 record, "Impeach My Bush.
"I'm a huge fan," says Jett. "She's great, and I love that she's so in people's face about the sexuality, and just very blatant. It's important, because rock 'n' roll is sex, and the boys have been able to talk about it very blatantly for years, and it's just fun to see girls doing it."
Jett knows a little something about getting in your face with sexuality, and backing it up with solid music. When her first real band The RUNAWAYS launched in the mid-1970s, the American press wrote off Jett and her teenage girl band mates as not much more than a novelty act. You know, hot jailbait in leather and lingerie -- how could they be legit musicians? But they were, of course, or learned as they went along, and The RUNAWAYS' music was hugely successful around the world during the band's four-year career, thanks in part to Jett's songwriting skills.
The RUNAWAYS' biggest hit was Jett's "Cherry Bomb," but the group's largest accomplishment may have been securing a place among America's seminal punk acts, touring with bands like The Ramones and introducing thousands of people worldwide to the punk aesthetic: Raw, rough music put to equally unrefined lyrics, all cranked up to 11.
"I'd love to relive a lot of that stuff a little bit more coherently," says Jett. "I'm not saying I would necessarily party less, but maybe I'd be a little more focused on remembering what was going on, and enjoying everything."
Whether or not she remembers all of it, Jett has maintained a 32-year career that consistently provides inspiration for other people playing rock. And that's how you become, as she has, a legend.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS in concert
When: 8 p.m. March 24
Where: College of Staten Island's Center for the Arts, 2800 Victory Blvd.
How much: Tickets are $45, $50, $55
More information: Call 718-982-2787, visit csi.cuny.edu/arts
TIMELINE
Sept. 22, 1960 -- Joan Marie Larkin is born in Philadelphia.
1972 -- At age 12, Joan Marie Larkin moves to what will soon be a burgeoning punk rock city, Los Angeles. Seminal glam-thrashers The New York Dolls, featuring New Brightonite David Johansen, are her first live show.
1975 -- At 15, the industrious teenager with a Sears & Roebuck guitar starts her own band with drummer Sandy West. After playing some shows around town, they're discovered by connected record producer and future manager Kim Fowley. Somewhere around this time Joan Marie Larkin becomes JOAN JETT, and her band becomes the all-girl teen sensation The RUNAWAYS, featuring Jett and West as well as bassist/singer Micki Steele (The Bangles).
1975-1979 -- Signed to Mercury Records, The RUNAWAYS (now featuring future solo star Lita Ford on lead guitar) achieve notoriety at home and huge success abroad, especially in Japan, where the band experiences Beatles-level mania. They tour with The Ramones, and play with some seriously notable opening acts, from Tom Petty to Van Halen. But America isn't too keen on accepting the "Cherry Bomb" jailbait image exploited by Fowley. The girls' talents were there, but substance abuse, Fowley's managing tactics and lineup changes eventually spell the demise of The RUNAWAYS after five albums.
1979-80 -- Jett pursues a solo career, cutting three songs with Sex Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones (including an early cover version of The Arrows' "I Love Rock N' Roll"), produces "GI," the critically acclaimed debut and only real record by Los Angeles punk band The Germs and meets record producer KENNY LAGUNA, who will eventually be a close friend, manager and producer for Jett. With Laguna's help, Jett records a self-titled debut solo album. It's released in Europe but roundly rejected by every major and many minor record labels in the United States. Jett flips them all the entrepreneurial bird by starting BLACKHEART RECORDS with Laguna, and sells boatloads of copies out of the back of the duo's Cadillac. She's since been credited as the first female performer to own her own label.
1981 -- Due to the promising do-it-yourself sales of her debut, Jett finally gets a record deal for national distribution, and "JOAN JETT" is re-released as "Bad Reputation." The record, which includes the Top 40 title track and "Do You Wanna Touch Me," climbs to No. 51 on the U.S. charts, proving that, shockingly, major and minor record labels can be wrong about what is truly good music. Weird. Jett forms her backup band the BLACKHEARTS and releases a second record, "I Love Rock N' Roll." This record will prove to be Jett's greatest success to date, its title track bringing the album in the Top 10 records of the year, and topping the singles chart for seven weeks to be Billboard's No. 28 song of all time. Seeing as how she bought the radio rights to "I Love Rock N' Roll" (for $2,500) when nobody else wanted them, she's now the proud owner of a song worth $20 million-plus.
1984-86 -- Collaborates with everyone from The Sugarhill Gang and The Beach Boys to Bruce Springsteen.
1987 -- In between cutting what will be a total of 12 main albums to date and selling out tours with The Police, Queen and others, Jett hits the silver screen, in Paul Schrader's musically-minded film "Light of Day," the soundtrack of which scores a Top 40 hit as well as plenty of critical acclaim for Jett's raw performance.
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1988 -- Jett scores her second Top 10 hit with "I Hate Myself for Loving You," off the multi-platinum "Up Your Alley." With sweaty, eye-liner-melting shows, she continues to be a role model for aspiring female rockers, many of whom will go on to form girl power-loving bands like Bikini Kill and become part of the indie-punk feminist movement dubbed "riot grrrl."
1989 -- Jett becomes the first rocker to headline a legit Broadway house with a week's worth of shows at The Lunt-Fontane Theatre. Reviews are stellar. Luminaries from David Bowie to Elton John show up to help her celebrate before she heads back out on the road for nearly a decade straight.
1995 -- Asked especially by Cal Ripken Jr., Jett performs the national anthem at the Baltimore Orioles game against the California Angels in which Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig's record for most consecutive games played.
2000 -- Jett shaves her head and makes her proper Broadway debut playing the role of Columbia (slinging a rhythm guitar instead of tap shoes) in the hit revival of "The Rocky Horror Show." The true rock pro that she is, she doesn't miss a single performance in her six-month run.
2001 -- Her cover of "Love is All Around" (the theme song of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") became an anthem in women's sports and was used by the NCAA to promote the Women's Final Four. And her back catalog starts making her millions via film ("Shrek, "Charlie's Angels," "High Fidelity") soundtracks.
2002 -- Britney Spears covers "I Love Rock N' Roll" for her big screen debacle, "Crossroads." When asked why she chose the song, Spears said: "I've always really admired Pat Benatar." Hell freezes over.
2002-04 -- Not liking the direction major labels are trying to take her, a newly blonde Jett spends years tangled in legal negotiations with Warner Bros. records, trying to gain access to recordings she made with legendary producers Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd's "The Wall") and Bob Rock (Metallica's "The Black Album.") Her recording career is seriously stalled, but the live shows never stop.
2005 -- Voted No. 78 in Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time list.
Present -- Jett still plays shows all over the United States and beyond, most recently toplining the 2006 Van's Warped Tour with bands half her age, and is actively involved in campaigning for various democratic political candidates as well as performing for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her 2006 record "SINNER" received positive reviews, but her live show remains legendary. She also helps host Steven Van Zandt's satellite radio show "Underground Garage."
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