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Venus Zine: The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time, HÐM - JOAN JETT
from: venuszine.com
by Amy Schroeder
An early start: Born Joan Marie Larkin in Philadelphia and raised in Maryland and Southern California, after seeing her first concerts - Black Sabbath and the New York Dolls - Jett taught herself how to play guitar at age 13.
Her first band, the RUNAWAYS, was a 1970s anomaly: five teenage girls with a screw-you attitude who played their own instruments, wrote their own songs, and blew minds with intense, guitar-driven rock'n'roll. The band was more widely accepted in Japan than in the U.S. and, unfortunately, disbanded in 1979.
Moving on, Jett recorded her own album and shopped around for a record deal only to be rejected by 28 labels. Determined to build a solo career, Jett and producer KENNY LAGUNA decided to release the album themselves.
Talk about DIY: With personal savings in tow, the duo pressed the records themselves and sold copies out of the trunk of Jett's Cadillac. It wasn't long after that the album was picked up by Boardwalk and released as Bad Reputation in 1981. The album was a mediocre success, but after forming her band the BLACKHEARTS and releasing the follow-up album, I Love Rock and Roll, the title track charted at number one for nearly a month and a half in 1982, and Jett became a bona fide solo artist.
The hit maker: In addition to "I Love Rock and Roll," Jett has scored eight other Top-40 singles (including "I Hate Myself For Loving You") and eight platinum and gold LPs.
Paving the way for women in rock: When asked about the environment for women in rock now, Jett says there's a general attitude that there's now equality for women and girls in most avenues and career choices. "On one hand, this is true, on the other, not so much," she says. "If you go to the streets, I think a girl playing an instrument in a rock band is not thought of as being extreme or out of the ordinary anymore. It's easier to get support from your peers, but if we're talking about the music industry, well, that's a whole other deal."
For the most part, Jett feels that major record labels, radio stations, and the music industry as a whole are stuck in the past. "It gets boring to keep repeating this, but you still do not hear two girls in a row on rock radio, alternative radio, and sometimes even college radio," she says. "On one level you have very fertile ground for women and girls to make great music. On another level, you have an unreceptive music business. With technology advances, artists now have the capacity to make and distribute their music more easily than when I started out."
Talk about stamina: The 49-year-old who says she often feels like a 25-year-old releasedÊSINNER, her 11th studio album, on her own BLACKHEART RECORDS label, in 2006.
Favorite guitars: While in the RUNAWAYS, Jett played a blond Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. For her early BLACKHEARTS days, she played a white Gibson double cutaway Melody Maker that she purchased from Eric Carmen of the Õ70s band, the Raspberries. "I had to replace these guitars for the road, as I was concerned they would get broken or stolen, and the Les Paul was too heavy to be consistently comfortable," she says. These days, she still uses a Gibson double cutaway Melody Maker; in fact, Gibson is marketing special signature JOAN JETT and BLACKHEARTS models of Melody Makers, which are slated to be available in the spring. "TheyÕre made to my specs and settings, plus an on/off toggle switch for easy control onstage," Jett says.
Sound advice for aspiring guitarists: "Work through your calluses," Jett says. "Practice to your favorite records. Find some friends to play with, just for fun. Practice, practice, practice! Even if it's just mindless strumming, I do that all the time. Just keep your hands working!"
The saying is true: JOAN JETT is an institution.
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