Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Bad Reputation Nation
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.



Q&A with JOAN JETT and KENNY LAGUNA
from: recordnet.com

These are excerpts from telephone interviews with rock musician JOAN JETT and her manager, KENNY LAGUNA, conducted a week before their 4 p.m. show Saturday at the Stockton Asparagus Festival.

JOAN JETT
The leather-clad rocker helped pioneer the role of women in punk-rock as a teenage member of the RUNAWAYS.

Now 49, she's sustained a 26-year solo career that's produced such signatures songs as "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," "I Hate Myself for Loving You," "Light of Day" (written by Bruce Springsteen) and "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)." Politically astute and articulate, she defied punk convention by registering to vote when she was 18 and has been a frequent visitor to U.S. troops in combat zones.

She was onstage when Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean made his infamous "screaming" speech in 2004.

She's performed around the world and was the first woman to own her own record label (BLACKHEART RECORDS), which still produces and promotes young punk-pop and rock bands.

Q. Are you aware of the influence you've had on other young women and musicians?
A.
I don't really think about it. It makes me uncomfortable to sort of figure out my place. It seems unimportant to me in the scheme of things. It's not for me to say. It's for other people to say.

I know I've done this in a historic sense, but I can feel it more when I talk about the RUNAWAYS. It's like a team. Like a baseball team. It's about having success together. When it's framed as JOAN JETT, it feels too personal. It's been the best thing when people come up and tell you they were inspired by what you're doing. It's not just music. It also extends to things like they want to be a nuclear physicist. In all facets of life, it's fighting for what you do. Fighting for your dream and not letting anyone dictate your role.

Q. What were your early influences?

A.
I loved Janis Joplin, but it wasn't the same thing. I was looking for that something else. I loved all the great glitter-rock records by David Bowie, T. Rex and the Sweet.

Suzie Quatro was the only girl, really, in that gang. I thought if she can do it, then I can. And if I wanna do it, there've gotta be other girls in Los Angeles who can do it.

Q. How have you sustained your career for so long?
A.
I really have a tough time analyzing stuff. It's a hard thing to do. All I can stay is we've stayed a live act which, to me, is extremely important. It's the only way I know. I always directly take music to kids. Maybe it's the personal relationship I've been able to create with fans. I've always continued to work, whether I've had hit-record succes or not.

Q. Do young people go to your shows?
A.
It's great. There are a lot of teenagers and young kids. A lot of little kids, yeah. It's pretty cool. Kids are into it. It's really incredible.

Q. Why is live music such a unifying force?
A.
Maybe it's just because it's a community thing. It's not like you have to show up. It's democratizing in a sense. That does make it populist in that sense.

Q. Do you worry about your safety on stage?
A.
It's really hard ... if you get tackled on stage. It's hard to differentiate. Some people get very territorial. If someone comes on and grabs me I just keep playing. They usually just want to hug you. My crew takes care of it.

Q. Did you think your music career would last for 33 years?
A.
I didn't really think that far into the future. Maybe I was afraid to. I was just concerrned with surviving at the time. I certainly hoped I could continue and really hoped to be a musician.

Q. Why is it still so difficult for women to succeed in mainstream rock?
A.
It's all surface. Total surface. It's all on appearances. There aren't women on (rock) radio. There aren't record companies promoting all-girl bands. Every city in the country has kick-ass all-girl bands, but girls just can't seem to rise above that club level success.

Q. What do you think about the country's political situation?
A.
I'm an Obama person now, for sure. But I just hope people will unify. I must admit I have become very cynical about a lot of aspects of our country. America is a great place. But I've become very concerned about people even caring about what's happening. We have to realize we are each other.

Q. Have you ever considered writing a book about your life and career?
A.
To me, it's more like you wait until you're like old Ñ 80 or something Ñ to write a book.

Q. If your music career ended, what would you do?
A.
I'm not sure. There are things. I love nature. I love animals. I think there are things to be done. I love kids, too. Maybe something with kids and animals. Maybe joining the Peace Corps and going down to the Amazon or going to the Congo to see what real life is all about. We're so blessed. We don't see a lot of what's real Ñ what real life is for most people.

KENNY LAGUNA
JOAN JETT's longtime manager, he's one of those truly colorful music business characters.

He's collaborated with a vast array of artists, from the pre-Dawn Tony Orlando to Tommy James (JOAN JETT scored a top 10 single with his "Crimson and Clover" in 1982), the Bay Area's Greg Kihn and England's Bow Wow Wow.

Saying only that "I'm in the my 50s," the New York native carries on a conversation at a staccato pace in a "Sopranos"-style accent, ranging widely from Dion to Bobby Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and a catalog of music industry figures.

Mainly, though, he talks about Joan.

Q. How do you account for your long working relationship with Joan?

A.
I really love her voice, her style and everything. I still get turned on when she performs. With some people, they eventually get to the point where they're doing their bigs and you wanna shoot 'em.

We don't compete with each other to get credit. Whatever good has happened, it's happened to both of us. She has certain parameters and she and my pop sensibilities fit in. The material we succeeded with has a superior reputation.

Q. Does she still struggle as a woman in the record industry?
A.
There are lots of disadvantages to being a girl. Like 90 percent of the music on classic rock radio is by men. The business is controlled by men. It used to be the rule Ñ and problably still is Ñ that you never play (songs by) two women in a row on rock radio. Just mathematically, that cuts you down quite a bit.

Q. What's the key to her longevity?
A.
She's worked on her craft. She's always working on her craft. Joan is always on the case. She always goes, goes, goes and we're all going, ÔPlease, Joan. Please, Joan." She still has the energy she had when she was young. She's very pure. There's no bulls---- here. She does what she does.

You can't buy her integrity, no matter how much money it is. She doesn't have those needs a lot of celebrities have. She will not compromise.

You've gotta decide what you wanna be. Clive Davis chosing songs for JOAN JETT or a duet record? It won't happen in this lifetime.

Q. How did Joan get involved with playing during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony this year (March 10)?
A.
I had to really push her do this. She has to feel it or she won't do it. (Singer) Mike Smth of the Dave Clark Five died (on Feb. 28) and we got the call two days later. We went and did it and I got a big kick with her being on stage with John Fogerty.

They did "Bits and Pieces" (one of the British band's songs Jett had covered on a 1982 album), Joan sang and was amazing. She played guitar and sang on "Glad All Over." It was quite a moment.

Q. Does Joan deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? (She became eligible as a solo artist in 2007.)
A.
You'd have to ask them. I have hope, but I'm not sitting around worrying about it. She deserves it. She affected a lot of people. Before anyone else, this was a woman who owned a record label.

There hasn't been that much fuss, but BLACKHEART RECORDS is the oldest indie rock label in the United States. Our distribution is as good as anybody because they like our brand name.

Q. How's the new RUNAWAYS movie ("Neon Dolls") going?
A.
I'm really excited about this movie. Rock and roll movies are never successful in general. There hasn't been a winner in a long time. It's going forward. It's quite a process. We're gonna see if we can keep making history.

Q. You and Joan have been very involved with supporting U.S. troops, even though you oppose the war in Iraq. Why?
A.
Joan's been in more war zones than anyone else (in pop music) in the last four years. I've supported the troops forever. I love these guys. But I want them to come home.

Q. You and Joan have done shows in Stockton four of the last six years. Why?
A. Stockton is a real big stop for me. It's been a real part of my life.
This Week:

No shows scheduled this week.

Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows

Item Of The Month:
 Click To Order






HOME |  BIOGRAPHY |  CONTACT |  DISCOGRAPHY |  GALLERIES |  INTERVIEWS |  LINKS |  LIVE DATES
LYRICS |  MERCHANDISE |  NEWS ARCHIVE |  PRESS KITS |  VIDEOGRAPHY
Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional
© Blackheart Records and JoanJettBadRep.com. All Rights Reserved.