|
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.
Longtime love for rock 'n' roll: JOAN JETT survives through talent and self-assuredness
from: recordnet.com
by Tony Sauro
It's not rocket science to KENNY LAGUNA.
JOAN JETT remains one of the most bankable brand names in rock 'n' roll because of a simple equation.
"Part of it is she's a very pure person," said Laguna, who's worked with Jett since she helped revolutionize women's roles in rock during the 1970s. "No b.s. There are these artists - sometime it's a Mick Jagger trying to be James Brown and then becoming Mick Jagger - who, for whatever reason, they've just got this thing.
"Joan's just got this thing. She has some God-given gifts. It's knowing who she is. It's not changing with the trends in order to be successful."
As a teenager, Jett blew past conventional constraints with the RUNAWAYS, a still influential and inspirational punk-rock band.
In the 1980s, with Laguna's record-biz savvy and experience assisting significantly, she kept setting precedents. The MTV era helped elevate Jett and her BLACKHEARTS to million-selling status.
It's almost a flashback to the '80s as Jett still streams along successfully. She opens for another MTV pioneer, ZZ Top - the 41-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame blues-boogie power trio of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard from Houston on Saturday at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys.
"She's had something going on every couple of years," said Laguna, 58, who emboldened Jett to become the first woman to own a record label (BLACKHEART RECORDS) when most corporations rejected her as a solo artist in 1979. "She did the Warped Tour (2006), and she killed. That gave us a whole bunch of new fans. It's always something."
Jett, 51, and her three-piece band recently completed an 11-country tour with Green Day, the East Bay punk-pop group whose members were kids when she reached No. 1 with the anthemic "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" in 1982.
That "something" continues.
She and Laguna are executive producers of "The RUNAWAYS," a 2010 film about the all-woman punk band she helped start in 1975. It was released July 20 on DVD.
"It looks like it's gonna be a cult thing," Laguna said.
Her company assisted with publication of "JOAN JETT," a 256-page book of photographs assembled by New York designer Todd Oldham. Released March 19, it includes an introduction by Kathleen Hanna, 41, former singer and RUNAWAYS acolyte in Bikini Kill (Olympia, Wash.)
"JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS Greatest Hits," a two-CD, 21-track compilation that includes seven of the nine top-40 singles she recorded between 1982 and 1990, came out March 9. The selections all were produced or co-produced by Laguna, who co-wrote nine of them.
Jett, who's acted in films ("Light of Day," 1987) and on TV, is planning to manufacture her own Blackheart Jeans.
The instrumental track from "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (No. 8 in 1988) is the song to which Faith Hill sings adapted lyrics on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" telecasts.
Versatility and durability are part of Jett's longevity. Her punchy, melodic songs, with their punk- and working class-inspired attitudes, remain essential.
"She's O-negative rock 'n' roll, in my opinion," Laguna said. "She could play one week with the Ramones and then, the same week, at a festival headlined by Foreigner."
Born Joan Marie Larkin in Lansdowne, Pa., Jett grew up in Rockville, Md., where she got her first guitar as a Christmas present from her dad at 13, and West Covina.
Jett, Cherie Currie - whose book, "Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway," was adapted into "The RUNAWAYS" film - Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandy West blazed through 1975-79 as the L.A.-based RUNAWAYS.
They slammed out some signature songs - "Cherry Bomb," "Queens of Noise," "Rock 'n' Roll," "Neon Angels (On the Road to Ruin)" and "Born to Be Bad" - but no top-40 hits. Their boldness inspired generations of young women, from Palo Alto's the Donnas and Sacramento's the Skirts to Sleater-Kinney (Portland, Ore.) and dozens of others.
Jett jetted in 1979. Laguna, a native of Oceanside, N.Y., was there to help. A studio musician, songwriter and producer, his affiliations include Berkeley's Berserkley Records (Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn), England's Bow Wow Wow ("I Want Candy"), Tommy James' Shondells ("Mony Mony"), Darlene Love, Jay and the Americans and Tony Orlando.
Jett and Laguna founded BLACKHEART RECORDS. A seasoned survivor of the cutthroat music biz, he made sure Jett was protected artistically and financially.
"We're very careful about our intellectual property," said Laguna, who helped produce Jett's platinum "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" album in 1982. "We've got the publishing and own the label."
In addition to Currie, '80s musicians Pat Benatar and Belinda Carlisle (Go-Go's) have released memoirs this year. Will Jett, a thoughtful, politically astute person who worked for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, and/or Laguna be next?
"It's the exact wrong time to put out these books," said Laguna, a voluble conversationalist ("yeah, I like to talk") who dreads writing but might give a memoir a shot. "These days, everybody's written a book except Janis Joplin. (Jett is) a private person."
Laguna, who's been married for 40 years to his high school girlfriend (Meryl) - "she said it's worked because I'm on the road so much" - has helped protect Jett's privacy.
He closely monitors her career - from creating music to doing interviews. Meryl Laguna managed Jett for 20 years. Carianne Brinkman, the Lagunas' 29-year-old daughter, now helps keep them tuned in on what's hip and happening with younger generations.
Jett, whose black leather-clad, guitar-slinging, rough-voiced punk persona has altered very little in 35 years, is transcending time and fashion.
"Thank God JOAN JETT is a very, very viable artist and live performer," KENNY LAGUNA said. "She's worked hard to create a legacy. It's just been really, really great."
|
| |
This Week:
No shows scheduled this week.
Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows |
Item Of The Month:
|
