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JOAN JETT on Why She Loves Austin; How She Got Over Stage Fright
from: austinway.com
By JANE KELLOGG MURRAY
This weekend, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS return to Austin to headline Fan Fest, the free concert series Circuit of the Americas' puts on downtown during F1. Jett leads a pack of artists from various backgrounds, including De La Soul, Whiskey Shivers, Dawn & Hawkes, and Grupo Fantasma.
Despite a storied career spanning four decades, the reigning Queen of Rock 'n' Roll was only recently nominated--for the third time--to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Much like the music genre itself, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's female membership currently hovers around 10 percent, which underlines the reality that the rock industry is still a man's world.
But it has certainly evolved since Jett broke into the scene in the late 1970s. "What seems to have changed is the fans," Jett shared in an interview with Austin Way, the morning her nomination was announced. "The girls who aspire to be in a band believe they can do it, too. The part that hasn't really changed is the business. It will change someday, but it's a slow process."
You've performed in Austin several times over the years--we're excited to have you back.
JOAN JETT: I've always had a great time in Austin--and remember, I've played in Austin since The RUNAWAYS. [Editor's note: The RUNAWAYS played at the famous Armadillo World Headquarters in 1978, one of their last shows before the band dissolved and only two years before the legendary venue closed its doors.] They were always great shows in Austin because the people were so into the music. I couldn't give you one specific memory, but I know I don't have any bad memories, which are the ones that usually stand out. If everything's great, it's just kind of a good feeling that melts into your body, but if something bad happens to you, you remember that. So it's good that it doesn't stick out in that sense.
Since you brought it up, what are some of your worst memories?
JJ: Oh boy. I'd have to go back to the late '80s, touring in certain countries and opening for a heavy metal act. The people just did not want to see a girl, so it was really difficult to stay on that stage--getting spit on, yelled at. People were throwing heavy stuff. I've had a rib broken, I've been hit in the head with things, and it's not pleasant. But luckily that hasn't happened in a long time.
What have you learned since you began your career with The RUNAWAYS?
JJ: Well I'm a pretty shy person, so when The RUNAWAYS started, I had to sing in the dark in the studio, pitch black--nobody could be in the room, except, obviously, the engineers. I was very self-conscious. And I think I'm still that person to a degree, but you learn to manage it. I feel very comfortable on stage now, whereas earlier I used to be very nervous before I went out--almost petrifyingly so. And I knew that it was unreasonable. So [I learned how] to get to the point where now I'm just hyped up and anxious--but not afraid, not worried that I'm going to screw up, or if I do screw up that I can just roll through it, because stuff happens.
Artist and activist Shepard Fairey, who became widely known in 2008 for his Barack Obama "Hope" poster, painted a mural in 2013 on Guadalupe and Fourth streets inspired by JOAN JETT.
Shepard Fairey unveiled a mural of you here in Austin about a year and a half ago, but you haven't seen it in person yet, right?
JJ: Oh yeah! I haven't, but people send me photos. It's pretty amazing. I figured it wouldn't stay up too long, but it's still there, and that's what crazy and surreal to me--to have an artist of that caliber do something on a wall, and it's still there, in a great rock 'n' roll town like Austin.
That's probably why it has remained--Austin has a lot of street art, of course, but this one--"Rock 'n' Roll Saved my Black Heart & Soul"--seems to speak more to the tone of Austin. You'll be performing only a block or two away from the mural during Fan Fest.
JJ: Oh, I'm definitely gonna see it.
[Update from the editor: Sadly, just a week after our interview and one week before Jett's Fan Fest performance across the street, a construction crew demolished the building that housed this mural, to make way for a new hotel.]
When will you be going back into the studio?
JJ: We're still playing shows, so I couldn't even imagine sitting down to write a record right now. I know some people can do both at the same time, but really, when you write about life, you have to let it happen before you can write about it. I don't want to crank things out just for the sake of it; you want it to be meaningful… even if people don't like it.
Circuit of the Americas' Fan Fest is October 31-November 2. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS perform Saturday night, November 1, on the Bud Light Stage at Republic Square Park. |
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