July 2006 News

JOAN JETT, who rode to the stage on a dirt bike, cracked a rare smile warming up in St. Helens on July 16th. "I love this tour," she said. "It's like some kind of punk-rock carnival."

The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" kicked things off 25 years ago as the first video ever to be played on the then-novel MTV — or Music Television — cable network. Twenty-five years later, MTV is a pop culture staple.

"I had no doubt that it would be around," said Mark Goodman, one of the original video jockeys.

"The impact was phenomenal," said Nina Blackwood, another original veejay.

JOAN JETT has always led a punk lifestyle and now she's set to show the kids just how bad she is when she headlines this summer's Warped Tour after releasing "SINNER,'' her first studio album in 10 years.

Today, Jett fans can get a jumpstart on Warped by catching the veteran rocker at the four-day event called Toms River Fest.

Jett, 47, started making music when she was 15. She was the first female rocker to launch her own record label and paved a path for bands like Bikini Kill, Le Tigre and Sleater-Kinney and now scouts young bands to help get them started.

JOAN JETT rocks hard for 30 minutes each night on this summer's Warped Tour.

JOAN JETT still loves her rock 'n' roll. Even if she's not real keen on what has happened to the phrase.

"Things with a softer edge are getting called 'rock 'n' roll,' " laments Jett, who with her band, the BLACKHEARTS, will perform at Saturday's Vans Warped Tour stop in Detroit. "People use the label 'rocking' or 'rock star' really loosely now. It's become a stylish word that's used when they want to give somebody that edge. Even politicians, they're 'rock stars.' It's really diluted the meaning."

For Jett, whose life as a bona fide rock star began at 15 as a member of the influential group the RUNAWAYS, real rock 'n' roll is what she's been seeing at this summer's Warped Tour, where the 45-year-old vocalist-guitarist is billed among more than six dozen younger bands.

Quick, name this punk band: They pounded the club circuit for years and released their first album independently.

They scored a breakthrough single and signed to a major label. They recently played four sold-out dates at small clubs in New York, including CBGB. And now, for the first time, they're one of the star acts at America's premiere punk festival, the Vans Warped Tour, which stops at Nassau Coliseum next Saturday.

The band is, of course, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, a group that's been around since the early 1980s, decades before the Warped Tour even existed. But doesn't Jett's bio sound like that of so many other, younger punk bands? At 45, Jett is at least twice the age of the kids she's playing to (and with) this summer, but in some ways she fits right in.

"I never subscribed to the idea that punk rock means you have to play fast and scream," Jett says, speaking by phone while on the road recently. "To me, it means being a rebel, being an underdog, being outside and doing it yourself."

Continuously making music

With a new album, "SINNER," released on her own BLACKHEART RECORDS label, the time seems right for Jett to reintroduce herself to a generation that probably knows her only as that lady who sang "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" back in the early '80s. But Jett was a fixture on the early punk scene, working with the Germs and members of the Sex Pistols. She was a "woman in rock" long before that term became a catchphrase. And she was an independent artist years before the indie-rock trend.

Day to Day, July 26, 2006 · The hit song "I Love Rock and Roll" by punk rocker JOAN JETT stayed at number one on the Billboard charts for seven weeks back in 1982.

Now decades later, Jett and her band, the BLACKHEARTS, are playing songs from her first album in a decade -- a hard-rocking CD called SINNER -- to a new generation of punk fans.

She still looks and sounds mighty fine. SINNER is classic Jett: rock attitude, sing-a-long-songs, echoing background vocals and her prerequisite handclaps. Of course, there’s a cover or two thrown in for good measure, as is expected with Jett. But, it’s the originals that shine. Nothing new, but nothing’s wrong with that. - BK

Want a taste of some hard-core punk rock? The `06 Warped Tour has just rolled out and its third city stop was in Milwaukee, WI. With temperatures soaring to 99 degrees in the sun, thousands of fans came out to experience over eighty punk-rock bands performing on nine stages. Each band would get thirty minutes to pound out their high energy set. Some well known bands like Helmet, Rise Against, and The Casualties showed off their provocative songs and insanely captivating stage presence. Plus it was great to see and hear the British 70's punk rock band Buzzcocks, with their catchy lyrics and vivacious, stage energy.

At 7pm, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS took stage and jettified the crowd with their classic hits including; Bad Reputation, Crimson and Clover, Cherry Bomb, and I Hate Myself For Loving You. With the release of her new album SINNER a week earlier, she introduced and performed the catchy Sweet song A.C.D.C. and her new penned song Change The World. The intoxicating Jett, looking athletically toned and dressed in black leather vest and pants, got the crowd anxious to help out during her smash hit Do You Wanna Touch Me by having them yell back to her "Yeah…Oh Yeah."

She also told the sweaty and on-fire crowd that she was going to perform another new song called Fetish and she called this one "the dirtiest song" she ever wrote because of the edgy and erotic lyrics. Then the crowd went wild and fist pumped into the air when the guitar chords jetted into her chart breaking, worldwide hit I Love Rock N' Roll.

Check out JOAN JETT this summer as the Warped Tour makes its way across the U.S. I can guarantee you the hottest and arousing thirty minutes of punk music you will ever experience. Yeah…Oh Yeah!

Contribute $1,000 to local candidate and get to meet rocker back stage on Warped Tour.

R ocker JOAN JETT is known for a lot of things: her stint in the RUNAWAYS, low-slung leather garments, a judicious use of black eyeliner and a rebellious stance against gender stereotypes, but thus far she hasn't mixed politics that much with her music.

That's changed with her new album, "SINNER," which shows off Jett's trademark blend of pop hooks and punk energy.

In the song "Riddles," Jett sings, "Don't claim that you represent me because I don't believe a word that you say" and yowls, "Clean skies, baby, healthy forests, no child left behind wake up people!"

But the rocker cautions that she doesn't want to be perceived as harshly partisan, as some groups are seen.

The highlight of Salt Lake City for me was meeting JOAN JETT. I've refrained from fanning out at any given point in this entire tour until seated next to the goddess of rock and roll. As with all famous people, she is much tinier and more beautiful in person then you would ever expect. As part of my blogging responsibilities, I record a podcast with Kevin called 'On the bus with Kevin Lyman" which you really should be checking out. Make sure to check this week's installment to hear what Joan has to say about traveling with Warped, female bands, and her early days with the BLACKHEARTS. Trust me, I was there for the recording so I can assure you that it is worth listening to. I was in awe just being in the same room as her and I promise you I rarely geek out. Okay, there was that one time with Tre Cool in San Francisco. And that time last summer when Joey Fatone and Lance Bass were in line behind me at the movies. But that's an entirely different story I will never own up to. And with that, I think I've said too much.

Click here to listen to Kevin’s Podcast

Description: JOAN JETT makes her Warped debut, and school's the competition! Damn! My feets are killin' me, Smalls!
Sunday, July 9th, VANS Warped Tour 2006
Selland Arena, Fresno Ca.

The queen has arrived!

Headlining the Fresno Warped Tour stop was ex-RUNAWAYS, and once again present Black Heart, JOAN JETT!

When Jett's set started, I was literally all the way on the other side of the grounds, but once I heard "Bad Reputation" in the distance, I booked it over to take some pics. JOAN JETT, tough as always, tore threw hit after hit like it was nobodys business.

With a cool snarl and black bikini-top, the original punk queen from the NYC, was back to teach the Warped kids how it's done!

Oh yes...she played the song you're thinking of...

The younger fans attending this year's Vans Warped Tour might be excused for thinking the band rocking the main stage accidentally took a wrong turn after shuffling out of the Reverse Day Care tent on their way to get another pair of earplugs.

But once they hear the first chunky notes blasting out of punk rock legend JOAN JETT's low slung guitar, and get a load of the 47-year-old's age-defying washboard abs poking out of her omnipresent skintight leather pants, they'll realize they're the ones who are going to need the earplugs.

Never one to follow trends or adhere to music business rules, three decades into her career as a headliner, Jett has hopped aboard the Warped wagon to teach the kids at the long-running punk rock and extreme sports festival a little something about longevity. She tops a bill that features dozens of acts who weren't even born when she began her career in the mid 1970s as part of the seminal all-girl punk band the RUNAWAYS.

JOAN JETT took the main stage during Van's Warped Tour today in Marysville and she was a sight to behold-- looking gorgeous and edgy as she rocked out with her band to a giant crowd that sang along with every great song.

The obscene heat was hard on everyone but some things just can't be missed -- Joan is one of them.

SORRY! Got carried away with the wild and wonderful Beatles show in Las Vegas last week so now we can catch up on things—like last week's coolest song in the world from Dirty Pretty Things and this week's from the Living Things.

The Libertines were all the rage in England for 15 minutes, but in 2004 co-leaders Pete Doherty and Carl Barat went their separate ways mostly due to Doherty's open, unapologetic and consistent drug use. Not to mention being jailed for burglarizing Barat's flat.

Doherty went on to form Babyshambles, and Barat put together Dirty Pretty Things with Libertines drummer Gary Powell and second guitarist Anthony Rossamando and former Cooper Temple Clause bassist Didz Hammond. Their debut album is "Waterloo to Anywhere," and our coolest song is "Bang Bang You're Dead."

The band will do a handful of showcase dates in August, but we're going to try and get them back for more shows in the fall.

The Vans Warped Tour turned to vintage punk rockers for its recent summer tours, including a stint with Billy Idol in 2005, but the traveling musical carnival has brought the genre full circle for the kids who brave the sun each year.

After all, would we have NOFX without Billy Idol? Would there be Bad Religion without the Ramones?

This year's original-generation punk rocker, JOAN JETT, is playing every date of the grueling summer tour. And while her first singles - not to mention her work with The RUNAWAYS - were no doubt big influences in the early days of punk, Jett herself isn't so well acquainted with her contemporary peers.

Hard to believe, but this year marks the 25th anniversary of JOAN JETT teaming with the BLACKHEARTS to declare 'I Love Rock N' Roll.' Certainly makes us feel old, but Jett, who recently released a new album, 'SINNER,' has found a fountain of youth in her headlining spot on this year's Warped tour.

"It's very inspiring to be around all these kids," Jett told AOL Music when Warped rolled into L.A.'s Dodger Stadium last week. "I enjoy watching their shows and becoming a fan. It's a lot of fun."

While she's mostly seen bands on the main stages, where she's been playing, Jett has found a way to branch out to the side stages. "I am borrowing a BMX bike from one of the NOFX guys so I can ride away to the other stages and check stuff out," she said.

Jett, who is a first-timer on Warped but has had bands on her Blackheart label play the tour before, knows she was brought in as an icon. "I think [Warped founder Kevin Lyman] likes to have bands that somehow represent where some of this stuff came from, the punk rock thing. Whatever credit people give you for having anything to do with this, it's very humbling. I just do my work and don't try to analyze it much beyond that."

And she still doesn't give a damn about her bad reputation.

Just released: Grrrl-fronted band compilation CD at Warped Tour, entitled All-Girl Stage Crew Vol. 2.

Gritty In Pink Compilation CD
Featuring The Exclusive Track
Kiss on the Lips by JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS

Eleven enormous image galleries of the biggest bands: Underoath, Helmet, JOAN JETT, Less Than Jake and more!

July 13, 2006 - If you're headed out to the Vans Warped Tour this summer, make sure you pack two things: plenty of sunscreen and an extra face… because yours is gonna get rocked the f*** off.

We got a chance to check out America's longest running tour yesterday in the acrid flats of the Dodger Stadium parking lot, where over 800 musicians and thousands of moshing rowdies came together to pay homage to sweat and loud noises. As always, we documented the experience with hundreds of pictures, crashing the pits to snag images of 11 of the marquee bands. Click here for photos!

IGN JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS Screenshots, Wallpapers and Pics They still love rock n' roll.

July 13, 2006 - After 12 years of waiting, fans this summer are finally getting a new studio album from JOAN JETT called "SINNER."

But it's not like Jett intended to see her recording career go on hold like that.

"If we had had our way, it would have been out much earlier," Jett said of the new album. "But there were several things in the way of that. So here we are now."

Want a taste of some hard-core punk rock? The `06 Warped Tour has just rolled out and its third city stop was in Milwaukee, WI. With temperatures soaring to 99 degrees in the sun, thousands of fans came out to experience over eighty punk-rock bands performing on nine stages. Each band would get thirty minutes to pound out their high energy set. Some well known bands like Helmet, Rise Against, and The Casualties showed off their provocative songs and insanely captivating stage presence. Plus it was great to see and hear the British 70's punk rock band Buzzcocks, with their catchy lyrics and vivacious, stage energy.

At 7pm, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS took stage and jettified the crowd with their classic hits including; Bad Reputation, Crimson and Clover, Cherry Bomb, and I Hate Myself For Loving You. With the release of her new album SINNER a week earlier, she introduced and performed the catchy Sweet song A.C.D.C. and her new penned song Change The World. The intoxicating Jett, looking athletically toned and dressed in black leather vest and pants, got the crowd anxious to help out during her smash hit Do You Wanna Touch Me by having them yell back to her "Yeah…Oh Yeah."

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTSShe also told the sweaty and on-fire crowd that she was going to perform another new song called Fetish and she called this one "the dirtiest song" she ever wrote because of the edgy and erotic lyrics. Then the crowd went wild and fist pumped into the air when the guitar chords jetted into her chart breaking, worldwide hit I Love Rock N' Roll.

Check out JOAN JETT this summer as the Warped Tour makes its way across the U.S. I can guarantee you the hottest and arousing thirty minutes of punk music you will ever experience. Yeah…Oh Yeah!

This is taken word for word from her website: "JOAN JETT has been called godmother to female musicians with loud guitars and idealistic dreams by The New York Times, as well as the queen of punk, the original riot grrrl, and the last rock star". We love JOAN JETT. This was her second show at Summerfest in three years and had just played in Milwaukee a few weeks before. You'd think the fatigue of playing the same place or the crowd's fickle desire to see something new would dampen the vibe. No way. She has become a favorite at the festival and is known as a professional through and through. A guaranteed great show.

It was packed, it was hot, and playing on the same night as NIN did nothing to stop this true rocker. She sings, she really plays the guitar, writes, composes and knows how to show you a good time. This aspect of live shows is missing form the over-dubbed playbacks of other female artists. When the mold broke, Joan arrived. Her sheer attitude about living life and having a great time doing it is infectous. Looking at the crowd of gen-x punks and young ones just coming of age proves that sheer talent sells. That and a great bod. Watching her bounce around, revving the audience on singing 'I Love Rock N' Roll' makes you a true believer that rock-no-roll is good for you.

Let 91X in San Diego know how much you liked hearing JOAN JETT's A.C.D.C on their radio station.

If you want to make a punk rock request go to http://www.91x.com/marco.html or Request Line: 858-570-1919

It’s funny how time changes things.

For example, when JOAN JETT first clawed her way into the spotlight as the sneering singer-guitarist in teenage leather queens the RUNAWAYS, the idea of a gigantic, corporate-sponsored music festival proudly flying the punk banner would have seemed as utterly ludicrous as five girls playing hard-as-bricks rock ’n’ roll. First of all, there simply weren’t enough bands in 1976 to fill out that kind of lineup. And who would have gone, anyway? A bunch of junkies and anarchistic street trash? What company would want their name associated with a gathering like that?

Now, 30 years later, Jett is headlining just such a festival: the 12th annual Vans Warped Tour, the most durable package tour of the summer. And she’s still playing rock ’n’ roll you can build a house out of.

"I feel like I fit in, but I don’t analyze it," she says somewhat tenuously, over the phone during one of the tour’s rare days off. It seems slightly absurd that she would talk so sheepishly about her position on the tour. Why wouldn’t she fit in? After all, this is a culture she helped give birth to. Her credentials are impeccable: She produced the first Germs album; she hung out with the Ramones; she taught Sid Vicious how to dress. Most significantly, she stomped out the gender lines etched into the history of pop. In rock, women of consequence had always been either delicate songbirds or bluesy belters. Jett, however, was something else: A female musician with, ahem, balls. She could shout, spit and bring down the hammer of the gods as hard as any guy could, and she would do so as if it were no big deal. If punk was an egalitarian revolution, then Jett was surely an important figure. So shouldn’t she be able to storm into an event that’s often referred to as "punk rock summer camp" and immediately feel at home? Not only feel like she’s at home, but like she built the friggin’ place with her own bare hands? "I don’t feel that so much, the influence. I go there as a music fan. I don’t really think about my place in it too much."

KENNY LAGUNA, Jett’s longtime manager and songwriting partner, puts it a little more immodestly: "This is where she belongs — she’s one of the Elvis Presleys of punk rock."

Don't worry about the Vans Warped Tour selling out. The all-day punk-rock fest survived its move down 83rd Avenue from the Peoria Sports Complex to Cricket Pavilion with its integrity intact on July 4.

In fact, nobody seemed to mind the new digs - from the bands who praised the better backstage area to the fans who could move freely
and enjoy more misting systems.

There were a few complaints, however, ranging from the minor (not close enough to an In-N-Out Burger) to the major (the asphalt parking lot at Cricket was more dangerous for crowd surfing than the outfield at Peoria Stadium).

The 411: JOAN JETT’s SINNER is a throwback to her early 80’s work, yet manages to sound vibrant and even relevant at times. When Jett rocks and wails, the album hits on all cylinders, but when she tries something different, things just come off ear-piercingly bad. Thankfully, most of the album is straight ahead, gender-be-damned rock that could please fans of modern bands like Jet and The Donnas. In other words, people who still love rock ‘n’ roll.

Let’s do the time warp again…

My Story

Is it sacrilege to say that I don't like "I Love Rock ‘n' Roll"? Well, if it is, I'll see you in hell. At least The Beatles will be there, too. It's not that I don't like JOAN JETT's attitude. I just find the song too simplistic and, well, stupid. Not to mention dated. How long has it been since a dime got you any plays on a jukebox? Fuck, a dollar will barely get you a song these days. But I digress.

I'm not a huge JOAN JETT fan, but I understand her place in rock history. But does having a well-known novelty song and a place in rock history guarantee her relevance today?

Their Story

Ahh, Warped Tour. Try as you might, it seems as though you can never quite guess what it’s going to be like each year. Some years are better than others – great bands, decent crowds, nice weather. Some years are just the opposite – less than stellar bands, annoying people and rain. (Although it seems inevitable that there are always condom balloons floating around during someone’s set.)


I’d have to say that Nashville’s Starwood Amphitheatre hosted one of the better years for Warped Tour this year. There were some really great bands on the bill and I was looking forward to not having to endure hearing bands like AFI, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Simple Plan this time around.

The main draw of the Warped Tour has always been music but behind all of the bands on stage there are just as many people devoting their summer to different causes. And while many of you may be curious as to where William from The Academy Is shops or who Travis from Gym Class Heroes is talking to backstage, those really aren't the things that make the world go round. If you walk into the Girlz Garage you'll see Erica Leite standing behind several plaster casts of the female upper body. That vision alone is enough to make many people stop in their tracks to inquire. Erica works for the Keep A Breast Foundation, which is a non-profit organization who's goal while out on the tour is to raise awareness about breast cancer in young woman and educate everyone about early detection. As Erica says, "We are out here to show young girls that they need to be informed, that they don't need to feel embarrassed, to be comfortable with their bodies and know them." Erica is here to answer your questions and as she says "No question is dumb." The Keep A Breast Foundation is a beautiful fusion of scenes resulting in art with a purpose. The organization creates plaster casts of the female torso, and then the casts are painted by various artists, survivors, or other volunteers willing to donate their time. The end product is a beautiful one-of a kind piece of art that is auctioned off for charity. Erica resides in San Diego where she first began doing body casts for her own personal art shows. In a scene where everyone knows each other, people kept telling her she needed to get in touch with Shaney Jo Darden who co-founded Keep A Breast with Mona Mukherjea-Gehrig. Erica was stoked to be able to find a purpose behind her casts and immediately began volunteering her artistic efforts for Keep A Breast.

While out on the road, Erica is planning to do casts on several female volunteers (Meg and Dia tonight) and later in the tour JOAN JETT. Tyler from Valient Thorr is painting a cast and Erica hopes to get Travis from Gym Class Heroes involved because he's a fantastic artist. Many bands, including The Buzzcocks, Rise Against, and Paramore, have already donated their time by autographing a cast which will be auctioned off and proceeds will go to breast cancer research.

In her booth, Erica is also having people share their own stories in her "This is My Story" journal. You can read all about Erica's own adventures in "Erica's Boobie Buzz" which will be available by the 1st of July at keep-a-breast.org. As Erica's telling me about the different connections she's made with people through their stories she can't help but tear up as we talk. It's amazing to me to see someone so dedicated to a cause and when I ask her why it is she does all of I'm expecting a personal heartfelt experience but instead her simple answer is-"I felt that I didn't do enough good." I'm pretty sure Erica is one of my new heros, so make sure to stop by and check her out in The Girlz Garage for the rest of the tour. You can watch Erica paint a cast (did I mention she's a fantastic artist, the photos below are proof) or just talk to her.

Scanning her packed concert crowd in Palm Springs a few weeks ago, veteran rocker JOAN JETT gulped and did a head-spinning double take. There in the mostly youthful audience was the last person she'd expected to see -- 63-year-old pop producer Kim Fowley, who was sporting a vintage JOAN JETT T-shirt beneath his elegant dinner jacket.

In 1975, Fowley had shrewdly assembled Jett's sultry teen-chick combo the RUNAWAYS, a move former front woman Cherie Currie still views as exploitative and creepy (judging by her slam of Fowley in the recent "Mayor of Sunset Strip" documentary on Rodney Bingenheimer). Far from being horrified, however, Jett found herself feeling nostalgic, even pleasantly surprised.

Fowley -- who'd shepherded Jett's first RUNAWAYS anthem, "Cherry Bomb" (with its jail bait chorus of "Hello Daddy, hello Mom/ I'm your ch-ch-cherry bomb") -- hadn't seen his old protege since the band's acrimonious breakup in 1979. He'd decided to offer a tentative olive branch, Jett explains, "once he was aware that I didn't harbor those same feelings. I had a different experience in the RUNAWAYS, that's all I can say."